Event #1: $500 Casino Employees
Giorno 1 completo
2023 World Series of Poker
Event #1: $500 Casino Employees
Giorni 1
Event Info
Risultati finali
Event Info
Informazioni livello
Informazioni Giocatori - Giorno 1
2023 World Series of Poker
Buy-in
$500
Montepremi
$426,300
Entries
1,015
Livello
33
Bui
150,000 / 300,000
Ante
300,000
Entries
1,015
Giocatori Rimasti
89
PokerNews' Jesse Fullen Bags Big in Day 1 of Casino Employees Event
Livello 17
: Blinds 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante
A total of 1,015 poker players packed the tables in the opening event of the 2023 World Series of Poker here at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas, with 89 players bagging for Day 2.
The field, which was nearly 200 runners larger than last year's total, generated a prize pool of $426,300, with first place set to take home $75,535 and the first gold bracelet of this year's WSOP.
After 17 levels of play, Benson Tam bagged the chip lead (880,000), with PokerNews' own Jesse Fullen bagging the second biggest stack (861,000). Tam emerged mid-way through the day as one of the first players to cross the half a million chip mark while Fullen saw his stack grow steadily, making a run toward the top of the leaderboard at the end of the night.
End of Day 1 Top 10 Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Country | Chips | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Benson Tam | United States | 889,000 | 89 |
| 2 | Jesse Fullen | United States | 861,000 | 86 |
| 3 | Lisa Eckstein | United States | 775,000 | 78 |
| 4 | Zaen Qatan | United States | 773,000 | 77 |
| 5 | James Urbanic | United States | 618,000 | 62 |
| 6 | John Vournas | United States | 613,000 | 61 |
| 7 | Burcu Dagli | United States | 583,000 | 58 |
| 8 | Joshua Honegger | United States | 529,000 | 53 |
| 9 | Joshua Brodsky | United States | 527,000 | 53 |
| 10 | Sandra Faabeng | United States | 499,000 | 50 |
Other notable players that built and bagged a big stack include Lisa Eckstein (775,000), Adam Rodriguez (652,000), James Urbanic (618,000), Wade Warren (535,000), and Joshua Brodsky (527,000).
The defending champion, Katie Kopp, played deep into the day but ultimately fell short of the money in her attempt for a repeat victory while the winner of this very event in 2013, PokerNews' own Chad Holloway, bagged (211,00). The 2021 champion, James Barnett, also fell short of bagging with a Day 1 exit.
Players will return at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday for the Day 2 finale, with the action kicking off in Level 18 with blinds at 5,000/10,000 with a 10,000 big blind ante with action continuing on Day 2 until a winner is declared.
Follow all the action here as the PokerNews Live Reporting team covers Day 2, as well as our summer-long coverage of The 2022 WSOP at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas.
Seat Draw For Day 2
![[user169806]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
Livello 17
: Blinds 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante
| Casino | Table | Seat | Player | Country | Chips | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Horseshoe | 669 | 1 | Sandra Faabeng | United States | 499,000 | 50 |
| Horseshoe | 669 | 2 | Steven Guilford | United States | 322,000 | 32 |
| Horseshoe | 669 | 3 | Adam Rodriguez | United States | 470,000 | 47 |
