In a three-way pot with already around 6,500 in the middle, the flop was 2♦3♣7♥ when the big blind checked to Matt Affleck who bet 2,000. The cutoff folded but the big blind made the call.
The turn brought the 6♣ and the big blind led out this time for 6,000. Affleck considered his options for some time and raised to 12,000. His opponent tanked a minute and eventually folded, showing 9♣9♠.
2006 WSOP Main Event Champion Jamie Gold opened to 600 in the hijack. The cutoff called, as well as the button and the big blind.
The dealer fanned a flop of 9♣8♣2♣. Gold made a continuation bet of 600. And this time, only the big blind called.
Both players checked on the turn 2♠. On the river 5♣, Gold bet again to 2,400. His opponent check-called, but couldn't do much against Gold's A♣5♥ for the best flush possible.
At the beginning of Level 2, Javier Tsunamy was already down to 3,800 chips. "I didn't reach any dinner break since I've been here," he said, even though he was in the money in the $800 No-Limit Hold'em Deepstack WSOP event.
With his small stack, he opened to 600 from middle position and was called by the button and the big blind.
On 8♣10♥K♣, the first two players to act checked, allowing the button to bet 600. The big blind folded, but Tsunamy raised all in. His opponent folded, giving the pot to Tsunamy.
However, the chips he collected were not enough to keep Tsunamy in the tournament, as he was seen leaving the area a few minutes later to reentry.
Another day starts at the 2023 World Series Of Poker (WSOP) at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas. Today, players will try to find their way through the massive field of Day 1b of Event #53: $1,500 Millionaire Maker. On Day 1a, 4,585 entries were registered, but only around 1,012 players made it through to Day 2, which will take place on Sunday, June 25.
At the end of Day 1a, it was Yong Li who finished with the biggest stack of 750,000. Nicola Basile ended the day in second place with 480,000 chips.
Day 1a Top Ten Chip Counts
Rank
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Blinds
1
Yong Yi
United States
750,000
300
2
Nicola Basile
Canada
480,000
192
3
Peng Li
United States
460,000
184
4
Paul Gunness
United States
430,000
172
5
Ryan Dodd
United States
414,500
166
6
Alex Greenblatt
United States
405,500
162
7
Osman Ihlamur
Turkey
392,000
157
8
Lawrence Beach
United States
361,000
144
9
Jamie Rosen
United States
357,000
143
10
Bin Weng
United States
353,500
141
Players like Peng Li (460,000), Paul Gunness (430,000), and Alex Greenblatt (405,400) also concluded their starting flight with stacks above 150 big blinds.
Similarly, a few notable players qualified for Day 2, including the Jeff Platt (206,500), Jason Wheeler (184,500), 2014 WSOP Main Event Champion Martin Jacobson (169,000), Kristen Foxen (127,500), Jessica Teusl (90,000) and Benjamin Spragg (59,000).
Today, players of Day 1b will try to imitate them by playing on the same structure as yesterday: 25,000 chips to start, 60-minute levels, a 20-minute break every two levels, and a 75-minute dinner break after Level 8. Late registration will be closed after this dinner break; only one reentry is allowed. Then, the day will conclude at the end of Level 11.
Stay locked into PokerNews for all the updates throughout this event.