Day 1B of the World Poker Tour’s stop at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut for the World Poker Finals easily exceeded the Day 1A starting field and will guarantee that the champion of this event will walk away with a million dollar payday.
With 250 players putting up their $10,000 to play on the second Day One, the field cracked the 400 player mark, eventually finishing up at 412. The final fifty players from the field will take away a positive gain from the tournament, with the eventual champion adding $1,120,310 to their bankroll. Still, those playing on Day 1B were concerned with making it through their first day, with the money a distant thought.
While the Day 1B field was larger that the previous day, it was still chocked with top names in the game. It looks as though most of the team from Full Tilt Poker decided to take their shot at the WPF title on Day 1B with Mike “The Mouth” Matusow, Chris Ferguson, Howard Lederer, John Juanda and Phil Ivey coming to the tables. Other notable names included 2006 WPF champion Nenad Medic, Daniel Negreanu, Freddy Deeb and “The Poker Pixie” Anna Wroblewski.
As with Day 1A, the 30,000 starting chip stacks and 90 minute levels on Day 1B led to little action in the first two rounds except for two pros in the field. Noted “Big Game” player Chau Giang was the victim of an unfortunate beat as his pocket Aces were cracked by the pocket tens of Scott Hastings only about thirty minutes into the day; Juanda, however, went the opposite direction as he tripled up against two players with a nut flush.
As Ryan Young and then Steve Brecher took their turns at the lead, all eyes were on Phil Ivey as play stretched into the night. Ivey demonstrated why he is considered one of the best in the game today as he gradually passed Brecher and took over the chip lead. By the time play had ended for the evening, Ivey was sitting on a stack of 183,675, just short of Day 1A leader Jason Potter.
Others would not be as fortunate. Joining the unfortunate Chau Giang on the rail were Vanessa Selbst, Juan Carlos Mortensen, Eli Elezra, Medic and Lederer, who fought a short stack for most of the final level of play. By the time the night ended, 150 players had survived and will join up with the 99 players from Day 1A as the field combines this afternoon.
As the chips prepare to fly for Day Two, here’s a look at the Top Ten:
1. Jason Potter 183,825
2. Phil Ivey 183,675
3. Richard Dabal 169,150
4. Vadim Trincher 163,600
5. Steve Gross 145,025
6. Jonathan Jaffe 141,000
7. Kevin Saul 135,350
8. Jonathan Little 131,400
9. Will Failla 124,800
10. Gavin Smith 124,325
Poker News Daily will continue to keep you abreast of the action at Foxwoods as the remaining 249 players work their way to the WPT World Poker Finals final table, set for November 11th.