2023 World Series of Poker

Event #76: $10,000 WSOP Main Event World Championship
Event Info

2023 World Series of Poker

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
kj
Prize
$12,100,000
Event Info
Buy-in
$10,000
Prize Pool
$93,399,900
Entries
10,043
Level Info
Level
41
Blinds
1,250,000 / 2,500,000
Ante
2,500,000
Players Info - Day 1a
Entries
1,039
Players Left
721

Dayan Cements His Place on Top

Level 5 : Blinds 300/600, 600 ante

There was a raise to 1,400 in the hijack, and the button just called. Yehuda Dayan three-bet to 7,000 in the small blind and only the hijack called. The flop came A?Q?8? and Dayan led out with a bet of 7,000, which his opponent called.

The turn was the 5?, and Dayan checked this time. His opponent made a bet of 9,000 and Dayan instantly ripped all in, putting his opponent to the test for his remaining stack of 68,000 chips. He thought for a couple of minutes but decided to fold his A?K? face up.

"Good fold," Dayan confirmed. "Really, good fold. Ten more minutes, we go to sleep."

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Yehuda Dayan il
Yehuda Dayan
428,000
19,000
19,000
Day 1A Chip Leader

Tags: Yehuda Dayan

Bellande's Flush Gets Paid

Level 5 : Blinds 300/600, 600 ante

Jean-Robert Bellande raised 1,500 in middle position, and he was called in three spots, including the button and Todd Ivens in the big blind.

The dealer fanned a flop of A?7?3?, and Ivens checked to Bellande as he pushed 3,000 across the line. Only the button made the call.

When the 9? hit the turn, Bellande continued with aggression, putting 8,000 in the middle, and his opponent tossed in a call.

When the 9? completed the board on the river, Bellande fired 35,000, putting his opponent deep in the tank. Bellande casually took a sip of his drink and said, "Think about it."

After a little over two minutes, his opponent made the call, and Bellande instantly whipped his A?8? face up, making a flush, and his opponent mucked his hand.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Todd Ivens us
Todd Ivens
150,000
-6,200
-6,200
Profile photo of Jean-Robert Bellande us
Jean-Robert Bellande
141,000
78,000
78,000
WSOP 1X Winner

Tags: Jean-Robert BellandeTodd Ivens

Official End of Day 1a Chip Counts (full)

Level 5 : Blinds 300/600, 600 ante
Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Yehuda Dayan il
Yehuda Dayan
389,900
-38,100
-38,100
Day 1A Chip Leader
Profile photo of Shota Nakanishi jp
Shota Nakanishi
360,100
24,100
24,100
WSOP 1X Winner
Profile photo of Hai-Chi Ho cn
Hai-Chi Ho
297,400
297,400
297,400
Profile photo of Doug Polk us
Doug Polk
281,900
4,900
4,900
WSOP 3X Winner
Profile photo of Neville Endo Costa br
Neville Endo Costa
275,000
275,000
275,000
Profile photo of Samuel Gagnon ca
Samuel Gagnon
271,000
271,000
271,000
Profile photo of Todd Collins us
Todd Collins
250,400
250,400
250,400
Profile photo of Rick Mechammil us
Rick Mechammil
247,600
247,600
247,600
Profile photo of Christine Do ca
Christine Do
237,300
42,300
42,300
Profile photo of Anirban Das in
Anirban Das
236,900
18,500
18,500
Profile photo of Thomas Eychenne fr
Thomas Eychenne
225,500
75,500
75,500
Profile photo of Dennis Toms us
Dennis Toms
225,100
225,100
225,100
Profile photo of Bertrand Rosique fr
Bertrand Rosique
225,000
225,000
225,000
Profile photo of Kevin Henderson us
Kevin Henderson
221,800
221,800
221,800
Profile photo of Tom Rafferty au
Tom Rafferty
214,300
56,300
56,300
Profile photo of Faraz Jaka us
Faraz Jaka
213,100
-16,900
-16,900
WSOP 1X Winner
Jaka Coaching
Profile photo of Erik Friberg se
Erik Friberg
212,800
10,800
10,800
Profile photo of Gerald Morrell us
Gerald Morrell
210,400
210,400
210,400
Profile photo of Jeremy Palvini fr
Jeremy Palvini
210,000
210,000
210,000
Profile photo of Jose Ferro cu
Jose Ferro
209,400
209,400
209,400
Profile photo of Sebastin Kolman in
Sebastin Kolman
208,500
3,500
3,500
Profile photo of Dimitrii Kamalov us
Dimitrii Kamalov
206,700
206,700
206,700
Profile photo of Johannes Lehner at
Johannes Lehner
205,300
43,300
43,300
StakeKings
Profile photo of Nawaung Maran us
Nawaung Maran
204,700
-83,300
-83,300
Profile photo of Gianna Avdic McIntire us
Gianna Avdic McIntire
201,200
-800
-800

Read full

Dayan Leads, Polk Close Behind After Day 1a of $10,000 WSOP Main Event No-Limit Hold'em World Championship

Level 5 : Blinds 300/600, 600 ante
Yehuda Dayan
Yehuda Dayan

The most anticipated poker tournament of the summer is upon us as Day 1a of Event #76: $10,000 WSOP Main Event No-Limit Hold'em World Championship at the 2023 World Series of Poker (WSOP) kicked off today and drew more than a thousand players through five two-hour levels of action.

