It was a historic day at the World Series of Poker, as it became official that this year’s WSOP Main Event would be the biggest in the series’ 53-year history. After a hearty speech from Chris Moneymaker (who finished the day with 143,100) and a “Shuffle Up and Deal” declaration by 100-year-old participant Gene Calden, more than 4,100 runners took their seats and got to the business of trying to make Day 2.
Some official numbers from the past three days were released with Day 1A fetching 1,039 runners, Day 1B slightly more with 1,118 entries, and Day 1C bringing out 3,077 players – putting the 2006 record of 8,773 within reach. Early on Day 1D, the record was broken, and now all eyes are focused on just how big this Main Event field can get.
One of the unexpected surprises of the day was just how orderly everything was. The crowds were big but the lines were not as, basically, all of the available tables in both venues were allocated for the Main Event. People who late registered were seated immediately, and tables played nine-handed all day long. In fact, Day 1C was more hectic and chaotic in how it played out than the final starting flight.
Now that all four starting flights are in the rearview mirror and the anticipation of a record is in the books, the real fun begins. Day 2ABC will see a massive field of 3,865 players converge at noon local time on Friday for another five levels of action. Players will still have three levels and the dinner break to enter on each of the next two days. We’ll be keeping our eye on tough table draws, clashing superstars, and who, if anyone, will be the first to cross the million-chip mark.
What We Saw on Day 1D
On a day filled mostly with order, some chaos took place when 17-time WSOP bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth made his annual costumed debut. This year, with Katy Perry’s “Roar” blasting throughout both ballrooms at The Horseshoe, Hellmuth entered dressed as The Greatest Showman with not just 17 models in tow, but Dan “Jungleman” Cates being pulled in a cage dressed in full makeup as a lion. It was wild.
As with every starting day, there were a number of notables who were taking a seat in their first-ever Main Event. Yesterday we talked to indie rock star Christian Holden from the band The Hotelier who was seated with Brian Rast throughout the day. Today, we caught up with chess superstar Alexandra Botez, who had been putting in the work on her live tournament game and enjoying some early success on the day and finished the day with 117,000 in chips.
Who Are The Day 1D Chip Leaders?
1. Nicholas Rigby – 408,800 – With the largest stack on Day 1D, Pennsylvania’s Nicholas Rigby finished all starting flights as the overall chip leader. You might remember Rigby for playing the “Dirty Diaper” hand (the 32 off-suit) on the WSOP Main Event livestream in 2021. That year he scored his only recorded WSOP cash with a 52nd-place finish in the Main Event for $136,100. In fact, he only has five total live recorded scores to his name for just over $180,000 but being off to a quick start, he may add one more to the list this year.
2. Brittney Stout – 375,500 – Stout was off to a fast start on Day 1D, topping the chip counts early. With live results dating back to 2016, Stout also does a good deal of playing online in WSOP events. Her largest score to date came back in 2019 when she made the final table of a WPT Borgata Poker Open side event for $27,544. In total, Stout has nearly $80,000 in total career live earnings. Part of a poker-playing couple, she is married to professional poker player Matt Stout.
3. Neel Murthy – 323,100 – From San Francisco, Neel Murthy is a longtime player with more than a decade of live results. The most prominent was a second-place finish in the 2016 APPT Championship of Poker in Macau for a career-high $663,024. He has eight cashes in WSOP events, for a total of just over $43,000, including a 45th-place finish in the 2017 $2,620 Marathon.
4. Chris Hunichen – 321,200 – Known as one of the most dominant online players of his era, Chris Hunichen is also a live tournament crusher with $10.8 million in lifetime cashes. Although ‘Big Huni’ has yet to win a bracelet, he’s achieved nearly everything else. He has three seven-figure scores including a third-place finish in the 2022 WSOP $250,000 Super High Roller for $1.9 million. He also boasts an EPT Barcelona €10,300 High Roller win for $927,408, and a Super High Roller Bowl online event victory for $479,500, and a runner-up finish in the 2020 WSOP Online $25,000 PPC for $1.3 million just to name a few.
5. Carlos Leiva – 318,700 – Argentina’s Carlos Levia has just a handful of live results over the past nine years, two of which are WSOP scores. Just last year, Leiva made a run in the 2022 Main Event, going deep-ish to finish 191st place for $53,900. His biggest career score took place in 2015 when he won the Circuito Argentino de Poker Buenos Aires for $103,491.
Who’s Moving On, Who Isn’t
With so many people coming out for Day 1D and a structure so deep, there are plenty of big names left in the field including Chance Kornuth (241,500), Ari Engel (203,000), Victor Ramdin (164,400), Quig Liu (152,200), Jonathan Little (150,200), Giorgii Skhulukhia (138,700), Anthony Zinno (137,900), Kathy Liebert (127,000), Joe Hachem (125,300), Qui Nguyen (124,800), Phil Hellmuth (105,800) and Phil Ivey (78,300) and among many, many others.
Among those who hit the rail on Day 1D were Bryn Kenney, Hossein Ensan, Kane Kalas, Vanessa Kade, Daniel Cates, Josh Reichard, Stephen Song, Sofia Lovgren, Matt Affleck, Felipe Ramos, Ka Kwan Lau, Dan Heimiller, and the aforementioned 100-year old Gene Calden who received a hearty round of applause from the Blue Section when he busted.
Tables We’re Looking Forward to on Day 2ABC
At Table 79 in Paris, Mike Matusow (Seat 6, 116,200) – who we talked to recently about his Hall of Fame chances – will play with Jamie Kerstetter (Seat 8, 64,000) to start the day. Paris Table 16 has Blake Bohn (Seat 2, 52,400), Shawn Cunix (Seat 4, 201,400), and Matt Glantz (Seat 7, 142,600). Paris Table 44 has a couple of Quebecois in defending WPT World Championship winner Eliot Hudon (Seat 3, 105,000) and former November Niner Marc-Etienne McLaughlin (Seat 7, 45,600), along with Sean Troha (Seat 2, 82,600) and throwback Jordan Morgan (Seat 9, 81,700).
Over in the Horseshoe, Table 415 Jean Gaspard (Seat 1, 120,000), Cord Garcia (Seat 5, 143,400), and Jeff Lisandro (Seat 8, 149,500) will mix it up. Table 451 will feature Donnacha O’Dea (Seat 2, 47,000), Andrew Lichtenberger (Seat 6, 63,000) and John Duthie (Seat 7, 93,300). Table 496 has Peter Jetten (Seat 2, 103,400), Max Pescatori (Seat 3, 85,000) and Humberto Brenes (Seat 5, 285,000). And, finally, Table 489, another potential featured table candidate, has both Faraz Jaka (Seat 4, 213,100) and Alex Foxen (Seat 7, 103,400).