DAY 1C IN THE BOOKS, JOHNNY CHAN FINISHES 2nd IN CHIPS
Official Report
Event #57
Day 1-C
No-Limit Hold’em
World Championship
Buy-In:  $10,000
Number of Entries (1-C Only):  2,314  
Number of Entries: (1-A; 1-B; 1-C):  4,928
Total Net Prize Pool:  TBD
Number of Places Paid:  TBD
First Place Prize:  TBD
July 2nd to November 9th, 2010

TOURNAMENT HEADLINES

WSOP Numbers Through the Roof!  Second-Biggest Poker Event in History?
 
Day 1-C Done
 
Third of Four WSOP Main Event Starting Days Now Complete
 
2010 World Series of Poker Main Event Championship Continues

Mathieu Sauriol is the Chip Leader at End of Day 1-C

Poker Legend Johnny Chan Finished Day Ranked Second

2,314 Players Enter Day 1-C (One Starting Day Still to Go)

1,646 Players Survive the Day – 71 Percent of Field

Wednesday’s Survivors Return on Friday, July 9th to Play Day 2-A

A total of 2,412 players will play on Day 2-A; 3,430 player remain from Days 1A, 1B & 1C

Note:  For the tournament portal page for this event, including the day’s chip counts, click HERE.

OVERVIEW
 
The 2010 WSOP Main Event continued today with the play and conclusion of Day 1-C.  This is the third day of the nearly two-week long competition.  Play continues through July 17th when the final table will ultimately be determined, otherwise known as the “November Nine.”  

This day attracted the largest field size, so far.  There were 2,314 entrants.  Contrast this number with 2,614 combined players who entered Days A and B – which means Day C attracted close to the number of players of the first two days combined.  With three of four starting days now complete, 4,928 players have now entered the Main Event.  This number will increase substantially, as Day 1-D is expected to draw that largest number of players of all starting days.

The largest live poker tournament in history was the 2006 WSOP Main Event.  That competition drew a whopping 8,773 players.  The second largest live tournament was the 2008 WSOP Main Event.  That year, there were 6,844 players.  This year’s tournament will beat the 2008 number and thus become the second-largest live poker tournament in history.

THE MAIN EVENT BEGINS (DAY 1-C)

The Main Event began with opening festivities for Day 1-C.  WSOP Tournament Director Jack Effel recited the customary instructions and rules to all players.  Effel also thanked players, fans, and the entire staff at the WSOP.  Next, Effel introduced 2009 Main Event champion Joe Cada who was given the honorary “Shuffle Up and Deal” privileges.
 
This is the fifth consecutive year the WSOP has been guided by Tournament Director Jack Effel.  He assumed the top floor position in 2006 and has now overseen operations for the five largest live poker tournaments in history.  In fact, Effel has now overseen more WSOP events than any Tournament Director in the 41-year history of the tournament.

The day officially began with cards in the air at 12:08 pm.

The total number of players who participated on Day 1-C was 2,314.

The first elimination of this year's Main Event came about ten minutes into play when one (unnamed) player lost with pocket aces to a flopped set of eights.

There were 1,125 players who participated on Day 1-A.  Day 1-B had 1,489 players.  Day 1-C attracted 2,314 players.  This means 4,928 players have now participated in the Main Event, thus far.  There remains one more starting day to be played.  Participation for the first three days of the 2010 WSOP Main Event is up 33 percent over last year.  There were 3,685 entrants through three starting days in 2009.

A Reminder:  Prior to the start of play on Day 1-B, organizers of “Put a Bad Beat on Cancer” were given a few minutes to make an important plea.  All Main Event participants have been asked to donate 1 percent of their WSOP winnings to cancer research.  To date, “Put a Bad Beat on Cancer” has raised more than $3.3 million since it was formed.  This is the ninth straight year this fine organization has worked with the WSOP.  In particular, the co-founders Phil Gordon and Rafe Furst, are to be commended for their selfless efforts on behalf of this important cause.  All proceeds from this go directly to the Nevada Cancer Institute, and all donations are 100 percent tax-deductible.

TOURNAMENT PLAYERS

Former world champions who participated on this day included:  Tom McEvoy (1983), Johnny Chan (1987/1988), Phil Hellmuth (1989), Huck Seed (1995), Scotty Nguyen (1998), Carlos Mortensen (2001), Jerry Yang (2007), and Joe Cada (2009)

Tom McEvoy played on this day and survived.  He will return for Day 2 with a lower than average stack size.

