The 42nd day of the 2023 World Series of Poker hosted at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas saw no golden bracelets awarded, even as one tournament narrowed its playing field down to an intense final five. Four tournaments were held at the sprawling venues, notably the fourth day of the record-breaking Main Event and the first day of the highly anticipated $25,000 H.O.R.S.E. buy-in.
Arieh Emerges Leader in $25K H.O.R.S.E on Day 1
The $25,000 H.O.R.S.E event number 80 saw 98 competitors enter on the first day, but as late registrations will be open until the onset of Day 2, the participant count is expected to rise. After ten levels of intense, high-stakes mixed game action, Josh Arieh emerged with the overnight chip lead at 621,500, chasing his sixth bracelet. Arieh has already demonstrated his prowess earlier this summer, securing his fifth bracelet and marking himself as the player to beat once more.
Notable Performances at the $25K H.O.R.S.E.
Despite a strong showing from Japan’s Motoyoshi Okamura (565,000), who led the event for a significant portion of the day, others such as Yehuda Buchalter (511,000) and Nacho Barbero (504,000) have also made impressive starts. The 56 competitors who survived Day 1 represent a veritable who’s who of the poker world.
Matt Glantz (463,000), Andres Korn (461,000), Michael Noori (445,000), and Michael Moncek (415,000) all managed to secure spots within the top ten. The list of well-established names goes on with Marco Johnson (373,500), Paul Volpe (326,000), Viktor Blom (319,500), Mike Matusow (309,000), David “ODB” Baker (302,500), Jason Mercier (262,000), Brian Hastings (254,500), John Hennigan (215,000), and Phil Hellmuth (213,000), the latter being a 17-time bracelet winner. The fierce competition and high stakes promise an exciting continuation of the tournament on Day 2.
Tosoc Edges Out as Day 5 of the Main Event Approaches
From the initial 10,043 contenders in Event #76: $10,000 WSOP Main Event World Championship, only 441 remain to vie for the substantial $12.1 million first prize. Four days of fierce poker action saw the competition narrow considerably. The day ended with Ryan Tosoc, a WSOP bracelet winner and World Poker Tour champion, barely ahead with 5,120,000 chips, closely followed by Mitchell Halverson with 5,100,000 chips.
Numerous prominent names in the poker world continue to compete for the 2023 WSOP Main Event title, including the 2010 runner-up John Racener, entertaining Nicholas Rigby, Nikita Luther, Chance Kornuth, Christian Harder, two-time bracelet winners Rami Boukai and Christopher Vitch, and 2005 champion Joe Hachem.
Scarborough Set for Lucky 7’s Win
Anthony Scarborough is on the brink of securing his first bracelet and a substantial $777,777 top prize. With a commanding lead entering the final day of Event #77: $777 Lucky 7’s, his stack is double the size of his nearest competitor. Scarborough, with an impressive 140,000,000 chips, towers over Julien Montois (70,700,000), Shawn Daniels (47,400,000), Istvan Briski (32,400,000), and Charles La Boissonniere (13,400,000).
Davies at the Helm as $2,500 NLHE Bubble Bursts
Event #79: $2,500 No-Limit Hold’em saw Seth Davies finish Day 1 with 1,113,000 chips, positioning himself as the overnight chip leader. The event began with a robust field of 2,068 players which was cut down to only 310 contenders after 17 levels, and 312 competitors received a share of the $4,601,300 prize pool.
A significant victory with pocket jacks against ace-king in the second to last level of the night boosted Davies to the top. The British duo Alex Lindop and Daniel Rudd finished within the top five chip counts, while Galen Hall managed to return in the top ten.
What’s Up Next on Day 43 of the 2023 WSOP
Day 42 is set to crown two champions: the $777 Lucky 7’s and Online Event #17: $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em 6-Max Championship. Day 5 of Event #76: $10,000 WSOP Main Event World Championship will see the already record-breaking field reduce further, while Event #79: $2,500 No-Limit Hold’em should near its final table.
For high-stakes action featuring prominent players, spectators should keep an eye on Event #80: $25,000 H.O.R.S.E. Furthermore, the schedule introduces two new tournaments: Event #81: $600 Ultra Stack and Event #82: $3,000 Pot-Limit Omaha (6-Handed), both expected to attract a healthy turnout.