After 11 full levels of exciting No-Limit action, an enormous field of 2,883 runners has been whittled down to just 239, with yet another tournament reaching the payout phase during the first day of play. Along the way, a number of notables and professional players came and went, while a few unique names surged to the top of the chip counts.
The day saw several professionals try to navigate the minefield known as Day 1 of these low buy-in events, with Olivier Busquet, Athanasios Polychronopoulos, Victor Ramdin, Tony Dunst, Matt Stout, Randy Lew, and Bryan Micon just a few of the pros to go busto before the money bubble burst.
Barry Hutter emerged as the overwhelming chip leader by the time bags were tagged, after amassing a stack of 251,000 to end the night. He will be joined by the regally named Marcus Aurelius (150,800), and Warwick Mirzikinian (111,700), while last year's Main Event runner-up Jesse James Sylvia (83,000) is threatening with a late charge at the end of the night.
The action will resume tomorrow at 1 p.m. local time, with the remaining 239 players returning to the Amazon Room to continue the chase for a gold bracelet. Check back with PokerNews at 1 p.m. local time to follow all of the action live from the floor of the Rio, as the field plays ten levels in hopes of reaching the final table.
Jesse James Sylvia (Seen Here Playing an Earlier WSOP Event) Just Scored a Triple-Up
After a pair of players shoved all in before his turn to act, last year's Main Event runner-up Jesse James Sylvia looked down to find a pair of cowboys in the hole.
After snapping off with his , Sylvia was pleased to see his opponents both held , and after a board full of baby cards rolled out, he notched a huge triple up right before the last level of the night.
The regally named Marcus Aurelius has built what is by far the biggest stack in the room, and he is wielding that power to perfection, conquering everything in sight.
Two recent hands saw Aurelius reraise after an opponent opened, and both times his aggression earned him an easy pot.
First, a player opened for 1,700 from under the gun, and Aurelius casually announced a raise while tossing out five yellow T1000 tournament chips. His opponent folded to the pressure, and another pot was pushed to the tournament's reigning emperor.
A few hands later, another player tried to enter the pot for a raise of 1,600, and once again Aurelius popped it with a three-bet to 5,000. His opponent couldn't stand the heat, and Aurelius added another wing to his enormous chip palace.
Robert Cheung (Seen Here Competing on the WSOP Circuit)
World Series of Poker bracelet holder Robert Cheung just took down a sizable pot with nothing but ace-high.
We caught the action with the flop reading , and Cheung facing a bet of 1,600 from a woman seated to his direct right. Cheung sized his opponent's stack up for a minute, before moving out a stack equal to 3,300 for a raise. The woman flatted, and both players tapped the table on the turn.
When the completed the board on the river, both players checked once again, and Cheung appeared ready to muck if his opponent turned over anything at all. Unfortunately for the woman, her had bricked out, and Cheung smiled while tabling his for an unlikely winner.
After a raise of 1,275 and two callers action was on Amanda Musumeci in the big blind who moved all in for 8,050 total. The original raiser folded and action was on the player in the big blind. Musumeci sat quietly eating a Twix bar while the player on the button made his decision. He tanked for a while before eventually tossing in the chips for the call, leading to a fold from the player in the small blind.
Musumeci:
Button:
As the hand's were being turned over the player on the button said, "I don't have much, but there's so much dead money in the pot." Upon seeing Musumeci's hand all he could muster was an "Oh."
The flop came down giving Musumeci a commanding lead. The turn left the button player drawing dead. The dealer dealt out the on the river giving the button player a meaningless four cards to a flush.
"The three was supposed to be a spade," he joked to Musumeci as he cut out the chips to double her up. With that, Musumeci is sitting on a much healthier stack.
Just before break we caught the bust out of English pro Victoria Coren.
Before the flop Coren got her money in the middle and she was called by one other player. Just to her right, her English cohort Neil Channing wished her luck.
Coren:
Opponent:
The board ran out giving Coren no help to her hand and she was eliminated from the tournament just seven levels through the day.
"Unlucky," Channing said as Coren gathered her things to leave the Brasilia room.
Every poker tournament presents countless opportunities for players to show their true colors, whether they are experiencing the ecstasy of victory or the agony of defeat, but a recent hand saw one player violate poker protocol in a number of troubling ways.
