For Phil Hellmuth and Johnny Chan the WPT Mandalay Bay Poker Championship is an experience they will want to forget in a hurry. Fortunately for them the upcoming World Series of Poker is the perfect distraction.
Both players will be trying to win an historic eleventh WSOP bracelet when the WSOP begins next month, but they will need a bit more luck than they had here if they are to achieve that milestone.
Phil Hellmuth turned up to the Mandalay Bay Poker Championships a few hours late, as usual, by which time Johnny Chan had already been knocked out! The two-time WSOP main-event winner overplayed pocket jacks preflop and found Thomas Wahlroos more than happy to put all his chips in with pocket aces.
But it wasn’t long before Hellmuth joined him on the rail, after running headfirst into an opponent’s flopped quad deuces. There are some hands even a ten-time WSOP bracelet winner struggles to beat.
The top three at the end of Day One were Shawn Buchanon (158,075), Tim Herbert (155,175) and five-time WPT final table’ist John Juanda (112,325). There are plenty of other big names still in the hunt and Day Two kicks off at 12pm PDT.