| Horseshoe | 669 | 4 | Michael Carr | United States | 226,000 | 23 |
| Horseshoe | 669 | 5 | Joshua Honegger | United States | 529,000 | 53 |
| Horseshoe | 669 | 6 | Peter Thai | United States | 391,000 | 39 |
| Horseshoe | 669 | 7 | Zaen Qatan | United States | 773,000 | 77 |
| Horseshoe | 669 | 8 | Lisa Eckstein | United States | 775,000 | 78 |
| Horseshoe | 669 | 9 | Kevin Kivela | United States | 1 | 0 |
| Horseshoe | 670 | 1 | Joshua Vallejo | United States | 296,000 | 30 |
| Horseshoe | 670 | 2 | Jeffrey San Gabriel | United States | 71,000 | 7 |
| Horseshoe | 670 | 3 | Hugo Flores | United States | 134,000 | 13 |
| Horseshoe | 670 | 4 | James Sheehan | United States | 134,000 | 13 |
| Horseshoe | 670 | 5 | James Urbanic | United States | 618,000 | 62 |
| Horseshoe | 670 | 6 | Duc Lai | United States | 111,000 | 11 |
| Horseshoe | 670 | 7 | Steven Perkins | United Kingdom | 302,000 | 30 |
| Horseshoe | 670 | 8 | Hyun Shin | United States | 261,000 | 26 |
| Horseshoe | 670 | 9 | Adam Alleman | United States | 312,000 | 31 |
| Horseshoe | 671 | 1 | Markell Anderson | United States | 125,000 | 13 |
| Horseshoe | 671 | 2 | Phillip Quintin | United States | 128,000 | 13 |
| Horseshoe | 671 | 3 | Brian Page | United States | 483,000 | 48 |
| Horseshoe | 671 | 4 | Ryan Welch | United States | 436,000 | 44 |
| Horseshoe | 671 | 5 | Andrew Dennis | United States | 162,000 | 16 |
| Horseshoe | 671 | 6 | Shahzane Ali | United States | 229,000 | 23 |
| Horseshoe | 671 | 7 | Kyle Gale | United States | 278,000 | 28 |
| Horseshoe | 671 | 8 | Christopher Taticzek | United States | 246,000 | 25 |
| Horseshoe | 671 | 9 | Sean Balfour | Canada | 274,000 | 27 |
| Horseshoe | 672 | 1 | Pasquale Priolo | United States | 1 | 0 |
| Horseshoe | 672 | 2 | Mark Kawamoto | United States | 355,000 | 36 |
| Horseshoe | 672 | 3 | Kurt Haiss | United States | 369,000 | 37 |
| Horseshoe | 672 | 4 | Loren Adam | United States | 131,000 | 13 |
| Horseshoe | 672 | 5 | Paul Blanchette | United States | 72,000 | 7 |
| Horseshoe | 672 | 6 | Carlton Fitzgerald | United States | 437,000 | 44 |
| Horseshoe | 672 | 7 | Brett Janiga | United States | 219,000 | 22 |
| Horseshoe | 672 | 8 | Shengfan Li | United States | 324,000 | 32 |
| Horseshoe | 672 | 9 | Ethan Siemiesz | United States | 247,000 | 25 |
| Horseshoe | 673 | 1 | Connor Manion | United States | 195,000 | 20 |
| Horseshoe | 673 | 2 | Zachary Black | United States | 228,000 | 23 |
| Horseshoe | 673 | 3 | Matthew Lukwinski | United States | 262,000 | 26 |
| Horseshoe | 673 | 4 | Benson Tam | United States | 889,000 | 89 |
| Horseshoe | 673 | 5 | Mario Romera | Venezuela | 215,000 | 22 |
| Horseshoe | 673 | 6 | Kevin Gattes | Mariamoth, DE | 1 | 0 |
| Horseshoe | 673 | 7 | Kenneth Weinstein | United States | 347,000 | 35 |
| Horseshoe | 673 | 8 | Mark Strodl | United States | 205,000 | 21 |
| Horseshoe | 673 | 9 | David Eaton | United States | 185,000 | 19 |
| Horseshoe | 675 | 1 | Alexander Griffin | United States | 398,000 | 40 |
| Horseshoe | 675 | 2 | Jose Zaragoza | United States | 307,000 | 31 |
| Horseshoe | 675 | 3 | Jesse Knight | United States | 212,000 | 21 |
| Horseshoe | 675 | 4 | Peter Mungo | United States | 271,000 | 27 |
| Horseshoe | 675 | 5 | Stephen Combs | United States | 212,000 | 21 |
| Horseshoe | 675 | 6 | Randall Blair | United States | 342,000 | 34 |
| Horseshoe | 675 | 7 | Herbert Teope | United States | 40,000 | 4 |
