Shaun Deeb Sparkles on Day 1 of Event #27: $1,500 Eight-Game Mix
Shaun Deeb’s sparkling hat was easy to spot among the crowd that came out today for Event #27: $1,500 Eight-Game Mix, part of the 2023 World Series of Poker at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas. The massive chip stack he built during the day made him stand out even more.
The five-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner finished Day 1 atop the leaderboard with 311,200 chips. His closest challengers among the 218 surviving players are Sampo Ryynanen (282,000) and Daniel Vargas (261,700).
End of Day 1 Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shaun Deeb | United States | 311,200 |
| 2 | Sampo Ryynanen | Finland | 282,000 |
| 3 | Kao Saechao | United States | 279,500 |
| 4 | Chad Campbell | United States | 263,400 |
| 5 | Daniel Vargas | United States | 261,700 |
| 6 | David "Bakes" Baker | United States | 238,000 |
| 7 | Hugh Joiner | United States | 211,800 |
| 8 | Nicolas Barthe | France | 208,800 |
| 9 | Paul Martino | United States | 205,600 |
| 10 | Ryan Roeder | United States | 202,600 |
Kao “Flexx” Saechao knocked out PokerNews’ own Chad Holloway in a hand of Razz on his way to finishing as one of the top stacks with 279,500.
A massive field of 789 came out for mixed game action today, shattering the tournament record of 695 set last year. Among the notables to survive 15 40-minute levels were David “Bakes” Baker (238,000), Anthony Zinno (177,800), Georgios Sotiropoulos (156,400), and Dario Sammartino (154,000). Further down the leaderboard are Allen Kessler (100,700), Phil Hellmuth (84,700), Calvin Anderson (84,600), and Daniel Negreanu (63,900).
Day 1 also marked the return of two poker personalities making rare appearances at the WSOP. Viktor Blom, the legendary “Isildur1,” knocked out Jeff Madsen along the way and bagged up 47,500. Two-time bracelet winner and 2008 Player of the Year Erick Lindgren, who has just one WSOP live cash since 2017, also returned to the live felt today but failed to make it through to Day 2.
Other notables to bust on Day 1 included defending champion Menikos Panagiotou, Alex Livingston, Alex Foxen, Koray Aldemir, and Eli Elezra.
The remaining 218 players will return on June 12 at 1:00 p.m. local time inside the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas for Day 2. Only 119 will make the money and secure part of the $1,053,315 prize pool. Then it’s on towards the final table and, ultimately, the $198,854 top prize and coveted WSOP gold bracelet.
PokerNews will also be back for Day 2, providing live updates as the field whittles down toward the money bubble.