Justin Bonomo Bags Chip Lead in Day 1 of $50,000 High Roller (8-Handed)
One of the most exciting events so far at the 2023 World Series of Poker (WSOP) kicked off today as Event #23: $50,000 High Roller (8-Handed) drew 111 players on Day 1 at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas, including several Poker Hall of Famers and many of the best high-stakes pros. That includes all-time money leader Justin Bonomo, who bagged a sizable chip lead as the only player with over 2,000,000 chips.
Bonomo will return for Day 2 tomorrow at noon local time with fellow high rollers Talal Shakerchi (1,688,000), Sam Soverel (1,450,000) and Chris Brewer (1,618,000), who is looking to best his recent third-place finish in Event #8: $25,000 Heads Up No-Limit Hold'em Championship.
Also among the 48 players who bagged on Day 1 are last year's $250,000 Super High Roller champion Alex Foxen (1,236,000), recent Event #2: $25,000 High Roller (6-Handed) runner-up Chance Kornuth (1,236,000), five-time bracelet winner Jeremy Ausmus (1,016,000) and controversial defending champion Jake Schindler (670,000), who was eliminated by Kornuth late in the day then reentering.
End of Day 1 Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chips | Day 2 Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Justin Bonomo | United States | 2,024,000 | 127 |
| 2 | Talal Shakerchi | United Kingdom | 1,688,000 | 106 |
| 3 | Chris Brewer | United States | 1,618,000 | 101 |
| 4 | Sam Soverel | United States | 1,459,000 | 91 |
| 5 | Chance Kornuth | United States | 1,313,000 | 82 |
| 6 | Alex Foxen | United States | 1,236,000 | 77 |
| 7 | Leon Sturm | Germany | 1,118,000 | 70 |
| 8 | Jeremy Ausmus | United States | 1,016,000 | 64 |
| 9 | Sergio Aido | Spain | 984,000 | 62 |
| 10 | Seth Davies | United States | 961,000 | 60 |
Of a trio of Poker Hall of Famers, only John Hennigan was able to survive as Daniel Negreanu, who will have to rely on a deep run in Event #18: $300 Gladiators of Poker, fired two bullets before running ace-queen into the pocket queens of Kornuth, while Erik Seidel was also eliminated as Day 1 came to a close.
Other players who will return for Day 2 include Dan Smith, Justin Saliba, Dominik Nitsche, Kevin Rabichow, Brian Kim, reigning Main Event champion Espen Jorstad and newly minted bracelet winner Isaac Haxton.
There were plenty of exciting moments during the eight 60-minute levels of Day 1, including a hand at the end of the night where Bonomo crushed Ren Lin's pocket jacks to nearly double into the chip lead. Bonomo and Lin were seated side-by-side and chatted jovially throughout the day.
Bonomo wasn't the only one to crack a big pair as earlier in the day Alexandros Theologis flopped a set of treys to double through the aces of Masashi Oya. He almost did it a second time against Hennigan after he flopped the nut flush draw with Big Slick before the six-time bracelet winner's rockets ultimately held up for a double.
In another highlight, Daniel Rezaei flopped quads in a three-bet pot against Seidel and managed to get two streets of action against the nine-time bracelet winner, who laughed as Rezaei showed him his cards.
There are sure to be plenty more highlights as the action continues Saturday with Day 2. Players return to blinds of 8,000/16,000/16,000. Late registration is open until the start of Day 2, so there will likely be more players joining.
Stay tuned as the PokerNews live reporting team will be back tomorrow for continued coverage of Event #23: $50,000 High Roller (8-Handed) here at the 2023 WSOP.