| Horseshoe | 675 | 8 | Jason Pupillo | United States | 131,000 | 13 |
| Horseshoe | 675 | 9 | Warren Ray | United States | 79,000 | 8 |
| Horseshoe | 676 | 1 | Zackary Taylor | United States | 295,000 | 30 |
| Horseshoe | 676 | 2 | Chad Holloway | United States | 211,000 | 21 |
| Horseshoe | 676 | 3 | Max Grenader | United States | 82,000 | 8 |
| Horseshoe | 676 | 4 | Eric Zavodnik | United States | 338,000 | 34 |
| Horseshoe | 676 | 5 | Jacob Norman | United States | 127,000 | 13 |
| Horseshoe | 676 | 6 | Lonnie Caldwell | United States | 299,000 | 30 |
| Horseshoe | 676 | 7 | Michael Mcfadden | United States | 437,000 | 44 |
| Horseshoe | 676 | 8 | John Vournas | United States | 613,000 | 61 |
| Horseshoe | 676 | 9 | Jonathan Libiran | United States | 146,000 | 15 |
| Horseshoe | 677 | 1 | Daniel Mosher | United States | 156,000 | 16 |
| Horseshoe | 677 | 2 | Anne Walby | United States | 128,000 | 13 |
| Horseshoe | 677 | 3 | James Davidson | United States | 244,000 | 24 |
| Horseshoe | 677 | 4 | Joe Pavan | United States | 254,000 | 25 |
| Horseshoe | 677 | 5 | Justin Carter | United States | 399,000 | 40 |
| Horseshoe | 677 | 6 | Michael Gibbs | United States | 341,000 | 34 |
| Horseshoe | 677 | 7 | Christopher Allison | United States | 279,000 | 28 |
| Horseshoe | 677 | 8 | Wade Warren | United States | 477,000 | 48 |
| Horseshoe | 677 | 9 | Michael Senter | United States | 222,000 | 22 |
| Horseshoe | 678 | 1 | Burcu Dagli | United States | 583,000 | 58 |
| Horseshoe | 678 | 2 | Eric Stamey | United States | 238,000 | 24 |
| Horseshoe | 678 | 3 | Gregorios Lamprinos | United States | 93,000 | 9 |
| Horseshoe | 678 | 4 | Zhichao Liang | United States | 123,000 | 12 |
| Horseshoe | 678 | 5 | Kris Hooper | United States | 226,000 | 23 |
| Horseshoe | 678 | 6 | Jason Palafox | United States | 44,000 | 4 |
| Horseshoe | 678 | 7 | Guitong He | United States | 242,000 | 24 |
| Horseshoe | 678 | 8 | Dustin Merrill | United States | 163,000 | 16 |
| Horseshoe | 678 | 9 | Jon Nakatani | United States | 235,000 | 24 |
| Horseshoe | 679 | 1 | Eugene Lang | United States | 193,000 | 19 |
| Horseshoe | 679 | 2 | Joshua Brodsky | United States | 527,000 | 53 |
| Horseshoe | 679 | 3 | Jesse Fullen | United States | 861,000 | 86 |
| Horseshoe | 679 | 4 | Jeffrey Cross | United States | 79,000 | 8 |
| Horseshoe | 679 | 5 | Cameron Drucker | United States | 284,000 | 28 |
| Horseshoe | 679 | 7 | Keith Mccormack | United States | 292,000 | 29 |
| Horseshoe | 679 | 8 | Hon Kim | United States | 56,000 | 6 |
| Horseshoe | 679 | 9 | Bruce Jiang | United States | 328,000 | 33 |
Official End of Day 1 Chip Counts (completo)
Livello 17
: Blinds 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante
| Giocatore | Chip | Avanzamento |
|---|---|---|
|
889,000 | 184,000 |
|
861,000 | 1,000 |
|
775,000 | 575,000 |
|
773,000 | 293,000 |
|
618,000 | -4,000 |
|
|
613,000 | -17,000 |
|
583,000 | 583,000 |
|
529,000 | 529,000 |
|
|
527,000 | 317,000 |
|
|
499,000 | -16,000 |
|
483,000 | 56,000 |
|
477,000 | -58,000 |
|
470,000 | -182,000 |
|
437,000 | 437,000 |
|
437,000 | 437,000 |
|
|
436,000 | -84,000 |
|
|
399,000 | 399,000 |
|
|
398,000 | 398,000 |
|
391,000 | 104,000 |
|
369,000 | 194,000 |
|
355,000 | 65,000 |
|
347,000 | 347,000 |
|
342,000 | -8,000 |
|
341,000 | 341,000 |
|
|
340,000 | 260,200 |
Walby Stays!