Johnny Chan enjoyed a stunning day, ending up ranked second in chips out of 1,646 survivors.  Chan appears headed for a deep run in the Main Event.  Chan’s last serious threat in the championship occurred two years ago when he finished 329th (top five percent of the field).

Phil Hellmuth busted out during the middle of level four.  That took place shortly after the dinner break.  Hellmuth was eliminated holding pocket jacks, which lost to a higher pair.  Hellmuth was in uncharacteristically good spirits following his elimination, and signed dozens of autographs before exiting the building.

Jim Bechtel played on this day and survived.  The 1993 champ currently stands in the top-third of the field.

Huck Seed made a surprisingly quick exit.  He was eliminated about 45 minutes into play, the quickest exit of any former champion so far this year.

Scotty Nguyen had a relatively calm day by the Prince's standards.  He survived and returns for Day 2 with a slightly below average stack.  

Carlos Mortensen suffered a tough day, but remains alive in the tournament.  Mortensen has only 13.600 in chips (starting stack was 30,000) and will have to make a major move on Day 2 to get back into contention.

Jerry Yang was eliminated late in the day.  Yang did manage to cash three times at this year's WSOP.

Joe Cada enjoyed a strong first day.  Cada did not perform well in the pre-Main Event tournaments, failing to cash so far this year.  But Cada appears to have turned things around for a strong run in the Main Event.  He is currently ranked in the top 20 percent of the field.

Notable non-pros who played on Day 1-C included:

•    Shane Warne (legendary former cricket player)
•    Charlotte Roche (best-selling author)
•    J-Kwon, a.k.a. Jay Kwon (rapper/musician)
•    Shanna Moakler (former Miss USA/actress)  
•    Scott Ian (musician/guitarist – Anthrax)
•    Anthony Rapp (actor)

Among those who participated on Day 1-C were Jake “the Snake” Deutsch and his two sons Alex Deutsch and Jason Deutsch.  All three family members survived and will play on Day 2-A.

Poker Hall of Fame members who played on Day 1-C included:

•    Johnny Chan
•    Phil Hellmuth
•    Mike Sexton

Mike Sexton was the most recent inductee into the Poker Hall of Fame, which took place in 2009.  He played on this day, and survived.  But Sexton will return for Day 2 with a short stack.  Sexton managed to survive a late scare when he was all-in towards day's end, and managed to river a king (holding pocket kings) against an opponents pocket aces.

Men “the Master” Nguyen played on this day.  He won his seventh gold bracelet this year.  Nguyen was eliminated from the Main Event.

The ESPN Main Stage hosts the feature table.  The star of Day 1-C was reigning champion Joe Cada.

The ESPN Secondary Stage often attracts just as large a crowd.  This was certainly the case on this day as 1989 world champion played on the smaller stage.  Hellmuth made a grand entrance this year dressed as a prize fighter.  In past years, Hellmuth has made his grand entrance dressed as a NASCAR driver, WW II General George S. Patton, and Julius Caesar.

Two-time WSOP gold bracelet winner Howard “Tahoe” Andrew, from Walnut Creek, CA played on this day.  Andrew, age 75, holds the record as the player who has played the most consecutive years at the WSOP, which now stands at 37 dating all the way back to 1974.  Andrew’s best WSOP Main Event finish was in 1984 when he finished eighth.

Current Status of Former WSOP Main Event Champions (Expected to Play):

1975/1976:  Doyle Brunson -- Playing Day 1-D
1978:  Bobby “the Owl” Baldwin -- Survived Day 1-A  
1983:  Tom McEvoy – Survived Day 1-C
1986:  Berry Johnston – Survived Day 1-A
1987/1988:  Johnny Chan – Survived Day 1-C (among chip leaders)
1989:  Phil Hellmuth – Eliminated Day 1-C
1993:  Jim Bechtel – Survived Day 1-C
1995:  Dan Harrington – Survived Day 1-A
1996:  Huck Seed – Eliminated Day 1-C
1998:  Scotty Nguyen – Survived Day 1-C
2001:  Carlos Mortensen – Survived Day 1-C (very low on chips)
2002:  Robert Varkonyi – Playing Day 1-D
2003:  Chris Moneymaker – Survived Day 1-A (among chip leaders)
2004:  Greg “Fossilman” Raymer – Eliminated Day 1-A
2005:  Joe Hachem – Playing Day 1-D
2006:  Jamie Gold – Eliminated Day 1-B
2007:  Jerry Yang – Eliminated Day 1-C   
2008:  Joe Cada – Survived Day 1-C

