Vinokurov Bags Big in Day 1b of $777 Lucky 7's
Day 1b of Event #77: $777 Lucky 7's No-Limit Hold'em at the 2023 World Series of Poker saw 2,386 entries take their seats at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas with the hopes of advancing to Day 2 and moving one step closer to the $777,777 first-place guarantee and a WSOP bracelet. At the conclusion of play, 100 players had bagged and advanced to Day 2.
Today's field, which easily eclipsed Day 1a's total of 1,470, added $1,631,452 to the prize pool, which now stands at $2,636,580 with one more opening day still to come.
Stepan Vinokurov finds himself at the top of the leaderboard after bagging an impressive 3,315,000 chips. Vinokurov, who has lifetime WSOP earnings of only $3,110, holds the lead over four-time bracelet winner David Peters, who bagged 2,775,000 for the second biggest stack. Canadian Charles La Boissonniere was close behind, securing third place with 2,500,000.
All three of today's top finishers are above the Day 1a chipleader, Thomas Blanton, who bagged 2,265,000 yesterday and currently sits in fourth place overall.
Day 1b Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stepan Vinokurov | United States | 3,315,000 | 83 |
| 2 | David Peters | United States | 2,775,000 | 69 |
| 3 | Charles La Boissonniere | Canada | 2,500,000 | 63 |
| 4 | Alexandros Dranovitsas | Greece | 2,250,000 | 56 |
| 5 | Alex Livingston | Canada | 2,200,000 | 55 |
| 6 | Randy Nguyen | United States | 2,090,000 | 52 |
| 7 | Robert Scholz | United States | 1,765,000 | 44 |
| 8 | Xiang Lin | United States | 1,750,000 | 44 |
| 9 | Leonard Clementi | United States | 1,700,000 | 43 |
| 10 | Jeffrey Fraley | United States | 1,690,000 | 42 |
Day 1b Action
The event's seven-handed play was fast and furious early on, especially with unlimited reentries allowed. Numerous players were seen in the late registration line just minutes after busting out. Players eliminated during the early and middle portions of the day included Ian Matakis, Martin Kabrhel, Sam Farha, and Jeremy Ausmus.
358 players made a minimum of $1,246 when the bubble burst just after dinner. Both players responsible for bursting the bubble are still alive, with Renan Bruschi and Daisuke Ogita finding a bag.
Players surviving the bubble but failing to advance to Day 2 included Mike Allis (189th), Robbi Jade Lew (208th), Lexy Gavin-Mather (276th), and Koray Aldemir (346th).
Players will have one more chance to test their luck in Day 1c, which begins on Sunday, July 9th at 10 a.m. local time. Unlimited reentries are allowed, and anyone completing 22 levels will join the 164 players already qualified for Day 2, which is on Monday, July 10th at 10 a.m. local time.
PokerNews will have full coverage of this event and all events at the 2023 World Series of Poker.