807 days.
It has been 807 days since the last live cards were dealt to Hossein Ensan and Dario Sammartino to close out the 2019 World Series of Poker Championship Event. Yes, the “hybrid Main Event” took place last year (less said about that, the better), but for the first time in over two years, the WSOP came back to a live setting. Unfortunately, it does not seem that the players have come back yet as both tournaments on the Opening Day were vastly lower than in year’s past.
Casino Employees Event Lowest Level in Over a Decade
The traditional starting event for the WSOP, the $500 Casino Employees Event, pitched the cards bright and early on Thursday, but it was plainly evident that the numbers were vastly lower than in previous years. 419 players would eventually pony up their cash for a shot at a 2021 WSOP bracelet, generating a prize pool of just over $175,000. Those are the lowest figures for the Casino Employees Event since the halcyon days of the mid-Aughts, when only 279 showed for what was then a Limit event.
There is still a bracelet to hand out and the players went about their duties appropriately. By the end of the Day 1 action, only fifty players were left in the action. Leo Abbe, who works sportsbook promotion with DraftKings, will hold the chip lead when Day 2 kicks off on Friday.
1. Leo Abbe, 537,000
2. Shawn Weintraub, 474,000
3. Roberto Reyna, 461,000
4. Andrew Bart, 422,000
5. Akash Desai, 415,000
The 50 survivors in the Casino Employees Event are all in the money, with a minimum payday of $886 for everyone left. The eventual champion that will be crowned tonight will be awarded the WSOP bracelet and a payday of $39,013 for their efforts.
$25,000 H.O.R.S.E. New Event on Schedule, Draws High Roller Elites
The late afternoon action saw the crème of the High Roller elite step into the breech. The second event on the 2021 WSOP schedule, the $25,000 H.O.R.S.E. tournament, was a new tournament on the schedule. The tournament itself used to be one of the prime events of the Series, but recent years it had fallen by the wayside as larger mixed game events took its place. It was the right tournament to draw out the prominent pros, albeit the final numbers are not known as of yet.
The five-game rotation, consisting of Limit Hold’em, Omaha Hi/Lo Eight or Better, Razz, Seven Card Stud and Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo Eight or Better, is considered one of the toughest tests of a poker players abilities. The $25,000 buy in ensured that only those with the skills (and the deep pockets) would be stepping to the felt.
One of those players was poker commentator Norman Chad. Chad, who will once again be managing the call on the $10,000 Championship Event along with Lon McEachern and Jamie Kerstetter, sold shares of himself with the markup going to support Hope for Depression Research Foundation. He did well for himself through the day, eventually finishing just over his starting stack with 150,500 in chips to sit in the middle of the pack for Day 2 on Friday.
73 players have so far entered the tournament, but registration is still open until the first cards hit the air on Friday. Leading the way will be Chad Eveslage, but there is not a weak spot anywhere in the tournament’s 47 surviving players.
1. Chad Eveslage, 860,000
2. John Monnette, 589,500
3. Jean Gaspard, 569,000
4. Jesse Klein, 490,500
5. Mike Matusow, 420,500
Friday Schedule Brings Two More Tournaments
Along with the three events from Thursday (a COVID charity event also was in action), Friday will bring two more tournaments to the floors of the Rio. Event #4, the $500 “The Reunion,” will have the first of three-Day Ones on Friday beginning at 10AM (Pacific Time). There is a $5 million guarantee on this tournament, but it is going to be difficult to predict the numbers after the lukewarm response in the Casino Employees Event.
Friday will also see another non-Texas Hold’em event on the schedule. Event #5, the Omaha Hi/Lo Eight or Better, will take to the baize at 3PM. It will be the first midrange event of the 2021 WSOP, so it might be a better test to see if the player numbers continue the trend. It is all a part of the first weekend of action at the 2021 World Series of Poker, greatly appreciated after a two-year absence.
