Day 1 of the Season XVI WPT Bellagio Elite Poker Championship $10,400 Main Event came to a close Tuesday night with 62 players advancing to Day 2 from a field of 88 entries. Leading the way after the opening day was Adrian Garduno (pictured) with a stack of 112,000 in chips.
The first five 90-minute levels were played, with another five 90-minute levels on the schedule for Wednesday. Registration and reentry will remain open until the start of Level 9, which will be approximately 5:15 p.m. local time on Day 2, and players are allowed one reentry.
One of the pots to helped Garduno secure the chip lead happened in the final level of Day 1, when Garduno took out Sam Phillips. Garduno had to come from behind to do it, cracking Phillips’ pocket kings with pocket tens thanks to running out a straight.
According to HendonMob.com, Garduno entered this event with $334,897 in career live tournament earnings. His records show three prior WPT Main Tour cashes, including a 14th-place finish from WPT Choctaw earlier this season that earned Garduno $37,256. The largest cash of Garduno’s live tournament career came in 2007 when he took third in an $1,100 event at the Red River Round Up for $70,000.
Paul Kuzmich was the only other player to bag more than 100,000 in chips, finishing on a stack of 103,975.
Elsewhere on the leaderboard to end Day 1, WPT Champions Club members Jesse Sylvia (67,100), Anthony Zinno (56,225), and Niall Farrell (45,000) can be found just to name a few.
Busting out on the day were WPT champions Nick Schulman, Justin Young, Jonathan Jaffe, and Eric Afriat. Phil Hellmuth, host of the WPT Raw Deal, was also eliminated on Day 1. As long as those players didn’t fire a second bullet, they’ll have the opportunity to reenter should they want to up until the start of Level 9.
Day 2 will see the field return to Bellagio for action that starts at 12 p.m. local time on Wednesday. Be sure to keep it locked right here to WPT.com for continued coverage of the Season XVI WPT Bellagio Elite Poker Championship.
Photography by Jayne Furman / PokerPhotoArchive.com
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.