The first-ever WPT at Venetian opened with 223 entries and 113 returning for Day 2 play on Sunday. Eric Worre (pictured) took the early initiative with 242,000 and leads the pack. The entrepreneur and poker enthusiast is a Venetian regular and is looking for his first WPT cash.
Worre surged late in the day by eliminating Rep Porter in a flip and used that momentum to climb to the top of the leaderboard. Worre is far from the only player with a sizable stack as two other players bagged more than 200,000.
Season XVI WPT L.A. Poker Classic final tablist Peter Hengsakul bagged 217,000 and Season XVII WPT Montreal winner Patrick Serda (210,000) are both at the top of the counts.
The field was full of notables on Day 1a at The Venetian Resort and some of the other well-known players who booked a trip to Day 2 include Adam Levy (173,500), Maria Ho (153,600), Marc Macdonnell (148,800), Season XVII WPT Rolling Thunder final tablist Jerry Robinson (137,500), WPT Gardens fifth-place finisher Ray Qartomy (116,900), and two-time Champions Club member J.C. Tran (114,600).
Other Champions Club members who bagged include Freddy Deeb (113,300), Dylan Linde (102,100), David Williams (85,300), Jason Brin (81,000), and Lee Markholt (70,900).
Linde is a Hublot Player of the Year contender and some of the other players competing in the race who advanced are Ping Liu (53,600), Jake Schwartz (28,800), and Frank Stepuchin (59,300). Current leader Erkut Yilmaz will be in the field on Day 1b.
Day 1b action starts at 12:10 pm local time with the $1 million guarantee a lock to be hit early in the day. Stay tuned to WPT.com for complete coverage of the WPT at Venetian.
Photography by Joe Giron / PokerPhotoArchive
Looking to win your way to a World Poker Tour event for your shot at becoming a WPT champion? Play for your chance on ClubWPT.com, where eligible VIP Members can play for over $100,000 in cash and prizes each month, including seats to WPT events, no purchase necessary.