Event #54: $500 Salute to Warriors Day 1 Is a Success; GGPoker's Nana Sanechika Progresses
After 3,209 entrants played 17 levels starting at 11:00 a.m. local time, players are bagging and tagging their chips in Event #54: $500 Salute to Warriors No-Limit Hold'em at the 2022 World Series of Poker just a little past 2:00 a.m. It has been a long day for most, but most of those left will see a return on their investment, with 498 coming back from Day 1 and 482 of those finishing in the money.
Veterans, sponsored professionals in addition to some players wanting to help a worthy charitable cause, or simply play a tournament joined us. Players such as Paulina 'Poker Bunny' Loeliger, Anson Tsang, WSOP Player of the Year contenders Dan Zack and Daniel Weinman all fell short on Day 1.
Brazil's Aryan Oliveira (1,328,000) bagged up the overnight chip lead. Four others finished with stacks north of one million: Jackson Traub (1,077,000), Patrick Pilko (1,057,000), and Gerry Harris (1,024,000).
Event #54: $500 Salute to Warriors Top 10 Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Country | Chips | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aryan Oliveira | Brazil | 1,328,000 | 111 |
| 2 | Jackson Traub | United States | 1,077,000 | 90 |
| 3 | Patrick Pilko | United States | 1,057,000 | 88 |
| 4 | Gerry Harris | United States | 1,024,000 | 85 |
| 5 | Susan Faber | United States | 990,000 | 83 |
| 6 | Samitti Eksarunchai | United States | 987,000 | 82 |
| 7 | Manuel Machado | Portugal | 930,000 | 78 |
| 8 | Robert Fauver | United States | 904,000 | 75 |
| 9 | Wilbert Chun | United States | 886,000 | 74 |
| 10 | Austin Srur | United States | 883,000 | 74 |
Many great stories were traded on Day 1. PokerNews heard a little bit from Shaun Colquhoun, Nick Goulart and others. Surely more great stories will emerge as we move down to the final few tables. You can read Goulart's story here and Colquhoun's here.
Some notable stacks include Sonia-Veronika Shashikhina (660,000),Paawan Bansal (842,000), GGPoker sponsored pro Nana Sanechika (205,000), and Manuel Machado (800,000).
Players will come back on June 27 at 12:00 p.m for Level 18 to play down to the final five players. From Bally's Ballroom, PokerNews will bring you up-to-date information on the tournament as another bracelet will be won, not to mention the $161,256 first place prize.