Kaplan Leads as Approximately 338 Players Advance to Day 2
The final stop of the 2011/2012 World Series of Poker Circuit kicked off on Friday at Harrah��s New Orleans with Day 1 of the $1,600 Main Event. The field was massive as players flocked to the Big Easy for their last shot at points toward this year��s National Championship. Combined, Days 1a and 1b brought in an impressive 640 entrants, which was 260 players more than last year��s field of 380.
Day 1a started at Noon with 434 runners, including all-time ring winner Mark ��Pegasus�� Smith and WSOP Circuit regular Seneca Easley. Each of these men met their demise early on, but both opted to use their re-entry option right away. It proved a wise decision for Smith, who survived to Day 2, but not Easley, who was eliminated for a second time.
Throughout the day, other players hit the rail including Becky Makar, Kenny Milam, John Land, David Clark, A.J. Jejelowo and Huy Nguyen, just to name a few; meanwhile, others like Aaron Massey, John Dolan, Matthew Chang, Tripp Kirk, Sam Barnhart, Darvin Moon, Kurt Jewell, Ryan Tepen and Matthew Hankins managed to finish among the 210 players who survived Day 1a.
While it��s good to survive Day 1a, it��s even better to thrive as chip leader Jay ��queen10off�� Kaplan found out when he bagged up a healthy 148,400. Other big stacks include Johnny Landreth (125,700), Bobby Toye (124,800), Shane Matthews (116,000) and Terry Kim (115,400).
On Day 1b, many of the eliminated players, including all of those listed above, returned for another shot at glory. They were joined by some new players including Kai Landry, Gene Dudek, Beverly Chaney and Will ��Monkey�� Souther, creating a Day 1b field of 230 players. The re-entry proved a wise choice for half those mentioned above as Land, Milam and Nguyen managed to make Day 2 with their second bullet. Likewise, all of the aforementioned Day 1b newbies made it through.
Here��s a look at some of the more notable stacks among the approximately 338 players who advanced to Day 2:
Various Day 1 Chip Counts*
| Player | Count |
|---|---|
| Jay ��queen10off�� Kaplan | 148,400 |
| Johnny Landreth | 125,700 |
| Bobby Toye | 124,800 |
| Shane Matthews | 116,000 |
| Terry Kim | 115,400 |
| Jonathan Job | 114,600 |
| Chris Adams | 112,000 |
| Conrad Monica | 111,800 |
| ��Cowboy�� John Land | 110,000 |
| James Arruebarrena | 101,300 |
Registration is open until the start of Day 2, which kicks off at 2 p.m. on Saturday, so the final number of players, prize pool and first-place prize won��t be known until then. Of course the PokerNews Live Reporting Team will be providing coverage from the Harrah��s New Orleans, so be sure to follow all the action in our live blog.