WSOP Event #48: Day 1 Ends With 87 Survivors

One PLO Hi/Lo Eight-or-better tournament is behind us (Event #46)
and a new one has already come to life. The $1,500 Event
#48 has kicked off with a total of 762 players taking their seats, thus
generating a prize pool of $1,040,130. Only 72 players will end in the
money and whoever claims the title will walk away with $228,867.

This tournament has a structure which allows the players to go berserk in
the early stages and get away with it, even if their mad all-in play
fails. The reason behind this? Each player is given a starting stack of
1,500 in chips along with two red chips which can be exchanged for an
additional 1,500 in case your stack runs dry or you simply want to
enlarge your current stack.

As expected, many familiar faces showed up for this event, such as
Allen Cunninghan, Nenad Medic, the Omaha Hi/Lo specialist Thang Luu,
Roland De Wolfe, Kathy Liebert, Jason Mercier, Vitaly Lunkin, Dario
Alioto and many more.

The play didn't even properly begin and some of the pros were already
sent to the rail. Mike Sexton called a raise of 150 and then faced a
re-raise to 900. With a lot of chips already in the pot and just one
player against him, Sexton decided to go ahead and commit his last 650
to the pot and his opponent quickly made the call. Sexton turned over and his opponent tabled . The board came and Sexton was out. Marcel Luske, Victor Ramdin and Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi were also seen making early exits.

Another pro who found himself in trouble early on was Phil Hellmuth (pictured left). He limped in and his opponent said, "You're my favourite player, but I have to raise you." An additional 600 went into the middle and Hellmuth made the call. The flop came , Hellmuth check-raised all-in and his opponent made the call. Hellmuth turned over and his opponent showed . The turn brought and the river came which crippled Hellmuth to 3,200 in chips and doubled up his opponent.

However, the Hellmuth saga was not about to end just like that, the Poker Brat would soon mount a nice comeback and restore his chances of making it through the day. The board read and Hellmuth led out for 700. Two opponents called and the action moved to the river card .
It was checked to Hellmuth who fired 1,100 into the pot which left him
with 700 behind. One player folded and the other made the call.
Hellmuth announced, "Nuts!" and showed for a full house which got him up to 5,500 in chips.

While Jimmy Fricke and others were joining the rail, the Hellmuth show continued until the end of the day. On a flop of , Hellmuth shipped last of his chips into the pot and Chris Reslock called. Hellmuth showed while Reslock held . The turn brought and when the river came , Hellmuth was out of danger and free to scoop the nice pot which got him up to 20,100 in chips, meanwhile Reslock was down to below 5,000.

Hellmuth's stack received another boost close to the end of the play. Hellmuth opened for 4,200 and one opponent called. The flop came and both players checked. The turn brought and again they just checked. The river came , Hellmuth bet 3,200 and said, "You know I only win half the pot always." His opponent muched and Hellmuth moved up to 48,000 in chips.

The play was eventually stopped for the day with just 87 players remaining. Allen Cunningham, Kathy Liebert, Berry Johnston, Terrence Chan, Justin Young and Jason Mercier are some of the player who won't be returning for Day 2. With likes of Hellmuth, Brandon Cantu and Lee Markholt still in the hunt for the title, the second play day will certainly be anything but dull.

Here are the top 10 chip stacks after Day 1:

World Series Of Poker Event #48 Standings
Rank	Name	Chips
1st	Perry Friedman	144,500
2nd	Tommy Vedes	119,300
3rd	Barry Craig	114,600
4th	Brandon Cantu	105,000
5th	Ray Bonavida	104,600
6th	Don Harris	95,900
7th	Rodeen Talebi	93,000
8th	Jacqmin Mathieu	71,500
9th	Sean Getzwiller	71,000
10th	Einar Lindestad	64,500