The first-ever WPT500 Los Angeles wrapped up its Day 1s on Monday, and the final tally of entries came in at a whopping 3,266. The event’s $1 million guarantee was smashed thanks to the massive turnout and a $1.633 million prize pool was generated. The winner is slated to take home $224,500 for a huge result stemming from a $565 buy-in.
Of the 3,266 entries, just 250 advanced to Day 2, which will take place Tuesday starting at 1 p.m. PT at The Gardens Casino. Leading the pack was Thu Nguyen (pictured below) with a towering stack of 850,000 coming from Day 1k on Sunday.
Other notables advancing to Day 2 were Owen Crowe (690,000), Allan Le (599,000), Nick Grippo (370,000), and Frankie Flowers (273,000).
WPT500 Los Angeles Day 1 Top 10
1. Thu Nguyen – 850,000
2. Dong Le – 766,000
3. Owen Crowe – 690,000
4. Mark Peckham – 601,000
5. Allan Le – 599,000
6. Chaz Wexler – 585,000
7. Brett Murray – 561,000
8. Jason Leifer – 497,000
9. Devin Jackson – 494,000
10. Roy Colman – 455,000
Nguyen received a nice jolt to his stack at the end of Day 1k. On a flop of 
, Calvin Chan was all in with the 
for top two pair and a backdoor flush draw. Nguyen was his opponent holding the 
. Although Nguyen was behind when the money went in, the 
on the turn gave him a set and an unbeatable position. The river completed the board with the 
, and Chan was eliminated.
Mike Shariati, Season XIV Hublot WPT Player of the Year, bagged up a stack of 140,000, Sean Yu, winner of WPT500 Las Vegas in 2014, finished on 133,000, and WPT Champions Club member Mohsin Charania finished Day 1 with a stack of 88,000.
Once the WPT500 Los Angeles field reaches the final 54 players, the Action Clock by Protection Poker will be implemented, giving players 30 seconds per decision. Players will have a limited number of time extensions available to them.
All of the remaining players have reached the money in this event, guaranteed $1,300 with a pay jump to $1,500 coming with 237 players remaining. The goal for Day 2 of WPT500 Los Angeles is to play down to the final table of nine, where the competitors will be guaranteed $21,000 in prize money and return for the live stream to take place on Wednesday, May 31, starting at 3 p.m. PT.
Be sure to stay tuned to WPT.com for continued coverage of the first-ever WPT500 Los Angeles.