Leading the way is Israel's Yehuda Dayan with a monstrous stack of 389,900, as he looks to add to his mere $10,504 in reported live earnings. He is followed by other big stacks including bracelet winner Shota Nakanishi (360,100) and poker personality and recent Heads-Up Championship runner-up Doug Polk (282,000).

Doug Polk
Doug Polk

Four Main Event champions played Day 1a and all four managed to bag: Joe Cada (2009), Martin Jacobson (2014), Damian Salas (2020) and Jamie Gold (2006), who WSOP Vice President Jack Effel joked was the only person who doesn't want the Main Event attendance record broken this year.

Some of the notables who will return for Day 2abc on July 7th include Poker Hall of Famers John Hennigan and Billy Baxter, four-time bracelet winner Dominik Nitsche, six-time bracelet winner Shaun Deeb, poker coach Faraz Jaka, poker author Jim McManus, and high rollers David Peters, Sean Winter, and Jake Schindler.

End of Day 1a Top Ten Chip Counts

RankPlayerCountryChip CountBig Blinds
1Yehuda DayanIsrael389,900487
2Shota NakanishiJapan360,100450
3Hai-Chi HoChina297,400372
4Doug PolkUnited States281,900352
5Neville CostaBrazil275,000344
6Samuel GagnonCanada271,000339
7Todd CollinsUnited States250,400313
8Rick MechammilUnited States247,600310
9Christine DoCanada237,300297
10Anirban DasItaly236,900296

Gold Kicks Off a Day Full of Bad Beats & Heartbreak

There was high energy going into the first day of an event that is expected to break the attendance record of 8,773 set in 2006 when Gold won the Main Event for $12 million. It was fitting then that Gold kicked things off with a shuffle up and deal announcement where he wished this year's Main Event players good luck "except when you're the last person at the final table against me, then I do not wish you so well."

Jamie Gold
Jamie Gold underneath his 2006 Main Event banner

It didn't take long for dreams to be crushed in poker's most prestigious event. Israel's Idan The One started his first Main Event off nicely by taking down a decent pot preflop with a four-bet. But things turned quickly in another four-bet pot where The One held kings only to run into the aces of Ruben Correia.

Shortly after losing half his stack, the two tangled once again as The One five-bet shoved for his tournament life as Correia called. The One's nightmare had come true as his pocket kings were again dominated by the same opponent's aces to send the Main Event hopeful out in just the second level of play. The One was in visible agony and spent an hour against the wall with his head in his hands as he processed the devastating beat and realized he will not be the one to win the 2023 Main Event.

Idan The One
Idan The One

That wasn't the only cooler of the day. In one of the final hands before dinner break, Steven Piper managed to make aces full of kings holding pocket aces, losing only to pocket kings for quads. That's exactly what Gary Horn had as he sent the Piper singing.

There were also success stories on Day 1a, including from none other than Gold, who managed to chip up nicely throughout the day as he battled in the Silver section of Horseshoe. Poker coach Faraz Jaka, meanwhile, got well above starting stack after picking up aces to eliminate Tyler Matzen.

In the same section, Polk built up a stack at a table that included young poker star Landon Tice, who wasn't as fortunate and busted not long after a boat over boat collision against Michael Wilklow that may have resembled the literal car crash Polk was in today.

Other players who didn't survive the day include 2021 Poker Players Championship runner-up Ryan Leng, Casino Employees Event runner-up James Urbanic, Utah all-time money leader Jared Griener, sports card specialist Jared Bleznick and 2010 Main Event third-place finisher Joseph Cheong.

On the lighter side of things, Player of the Year contender Shaun Deeb, known by his peers as a king of slow rolls, got a bit of karma when he was accidentally slow rolled by Juha Helppi. The Finnish bracelet winner hadn't realized he had the best hand after calling a river bet from Deeb, who warned the table that "you know I'm still going to slow roll any of you any chance I get."

Juha Helppi
Juha Helppi

There are still three starting flights that need to play out before Day 2 of the Main Event. Day 1b will kick off at noon local time on July 4th and will follow the same structure as Day 1a with five two-hour levels and a 75-minute dinner break after Level 3.

Stay tuned as the PokerNews live reporting team is out in full force and will be back tomorrow for more coverage of what will likely be a historic WSOP Main Event.

Tags: Doug PolkFaraz JakaGary HornIdan The OneJames UrbanicJamie GoldJared BleznickJared GrienerJoseph CheongJuha HelppiMichael WilklowRuben CorreiaRyan LengShaun DeebSteven Piper

Event #76: $10,000 WSOP Main Event World Championship

Day 1a Completed