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WSOP 2024 Highlights Day 40: Main Event Breaks Record

Day 40 of the 2024 World Series of Poker (WSOP) saw the biggest Main Event Day 1 ever, with a staggering 5,014 players entering the fray. This surge pushed the total field size to a whopping 9,288, making it the second-largest Main Event in history, just behind last year’s record of 10,043. With late registration still available for Day 2ABC and 2D, the record could potentially be broken.

John McDonald Leads Day 1D Survivors

John McDonald emerged as the Day 1D chip leader with a massive stack of 496,000. He was joined in the top stacks by Brian Hastings (252,100) and Aram Zobian (231,400).

The much-anticipated arrival of Phil Ivey finally happened on Day 1D. He finished the day with a respectable 162,500 in chips. Ivey wasn’t the only big name to join the fray; other notable players with healthy stacks included Ari Engel (209,400), Anson Tsang (205,900), Adam Friedman (177,400), Alex Livingston (174,500), and Greg Mueller (144,800).

WSOP 2009 Main Event winner, Joseph Cada, is back again for his shot to win it all this year! 🤞 Good luck, @cada99!

Who do you have your money on? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/UzQPgMLjnU

— PokerNews (@PokerNews) July 7, 2024

Familiar Faces Emerge In ME

Following yesterday’s influx of past champions, another half dozen joined the field today. These included Joe Cada (2009), Ryan Riess (2013), Martin Jacobson (2014), Joe McKeehen (2015), Espen Jorstad (2022), and last year’s winner, Daniel Weinman. Several poker legends also navigated Day 1D successfully.

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ALSO READ: WSOP 2024: Santhosh Suvarna Eyeing Bracelet #3 In $50K HR PLO

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These players include names like John Juanda (96,000), Brian Rast (130,500), Barry Greenstein (35,000), and Scotty Nguyen (104,200) all bagged chips for Day 2. David “ODB” Baker (137,600), Phil Laak (74,400), and Humberto Brenes (28,900) joined the group of veteran pros advancing further. Online crusher Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier (64,700) will also return for Day 2.

A Diverse Mix 

The field boasted a wide range of players beyond the established names. Ryan Leng (113,500), Jared Jaffee (96,700), Joao Vieira (112,000), Ana Marquez (94,400), Jake Schwartz (41,000), and Dario Sammartino (23,800) all progressed with healthy stacks.

🚨 | Watch Day 1D coverage of the MASSIVE field in the @WSOP MAIN EVENT live now on @PokerGO!

📸: @EloyCabacas
Follow our live updates ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/dtttwYQxds

— PokerNews (@PokerNews) July 7, 2024

Writer-turned-poker pro Maria Konnikova (74,400) and GGPoker ambassador Alexandra Botez (39,200) secured their spots in Day 2, along with Game of Gold participant Olga Iermolcheva (106,300), commentator Brent Hanks (123,800), and the husband-and-wife team of Kristen Foxen (122,200) and Alex Foxen (83,000). Some big names will need to grind harder on Day 2, including Matt Glantz (35,000), Allen Kessler (22,000), Cherish Andrews (25,000), and Kathy Liebert (15,000).

Indians who qualified via Day 1D

Many Indians qualified via flight Day 1D and will be seen grinding in Day 2D. Players like Ashish Anilkumar (200,000), Kavin Shah (175,600), Sriharsha Doddapaneni (169,300), Tarun Goyal (156,000), Kunal Punjwani (149,000), Arun Sriram (134,800), Sreekant Krishnamoorthy (146,400), Akshay Bharadwaj (122,200), Ankit Ahuja (82,400), Zarvan Tumboli (71,400), Aditya Systla (59,900), Aditya Sushant (50,700), Anil Adiani (24,100), and Abhishek Goindi (10,800).

Side Event Wraps Up

Survivors from Day 1A, 1B, and 1C will return for Day 2ABC on 7th July at noon. Players from Day 1D will then battle it out on Day 2D on 8th July. While the Main Event dominated the spotlight, Event #82: $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em also kicked off, offering a consolation option for Main Event busters.

The event attracted 1,424 players, building a prize pool of over $1 Million. Chance Kornuth bagged the chip lead with 501,000, followed by Daniel Olsen (677,000). Sam Farha (190,000), David Peters (63,000), and Jessica Teusl (40,000) were among the other notables to advance. The event will resume on July 7th at 3 PM to determine a champion.

For more WSOP 2024 updates, keep reading GutshotMagazine.com. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter  and Telegram.

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