Wynn Classic Main Event -- Day 1

The preliminary events were a success, and the deep stacks and long structures were player favorites, but the jury was still out on whether the Wynn Classic main event was going to attract a decent-sized field. With competition at the Bay 101 Shooting Star in San Jose, many thought the Wynn would struggle to even get a quarter of last year's 183-player field to return.

Instead, the turnout surprised even some tournament officials, as the field grew over the registration period to 104. That entrant count was just enough for the prize pool to climb over the $1-million mark, topping off at $1,008,800.

Here's a look at the payouts:

1. $348,036
2. $234,546
3. $131,144
4. $80,704
5. $60,528
6. $40,352
7. $30,264
8. $25,220
9. $20,176
10-12. $12,610

Despite the 30,000 in chips and 90-minute levels, the field jumped out of the gate fast, and in just under an hour, the first player was eliminated. That player turned out to be Steve "gboro780" Gross, who made a move at the wrong time with a big draw against his opponent's pocket aces.

During the first three levels, Danny Noam (pictured right) emerged as the chip leader, a position he would hold throughout the entire day. Noam benefitted from top set twice, getting paid off in a big way both times. His dominance continued into the evening, and he ultimately ended the day with 193,700.

Patrick Stemper showed up to the tournament about halfway through the first level, completely unaware that the tournament had even started. Thinking that it started on Tuesday, Stemper quickly realized his mistake, bought in, and started picking up chips. Late in the day, Stemper took down a few huge pots to leave him in second position overall with 159,425.

Joe Tozer is a casual player from the Chicago area who occasionally steps up his buy-ins to the $1,500 level. After winning a preliminary event at the Wynn, his wife gave him permission to try a few satellites. Tozer flew back just in time for the last super-satellite and picked up his seat for just $500. Throughout the day, Tozer's big hands one-upped the competion, and he was able to bust Isaac Haxton and Scott Montgomery before all was said and done. He finished the day in third place with 139,625.

Other notables to survive the day included Justin Bonomo, Jimmy Fricke, David Daneshgar, Ralph Perry, Michael DeMichele, Andrew Robl, Sorel Mizzi, Steve Billirakis, Chris Amaral, Scott Seiver, Matt Graham, Eric Baldwin, and Marc Karam.

Join Card Player's live updates team at Noon PST as they continue to bring you updates, chip counts, photos and interviews live from the tournament floor at the Wynn in Las Vegas.

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