Event #1: $500 Casino Employees
Day 2 Completed
2023 World Series of Poker
Event #1: $500 Casino Employees
Day: 2
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 2
2023 World Series of Poker
Buy-in
$500
Prize Pool
$426,300
Entries
1,015
Level
33
Blinds
150,000 / 300,000
Ante
300,000
Entries
89
Players Left
1
Level 33
: Blinds 150,000/300,000, 300,000 ante
The first tournament of the 2023 World Series of Poker has come to an end and the first gold bracelet of the series was held up high today by Peter Thai. Thai stood tall at the end of Event #1: $500 Casino Employees Event No-Limit Hold’em after he defeated James Urbanic ($46,690) in heads-up play.
A total of 1,015 entries turned out and generated a prize pool of $426,300.
Paul Blanchette finished in third, while Bruce Jiang was fourth and Day 1 chip leader Benson Tam bowed out in fifth place after a double elimination that propelled Thai to the top of the chip counts.
This was the third largest Casino Employees Event in the history of the WSOP and an excellent indicator that this summer will be one of the biggest yet.
Event #1: $500 Casino Employees Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Peter Thai | United States | $75,535 |
| 2 | James Urbanic | United States | $46,690 |
| 3 | Paul Blanchette | United States | $33,051 |
| 4 | Bruce Jiang | United States | $23,738 |
| 5 | Benson Tam | United States | $17,303 |
| 6 | Sean Balfour | Canada | $12,802 |
| 7 | Keith McCormack | United States | $9,617 |
| 8 | Joe Pavan | United States | $7,337 |
| 9 | Lisa Eckstein | United States | $5,686 |
Winner's Reaction
"I never expected to win," Thai said in his post-win interview with PokerNews. "I came here just wanting to have fun and one thing led to another. It was an unforgettable experience.
Thai's path wasn't easy. He entered the table among the chip leaders, but he found a lot of adversity on his way to his gold bracelet.
"I went through a tough final table. I doubled up several people, and it was kind of ridiculous."
Home is in California, where Thai is a table games dealer at Parkwest Casino 580 in Livermore.
"I’m an avid poker player. I don’t play that often, but I still know how to play. I play more cash games than tournaments. I have a lot of tournament experience, mostly from playing a lot of online sit and gos from my college days."
Thai is headed back to California after the big win, but he plans to return later in the WSOP to play more events.
"Overall, the experience is unbelievable and I can’t wait to share this with everyone back home."
Day 2 Highlights
Other notables who made Day 2 of this event included PokerNews’ own Chad Holloway and Jesse Fullen, who both fell short of the final two tables but logged their first cash in the series, nonetheless.
Thai started Day 2 with 391,000 chips, enough for 19th place, but he battled his way through the field and got his hands on all 23,000,000 chips in play. His reward for achieving that goal? A coveted gold WSOP bracelet and the top prize of $75,535.
Lisa Eckstein was the first casualty of the final table, bowing out in ninth place after Tam put her at risk with his queen-jack and caught up to her pocket tens. Joe Pavan hit the rail next after he got it in with pocket sixes and lost when Jiang rivered a set of fours.
Seven-handed play went on for some time as the action tightened up, but eventually, it was Keith McCormack who was out in seventh when his ace-queen couldn't beat Jiang's pocket fives. Sean Balfour was next in sixth after Blanchette beat his ace-six with pocket tens.
The slow pace of the final table evaporated quickly in the endgame with the double-knockout of Tam and Jiang. Tam shoved with a suited jack-nine, but Jiang had pocket queens, and Thai had pocket kings. Thai held on to knock both players out and send the tournament to three-handed play.
Blanchette was out quickly in third when his suited eight-nine couldn't beat Thai's flopped pair of kings. Urbanic was the last obstacle for Thai, and the big moment came when Thai held on with king-ten to beat a short-stacked shove with queen-seven.
That wraps up coverage of the opening event of the 2023 WSOP, but be sure to keep it tuned to PokerNews for live updates from the floor of your favorite events throughout the summer.
Level 33
: Blinds 150,000/300,000, 300,000 ante
Keep an eye out for a full tournament recap coming shortly. Congratulations to the first bracelet of 2023, Peter Thai.
Level 33
: Blinds 150,000/300,000, 300,000 ante
James Urbanic went all-in with the few chips he had left and Peter Thai quickly called.
James Urbanic: Q?7?
Peter Thai: K?10?
Urbanic's rail cheered, rooting for him to hit the cards he needed. It would be an uphill battle, as the flop came 10?10?4?. The turn was the Q?, giving Urbanic two outs to pull ahead. The 4? fell on the river, officially making it Urbanic's last pot in the 2023 WSOP $500 Employees Event #1.
Both players congratulated each other and admitted it was an experience of a lifetime.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
23,000,000
2,500,000
|
2,500,000 |
|
||
|
Busted | |
Level 33
: Blinds 150,000/300,000, 300,000 ante
Peter Thai went all-in from the small blind and Paul Blanchette put his remaining chips in to call, cards were quickly on their backs.
Paul Blanchette: 8?9?
Peter Thai: K?2?
After a whirlwind of bust-outs, Peter Thai had 80% of the chips in play. A King in the window and four bricks left Paul Blanchette eliminated in third place for $33,051. Blanchette remained jovial, as he had the time of his life and was thrilled to have made the podium considering how long play lasted seven-handed.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
20,500,000
3,700,000
|
3,700,000 |
|
|
||
|
Busted | |
Level 33
: Blinds 150,000/300,000, 300,000 ante
Benson Tam shoved 975,000 under the gun before Bruce Jiang to his immediate left shoved all in for 4,925,000. Urbanic asked for a count before deciding on a fold and Peter Thai snap-called behind putting both Tam and Jiang at risk.
Benson Tam: J?9?
Bruce Jiang: Q?Q?
Peter Thai: K?K?
The board ran out 4?2?4?9?6? giving Thai a massive double knockout with Benson Tam finishing 5th for $17,303 and Bruce Jiang bowing out in 4th for $23,738, making Thai the massive chip leader going into three-handed play.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
16,800,000
7,000,000
|
7,000,000 |
|
|
||
|
Busted | |
|
Busted | |
|
||
Level 33
: Blinds 150,000/300,000, 300,000 ante
Sean Balfour was all in preflop against Paul Blanchette. Balfour had been short the entirety of the final table and was at risk.
Sean Balfour: A?6x
Paul Blanchette: 10?10?
The board ran out 7?K?6?9x5x and Blanchette added to his stack. Balfour was eliminated in 6th place and cashed for $12,802.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
4,300,000
2,100,000
|
2,100,000 |
|
Busted |
Level: 33
Blinds: 150,000/300,000
Ante: 300,000
Level 32
: Blinds 125,000/250,000, 250,000 ante
The final six players are on a short 15-minute break.
Level 32
: Blinds 125,000/250,000, 250,000 ante
Action folded to Keith McCormack in the cutoff who shove for around 2,000,000. Bruce Jiang called from the button and Paul Blanchette quickly called off his remaining stack from the small blind, creating a three-way all in with two players at risk.
Paul Blanchette: 8?6?
Keith McCormack: A?Q?
Bruce Jiang: 5?5?
The board ran out K?6?8?7?10? giving Blanchette two pair good for more than a triple up while Jiang's fives held for the side pot, eliminating Keith McCormack in 7th place for $9,617.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
6,200,000
2,360,000
|
2,360,000 |
|
|
2,200,000
-600,000
|
-600,000 |
|
Busted |