David Peters Leads after Day 1 of Event #94: $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em (8-Handed)
A total of 813 players ponied up the buy-in for Event #94: $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em (8-Handed) at the 2023 World Series of Poker at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas to generate a large prize pool of $3,739,800. After twenty-one 30-minute levels of play, just 60 managed to find a bag for the second and final day.
The overnight chip leader is seventh on the live all-time money list, David Peters, who managed to spin his 50,000 starting stack up to an impressive 1,490,000. Others to accumulate large stacks during the day's play include WSOP bracelet winner Rafael Reis (1,230,000) and old school legend Phil Laak (1,050,000).
They have all put themselves in a good position to make a run at the $701,688 first-place prize as well as the WSOP gold bracelet that accompanies it.
End of Day 1 Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | David Peters | United States | 1,490,000 | 50 |
| 2 | Nozomu Shimizu | Japan | 1,450,000 | 48 |
| 3 | Josh Reichard | United States | 1,340,000 | 45 |
| 4 | Yuchung Chang | United States | 1,275,000 | 43 |
| 5 | Matthew Su | United States | 1,250,000 | 42 |
| 6 | Rafael Reis | Brazil | 1,230,000 | 41 |
| 7 | Harrison Ashdown | United States | 1,200,000 | 40 |
| 8 | Alex Keating | United States | 1,060,000 | 35 |
| 9 | Punnat Punsri | Thailand | 1,055,000 | 35 |
| 10 | Terence Reid | United States | 1,055,000 | 35 |
Given the blind structure, play was always certain to be fast, and so it was with the money bubble burst during the penultimate level of the night after Matthew McEwan failed to overcome the cowboys of Rania Nasreddine to be sent to the rail in 123rd place.
The remaining 122 players were all guaranteed at least $8,059, and once the field was assured of a minimum cash, the pace of play picked up considerably. In less than an hour, the field was more than halved as many notables who managed to navigate their way into the money fell by the wayside before night's end.
They include presumptive 2023 WSOP POY Ian Matakis, Rhode Island all time money leader Aram Zobian and online poker legend Patrick Leonard.
Other big names took to the felt but saw no return on their investment. Among them was four-time bracelet winner Mike Matusow as well as global all-time money leader Justin Bonomo, both of whom will have to wait until next year to fire another bullet in this event.
Day 2 resumes July 18th at 12:00 p.m. local time, at which point play will continue until a winner is crowned. Blinds resume in Level 22 at 15,000/30,000 with a 30,000 big blind ante.
Be sure to stay tuned to PokerNews as its live reporting team continues coverage of Event #94: $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em (8-Handed).