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Main Event fever gripped the 2024 World Series of Poker (WSOP) at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas on Day 38 of the series, with over 1,700 players choosing Day 1b to begin their quest to become poker’s world champion.
Two players won bracelets while the Main Event continued around them. Georgios Skarparis took down Event #78: $1,000 Mini Main Event No-Limit Hold’em after defeating Alexandre Barbaranelli. Skarparis won $554,925 and a gold bracelet, becoming only the second Cypriot behind Menikos Panayiotou to win a WSOP bracelet-awarding event.
The second bracelet of the night went Daniel Perkusic; it came with a mammoth-sized $2,100,325 payday. The Germany triumphed in Event #79: $50,000 High Roller Pot-Limit Omaha, overcoming a final table housing the likes of Brian Rast, David Benyamine, Santhosh Suvarna, Jim Collopy, and runner-up Danny Tang.
George Dolofan Claims the $10,000 Main Event Day 1b Chip Lead
Approximately 830 players entered Event #81: $10,000 WSOP Main Event World Championship on Day 1b, a significant drop on the 1,118 of last year, but it was to be expected with Fourth of July celebrations going on in Las Vegas and around the United States.
Many of those entering on Day 1b postponed Independence Day celebrations and got their grind on instead, including George Dolofan (314,000), who was the only player to eclipse 300,000 chips at the end of five two-hour long levels. Dolofan third-largest cash came from cashing in the 2007 WSOP Main Event.
Matthew Sabia (297,400) and Patrick Hagenlocher (270,300) finished Day 1b in the podium positions.
The legendary ten-time bracelet winner Erik Seidel (183,600) got off to a flying start, and finds himself in the top 25 of the overnight chip counts Seidel revealed to PokerNews that he was happy at trebling his stack, but compared the Main Event to playing the lottery due to the massive odds one must overcome to win.
Slightly further down the chip counts are Artur Martirosian (166,300), and the 2019 WSOP Main Event champion Hossein Ensan (166,000). Two other Main Event champs were in the mix today. Koray Aldemir bagged up a healthy 94,300, but Greg Raymer, who instructed the dealer to shuffle up and deal at the start of play, fell by the wayside before the day’s end.
Almost four dozen bracelet winners or $25 Fantasy Draft players punched their Day 2 tickets from this flight. Dan Shak (153,500), David “Bakes” Baker (145,200) and Ben Yu (125,600) each finished in the top 100, with Toby Lewis (106,000), Seth Davies (73,900), and Renan Bruschi (60,300) finishing Day 1b with more chips than they started with.
Among those with a little more work to do on Day 2 are Anthony Zinno (45,700), Triple Crown winner Jake Cody (32,100), and Patrick Leonard (18,800).
Day 1c shuffles up and deals at 12:00 p.m. local time on July 5, with those players grinding our five two-hour-long levels. Day 1d starts at the same time on July 6. The Day 1c survivors will join those who made it through Day 1a and Day 1 b for Day 2abc on July 7, while Day 1d players will progress to Day 2d on July 8.
As always, stay tuned to PokerNews through the 2024 WSOP Main Event.
Event #81: $10,000 WSOP Main Event World Championship Day 1b Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chips | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | George Dolofan | United States | 314,000 | 393 |
| 2 | Matthew Sabia | United States | 297,400 | 372 |
| 3 | Patrick Hagenlocher | United States | 270,300 | 338 |
| 4 | Vladas Tamasauskas | Lithuania | 268,300 | 335 |
| 5 | Aaron Werner | United States | 246,900 | 309 |
| 6 | Junfeng Wang | Australia | 223,300 | 279 |
| 7 | Frode Alfredsen | Norway | 221,200 | 277 |
| 8 | Nicolaas Thielman | United States | 217,300 | 272 |
| 9 | Florian Ribouchon | France | 215,400 | 269 |
| 10 | Daniel Neilson | Australia | 214,900 | 269 |
Nipun Java Hunting for his Fourth Bracelet
India’s Nipun Java (1,925,000) bagged up the second-largest stack on Day 1b of Event #80: $800 Independence Day Celebration, putting him on course to add to his trio of WSOP bracelets. Java won two bracelets in 2017 and added a third last year in the $777 Lucky 7s online event.
Day 1b attracted a 3,928-string field, but the fast structure resulted in all but 206 crashing out before the completion of 22 levels. Willaim Zaiss (2,280,000) finished Day 1b as the chip leader, with China’s Che Chun Chu (1,880,000) occupying third place.
Although most players’ attention is fixated on the ongoing Main Event, bracelet winners Benjamin Ector (1,690,000), John Riordan (1,100,000), Bradley Gafford (755,000), and Brett Apter (340,000) entered this event and navigated their way to Day 2.
Day 2 kicks off at 11:00 a.m. local time on July 5, and the plan is to continue playing until a worthy winner is crowned.
Event #80: $800 Independence Day Celebration Day 1b Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chips | Big Binds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | William Zaiss | United States | 2,280,000 | 57 |
| 2 | Nipun Java | India | 1,925,000 | 48 |
| 3 | Che Chun Chu | China | 1,880,000 | 47 |
| 4 | Yuchung Chang | United States | 1,825,000 | 46 |
| 5 | Juan Alfines | United States | 1,730,000 | 43 |
| 6 | Joel Deutsch | United States | 1,700,000 | 43 |
| 7 | Hamid Izadi | United States | 1,695,000 | 42 |
| 8 | Ging Pang | United Kingdom | 1,695,000 | 42 |
| 9 | Benjamin Ector | United States | 1,690,000 | 42 |
| 10 | Srikanth Yadlapati | United States | 1,680,000 | 42 |
What to Expect on Day 39 of the 2024 WSOP?
Day 39 is dominated by the $10,000 WSOP Main Event, with Day 1c starting at 12:00 p.m. local time. The attendance figures are approximately 19% lower than the record-breaking 2023 edition, but that could all change with a bumper crowd expected for the penultimate flight.
In 2023, some 3,080 players chose Day 1c to start their quest for Main Event glory. It would not be surprising to see a similar or even larger number. Remember, Day 1d is always the busiest of flights in the WSOP Main Event, plus late registration remains open for the first two levels of Day 2. Anyone who is late registering will still sit down with 50 big blinds because Level 8’s blinds are 600/1,200 and a 1,200 big blind ante.
While the third flight of the Main Event takes up most of the available space at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas, Event #80: $800 Independence Day Celebration will play out and crown its champion. Three hundred fifty-six players return to their seats at 11:00 a.m. local time, and they’ll continue grinding until one person has all of the chips in play.