Galen Hall Bags Chip Lead on Day 1 of Event #23: $10,000 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Championship
After ten levels of play filled with jokes, sweats and some exciting poker, it is Galen Hall who has bagged the chip lead with 389,800 at the end of Day 1 in Event #23: $10,000 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Championship.
Hall has one WSOP cash in this format, coming back in 2012 where he cashed the $1,500 event in 32nd place. Hall is also yet to cash a WSOP event this year, but once registration closes at the start of Day 2, he will be in a prime position to record his first one.
Hall was closely followed by three-time bracelet winner Benny Glaser (352,000). Glaser min-cashed the $1,500 8-Game earlier in the day before switching to the single-game format. Glaser already has three bracelets, with one of those coming in the 2015 $1,500 2-7 Triple Draw.
Behind the pair were Timothy McDermott (304,800), Stephen Chidwick (222,800) and Dario Sammartino (212,500).
Defending champion John Monnette also bagged (90,000) along with multiple bracelet-winners John Hennigan (135,100), Billy Baxter (94,000), Erik Seidel (91,8000), Chris Ferguson (85,500) and Eli Elezra (51,400).
Other notables through to Day 2 include Scott Seiver (142,600), Mike Wattel (135,500), Jean-Robert Bellande (100,800), German professional soccer player Max Kruse (72,800), Darren Elias (70,600), Illya Trincher (42,200) and Shaun Deeb (30,100).
The first player to bust was last year's $10,000 Razz Championship runner-up Eric Kurtzman who lost out to McDermott when his pat-nine came up against his opponent's pat-eight.Frank Kassela and Mark Weitzman would also bust early on, with Kassela taking advantage of the single re-entry.
There was no runaway chip leader in the first four levels of play, with Mike Wattel, Kruse and James Chen all hovering around the double starting stack mark. It wasn't until after the second break that Alex Foxen moved clear and established himself as a real contender for chip leader after eliminating Calvin Anderson.
Glaser joined Foxen with a stack in excess of 200,000 and Hall would push the envelope further, chipping up to over 300,000 as the night drew to a close. Late entries from the likes of Shaun Deeb, Jean-Robert Bellande, Mike Leah and Chris Ferguson would make things interesting as they looked to chip up, but by the end of the night it was Hall who bagged the chip lead.
The remaining players will return tomorrow at 2 p.m. for Day 2. Registration and reentry are open until the start of the day tomorrow, so keep following PokerNews to see who else will be jumping into the action.
| Room | Table | Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon | 430 | 1 | Jyri Merivirta | Finland | 92,100 | 31 |
| Amazon | 430 | 2 | James Alexander | United States | 15,500 | 5 |
| Amazon | 430 | 3 | Adam Owen | United Kingdom | 37,600 | 13 |
| Amazon | 430 | 4 | Eli Elezra | United States | 51,400 | 17 |
| Amazon | 430 | 5 | Mike Wattel | United States | 132,500 | 44 |
| Amazon | 430 | 6 | Mike Leah | Canada | 30,500 | 10 |
| Amazon | 431 | 1 | Timothy Mcdermott | United States | 304,800 | 102 |
| Amazon | 431 | 2 | Scott Seiver | United States | 142,600 | 48 |
| Amazon | 431 | 3 | Jesse Martin | United States | 75,800 | 25 |
| Amazon | 431 | 4 | Galen Hall | United States | 389,800 | 130 |
| Amazon | 431 | 6 | Ray Dehkharghani | United States | 203,900 | 68 |
| Amazon | 431 | 7 | Philip Sternheimer | United States | 104,600 | 35 |
| Amazon | 438 | 1 | Darren Elias | United States | 70,600 | 24 |
| Amazon | 438 | 2 | Xavier Kyablue | United States | 85,600 | 29 |
| Amazon | 438 | 4 | Shawn Sheikhan | United States | 73,600 | 25 |
| Amazon | 438 | 6 | Chris Ferguson | United States | 88,500 | 30 |
| Amazon | 438 | 7 | John Monnette | United States | 90,000 | 30 |
| Amazon | 439 | 1 | Paul Volpe | United States | 128,300 | 43 |
| Amazon | 439 | 2 | Daniel Zack | United States | 165,600 | 55 |
| Amazon | 439 | 3 | Nick Schulman | United States | 105,800 | 35 |
| Amazon | 439 | 4 | Billy Baxter | United States | 94,000 | 31 |
| Amazon | 439 | 6 | Farzad Bonyadi | United States | 87,300 | 29 |
| Amazon | 439 | 7 | Cary Katz | United States | 59,900 | 20 |
| Amazon | 445 | 1 | Frank Kassela | United States | 19,200 | 6 |
| Amazon | 445 | 3 | Dario Sammartino | Italy | 212,500 | 71 |
| Amazon | 445 | 4 | James Chen | Taiwan | 17,500 | 6 |
| Amazon | 445 | 5 | Mikhail Zlotnik | United States | 84,200 | 28 |
| Amazon | 445 | 6 | Jean-Robert Bellande | United States | 100,800 | 34 |
| Amazon | 446 | 1 | Benny Glaser | United Kingdom | 352,000 | 117 |
| Amazon | 446 | 2 | Shaun Deeb | United States | 30,100 | 10 |
| Amazon | 446 | 4 | John Hennigan | United States | 135,100 | 45 |
| Amazon | 446 | 5 | Illya Trincher | United States | 92,200 | 31 |
| Amazon | 446 | 6 | Stephen Chidwick | United Kingdom | 222,800 | 74 |
| Amazon | 447 | 1 | Kane Kalas | United States | 47,200 | 16 |
| Amazon | 447 | 3 | Erik Seidel | United States | 91,800 | 31 |
| Amazon | 447 | 5 | Larry Wright (TX) | United States | 74,500 | 25 |
| Amazon | 447 | 6 | Max Kruse | Germany | 72,800 | 24 |
| Amazon | 447 | 7 | Mike Gorodinsky | United States | 126,500 | 42 |
