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Daniel Negreanu Ignores Polk Needle and Takes Massive Lead in Super High Roller Bowl

The 2018 Super High Roller Bowl kicked off on Sunday at the ARIA Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. A field of 48 players put up $300,000 in hopes of winning the top prize of $5 million.

Heading into Day 1 action, the big story was the table draw. Daniel Negreanu and Doug Polk were seated next to each other and the poker world expected firework. Polk ended up providing the needle but by the end of the day, it was Negreanu laughing as he took a massive lead into Day 2.

Doug Polk Trolls Negreanu – Doesn’t Survive Day 1

As Day 1 of the Super High Roller Bowl began, Polk arrived at the table in a gray long-sleeved shirt and appeared to be taking it up a notch professionally. Those expecting fireworks were initially disappointed as it appeared he was simply going to try and play his best game.

Then this happened:

From this point, Negreanu largely ignored Polk and let his play do the talking. Early on at the featured table, Fedor Holz took the chip lead and controlled the action. Polk’s chips began sliding and he lost a decent chunk when Negreanu picked off a bluff with ace-high. He also lost another pot to Negreanu when his tens ran into pocket queens:

Later the feature table broke and the fortunes of the two players went in opposite directions. Negreanu continued to chip up to finish the day as chip leader while Polk failed to survive the day. In a bustout interview he took another jab at Negreanu stating that it is sad to see what Daniel has become after being such a positive role model for poker.

Speaking on his Day 1 run and Polk’s antics, Negreanu told PokerNews, “I really came in with a specific focus. Obviously, you know your table draw beforehand. I know that Doug on my left is trying to get under my skin and he’s gonna try to throw me off my game. I’m a veteran at this; I’m not gonna be distracted.”

Hellmuth, Seidel, and Peters Among Day 1 Bustouts

By the end of Day 1, the field had shrunk down to 30 players. Phil Hellmuth made his customary late entrance and was unable to build any chips whatsoever. Andrew Lichtenberger had a decent stack towards the end of the day but ran into a bit of a cooler when his set was outdrawn by the nut flush of Daniel Negreanu.

Other players that failed to survive Day 1 included Erik Seidel, David Peters, Dan Shak, Brian Rast, Antonio Esfandiari, Isaac Haxton, Adrian Mateos and satellite qualifier Timofey Kuznetsov.

Negreanu Holds Massive Chip Lead – Koon, Sontheimer and Chidwick Loom

Daniel Negreanu finished the day as the only player over 1 million chips. He has 1.61 million and has over a 600k lead over the next closest player. Jason Koon is presently second with 986k

Poker Masters champion Steffen Sontheimer is third with 960,500 and Stephen Chidwick has 888,500 heading into Day 2. The only woman in the field, Kathy Lehne, is fifth overall with 801,500.

Most of the poker world was watching Phil Ivey on Day 1 and Ivey really didn’t get much going. He had to double-up in the last level of the day just to get back to 254,000. Ivey was unable to find any big pots outside of his double but anyone that has seen him play knows that if he is still alive in a tournament, he is a threat.

Day 2 action will continue on PokerGo as the field continues to consolidate. The final table will play out on Wednesday with the final seven players receiving a payday and the winner earning $5 million.

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