McKeehen Bags Big on Day 1 of Event #60: $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em
After ten levels of play at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas, the 2024 World Series of Poker Event #60: $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em has wrapped up for the night with many big names finding a bag for Day 2.
With 1,441 entries on Day 1, It was Yanfeng Wang of China and Jose Ferreira who tied for the chip lead with 369,000 each. All those entrants created a prize pool that currently stands at $4,320,000. This figure is expected to grow, as late registration is open until the end of the second level on Day 2 (~2:15 p.m.), which kicks off at noon local time on Tuesday, June 25.
Bagging one of the biggest stacks in the room was 2015 WSOP Main Event winner Joe McKeehen with 203,000 in chips, enough for a place in the top 10 percent of the overnight counts. Since winning the Main Event for $7,683,346, McKeehen has claimed two more gold bracelets: one in a Limit Championship event in 2017 and another from a High Roller online. With over $20,000,000 in live tournament earnings, McKeehen won’t be fazed by the payouts from this event and is certainly a player no one will want at their table on Day 2.
End of Day 1 Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chips | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yanfeng Wang | United States | 369,000 | 185 |
| 2 | Jose Ferreira | Brazil | 369,000 | 185 |
| 3 | Daniel Gagne | Canada | 363,000 | 182 |
| 4 | Yan Li | China | 347,500 | 174 |
| 5 | Stephen Kehoe | United States | 333,000 | 167 |
| 6 | Homan Mohammadi | Germany | 324,500 | 162 |
| 7 | Ramaswamy Pyloore | United States | 306,500 | 153 |
| 8 | Brian Barker | United States | 298,000 | 149 |
| 9 | Darius Samual | United Kingdom | 290,000 | 145 |
| 10 | Carl Shaw | United Kingdom | 283,000 | 142 |
Another bracelet winner to maneuver her way to bagging a big stack was Jessica Teusl of Austria with 221,000 in chips. Teusl won her bracelet and achieved a career-high score of $166,975 in 2022 from a Ladies Championship event. Just two weeks prior to her bracelet win that same year, she finished eighth in the Monster Stack Event, securing her first-ever six-figure score. She will have the chance to top that if she manages to make a deep run in this event over the next few days.
Some other notables who made it through include Bill Klein, Brad Ruben, Brandon Sheils, Kristen Foxen, Benjamin Spragg, David Coleman, and Faraz Jaka.
A few notables who didn’t manage to bag up a stack were Bin Weng, David Peters, and 2006 Main Event winner Jamie Gold. However, all these players and more still have a chance to be crowned champion of this prestigious event as one reentry is allowed. Reentries and late registration remain open until the end of Level 12 on Tuesday (~2:15 p.m.).
Day 2 gets underway at noon local time on June 25, with blinds starting at 1,000/2,000 and a big blind ante of 2,000. The plan is to play through ten more 60-minute levels before the remaining players bag up their chips again before the start of the third day of play.
Stay tuned for all the excitement as the PokerNews live reporting team covers Day 2, along with our comprehensive summer-long coverage of the 2024 WSOP at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas.