Jesse Sylvia came into the day looking to duplicate the deep run he had in 2012 when he finished as the runner-up in the WSOP Main Event for $ 5,295,149. The day started off strong for Sylvia as he chipped up nicely through the first couple levels.
Since dinner break, however, Sylvia has lost parts of his stack in various pots and was down to around 35,000 chips. Then, he got involved in a preflop raising war with one of his opponents, and once they were all in, the cards were tabled.
Sylvia showed but was behind his opponent's . Unfortunately for Sylvia, he wasn't able to hit a queen, and his Main Event ended partway through Day 1b.
Roger Teska has the drinks flowing now, and his chip count is on the rise.
Teska opened to 1,200 from middle position and received calls from the player on the button and the player in the big blind. The flop was , and Teska won the pot with a continuation bet of 4,000.
As he raked in the pot, Teska looked around from side to side asking, "Where's that waiter at?"
Rachid Ben Cherif was in the big blind and check-called a bet on a flop. The turn card was the , and Ben Cherif check-called a bet of 8,500 from his opponent. The river was the , and Ben Cherif checked one last time. His opponent bet 18,000, and Ben Cherif’s eyes rolled up to the ceiling.
For close to five minutes, Ben Cherif contemplated his decision, squirming around in his seat before calling. His opponent tapped the table and showed for a missed draw. Ben Cherif showed his for trips to take the pot.
There was a little over 8,000 in the pot with the board reading , and the big blind checked to Brandon Adams. He bet 6,500, and his opponent called. The turn was the , and the big blind checked again. Adams bet 13,000, and his opponent went into the tank for a couple minutes. He eventually decided to call.
Adams tabled . His opponent tossed his cards away, and Adams scooped a healthy pot.
With about 6,000 chips already in the pot and the board reading , action checked to Abe Mosseri in the cutoff, and he bet 2,500. The button called, and the fell on the river. Mosseri bet 8,000, and his opponent called with little hesitation.
Mosseri tabled for a rivered Broadway straight, and his opponent mucked.
Tables are breaking at a steady pace in the Miranda Room, but there are still some familiar faces remaining in the shrinking crowd, including the following players:
Day 1b of the 2017 World Series of Poker Main Event attracted 2,164 runners, the biggest number in recent years, surpassing the 2,114 on Day 1b in 2012. That comes following a Day 1a that was also the biggest one in recent memory. It will be interesting to see how Day 1c is affected. Is this a trend that will hold through all flights and result in the biggest Main Event in recent memory, or has the player count merely flattened out a bit and been redistributed to other days from the traditionally massive Day 1c?
Stay tuned tomorrow to find out. In the meantime, here's a look at how Day 1b this year compares to the fields in the past five years.
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, and Teska won the pot with a continuation bet of 4,000.
flop. The turn card was the 
, and Ben Cherif check-called a bet of 8,500 from his opponent. The river was the 
, and Ben Cherif checked one last time. His opponent bet 18,000, and Ben Cherif’s eyes rolled up to the ceiling.
for a missed draw. Ben Cherif showed his 
for trips to take the pot.
, and the big blind checked to Brandon Adams. He bet 6,500, and his opponent called. The turn was the 
, and the big blind checked again. Adams bet 13,000, and his opponent went into the tank for a couple minutes. He eventually decided to call.
. His opponent tossed his cards away, and Adams scooped a healthy pot.
, action checked to Abe Mosseri in the cutoff, and he bet 2,500. The button called, and the 
for a rivered Broadway straight, and his opponent mucked.