Current Status of Last Year’s November Nine:

Joe Cada – Survived Day 1-C
Darvin Moon – Playing Day 1-D
Antoine Saout – Playing Day 1-D
Eric Buchman – Playing Day 1-D
Jeff Shulman – Playing Day 1-D
Steven Begleiter – Eliminated on Day 1-C
Phil Ivey – Playing Day 1D
Kevin Schaffel – Eliminated on Day 1B
James Akenhead – Survived Day 1-A

Current Status of Former WSOP “Players of the Year”:
Daniel Negreanu – Survived Day 1-C
Allen Cunningham – Playing Day 1-D
Jeff Madsen – Eliminated on Day 1-C
Tom Schneider – Survived Day 1-B
Erick Lindgren – Eliminated on Day 1-B
Jeffrey Lisandro – Playing Day 1-D

Current Status of Non-Poker Celebrities:
Ray Romano – Eliminated on Day 1-A
Rene Angelil – Survived Day 1-A
Orel Hershiser – Survived Day 1-B
Shanna Moakler – Eliminated on Day 1-C  
J-Kwon, a.k.a. Jay Kwon – Eliminated on Day 1-C
Shane Warne – Survived Day 1-C
Scott Ian – Eliminated on Day 1-C
Anthony Rapp – Eliminated on Day 1-C
Shane Warne -- Survived Day 1-C

THE TOURNAMENT

All players began the tournament with 30,000 in chips.

This is the second year players were given triple the number of starting chips.  By contrast, all WSOP Main Events played from 1971 through 2005 gave players 10,000 in starting chips.  In years 2006-2008, players began with 20,000 in chips.  

Day 1-C played four-and-a-half levels.  Each level is 2 hours long.  Play ended at 11:50 pm.

Day 1-C ended with 1,646 players.  This means 71 percent of starters survived the first day.  Contrast this with last year when 75 percent of players survived Day 1-C.

Day 1-B ended with 1,018 players.  There were 766 players who survived on Day 1-A.  This day had 1,646 survivors, which means 3,430 total players are still alive in the Main Event.  There is still one more starting day to be played.

Players who survived Day 1-C will return to continue their quest for the 2010 world poker championship on Saturday, July 9th, at 12 noon.  A total of 2,412 will take to the felt on Friday.

LEADERBOARD

This chip leader from this day is Mathieu Sauriol, from Laval, Quebec (Canada).  He has 169,900 in chips.

The Day Two chip leader (from Tuesday) was James Danielson, from LaPlata, MD with 201,050.

The Day One chip leader (from Monday) was Corwin Cole, from Las Vegas, NV – with 228,200 in his stack.  This means Cole remains the tournament chip leader – at least for now.

Ranking second in chips from Day 1-C is two-time world champion Johnny Chan, from Las Vegas, NV.

The quickest any player has hit the 100,000-chip mark was David Williams, who reached the initial tourney milestone after about two hours of play.  He ended the day ranked in 30th place.

British poker pioneer Barney Boatman ended the day in the top ten.

Two-time gold bracelet winner Hoyt Corkins ended the day in the top 20.

Carter Phillips, who won his first gold bracelet this year, ended the day in the top 20.

Sammy Farha, who won his third gold bracelet this year, enjoyed a strong day.  He ended up in the top 25 percent of the field.

The WSOP cashes-king (no wins) Tony Cousineau played and survived the first day.  He entered Day 2 with an average-sized stack.

Four-time gold bracelet winner Daniel Negreanu survived, although he will return for Day 2 with a lower than average stack size.

Based on WSOP figures during the mega-era (2003 to present), the Day One chip leader has a slightly less than even chance of cashing in the Main Event.  Since 2003, there have been 23 Day One chip leaders.  The number of chip leaders is higher than number of years, due to multiple starting days.  Of the 23 Day One chip leaders during this period, only 11 finished in the money (48 percent).   Twelve players were eliminated short of the money.

One Day One chip leader ended up winning the Main Event.  That happened last year, when Joe Cada was the chip leader after Day 1-C.