Livello 17
: Blinds 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante
The under-the-gun player opened to 21,000 before seeing Anne Walby respond by going all in for her last 54,000. Action folded back around to the original raiser who called, putting Walby at risk.
Anne Walby: A♦Q♥
Under The Gun: K♠J♦
The board ran out 10♣J♣6♥A♠5♠ giving Walby a full double and sending her jumping out of her chair excitedly screaming, "I stay! I stay!"
| Giocatore | Chip | Avanzamento |
|---|---|---|
|
123,000 | 8,000 |
Four More Hands
Livello 17
: Blinds 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante
With ten minutes left on the tournament clock, the staff has announced that four more hands will be played before play concludes for the night.
Burch Just Misses Day Two
Livello 17
: Blinds 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante
James Sheeham and Ryan Burch were both all-in with nearly the exact same stack size.
James Sheeham: 9♥8♥
Ryan Burch: A♦K♦
While it's unclear when the chips got in the middle, PokerNews picked up the action as the pot was pushed towards Sheeham on a board of 3♦K♠8♦5♣8♠.
After the dealer got an official count, Burch announced, "We're getting a bag! Two chips and a chair!"
The very next hand Burch's 8♠9♣ was unable to best the AxJx, leaving him to take a walk just minutes from bag and tag for day two.
| Giocatore | Chip | Avanzamento |
|---|---|---|
|
|
112,000 | |
|
|
Eliminato |
Fullen Soars to Top of Leaderboard
Livello 17
: Blinds 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante
Jesse Fullen has just taken down a pot that may just see him end the day with the chip lead with 15 minutes of play left to go.
Terra Dorvall raised to 20,000 preflop and Fullen called in the big blind to see a flop of 3♣8♣3♦. After Fullen checked, Dorvall bet 30,000 and Fullen moved all in for about 200,000 effective. Dorvall called and had run into a monster.
Terra Dorvall: 10♠10♣
Jesse Fullen: 8♠8♥
The board completed Q♠4♥ and Fullen scored a massive pot to move toward the chip lead.
| Giocatore | Chip | Avanzamento |
|---|---|---|
|
|
860,000 | 446,000 |
|
|
Eliminato |
Top Pair vs Two Pair Sends Another Player Home
Livello 17
: Blinds 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante
With the pot standing at 58,000 the small blind lead into Sandra Faabeng, in the big blind, on a board of A♠J♠K♦ for 35,000.
Faabeng had the small blind covered and elected to raise him all in for his remaining 66,000.
After some deliberation, the small blind called and tabled A♥5♦ against Faabeng's A♦J♥.
The board ran out with a turn and a river of Q♦4♥; Faabeng claimed the pot and another tournament life.
| Giocatore | Chip | Avanzamento |
|---|---|---|
|
|
515,000 | 515,000 |
McFadden Puts His Opponent in the Tank
Livello 17
: Blinds 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante
On a board of 5♦A♣6♣2♠ with over 100,000 already in the pot, Mike McFadden open-jammed the turn for 160,000. This sent the player on the button deep into the tank.
After a few minutes, the clock was called, and the button player was given a countdown. He eventually folded the A♠K♠ face up, and McFadden dragged the pot after forcing a big fold.
| Giocatore | Chip | Avanzamento |
|---|---|---|
|
|
422,000 | 422,000 |