It was no surprise that Day 1A of the 2014 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event was a little light; the first flight usually is. Pro poker players don’t normally like to have multiple days to wait before Day 2 if they make it through Day 1 and those that flew in just for this tournament, particularly amateurs, don’t want to have to pay for extra hotel room nights if they don’t have to. Thus, the 771 players on Day 1A isn’t a big deal. Day 1B was more like it, though. With 2,144 players paying the $10,000 to sit, Sunday really looked like the Main Event. Trey Luxembruger emerged from the second starting flight as the chip leader with 193,450 chips, just ahead of Sargis Haobian, who has 190,125, and Ryan Buckholtz, who has 189,000.
It would be quite the accomplishment for either of the top two players should they go on to make the money. According to TheHendonMob.com database, Luxembruger has never cashed in a live poker tournament, while Hakobian has done it once for just $550. The minimum payday of what will likely be $20,000-plus would certainly be welcomed by both players. Of course, there is still a long, long way to go in the Main Event and typically, we don’t see early chip leaders stay at the top of the leaderboard. But hey, anytime someone has chips, they have a shot, so we’ll see what happens.
A number of big names survived Day 1B including former Main Event champions Dan Harrington (1995) and Huck Seed (1996), who, in a twist of fate, were seated next to each other for much of the day. They finished with 35,200 and 22,750 chips, respectively, well behind the chip leaders.
Someone very close to the chip leaders is eight-time WSOP bracelet winner and former Main Event runner-up Erik Seidel, who closed Day 1B with 134,025 chips, putting him just outside the top ten. Other notables in six-figure territory are Matt Affleck (122,150), Taylor Paur (116,600), Marvin Rettenmaier (115,000), David Williams (104,100), and Brian Hastings (100,350).
A number of other “name” players made it through Sunday: Vanessa Selbst, Liv Boeree, David Bach, Jeff Madsen, Phil Galfond, Faraz Jaka, and Dennis Phillips. Actor and comedian Ray Romano, who plays in the Main Event every year, also made it through to Day 2, though he’s struggling with just 15,150 chips.
Day 1C is expected to be enormous; part way through yesterday, the WSOP reported that Day 1C registrations had already eclipsed Day 1B. It sounds like there is a very good chance for the 2014 Main Event field to be bigger than last year’s field of 6,352. It will need 3,438 entrants on Monday to do it. It is still amazingly unlikely for it to break the all-time Main Event record of 8,773, set in 2006. Today is also the day we will find out what the prize pool and overall first prize will be.
2014 World Series of Poker Main Event – Day 1B Chip Leaders
1. Trey Luxembruger – 193,450
2. Sargis Hakobian – 190,125
3. Ryan Buckholtz – 189,000
4. Daniel Wirgau – 173,350
5. Ryan Julius – 165,125
6. Maxim Panyak – 158,425
7. Jeff Norman – 156,625
8. Julian Stuer – 155,200
9. Steve Ryan – 147,500
10. Richard Moon – 146,200
