Ryan Depaulo Leads 114 Players Into Day 2 of Event #77: $1,500 Fifty Stack No-Limit Hold'em
The stacks were big, the levels were short, and at the end of Day 1, just 114 players out of a starting field of 1,501 remained. They return to play down to a winner today in Event #77: $1,500 Fifty Stack No-Limit Hold’em.
Ryan Depaulo isn’t sitting in his car in the parking lot of a New Jersey Whole Foods, but he is currently sitting on the chip lead with 2,735,000 as he chases his second World Series of Poker bracelet. He’s followed in the top 10 by former Millionaire Maker champion John Gorsuch (1,525,000) and Roongsak Griffeth (1,375,000), who is coming off a 29th-place finish in the Main Event.
Top 10 Chip Counts
| RANK | PLAYER | Country | CHIP?COUNT |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ryan Depaulo | United States | 2,735,000 |
| 2 | Craig Burke | Ireland | 2,080,000 |
| 3 | John Gorsuch | United States | 1,525,000 |
| 4 | Valentyn Shabelnyk | Ukraine | 1,490,000 |
| 5 | Kevin Theodore | United States | 1,410,000 |
| 6 | Roongsak Griffeth | United States | 1,375,000 |
| 7 | Garrett Beckman | United States | 1,375,000 |
| 8 | Ron Moisescu | Israel | 1,375,000 |
| 9 | Scott Hall | United States | 1,280,000 |
| 10 | Ryan Hiller | United States | 1,275,000 |
Main Event champions Martin Jacobson (965,000) and Damian Salas (700,000) are also still in the hunt for their second bracelet. Other notables returning for Day 2 include Jim Collopy (1,205,000), Elio Fox (930,000), Michael Ruane (790,000), and Ari Engel (525,000). Georgios Sotiropoulos, already with two bracelets in 2021, will try to win his third but comes into Day 2 on a short-stack of 325,000.
The tournament is scheduled to play down to a champion today. The action picks up on Level 23, with blinds at 15,000-30,000 and a 30,000 ante. With the average stack a little more than 20 big blinds and levels only 30 minutes long, the remaining field should be whittled down fast.
A top prize of $321,917 and the WSOP bracelet await the winner at the end of the day. PokerNews will be providing all the live updates and chip counts on what will surely be a fast and furious day of action.