Gary Bolden Day 1 Chip Leader; Pescatori, Gomes, & Tehan Hots on His Heels
After a delayed start, Event #57 $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-low Split-8 or Better got underway with 352 players entering the event, nearly 25% more than last year's field. That meant the runners were competing for their share of a $1,654,400 prize pool, $397,073 of which was reserved for first place. By the end of the night, approximately 189 players remained with Gary Bolden appearing to be the Day 1 chip leader (98,300).
Hot on his heels are Eric Crain (96,500), Austin Marks (89,500), Max Pescatori (72,000), Alexandre Gomes (70,400), and Joe Tehan (69,500).
The last tournament before the Main Event drew some of the biggest names in poker; however, not all of them were able to gain momentum. Greg Raymer, Daniel Negreanu, Erick Lindgren, Mitch Schock, Humberto Brenes, Sammy Farha, Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier, Tom Dwan, David “Devilfish” Ulliott, and Chris Bell, who will not be defending his 2010 title.
While dozens of pros hit the rail, others were able to navigate their way through the field and have advanced to Day 2. They include the always outspoken Mike “The Mouth” Matusow (20,700); the only remaining former Main Event winner, Huck Seed (14,400); online powerhouse David “Doc” Sands (33,600); all-time money winner Erik Seidel (57,500); and consummate grinder and structure guru, Allen Kessler (58,500).
The tournament will resume tomorrow at 3:00 p.m. PST and we expect it’ll be a day full of action as the players do their best to reach the money. Join us then as we bring you all the hands, chip counts, and eliminations from the floor of the $5K PLO8.