Joshua McSwiney raised on the button to 210,000 and Brandon cantu potted in the big blind for 650,000, with 150,000 left behind. McSwiney called and all the chips went in the middle on the flop .
Brandon Cantu:
Joshua McSwiney:
The hit the turn, giving the nut flush to McSwiney and the completed the board, eliminating Cantu in 21st place for $23,327.
Brian Rast called under the-gun and the small blind called as well. In the big blind, Joao Simao bet 360,000 and was called only by Rast.
The flop came out and Simao continued for 600,000 which Rast responded to by moving all in for 1,100,000 and Simao called.
Brian Rast:
Joao Simao:
The board ran out and Rast was not able to hit his flush to improve and Simao's straight was good enough to take down the pot, and send Rast out of the tournament.
Daniel Hachem raised under the gun and it folded to Mateos Sahakian in the big blind who jammed, putting Hachem at risk for a remaining stack around 400,000. The latter called and they showed their cards:
Daniel Hachem:
Mateos Sahakian:
The dealer revealed a board , giving a straight on the river to Sahakian to bust Hachem in 23rd palce of this tournament.
The board already read with more than 300,000 in the pot when Joao Simao bet 185,000 from the small blind seat. Joni Jouhkimainen, on the button, opted to raise it to 780,000. After some thinking, Simao called.
The river completed the board and Simao thought about his move for a minute before announcing a bet of 1,200,000, putting Jouhkimainen into a decision.
Jouhkimainen ended up folding, showing only , and Simao grabbed the big pot and flashed .
Action was picked up on the river with Joni Jouhkimainen in first position and Joao Simao in later position with a pot brewing of 590,000 total.
The board read and Jouhkimainen checked to Simao who bet 335,000. Jouhkimainen thought for a bit before deciding to raise to 850,000 which sent Simao into the tank.
After a few minutes the clock was called and just before the time ticked down, Simao tossed his hand into the muck, sending Jouhkimainen's stack over 2,000,000 chips.
Today is the final flight for the B]$1,100 buy-in, $1,000,000 Guaranteed PokerNews Cup at Golden Nugget Las Vegas! Late registration will close at approximately 8:45 p.m. local time.
The tournament featured three starting flights and the surviving players from each flight will return at Noon on Monday, June 27 to play down to the final table, which will play out at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, June 28.
PokerNews will be on-site throughout the duration to offer live updates, videos, social media content, and more.
An eventful Day 1 saw the field in Event #55: $5,000 Mixed No-Limit Hold'em/Pot-Limit Omaha dwindle from 788 entries to just 72 contenders. They all have already locked up a profitable campaign worth a minimum of $10,013, but all have their eyes on the $686,242 sitting at the top along with the prestigious bracelet.
The two most popular poker disciplines brought many notable players to the Paris and Bally's Las Vegas, and it is Joao Simao who will be back in action with a sizeable lead, with 1,705,000 in chips and his sights set on his second bracelet.
Second in the chip counts is Frank Lagodich (1,530,000) who recently had a deep run Event #21: $1,500 MONSTER STACK No-Limit Hold'em for 25th place and will look to reach the second WSOP final table of his career. Closing out the top three is Vasil Medarov (1,495,000) who reached two final tables in Pot Limit Omaha WSOP events last year.
Other notable players to keep an eye on include Joni Jouhkimainen (1,015,000), Craig Mason( 875,000), Bryce Yockey (820,000, Michael Rocco (770,000), and three-time WSOP champion David Pham (695,000), who have all bagged an above average stack.
Players like Justin Saliba (200,000), Ben Diebold (220,000), Brandon Cantu (315,000), Dylan Weisman (330,000), and Leif Force (330,000) will have some work to do as they were left with a below average stack at the end of last night.
The pack of 72 players will come back at 2 p.m. to continue showcasing their NLH and PLO prowess. Blinds will be 10,000/25,000 with a 25,000 big blind ante when the cards get back in the air and the levels will be increased to 40 minutes, with a 15-minute break after every three.
The aim is that play will continue until a winner is crowned, so follow the PokerNews live updates to find out who will make it all the way to the end!