The final World Poker Tour Main Event of the year (but not of the season – that comes in May 2016) kicked off Monday as a “classic” tournament got its cards in the air. About 430 players teed it up for Day 1 of the WPT Five Diamond Poker Classic Main Event at the Bellagio in Las Vegas, with 332 making it through to Day 2. Bruce Kramer leads the field with 148,625 chips.
Kramer has nearly $120,000 in live tournament earnings, so he hasn’t been the most prolific tourney player in the world, but he has certainly earned more than most of us could ever hope to win. Looking at his tournament resume on TheHendonMob.com, he appears to mainly be a low buy-in tourney grinder, with lots of cashes in events that cost less than $200. His cashes were spotty from the 1990’s through the beginning of this decade, but in 2013 he picked up the pace significantly. He cashed eight times from the end of September 2013 through the end of that year and continued finding success through mainly the first half of 2014. Kramer has three lifetime World Poker Tour cashes, including a near-final table at the WPT Lucky Hearts Poker Open in Hollywood, Florida early this year.
Because of the location, prestige, and timing of the WPT Five Diamond Poker Classic, it is full of many of the world’s top pro poker players. That is evident in the top of the leader board, which is populated by the likes of JC Tran, Cliff “Johnny Bax” Josephy, Chris Moorman, and Griffin Paul.
Other notables advancing to the next round are Freddy Deeb, Curt Kohlberg, Paul Volpe, Christian Harder, Taylor Paur, Yevgeniy Timoshenko, Ryan Riess, Joseph Cheong, Darryll Fish, David Sands, Isaac Haxton, Erik Seidel, Phil Laak, Mike Sexton, and Anthony Zinno, just to name a few.
Of course, not everybody survived the day (in the poker sense of the word). Newly crowned 2015 World Series of Poker Main Event champion Joe McKeehen couldn’t keep the magic going and both Vanessa Rousso and Jennifer Tilly failed to hold on to their chips, as well.
All is not lost, though, for the players who were eliminated on Day 1A. They have one more chance to make a run in the tournament if they so choose, as they may pay another $10,400 buy-in to try again on Tuesday, as long as they register before the start of Level 9. Anyone who did not participate on Day 1 may do so, as well.
2015 World Poker Tour Five Diamond Poker Classic Main Event – Day 1 Chip Leaders
1. Bruce Kramer – 148,625
2. Igor Hot – 119,100
3. Robert Zlatkiss – 114,250
4. JC Tran – 109,875
5. Cliff Josephy – 109,675
6. Chris Moorman – 108,625
7. Ian O’Hara – 106,800
8. Griffin Paul – 105,200
9. Lazaro Hernandez – 100,000
10. Peter Neff – 97,150
