Kenny Hsiung Leads Final 160 Players; 2017 Runner-Up Venkata Tayi Not Far Behind
Play has concluded on Day 1 of Event #13: $1,500 Limit Hold'em, and after 15 levels it's World Series of Poker bracelet winner Kenny Hsiung who leads the way into Day 2.
Hsiung, who won his bracelet in a $3,000 version of this event in 2012, finished the night with 248,500 chips. Right behind him is a player who's no stranger to going deep in this event. Venkata Tayi was runner-up in 2017 and got off to a great start this time, bagging up 238,000.
Event #12: $1,500 Limit Hold'em Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenny Hsiung | United States | 248,500 |
| 2 | Venkata Tayi | United States | 238,000 |
| 3 | Jesse Lonis | United States | 208,000 |
| 4 | David Gee | United States | 188,000 |
| 5 | Frank Yakubson | United States | 173,000 |
| 6 | Jon Kyte | Norway | 168,500 |
| 7 | Wendy Freedman | United States | 164,000 |
| 8 | Brian Nichols | United States | 163,000 |
| 9 | Thanh Cao | United States | 158,000 |
| 10 | Tom Schneider | United States | 157,500 |
Jesse Lonis (208,000), former Player of the Year Robert Campbell (100,500), WSOP veteran Kevin Song (70,500), and Brandon Shack-Harris (48,500) also survived the day. Defending champion Yuval Bronshtein made it through Day 1 but will come back tomorrow on a short stack of 42,500.
Not everyone was fortunate to survive the day. Over the course of 10 hours of play, Daniel Negreanu, Shaun Deeb, Adam Friedman, and Eli Elezra all hit the rail. Just 160 players out of the starting field of 522 survived with their dreams of winning the bracelet still alive.
Play will resume tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. local time inside the Bally's Event Center. The remaining players will play ten hour-long levels on their way toward the money and the final table. Blinds will pick up on Level 16 at 2,000-4,000, with 4,000-8,000 limits.
The PokerNews team will be there providing all the live updates and chip counts as the field continues to get whittled down on Day 2.
and called. His opponent bet again on the 
turn.
river.
for the flopped full house that was good enough to take down another big pot and add to his massive stack.
. The small blind bet and both Kevin Song and Wendy Freedman made the call.
fell on the turn, the small blind bet again, was called by both players.
hit the river, the small blind and Song quickly checked. Freedman hesitated before deciding to check back. The small blind tabled 
for ace-high, Song showed 
and Freedman took down the pot with 
, turning a pair of eights.
and Moncek led out with a bet.
turn. The river came the 
and Moncek bet again. Negreanu quickly called.
for flopped trips that turned into a full house. Negreanu let out a laugh and flashed 
before mucking.
. Loper bet from under the gun before Bronshtein re-raised. Pike called and Loper called all in for less.
and Pike called another bet from Bronshtein, creating a side pot. Pike checked dark as the river came the 
, and Bronshtein checked behind.
while the defending champion mucked. Pike took the side pot, while he and Loper chopped the main pot.
hit the turn and fireworks exploded. Shack-Harris check-raised his opponent who immediately put in a third bet as he dropped a stack of all mixed color chips across the line. Shack-Harris responded with a raise and his opponent snap-capped it. Shack-Harris called.
. Shack-Harris tabled 
and Gupta led out. Nasr and the other player folded, and Gupta showed 
, becoming one of the first casualties of the day.
