Chris Gallagher Leads at the End of Event #1: $565 Casino Employees No-Limit Hold'Em

Adam Lamers

Level 20 : 5,000/10,000, 1,000 ante

After an action-packed day in Event #1: $565 Casino Employees No-Limit Hold'Em, play has finally concluded with just 11 players remaining. Chris Gallagher will head into Day 2 as a slight chip leader with 519,000. This will be the first time Gallagher has cashed in a WSOP event, and he now looks to wrap up the title tomorrow. Chris Solomon isn't far behind, sitting with 513,000, and Jermel Stephens rounds out the top three with 418,000.

There were a total of 651 entries at the conclusion of registration which made up a prizepool of $325,500. They were all vying for the first place prize of $68,817 but only 11 remain with the hopes of capturing the first WSOP bracelet of 2017.

Play started off quickly with the first elimination coming in the first couple of hands, and that set the pace for the entire day. Players continued to drop quickly and often and Victor Kim burst the money bubble before the dinner break. Celebrations began as the remaining 98 players knew they were guaranteed to take home a minimum cash prize of $834.

Some notables that were in the field at the start of play but failed to reach the money included Kenny Hallaert, David Tuchman, Erica Lindgren, Dana Castaneda, Jesse Capps, and Molly Anne Mossey. Others that finished in the money are 2015 WSOP Casino Employees Event champion Brandon Barnette (20th place - $1,874), Christian Percevecz (37th place - $1,351), Christopher Womack (47th place - $1,182), and Kenji Ikeda (85th place - $856).

The remaining 11 players that return tomorrow will play until one more elimination takes place, and then redraw for the unofficial final table of ten. Blinds will begin at 6000/12000 with 2000 ante and be 60-minute levels. Play will conclude once a champion is crowned and a WSOP bracelet will be handed out.

Here is a look at how they stack up heading into Day 2:

Tournament Room	Tables	Seat	Player	Country	Chip Count	Big Blinds
Miranda	600	2	Alex Cordova	United States	348,000	29
Miranda	600	3	Chris Solomon	United States	513,000	43
Miranda	600	4	Nathan Bolinger	United States	77,000	6
Miranda	600	5	Bryan Hollis	United States	290,000	24
Miranda	600	6	Adem Arbuckle	United States	243,000	20
Miranda	600	8	Victor Kim	United States	323,000	27

Miranda	601	1	Haviv Bahar	United States	145,000	12
Miranda	601	2	Vincent Russell	United Kingdom	216,000	18
Miranda	601	3	Chris Gallagher	United States	519,000	43
Miranda	601	4	Josh Clanton	United States	172,000	14
Miranda	601	6	Jermel Stephens	United States	418,000	35

Player	Chips	Progress
Chris Gallagher	519,000 124,000	124,000
Chris Solomon	513,000 263,000	263,000
Jermel Stephens	418,000 58,000	58,000
Alex Cordova	348,000 -12,000	-12,000
Victor Kim	323,000 -97,000	-97,000
Bryan Hollis	290,000 28,000	28,000

Adem Arbuckle	243,000 9,000	9,000
Vincent Russell	216,000 -4,000	-4,000
Josh Clanton	172,000 -8,000	-8,000
Haviv Bahar	145,000 -55,000	-55,000
Nathan Bolinger	77,000 -36,000	-36,000