Mike Allis Survives Huge Day 1c Field of $300 Gladiators of Poker
An intense day of action at the 2023 World Series of Poker has come to a close with the conclusion of Day 1c of Event #18: $300 Gladiators of Poker.
A massive 6,110 entries filled Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas, bringing the total attendance for the event to over 14,600. With Saturday's Day 1d still to come and another large field expected, this event has a chance to become only the fifth tournament in WSOP history to exceed 20,000 entries. The $3,000,000 guarantee has been shattered, as the prize pool now stands at over $3.6 million with one more day of action still to come.
Day 1c Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Richard Gao | United States | 3,105,000 | 62 |
| 2 | Peter Lee | United States | 3,100,000 | 62 |
| 3 | Vito Branciforte | Italy | 2,685,000 | 54 |
| 4 | Lindsay Jones | United States | 2,465,000 | 49 |
| 5 | Jason Aden | United States | 2,285,000 | 46 |
| 6 | Christopher Crutcher | United States | 2,285,000 | 46 |
| 7 | Ugur Secilmis | Turkey | 2,150,000 | 43 |
| 8 | William Rowlett | United States | 2,000,000 | 40 |
| 9 | Jiawei Mao | United States | 1,980,000 | 40 |
| 10 | Qiong Ding | United States | 1,880,000 | 38 |
Big Names In The Action
The field included numerous notable players who did battle throughout the day. Players failing to reach Day 2 included former Main Event champions Greg "Fossilman" Raymer and Jamie Gold as well as Patrick Leonard, Kyna England, JJ Liu, Joseph Altomonte, Ugur Secilmis, and Lexy Gavin-Mather.
One of the most notable of the 227 players that bagged is Mike Allis, who finished the day with 1,865,000 chips. Allis won his first bracelet last year by taking down Event #71: $1,111 One More for One Drop. His quest for a second bracelet was helped by a miracle turn and river to survive.
The Day 1c chipleader was Vito Branciforte, who will take 2,685,000 to Day 2. Also near the top of the charts was Jason Aden with 2,285,000, although the 3,405,000 score from Patrick White in Day 1a still tops the overall leaderboard.
"Chip and a Chair"
Making it to a Day 2 can sometimes be a long and winding road. Matt "Matty J" Johnston resumed play after the dinner break with 18,000, less than he would have to put in as the big blind. He was able to not only make the money, but also to bag 145,000 and continue on to Day 2.
Austin Carr also made Day 2 by bagging a single 5,000-value red chip. "It's my first WSOP," Carr told PokerNews. "Chip and a chair?"
Day 1d kicks off at 10 a.m. on Saturday. Surviving players will join the 507 that have already qualified for Sunday's Day 2. PokerNews will have continuing coverage of this event all the way until a bracelet is awarded.