Veronica Brill Bags Big on Day 1 of Record-Breaking Ladies Event
Event #67: $1,000 Ladies Event Championship of the 2023 World Series of Poker, drew a total of 1,295 entries at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas, breaking the record of 1,286 entries achieved in 2007 and becoming officially the biggest Ladies Event in history.
Only 331 players advanced to Day 2 with Canadian Bernice McLennan bagging biggest stack with 276,500. With five cashes in WSOP events, she'll look to make sure her run in this event is one to remember.
However, first, she will have to make the money, and with 330 players returning and only 195 set to cash, almost half of the remaining players will leave empty-handed. With a min-cash worth $1,601, there is a decent chance the bubble will burst fast, but it is the $192,167 top prize as well as a prestigious gold bracelet that all will have their eyes on.
End of Day 1 Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bernice McLennan | Canada | 276,500 | 138 |
| 2 | Katrina Lim | United States | 245,000 | 123 |
| 3 | Talia Fligelman | United States | 234,500 | 117 |
| 4 | Sharon Liss | United States | 230,500 | 115 |
| 5 | Tia Dulaney | United States | 229,500 | 115 |
| 6 | Stephani Hagberg | United States | 226,000 | 113 |
| 7 | Karina Jett | United States | 222,000 | 111 |
| 8 | Ruth Hall | United States | 218,000 | 109 |
| 9 | Anna Rudolph | United States | 215,500 | 108 |
| 10 | Marcia Paulson | United States | 214,000 | 107 |
McLennan is joined by other big stacks, such as Katrina Lim (245,000) and Sharon Liss (230,500), Ruth Hall (218,000), Marcia Paulson (214,000), and poker commentator Veronica Brill (212,500).
Jessica Teusl, the reigning champion, will also be returning tomorrow with 39,000 as well as the 2021 champion Lara Eisenberg (72,500). Kristen Foxen, with over six million in total live earnings and three WSOP bracelets, navigated through the big stacks in the last levels of the night but lost most of her chips in the last hour and bagged 59,500.
Highlights of the Day:
Some notables names made their way into Day 2 such as Lisa Roberts (185,500), member of the WSOP Thrill Team Samantha Abernathy (185,500), Vanessa Kade (146,000), Tiffany Michelle (75,000), poker streamer Monika Zukowicz (66,000) as well as Gaelle Baumann with a short stack of 31,000.
Other highlights include September Sarno, daughter of Jay Sarno, original founder of the Caesars Palace and Circus Circus in 1966, also took a seat today but got eliminated in the last hands of the day.
Last year’s runner-up, Julie Le, was also spotted in the field today but failed to qualify for Day 2. Other familiar names joined the action but didn’t find a bag at the end of the day. Among them, Susan Faber, winner of 2019 Event Salute to Warriors, bracelet winner Safiya Umerova, Lynn Gilmartin, Poker Hall of Famer Kathy Liebert, Sofia Lovgren,Marle Spragg, Kyna England and French player Mercedes Osti.
The remaining players will restart on Friday at 10:00 a.m. local time to play 10 more levels. There will be a 15-minute break every two levels and a 60-minute break after Level 16 (≈ 4:30 p.m.). The players return to Level 11, meaning blinds are 1,000/2,000 with a running big blind ante of 2,000.
The PokerNews live reporting team will be providing coverage from the tournament floor until a winner is crowned on Sunday, so stay tuned for updates.