Welcome to Day 1G (Turbo) of the Zynga Poker WPT500 Las Vegas at ARIA Resort & Casino

By Tim Duckworth

Welcome to Day 1G (Turbo) of the Zynga Poker WPT500 Las Vegas from the ARIA Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The sixth installment of the WPT500 Las Vegas is again holding center stage at the ARIA Resort & Casino as they have been the hub for the poker summer for the World Poker Tour. In 2014, Sean Yu won the inaugural WPT500 Las Vegas when he defeated the 3,599-entrant field to capture the $260,000 first-place prize.

The following year saw Craig Varnell collect the $330,000 first-place prize when he topped the 5,113-entrant field. England’s Andreas Olympios captured the 2016 WPT500 Las Vegas when he defeated the 3,956-entrant field to capture the $260,000 first-place prize. In 2017, Jon Borenstein notched the first major win of his career topping the 3,541-entrant field for a $230,000 payday.

The defending champion of the 2018 Zynga Poker WPT500 Las Vegas is Greek Kyriakos Papadopoulos who used his chip lead as a tool of domination on his way to topping the 2,983-entrant field to capture the $207,940 first-prize on a final table that included Bobby Poe, Adi Ben Ami, Chris Bell, and Zynga Poker VIP player Hugh Grant.

WPT500 History Packed with Big Winners at ARIA by Sean Chaffin

Day 1A kicked off on Friday with 205-entrants taking to the field. 26 players finished in-the-money, and when the dust settled, just 11 players survived into Day 2 with Sung Joo Hyun the chip leader with 690,000. WPT Vietnam champion Dhaval Mudgal (408,000) also managed to bag chips, while WPT Champions Club member David Larson finished in 15th place for $1,200 and Patrick Eskander finished in 26th place for $900.

Day 1B on Saturday saw 239 entries throughout the day, and with 30 players finishing in-the-money, just 12 players would survive into Day 2 with Marco Bognanni the chip leader with 842,000. Poker media member Mo Nuwwarah (718,000) and adda52 Pro Nikita Luther (713,000) also survived.

Sunday saw two flights play out with both Day 1C and Day 1D (Turbo) attracting 113=entries that saw six players survive from each flight. Zakhar Galper (615,000) lead the survivors on Day 1C, while Day 1D (Turbo) was led by Sheldon Gross (540,000). Monday was the second day that featured two flights, and Day 1E attracted 485 entrants with 25 players surviving into Day 2 led by Samy Boujmala (688,000), while the evening Day 1F (Turbo) flight saw 226 entrants as Min Ji (1,023,000) topped the 12 survivors and is the current overall chip leader. Currently 72 players have survived into Day2 from the 1,381 entrants.

Zynga Poker WPT500 Las Vegas Structure and Schedule

The Zynga Poker WPT500 Las Vegas is a $570 buy-in, and registration and unlimited re-entry is open until the beginning of level nine. Players will begin with 20,000 in tournament chips and levels are 30 minutes in duration for the first eight levels, and 40 minutes thereafter with a 15-minute break every two hours and a 40-minute dinner break.

For the Turbo flights (Day 1D, 1F, 1G, and 1H) levels will be 15 minutes in duration for the first eight levels, and 20 minutes thereafter. There will be no scheduled dinner break.

Each Day 1 flight finishes in the money with 12.5% of the starting field paid. Play will conclude each day when 5% of the field remains, and they will bag their chips for Day 2 and be guaranteed a minimum payout of $1,500:

• Top 5% = $1,500+
• 5% – 8.5% = $1,200
• 8.5% – 12.5% = $900

When all the Day 1 flights combine for Day 2 action, levels will be 40 minutes in duration and play will continue until the Zynga Poker WPT500 Las Vegas final table is set. The Zynga Poker WPT500 Las Vegas will be played using a big blind ante and the Action Clock, provided by Protection Poker, will be implemented on Day 2 when 80 players remain across ten tables.

The stage is now set for the Zynga Poker WPT500 Las Vegas and Day 1G (Turbo) action that is set to begin at 11 a.m. (PDT) from the ARIA Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. Today will also feature two turbo flights with Day 1H (Turbo) kicking off at 7 p.m. (PDT). Stay tuned right here to WPT.com for exclusive live coverage of the tournament from start to finish, and to see who will be the next player to take home the Zynga Poker WPT500 Las Vegas trophy and title.

Photography by Joe Giron / PokerPhotoArchive

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