Based on WSOP figures during the mega-era (2003 to present), the 9/19 Day One chip leaders who cashed finished as follows:

2003 – Barry Greenstein finished 49th
2004 – Chuck Agnew finished 82nd
2005 – Lee Watkinson finished 45th
2005 – Sammy Farha finished 316th
2007 – Josh Evans finished 76th
2007 – Tinten Olivier finished 223rd
2007 – Jeff Norman finished 500th
2008 – Steve Austin finished 552nd
2008 – Henning Granstad finished 553rd
2009 – Redmond Lee finished 444th
2009 – Joe Cada finished 1st

ODDS AND ENDS

This is the 57th and final event on the 2010 WSOP schedule which is played in Las Vegas.  Five more gold bracelet events will take place in London, England at the Empire Casino, to be held in September as part of the 4th Annual World Series of Poker Europe.    

This marks the sixth consecutive year the WSOP has been held at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino.  Prior to 2005, the WSOP was held at Binion’s Horseshoe in downtown Las Vegas.  As a testament to the expansion of the WSOP since Harrah’s Entertainment assumed ownership and control of the world most prestigious poker event, more than twice the money has been awarded to winners within the Rio during the past six years than during the entire proceeding 35-year period at the Horseshoe.

During the mega-era, the eventual WSOP champions and their chip positions at the conclusion of Day One were:

2003 – Chris Moneymaker, 60,475 in chips (ranked 11th)*
2004 – Greg “Fossilman” Raymer, 74,400 in chips (ranked 7th)
2005 – Joe Hachem, 67,350 in chips (not in top 25)
2006 – Jamie Gold, 100,125 in chips (ranked 23rd)
2007 – Jerry Yang, 99,700 in chips (not in top 25)
2008 – Peter Eastgate, 62,325 in chips (not in top 25)
2009 – Joe Cada 187,225 in chips (ranked 1st)

*NOTE:  2003-2005 started with 10,000 in chips.  2006-2008 started with 20,000 in chips.  2009 starts with 30,000 in chips.

The number of females who played in the Main Event Day 1-C was 67.  

The number of females who played the Main Event Day 1-B was 39.

The number of females who played Main Event Day 1-A was 26.

The number of females who have played thus far amounts to 132.  This figure represents 2.67 percent of the field.  Day 1-D is pending.

The oldest player to enter this year’s tournament (so far) is 88-year-old Jason Alpin, from Los Angeles, CA.  Date of birth:  October 6, 1919

The youngest player to enter this year’s tournament so far is 21-year-old Michel Dattani, from Portugal.  Date of Birth:  July 5, 1989

The most dominant Day One Main Event performance in history was by three-time WSOP gold bracelet winner John Bonetti, who passed away three years ago.  Bonetti finished the first day of the 1993 Main Event with 500,000 in chips (the figure is an estimate, since there was no Internet coverage, nor accurate records available from that year).  Since there were 231 players registered, he had a staggering 22 percent of the total chips in play.  Bonetti went on to finished third that year, as Jim Bechtel won the championship.

This is the 885th gold bracelet event in World Series of Poker history.  Note:  This figure includes every official WSOP event played, including tournaments during the early years when there were no actual gold bracelets awarded.  It also includes the 11 gold bracelets awarded to date at WSOP Europe.

In the 41-year history of the WSOP, the total combined amount of prize money that has been awarded amounts to $1,159,576,521.  With this year’s Main Event added to the totals, this figure will exceed $1.2 billion.

The total number of entrants in the WSOP Main Event (all years combined) is 43,473.  This figure does not include the 2010 Main Event (final numbers still pending).  But, it is guaranteed that the 50,000 mark will be passed in 2010 for total Main Event entrants.

The WSOP title sponsor the last two years has been Jack Link’s Beef Jerky.  As part of a fun promotion, Jack Links gives away large quantities of their product to Main Event players who make big hands.  This year’s key hand is four jacks.  About six hours into play on Day 1-B Brian Kim was the first to hit the magical hand – making four jacks with one hook in his hand to go along with the three on board.  More than two dozen players have made the hand in the first 3 days.

PLAYING DAY A, B, C, or D – DOES IT MATTER?

Does picking one starting day over another matter when it comes to cashing in the Main Event?  The numbers make a convincing case that answer is “no.”