The commotion began when Rob Mason, a Pot-Limit Omaha host for the Players Casino in Ventura, California, took a flop of against a lone opponent. A series of bets and raises moved the player all in, and Mason snap-called in the dream situation, after his connected for quads.
When the opponent saw the bad news, he did the unthinkable, standing to throw his irrelevant at the dealer. The useless pocket pair fluttered in the air, before falling at the feet of another player.
"Card down!," announced the dealer, showing no emotion after the player's Gambit-style attack.
Still fuming after moving all in while drawing dead, the furious player then compounded his lapse in judgment, shoving his now decimated stack into the pot in more of a cannonball than a splash. He then stomped away from the table while the dealer, fellow players, and the floor staff worked to sort through the mess he had created.
When it was all said and done, the still miffed man was forced to return, as he had actually had Mason covered by a small amount.
"Everybody happy?," asked the dealer, once the pot was correctly divided and the chips directed to their rightful owners.
The irony of this question was not lost on the angry player, and he shook his head several times to show that he was anything but happy at the moment.
We came to Marcus Aurelius' table during the aftermath of an obscenely large pot for this stage in the tournament. Aurelius was raking in stacks, and stacks of black, yellow, light blue, and green chips. So many chips in fact that they were overflowing into the spaces next to him.
We didn't catch the hand he won, but a player who was a part of the vicious battle informed us, in a very cliff notes fashion, of what happened.
Apparently, Aurelius called a raise with , and took to a flop with two other players. On the flop of all three players got all the money in the middle creating a massive pot. Aurelius was ahead in the hand with two pair, but he was against for a scary looking overpair, and for the nut flush draw. The board apparently bricked out with a and a and that was it. Aurelius had both players covered and he scooped up the monster potten without any issues, except for the issue of space for his newly acquired stack.
With that, Aurelius now has a stack of over 130,000 going into the blind levels of 200/400 with a 50 ante, which represents a factor of more than 300 big blinds.
"If you don't cash now, you really suck," someone told Aurelius as he was gathering his chips. "You could just sit there and cash." But poker is a swingy game, and anything can happen. One thing is for sure, we'll be keeping our eye on this monster potten winner as the day goes on.
Kenny Nguyen (Seen Here Competing in an Earlier WSOP Event)
After raising to 925 in early position, pro Kenny Nguyen watched Chris Winter throw out a pile of chips, and after asking for a count things got a bit confusing. Winter had pushed 1,425 forward, and it took some sorting to determine whether or not he had made a minimum raise, or simply a call.
The raise stood, and Nguyen was perplexed by the meaning of the bet.
"Now I don't know if you mean to raise or just call," said Nguyen, fishing for some added information. "OK, let's see the flop."
The dealer fanned the across the felt, and both players opted to tap the table. On the turn, Nguyen checked a second time, and his opponent bet 1,800.
"I have a good pocket pair," Nguyen said as he mucked his . "But too many big cards out there."
Despite the setback, Nguyen remains in good spirits, laughing and joking with the rest of the table every few minutes or so.
Winter, however, probably wished Nguyen had flopped a bigger piece of the board, as his was good for the nuts on the turn.
, and Cheung facing a bet of 1,600 from a woman seated to his direct right. Cheung sized his opponent's stack up for a minute, before moving out a stack equal to 3,300 for a raise. The woman flatted, and both players tapped the table on the 
turn.
completed the board on the river, both players checked once again, and Cheung appeared ready to muck if his opponent turned over anything at all. Unfortunately for the woman, her 
had bricked out, and Cheung smiled while tabling his 
for an unlikely winner.
![[user217945]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
giving Musumeci a commanding lead. The turn 
left the button player drawing dead. The dealer dealt out the 
giving Coren no help to her hand and she was eliminated from the tournament just seven levels through the day.
connected for quads.
at the dealer. The useless pocket pair fluttered in the air, before falling at the feet of another player.
, and took to a flop with two other players. On the flop of 
all three players got all the money in the middle creating a massive pot. Aurelius was ahead in the hand with two pair, but he was against 
and a 
and that was it. Aurelius had both players covered and he scooped up the monster potten without any issues, except for the issue of space for his newly acquired stack.
across the felt, and both players opted to tap the table. On the 
was good for the nuts on the turn.
.
