A day ago, both Ryan Hughes and Wagner Wysotchanski took home Spadie trophies by winning side events at the PokerStars North American Poker Tour Las Vegas. They took their shot at the Main Event today on Day 1b and showed the momentum from those wins hadn’t yet worn off.
Hughes, who won the $1,100 Omaha event, ended the day as chip leader over the 163 players who survived the second starting flight. Hughes doubled up early in the day when he picked off a bluff from Michael Berk, then kept climbing all the way up to 304,500.
Wysotchanski earned his victory in a $5,300 Omaha event yesterday and ended up right behind Hughes with 247,500. Wysotchanski jumped into contention for the chip lead late in the day when he called down Mark Egbert with a set of tens to win a massive pot.
Day 1b Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ryan Hughes | United States | 304,500 | 203 |
| 2 | Wagner Wysotchanski | United States | 247,500 | 165 |
| 3 | Talal Shakerchi | United Kingdom | 223,500 | 149 |
| 4 | Michael Liang | United States | 210,500 | 140 |
| 5 | Allen Shen | Canada | 184,000 | 123 |
| 6 | Ehsan Amiri | Australia | 184,000 | 123 |
| 7 | Armin Ojani | Canada | 168,500 | 112 |
| 8 | Manuel Fritz | Austria | 167,000 | 111 |
| 9 | Jonas Wexler | United States | 163,500 | 109 |
| 10 | Niroshan Loganathan | Canada | 161,000 | 107 |
Talal Shakerchi (223,500), Michael Liang (210,500), and Allen Shen (184,000) round out the top five. Other top stacks include Martin Zamani (153,000), Terrance Reid (137,500), David Docherty (132,500), Anthony Zinno (126,000), Marle Spragg (117,000), David Coleman (113,500), and Matthew Wantman (111,500).
It was a star-studded field who packed the Resorts World Las Vegas convention center today as David Peters (101,000), Maria Ho (101,000), Jeremy Becker (91,500), Ethan Yau (58,500), Arlie Shaban (53,000), and Toby Lewis (52,500) also secured their tickets into Day 2. Martin Jacobson (46,000), Ryan Riess (40,500), Chris Moorman (37,500), Michael Wang (37,000), Super High Roller and EPT Barcelona champion Stephen Song (23,500), and Erik Seidel (19,000) return tomorrow on short stacks.
Alexander “Wolfgang Poker” Seibt busted when Shannon Shorr turned a straight to beat his pocket nines. Chance Kornuth, Maria Konnikova, Nick Schulman, Jen Shahade, “Boston Rob” Mariano, and Alejandro Lococo were also among those sent to the rail. They still have an opportunity to chase the title as late registration remains open until the start of Day 2 tomorrow at noon local time.
A total of 466 players entered the second starting flight, joining the 266 from yesterday’s opening flight and 104 from the turbo Day 1c flight to create a field of 836 entries going into Day 2. The prize pool already stands at more than $4 million with a chance to grow even larger with last-minute arrivals. Just 287 players remain when play resumes tomorrow. The action picks up on Level 11 with blinds of 1,000-1,500 and a 1,500 big blind ante as levels increase to 90 minutes. The money bubble is expected to burst late in the day.
PokerNews will be back tomorrow providing live updates as players find out what they are playing for and the race for the money begins.