For 2009:

Day 1-A…..121 cashes out of 1,116 entrants -- 10.84%
Day 1-B…..84 cashes out of 873 entrants -- 9.62%
Day 1-C…..162 cashes out of 1696 entrants -- 9.55%
Day 1-D…..281 cashes out of 2809 entrants -- 10.00%
 
For 2008:

Day 1-A…..122 cashes out of 1299 entries -- 9.39%
Day 1-B…..117 cashes out of 1158 entries -- 10.1%
Day 1-C…..187 cashes out of 1936 entries -- 9.66%
Day 1-D…..240 cashes out of 2461 entries -- 9.75%

WSOP MAIN EVENT ALL-TIME RECORDS

Most Main Event Wins (Career):

3 – Johnny Moss (*first win was by vote)
3 – Stu Ungar
2 – Doyle Brunson
2 – Johnny Chan

Most Main Event Cashes (Career):

10 – Berry Johnston
7 – Bobby Baldwin
7 – Humberto Brenes
7 – Doyle Brunson
7 – Jay Heimowitz
7 – Phil Hellmuth
7 – Mike Sexton
6 – John Bonetti
6 – Johnny Moss
6 – Jason Lester
6 – Steve Lott
5 – 14 players tied with 5 cashes each

Most Main Event Final Tables (Career):

5 – Doyle Brunson
5 – Jesse Alto
4 – Johnny Chan
4 – T.J. Cloutier
4 – Dan Harrington
4 – Berry Johnston
4 – Johnny Moss
4 – Stu Ungar
3 – 6 players tied with 3 final tables each

Youngest Winner

Joe Cada (2009) -- 21 years, 11 months, 22 days

Oldest Winner

Johnny Moss (1974) – 66 years, 11 months, 24 days

Oldest Participant

96 years -- Jack Ury (2009)

Most Consecutive Years Played

37 – Howard “Tahoe” Andrew (1974 to present)

Most Main Events Played (Career)

38 – Doyle Brunson

2010 WSOP STATISTICS (THROUGH EVENT 56)

Tournament attendance is up significantly from this same point last year. Last year, through 56 events, there were 53,808 entries. Thus far this year, there have been 65,647 total entries, an increase of 22 percent.

Prize money is also up from last year’s figures. Last year, through 56 events, the amount of prize money won was $111,631,536. This year’s prize money currently stands at $118,311,250, an increase of about 6 percent.

Through the conclusion of Event #56, the nationalities of gold bracelet winners have been:

United States (38)
Great Britain (5)
Canada (5)
Hungary (2)
New Zealand (1)
France (1)
Russia (1)
Norway (1)
Holland (1)
Israel (1)

Through the conclusion of Event #56, the national origin (birthplace) of winners has been:

United States (31)
Great Britain (5)
Canada (5)
Vietnam (2)
China (2)
Hungary (2)
New Zealand (1)
France (1)
Lebanon (1)
Russia (1)
Mexico (1)
Bangladesh (1)
Norway (1)
Holland (1)
Israel (1)

Through the conclusion of Event #56, the breakdown of professional poker players to semi-pros and amateurs who won gold bracelets is as follows:

Professional Players (39): Michael Chow, Michael Mizrachi, Praz Bansi, Josh Tieman, Peter Gelencser, James Dempsey, Men “the Master” Nguyen, Matt Matros, Yan R. Chen, Steve Gee, Carter Phillips, Jason DeWitt; Eric Buchman, David Baker, Richard Ashby, Dutch Boyd, Sammy Farha, David Warga, Will Haydon, Matt Keikoan, Mike Ellis, Luis Velador, Ayaz Mahmood, Phil Ivey, Luigi Kwaysser, Scott Montgomery, Steven Kelly, Steve Jelinek, Dean Hamrick, Ian Gordon, Gavin Smith, Jesse Rockowitz, Chris Bell, Shawn Busse, Sigurd Eskeland, Chance Kornuth, Ryan Welch, Brendan Taylor, Daniel Alaei

Semi-Pros (8): Frank Kassela, Tex Barch, Miguel Proulx, Jeffrey Papola, Frank Kassela, Mike Linn, Dan Kelly, Tomer Berda

Amateurs (9): Duc Pham, Aadam Daya, Pascal LeFrancois, Simon Watt, Vanessa Hellebuyck, Jeff Tebben, Konstantin Puchkov, Harold Angle, Marcel Vonk

Through the conclusion of Event #56, here is the list of repeat WSOP gold bracelet winners:

Praz Bansi
Men “the Master” Nguyen
Russ “Dutch” Boyd
Sammy Farha
David Warga (* his first WSOP win was in a non-open event)
Matt Keikoan
Luis Velador
Phil Ivey
Frank Kassela (two wins this year)
Daniel Alaei

Through the conclusion of 2010 World Series of Poker -- Event #56:

Youngest Winner – Steven Kelly (21), Dan Kelly (21)
Oldest Winner – Harold Angle (78)
Female Winners (open events) – None
Multiple-Event Winners (this year) – Frank Kassela