Ray Henson Bags Chip Lead on Day 1 of Event #44: $3,000 6-Handed Limit Hold'em
A full 10 levels were completed on Day 1 of Event #44: $3,000 6-Handed Limit Hold'em that saw a total of 162 players take to the felt. By the time all was said and done, only 78 players bagged up chips with Ray Henson leading the charge. Henson ended the day with a total of 243,000 chips, the only player with a stack over 200,000.
Henson has racked up five total cashes thus far through the 2021 World Series of Poker, including a final table appearance in the $1,500 Dealer's Choice event where he finished in third place. Henson is still seeking his first-ever WSOP gold bracelet and he has put himself in a good position to get the job done.
Some other big stacks to end Day 1 include Kevin Klassen (183,500), Anna Wroblewski (146,000), Anthony Zinno (138,000), and Jesse Lonis (122,500). Zinno has already doubled his number of WSOP bracelets this year with a total of four now and is currently in second place in the Player of the Year race.
Day 1 Top 10 Chip Counts
| RANK | PLAYER | Country | CHIP COUNT |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Raymond Henson | United States | 243,000 |
| 2 | Thomas Mou | United States | 232,000 |
| 3 | Kevin Klassen | United States | 183,500 |
| 4 | Kevin Rand | United States | 162,000 |
| 5 | JJ Liu | United States | 147,500 |
| 6 | Anna Wroblewski | United States | 146,000 |
| 7 | John Hoang | United States | 144,500 |
| 8 | John Cavanagh | United States | 143,000 |
| 9 | Christopher Hartman | United States | 139,500 |
| 10 | Alex Torry | United States | 139,500 |
Some other notables to keep an eye on heading to Day 2 are Dan Zack (121,000), Mike Matusow (96,500), Robert Campbell (76,000), Julien Martini (68,000), and defending champion Tu Dao (52,500).
By the end of late registration, there were plenty of familiar faces that took their shot with a 40,000 chip starting stack but not all were lucky enough to make it through. Some of those to hit the rail throughout the day include Daniel Negreanu, Phil Hellmuth, Maria Ho, Jeremy Ausmus, Shaun Deeb, and Ryan Leng.
The action will resume at 2 p.m. tomorrow inside the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino. The blinds will begin at 1,500/2,500 with another 10 levels on the schedule. The money bubble should be expected to burst mid-way through the day with the payouts and prize pool being confirmed by the start of play.
Follow along with the PokerNews live reporting team for all of the updates throughout the tournament.