Pavlin Karakikov Bags Chip Lead on Day 1a of Event #39: $1,500 Monster Stack
A total of 3,945 players entered Day 1a of Event #38: $1,500 Monster Stack, the first of two Day 1 flights at the 2023 World Series of Poker at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas. The number smashed the attendance of 2,947 set on Day 1a of last year's event
The gargantuan field generated a massive prize pool of $5,266,575, a number that will continue to grow as Day 1b on Saturday is expected to be an even bigger flight.
After 11 hours of play a total of 1,242 players found a bag for Sunday's Day 2. Pavlin Karakikov ended the day as the chip leader, bagging 593,500 at the end of the day. Other notable big stacks at the end of the day include Arun Malhotra (563,500), Adrian Bertini (549,500) and Fabian Gumz (512,000).
Day 1a Top Ten Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Country | Chip count |
| 1 | Pavlin Kanakikov | Bulgaria | 593,500 |
| 2 | Arun Malhotra | Canada | 563,500 |
| 3 | Adrian Bertini | United States | 549,500 |
| 4 | Micha Bitton | United States | 544,000 |
| 5 | Yuhan Huo | United States | 538,000 |
| 6 | Todd Sekli | Australia | 530,000 |
| 7 | Viktor Lavi | Egypt | 516,000 |
| 8 | Fabian Gumz | Germany | 512,000 |
| 9 | Shahin Edalatdju | United States | 510,000 |
| 10 | Jorge Consiglieri | United States | 509,000 |
Adam Hendrix also seemed in control for the entire day today, ending with an impressive 469,000 chips. Other notables to advance to Day 2 include Benjamin Spragg (409,000), Faraz Jaka (185,000), Ryan Riess (135,500), Patrick Leonard (162,000), Greg Raymer (159,000) and Joe McKeehen (85,500).
Notables to bust before the end of the day include Jamie Gold, Tiffany Michelle, Michael Holtz, Steven Bucker and Brad Owen.
Day 1b starts at 10 a.m. local time on Saturday and will once again play 11 60-minute levels with breaks every two hours. The surviving players will return for Day 2 on Sunday at 10 a.m.
Stay tuned to Pokernews for all live updates from this event up until a winner is crowned on Day 4 which will take place on Tuesday, June 20.