Bodog Poker Pro Josh Arieh Chip Leader at WSOP Circuit Event

Bodog poker pro Josh Arieh is the chip leader heading into Day 2 of the WSOP Circuit event in New Orleans. (Bodog Beat Image)

The championship tournament of the WSOP Circuit event at Harrah's New Orleans kicked off yesterday with 160 players all putting in the $5,000 buy-in, and at the end of Day 1 it is Bodog poker pro Josh Arieh who holds a dominant chip lead.

The two-time WSOP bracelet winner leapt out into the lead midway through the day and held onto that lead until play wrapped up. As play was finishing, Arieh added to his already significant lead by eliminating two players on the same hand. Here is the write-up from PokerNews.com:

Preflop, Arieh raises to 2,300 and gets three callers. The flop is and one opponent goes all in for 19,200. Arieh calls. "I could double up here," Arieh says. Player 2 folds and Player 3 calls all in with a small stack. Arieh has , Player 1 has and Player 3 has . The remaining cards are and Arieh is sitting on a 140,000 chip mountain.

Yes, you read that right. He has about 140,000 in chip, which is a more than 2 to 1 advantage over second-place Andy Philachack and 3 to 1 over Doug Heige in third place.

Poker pro Sabyl Cohen and WSOP Europe second-place finisher John Tabatabai were also in the field to start the day but both hit the rail. There are 50 players remaining going into Day 2 including Louie Esposito, who is this event's defending champ. Play resumes at Noon CT.

Stay tuned to the beat for more updates on Arieh's performance at the New Orleans WSOP Circuit event.