WSOP 2013 Begins

WSOP 2013 Begins

Thursday, 30 May 2013

It’s the jewel in the poker world’s crown, the glinting diamond in the distance that draws players from across the world to Las Vegas, and its 44th incarnation kicked off last night.

Gearing up for another epic summer of poker inside the Rio, the World Series of Poker welcomed 896 casino employees to its first event of 2013.

Held especially for those who work in the industry, the popular event managed to generate a prizepool of more than $400,000 and a top prize of $84,915.

The high octane tournament has already seen a number of eliminations with the field currently poised (at the time of writing) at 55 players with Michael Trivett leading the way.

While the workers enjoyed an exclusive shot at glory, the world’s best sat down for the first open tournament of the 2013 WSOP.

The $5,000 8-Handed No Limit Hold’em event welcomed a hot of recognisable faces, including Phil Ivey, Jason Mercier, Chris Moorman and Olympic legend Michael Phelps, as the Day 1 field peaked at 481 players.

After grinding through eight levels more than half of the starting field had been eliminated and carrying the chip leading into the second session will be Tom Marchese with 153,975 chips.

The American pro enjoyed a fruitful day that saw him outlast the likes Marvin Rettenmaier and Daniel Negreanu, to finish top of the 232 survivors.
Day 2 will commence tomorrow when the field will take another step towards a coveted WSOP bracelet and a top prize of $533,906.



Tags: WSOP 2013, Tom Marchese, Phil Ivey, Jason Mercier, Michael Phelps, Chris Moorman