Sunday brought the second of three Day 1 starting flights for the 2012 World Series of Poker Main Event. There were 2,144 entrants scattered around the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino on Day 1b, each taking their shot at the most prestigious prize in poker. Among the sea of hopefuls were a number of pros who finished the day near the top of the leaderboard, including Daniel Negreanu, Vanessa Selbst, Anh Van Nguyen, and Jason Somerville.
When registration closed on Day 1b, 3,180 players put up the $10,000 buy-in for the Main Event. Leading the Day 1b field was John Hoang with 180,000 chips, but plenty of pros came and went on Sunday. Among them were Tom Dwan, Joe Sebok, Todd Brunson, Chip Jett, Victor Ramdin, Bertrand ‘ElkY’ Grospellier, Amanda Musumeci, Yevgeniy Timoshenko, Greg Raymer, and UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St-Pierre.
St-Pierre was eliminated midway through the day by Stephan Patz. On his final hand, with the board reading 
, St-Pierre called a 1,700-chip bet from Patz, leaving only 2,125 behind. On the 
turn, St-Pierre called all in for his last 2,125 when Patz bet 3,000. Patz held the 
for a turned set while St-Pierre was holding 
for straight and flush draws. The river was the 
though, giving St-Pierre a useless two pair, while Patz got the elimination with his set. St-Pierre hugged Patz and was sent to the rail with fond of memories from his first Main Event experience. Unfortunately for Patz, he also busted later in the day.
Tom Dwan showed up very late in the day but still wasn’t able to advance to Day 2. On his final hand, with only 7,000 chips left, Dwan raised to 750 and got two callers in the blinds. The flop came 
and it checked to Dwan, who moved all in for his last 6,300. Both players called, including James Calderero in the small blind. The turn came the 
and Calderero moved all in for his last 6,625, prompting a fold from the big blind. Calderero held the 
for two pair, while Dwan was holding the 
for a straight draw. The river was the 
, bringing an end to Dwan’s Main Event while Calderero got a much needed double-up.
While dozens of notables faltered, many thrived on Day 1b, including Jason Somerville (144,725), Shaun Deeb (125,900), Brian Hastings (119,000), Sam Farha (118,500), Amnon Filippi (109,900), Bernard Lee (96,575), Eugene Katchalov (96,275), George Danzer (84,125), Dan Harrington (83,750), Robert Varkonyi (75,325), Jerry Yang (71,775), Barry Greenstein (60,825), Justin Bonomo (54,225), Liv Boeree (40,500), and Bryan Devonshire (22,525).
Vanessa Selbst continued her amazing 2012 World Series of Poker by flourishing on Day 1b. She was able to collected several pots throughout the day to build one of the biggest stacks in the room. On the final hand of the night at the ESPN main stage, Selbst managed to get all her chips in preflop holding 
against an opponent’s
. The flop brought no help for her opponent, and the turn was an 
to end matters. Selbst bagged up 168,350 chips when play concluded and will return as one of the leaders on Day 2.
Daniel Negreanu was another player to build a huge stack, finishing the day with 140,575 chips — the 11th largest stack coming out of Day 1b. While he was all business on the felt, Negreanu also spent much of Day 1b entertaining his fans on the rail. Throughout the day he could be seen talking with railbirds, and even rapping along to Dr. Dre songs with his fans at times.
Another player who enjoyed a good Day 1 was Bernard Lee, who managed to build up a stack of 96,575. In one hand, Lee opened the action from the small blind to 1,125. His opponent in the big blind three-bet to 3,300. Lee called and it was off to the 
flop. Lee checked to his opponent, who bet 4,400. Lee decided to put in a check-raise and made it 10,975 to go. Eventually after a long tank, his opponent called, and the turn was the 
. Lee put his opponent all in, and he eventually folded. Lee showed his opponent 
for a flopped set, and that hand moved him up to over 90,000 in chips.
On Tap
The aforementioned survivors will return for Day 2 on Tuesday at 1200 PST (2000 BST). Monday brings the final starting day of the Main Event. Action will begin at 1200 PST and a brand new set of players will attempt to last through five levels of action. Monday is expected to be the largest day yet, but it will take several thousand players to surpass the number from last year’s Main Event.
The PokerNews live reporting blog will have you covered with updates, hands, and chip counts from Day 1c of the 2012 World Series of Poker Main Event, so make sure you stay up to date with all your favorite players and celebrities.
Video of the Day
In the Video of the Day, Kristy Arnett and Sarah Grant preview the new World Series of Poker apparel line with several poker pros. Among them are Chad Brown, Jeff Madsen, Joe Hachem, Lauren Kling, and Eric Baldwin (and his mustache). For a look at all the brand new apparel, check out the video below.
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