Danchev Leads After Day 1; Kelly and Katchalov Near the Top
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After eight levels of play here on Day 1 of Event #19: $5,000 Pot-Limit Hold'em, less than 80 of the original 195 players remain. Leading the way is 2013 PCA Main Event winner Dimitar Danchev. On one of the last hands of the evening, Danchev eliminated Kyle Julius, who finished runner-up in the 2012 PCA Main Event. Julius moved all in on the turn of a jack-high board with a king-high flush draw, and Danchev called with two pair, holding when the river produced a brick.
Joining Danchev atop the charts are Dan Kelly, Ted Lawson, and Eugene Katchalov. Kelly is off to a very hot start in the 44th annual World Series of Poker, reaching the final tables of the $5,000 Eight-Handed Event and the Millionaire Maker. He also made Day 3 of the $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. event, which concluded today, but was unable to capture his second bracelet in any of those three events. Kelly will return tomorrow looking to capture his fifth cash and make his fourth Day 3 of the 2013 WSOP.
Katchalov, who has one cash at the 2013 WSOP, is looking to reach his first Day 3 of the summer. He made a full house in Level 2 and never looked back. Lawson, who only cashed in two events at the 2012 WSOP, is looking to reach the money for the first time in 2013. He played a massive hand in Level 5 against Andrey Zaichenko, where Zaichenko moved all in on the river of a dangerous-looking board. Lawson tank-called with two aces, and the Russian mucked his hand.
While those players prospered, others did not. There were plenty of players who hit the rail, including the aforementioned Zaichenko, Hasan Habib, Phil Hellmuth, Tom Marchese, Bryn Kenney, Brian Rast, Antonio Esfandiari, Dan Smith, Jonathan Little, Mohsin Charania, Phil Ivey, and Daniel Negreanu. Ivey was shuffling back and forth between this event and the $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em event that started the day, before finally busting over here in the last level of play. On the contrary, Negreanu busted on the first hand of the day. Kid Poker moved all in with a gut-shot straight flush draw, and Manuel Bevand called with middle set. Bevand held, and Negreanu hit the rail.
Despite the fast start, Bevand also busted on Day 1.
Day 2 will begin at 2 p.m. PDT in the Tan Section of the Amazon Room. We look forward to bringing you more up-to-the-minute updates straight from the tournament floor, but until then, goodnight from Las Vegas!