Raymond Chen Leads Record Field Chasing $403,483 in Event #56
While most of the focus at the WSOP today was on The Big One for One Drop, Event #56: $1,000 No-Limit Hold'Em Tournament was quietly setting a record of its own.
At the beginning of the first level on Day 1 there were 1,488 registered entrants but by the close of registration at the start of level seven that number had increased dramatically to 2,525, smashing the total of 1,837 who played last year.
A total prize pool of $2,272,500 has been generated paying 270 places starting at $1,840.The winner will get $403,483 as well as a gold WSOP bracelet.
The best placed man at the end of Day 1 to get his hands on that is Raymond Chen who dramatically seized the lead with just minutes of play to go. Chen returns as the chip leader on 130,400.
Second place is held by Neo Hoang with 127,400 who had a big stack for most of the day, and third place is Brian Altman with 106,900 who had the chance to grab the lead but lost a big pot near the end as he put it, "going for it."
The money bubble burst in the last level of the night, and as soon as that happened the remaining field dropped quickly from 270 to the 206 players who finished up with chips and will return tomorrow.
Some of the notables who turned up to play but failed to make Day 2 include Barry Greenstein, Phil Laak, Randy “nanonoko” Lew, Ryan Riess and Dutch Boyd. There were also a few big names that bought in at the last minute for ten big blinds but didn’t manage to last long, Ole Schemion, Andrew Lichtenberger and Martin Finger were among them.
Play resumes tomorrow at 1 p.m. when the field will play ten more levels or until the final table of nine is reached, whichever comes first. Join the PokerNews team for up to the minute news on big hands and bust outs on the march to another huge pay day here at the 45th World Series of Poker.