A quaint field of 92 players turned out for Day 1 of the Hollywood Poker Open, a stop on the World Poker Tour (WPT). Registration remains open until 1:00pm ET on Sunday prior to Day 2 of the $10,000 buy-in tournament and Ali Eslami leads the way with a stack of 147,000.
It should come as no surprise that Eslami is out in front. He’s a few days removed from a win in the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Circuit Regional Championship in San Diego for $282,000 after defeating a similar-sized field of 98. He boosted his chip stack at the tail end of the day in the WPT event after betting 11,000 on a board of J-8-4-K-6 with three spades. Steve Russell called and promptly mucked when Eslami showed a king-high flush.
Among those making headlines in the Indiana poker tournament on Saturday was WSOP November Niner Joseph Cheong, who open-shoved all-in on a board of A-10-8-K armed with A-Q for top pair. However, Anthony Utnage showed A-K for aces-up and no straight came through for “subiime” on the river. In case you’re wondering, Utnage finished in 23rd place after Day 1 of the Hollywood Poker Open with a stack of 44,250.
Erik Seidel continued his reign of terror in small-field tournaments. The 2011 National Heads-Up Poker Championship winner knocked out fellow poker pro Jeremiah Vinsant after flopping a straight with 6-3.
Prior to entering the tournament, Seidel attended an Eric Clapton concert and Tweeted, “I love stories of ppl who overcome childhood adversity, so impressed Eric Clapton overcame the misspelling of his 1st name.” That’s a play on Seidel ending his first name with a “K,” by the way.
It’s always a good time to crack aces. For Williams Reynolds, the joy came at the expense of Bodog pro Amanda Musumeci, who watched in agony as Reynolds hit a four-flush to snap off her bullets and double up. Reynolds finished Day 1 in 38th place with a stack of 31,550, while Musumeci can be found in 25th with 42,000 after a strong finish.
WPT host Mike Sexton also survived Day 1, albeit not by much. Sexton owns the second shortest stack in the field at 8,525 entering Day 2, but was looking forward to playing in his employer’s poker tournament. Sexton Tweeted before heading to the Hollywood Poker Open, “Off to our WPT event in Indiana today. Hospitality was great there last year and the poker room is as nice as any you’ll ever see.”
Here are the top 10 chip stacks after one day of play in the WPT Hollywood Poker Open:
1. Ali Eslami – 147,000
2. Richard Pflum – 141,000
3. Tom Marchese – 92,275
4. Steve Russell – 92,050
5. Matthew Sterling – 90,000
6. Allen Kessler – 85,400
7. Steve Barshak – 82,825
8. Hoyt Corkins – 82,225
9. James Sieg – 81,325
10. David Anthony – 81,075
Other brand name players that remain, along with their chip counts, include:
16. Erik Seidel – 63,325
17. Shannon Shorr – 61,000
21. Jonathan “FieryJustice” Little – 47,375
25. Amanda Musumeci – 42,075
35. Jack McClelland – 33,800
38. William Reynolds – 31,550
53. Keven “Stamdogg” Stammen – 12,950
56. Mike Sexton – 8,525
The blinds were at 200-400 when the action finished up on Saturday and 57 players are still standing. Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest WPT results.