John Hennigan Sets Sights on Dealer's Choice Title After Strong Day 1
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The players were more in control of their destiny than any normal event Monday at the 2018 World Series of Poker with Day 1 of Event #12: $1,500 Dealer's Choice 6-Handed. A total of 406 entries gathered to test their luck in 20 different poker variants.
From Big-O to Badacey and all the way down to 5-Card Draw, each player at the tables got to choose their favorite games across ten 60-minute levels. Just 120 runners had what it took to master the various disciplines en route to securing a seat for Day 2.
The field generated a prize pool worth $548,100 that will pay the top 61 spots at least $2,263. Awaiting the eventual champion is a top prize worth $129,882 and of course a shiny, new WSOP gold bracelet.
The man with the best shot thus far is John Hennigan. Hennigan claimed the chip lead in a huge Pot-Limit Omaha pot during the final moments of the night where he flopped a set and got paid on two streets. Hennigan will return for Day 2 with 89,800.
Joining Hennigan at the top of the counts are Andrey Zhigalov (85,275), Xunen Zheng (69,950), Luke Saltus (61,875), Joey Couden (59,325), and Jeff Lisandro (58,025). Craig Chait (50,825), David Funkhouser (50,825), Shirley Rosario (46,550), Chris Vitch (42,025), and Layne Flack (23,175) are just a few of the notables also moving on to Day 2.
Defending champion, David Bach, fired two barrels, missing the target with each to relinquish the title. Former champs, Carol Fuchs and Larry Berg also busted joining the likes of Phil Hellmuth, Daniel Negreanu, Frank Kassela, Shaun Deeb, Shaun Buchanan, James Obst, and Jeff Madsen as casualties seeing their stacks dispersed among the survivors.
Play resumes on Tuesday with Day 2 action kicking off with a 2pm restart. Another ten levels are scheduled with a 60-minute dinner break interrupting play around 8:30pm The third and final day of play is set for Wednesday afternoon and the PokerNews live reporting team will bring you all the action as it happens.