2012 World Series of Poker › Event 56: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em

Day 1 completed

Posted 2012-07-03 GMT-6

Day 1 completed

Posted 2012-07-03 GMT-6

Day 1 completed

Posted 2012-07-03 GMT-6

Day 1 completed

Posted 2012-07-03 GMT-6

Day 1 Concludes, Cash Bubble Still Intact

Posted 2012-07-03 GMT-6 • Level 11: 500-1,000, 100 ante

It was a fast-paced day of poker in this the last of the $1,500 buy-in no-limit hold'em events of this year's WSOP. Another whopping field turned out for this one, with 2,798 players together creating a huge $3,777,300 prize pool.

Eliminations came at a rapid pace throughout the day, but when bagging time commenced, it had yet to be decided who exactly among the entrants would be dividing that prize pool. A total of 305 players made it through 11 one-hour levels today, and just 297 spots pay, meaning the bubble bursting will be happening in short order when play resumes tomorrow.

Among the hundreds who didn't make it through Day 1, the three currently chasing the record for most WSOP cashes in a single year all fell short of the goal in Event 56. Neither Konstantin Puchkov (currently tied for the record with 10 cashes), Terrence Chan (9 cashes), or Joe Tehan (9 cashes) survived the day.

Meanwhile others prospered, with Donald Vogel, Danny Johnson, Carlos Lopez Neira, Michael Graydon, and Scott Freeman ending the night atop the counts. Also sporting top tier stacks are Blake Cahail, Shankar Pillai, Will Failla, Sam Holden, and Ashton Griffin.

Daniel Negreanu ended the day with above average chips, having come to play Event 56 following his bustout earlier in the day from Event 55: $1,000,000 Big One for One Drop.

And also in the mix tomorrow will be Adam Levy, Chance Kornuth, Cherish Andrews, David "ODB" Baker, Eric Mizrachi, Maria Ho, Jennifer Leigh, Peter Eastgate, Jeff Madsen, J.C. Tran, and Jennifer Tilly.

Join us again tomorrow at 1 PM Vegas time for Day 2 of Event 56 to see who cashes for the minimum, who survives to secure more serious paydays, and who makes the deep run toward the final table and next WSOP gold bracelet.

Official End-of-Day Chip Counts (full)

Posted 2012-07-03 GMT-6

Chip Counts
Donald Vogel			145,200	-8,800
Danny Johnson			131,000	-14,000
Carlos Lopez Neira			128,400
Mick Graydon			128,000
Scott Freeman			120,700
Clement Montaron			119,200
Mark Maletic			113,700	-7,300
Michael Compolongo			113,100
Mohamad Kowssarie			111,200
Blake Cahail			109,700	-300
Patrick Lee			107,700
Selim Oulmekki			107,200
Daniel Erlandsson			104,000
Stefan Raffay			98,500
Arthur Kalantzis			97,700
David Borg			95,200
Shankar Pillai			94,300
Barbara Martinez			91,600
Jason James			89,100
Konstantinos Kamaras			87,200
Logan Headley			86,000
Brandon Poe			84,800
Brian Altman			83,300
Glafiro Valle			83,100
Alexander Queen			81,500

Read full

Scouting the Big Stacks, Continued

Posted 2012-07-03 GMT-6

"Is he the chip leader?"

So asked Will Failla, jerking a thumb toward Danny Johnson sitting beside him. Johnson had a smile on his face, probably caused by a combination of Failla's funny stories and the big stacks of chips sitting in front of him.

Johnson's 145,000 was one of the biggest stacks we saw in the Gold section, although Donald Vogel appeared to have nudged ahead of him during a final pass of his table. 2011 November Niner Sam Holden also was sitting behind a healthy stack of about 105,000 as the last hands of the night were playing out.

And Joe Urgo was smiling with about 92,000, too, as Level 11 came to a close. There are others in the room with stacks approaching or exceeding 100,000, but anyone in that vicinity has reason to smile after bagging up and leaving tonight.

Chip Counts
Donald Vogel			154,000
Danny Johnson			145,000
Sam Holden		GB	105,000	78,000
Joe Urgo			92,000

Tags: Donald Vogel.

A Royal Time for Harraka

Posted 2012-07-03 GMT-6

We just saw a hand that produced a decent-sized pot, but a whole lot of excitement.

It started as a three-way hand, but just two players remained by the end, one of them being the relatively short-stacked George Harraka.

All in with against an opponent's , the board rolled out , giving Harraka a royal flush and the main pot. He survives with just 13 eliminations left until the money.

Tags: George Harraka.

Cherish the Jack

Posted 2012-07-03 GMT-6

Cherish Andrews opened for 2,100 from under the gun, and the player to her right reraised to 6,100. It folded back around, and Andrews called the reraise.

Both players checked down the flop, turn, and river. Andrews turned over for queens and jacks, and her opponent flashed before mucking.

Chip Counts
Cherish Andrews			48,000	7,000

Tags: Cherish Andrews.

Scouting the Big Stacks

Posted 2012-07-03 GMT-6

"There's no one notable here."

So said a player spotting your humble reporter, scouting the tables here near evening's end in the effort to locate some of the larger stacks around. At just 35 spots away from the cash, most of those left with chips are ultimately going to be notable, insofar as they'll become part of the WSOP record books for having cashed in the event.

A tour through the Silver section revealed a few players who have edged over the 100,000-chip mark, a milestone that appears at the moment to put players among the leaders at present.

Terris Preston is currently sitting with right at 100,000, while Blake Cahill looks to have about 110,000. And Mark Maletic is hovering at 120,000.

"They're gonna write about you, man," said Maletic's neighbor as we noted his stack. Good read.