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Peter Cross Fast Out of the Blocks on Day 1 of the $5,000 8-Handed No-Limit Hold'em
The Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas were awash with top-tier poker players as Event #2: $5,000 8-Handed No-Limit Hold'em attracted 415 entrants, who created a $1,909,000 prize pool. Only 142 of those starts progressed to Day 2. With late registration open until 3:15 p.m. local time on May 27, those numbers should continue to increase.
Regardless of how many players register fashionably late on Day 2, nobody will sit down with more chips than the Japanese sensation Peter Cross, who bagged up 525,000 chips after the completion of 10 levels, the equivalent of a colossal 210 big blinds.
Although Cross has yet to win a bracelet, he has enjoyed some impressive results in Las Vegas. In December 2022, he won a $3,000 side event at the WPT World Championship for $429,406. Then, in March 2025, he collected $376,250 for a victory in a $25,000 High Roller during the Wynn Millions Poker Series.
Bulgarian Yuliyan Kolev (470,500), who you may remember sported a KFC bucket for a hat at the 2022 WSOP, bagged up enough chips for second place, with Benjamin Williams (456,000) rounding off the podium places.
Event #2: $5,000 8-Handed No-Limit Hold'em Day 1 Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Peter Cross | Japan | 525,000 | 210 |
| 2 | Yuliyan Kolev | Bulgaria | 470,500 | 188 |
| 3 | Benjamin Williams | United States | 456,000 | 182 |
| 4 | Daniel Vicente | Spain | 401,000 | 160 |
| 5 | Clemen Deng | United States | 358,500 | 143 |
| 6 | Peter Mugar | United States | 342,000 | 136 |
| 7 | David Chaput | United States | 335,500 | 134 |
| 8 | Fikret Kovac | Bosnia & Herzegovina | 320,000 | 129 |
| 9 | Ren Lin | China | 316,500 | 126 |
| 10 | Martin Kabrhel | Czech Republic | 298,000 | 119 |
Others who punched their Day 2 tickets include Ren Lin (316,500), Matthew Salsberg (258,500), Chris Hunichen (249,500), Dan Charlton (246,500), Brian Yoon (226,000), Eugene Katchalov (189,000), Nate Silver (175,500), Christian Harder (133,000), Stephen Song (127,000), Max Neugebauer (98,000), Maria Konnikova (75,000), and Benny Glaser (37,500).
Day 2 shuffles up and deals at 1 p.m. local time on May 27, with late registration open until the end of Level 12 at approximately 3:15 p.m. local time. PokerNews full coverage of this event begins on Day 2. We hope to see you there.