Event #1: $565 Casino Employees No-Limit Hold'em

Bryan Hollis is the winner of Event #1: $565 Casino Employees No-Limit Hold'em, defeating Chris Solomon in just 25 short hands of heads-up play. Hollis earned himself the first gold bracelet of the 2017 World Series of Poker, along with a first-place prize of $68,817.

In the final hand, Hollis three-bet from the big blind and flopped top pair. He put in a continuation bet on the flop, and Solomon shoved his remaining chips in the middle with ten-high. Solomon, who was the chip leader for a good part of the final table, was drawing dead by the turn, and it was all over, with Hollis completing an impressive comeback to snag the win.

Hollis hails from the state of Maryland, and was just in Las Vegas attending the 2017 WSOP to take a shot at the Casino Employees Event and the Colossus. He grew up playing limit poker back in his hometown when he was just 15 years old and he still enjoys the game today. He has had to make the transition to no-limit poker in order to play in some of these tournaments.

This is Hollis' first WSOP cash and he even admitted, "I've never made it past the first break before. Last year I busted this tournament in seven hands." Hollis will be sticking around the Las Vegas area a little while longer now but when he does return home he did say he has some plans for the newly acquired cash. "I have always wanted to buy a house and now I have a down-payment. It feels so cool."

This opening event attracted a total of 651 entries, combining for a prizepool of $325,500 and paying 98 spots. The bubble burst just before the dinner break on Day 1, and eliminations came quickly. Victor Kim was the one to burst the bubble after flopping a set of threes, and he coasted his way to the final table. The end-of-day chip leader was Chris Gallagher, and he managed to leverage his stack and turn it into a deep final table finish. Day 2 began with just 11 players, and Haviv Bahar was the first player to drop after running pocket jacks into Kim's pocket queens. The unofficial final table of ten came together, and that's when the real battle began.

Here is a look at the official results from the final table:

Some of the notable players who finished in the money included 2015 WSOP Casino Employees Event champion Brandon Barnette (20th place - $1,874), Christian Percevecz (37th place - $1,351), Christopher Womack (47th place - $1,182), and Kenji Ikeda (85th place - $856).

This event is known for attracting the many key players in this industry, and some of the familiar faces who took a shot but came up short included Kenny Hallaert, David Tuchman, Erica Lindgren, Dana Castaneda, Jesse Capps, and Molly Anne Mossey.

Final Table Action

Bahar finished in tenth place ($3,543) after getting his chips in the middle with pocket jacks but was up against Kim's pocket queens. Bahar couldn't find a jack and busted on the official final table bubble.

Kim had an up-and-down day but it all came to a halt when he couldn't win a race with    and was eliminated in ninth place ($4,547).

After staying patient for most of the day, Vincent Russel busted in eighth place ($5,941) when he ran into a red-hot Solomon. Unfortunately for Russell, he got it all in ahead but Solomon would out-flop him.

Gallagher came into the day as the chip leader but couldn't get anything to go his way as he was soon eliminated in seventh place ($7,903). Gallagher became the short stack and eventually got all of his chips in the middle with    and was called by the    of Hollis. Hollis hit a queen on the flop and Gallagher's tournament was over.

Adem Arbuckle remained quiet and stayed out of the way of most of the action, but the blinds eventually caught up with him. He called an all-in shove from Solomon and found himself behind and unable to catch up, finishing in sixth place ($10,698).

Alex Cordova was taken out just two hands later with pocket kings; when Solomon showed he flopped trips, Cordova just became another victim to Solomon, ending his tournament in fifth place ($14,731).

Four-handed play continued for a while longer with the three smaller stacks battling it out. Unfortunately for Jermel Stephens he ran his top pair of kings into Josh Clanton's middle set of jacks and was eliminated in fourth place ($20,629).

When the final three players took their seats it was sure to be a battle, and chips were passed back and forth. On hand #102 of the final table, Clanton was taken out in third place ($29,372) after he flopped top pair with    on a     board, but Hollis had    for two pair. Clanton was unable to catch a king and the tournament was down to its final two players.

Heads-up play went on for 25 hands before Bryan Hollis finally lured Chris Solomon into bluffing into his flopped top pair to end the match.

The first event of the much-anticipated 2017 World Series of Poker is in the books, and PokerNews is honored to be providing live updates for everyone following at home. Keep checking back as the Live Reporting team brings all of the exciting hands and stories until the last winner is crowned deep in July.

Hand 121: Chris Solomon raised to 60,000 and Bryan Hollis called. The flop was     and both players checked. The turn was the   and Hollis bet 80,000. Solomon called and the   came on the river. Both players checked and Solomon showed    for the win.

Hand 122: Bryan Hollis raised to 60,000 and Chris Solomon called. The flop came     and Solomon check-folded to bet of 80,000 from Hollis

Hand 123: Bryan Hollis received a walk.

Hand 124: Bryan Hollis limped on the button and Chris Solomon raised to 90,000. Hollis called. The flop was     and Solomon bet 90,000. Hollis called again. The turn was the   and both players checked. The river brought the  . Solomon bet 250,000 and Hollis called again. Hollis held    for a pair of deuces good enough to win.

Hand 125: Chris Solomon raised to 60,000 and Hollis called. The flop came     and both players checked. The turn was the   and Hollis bet 80,000. Solomon folded and Hollis took down another one.

Hand 126: Bryan Hollis limped in, and Chris Solomon checked his option. The flop came     and Solomon checked. Hollis bet 30,000 and Solomon check-raised to 80,000. Hollis called. The turn was the   and both players checked to the river, which was the  . Solomon checked, and Hollis bet 180,000. Solomon tank-folded.

Hand 110: Bryan Hollis raised to 60,000 and Chris Solomon three-bet to 180,000. Hollis called and the flop came    . Solomon bet 200,000 and Hollis folded.

Hand 111: Chris Solomon raised to 60,000 and Bryan Hollis folded.

Hand 112: Bryan Hollis limped on the button and Chris Solomon checked his big blind. The flop came     and Solomon check-folded to bet of 30,000 from Hollis.

Hand 113: Chris Solomon limped on the button and Bryan Hollis raised to 80,000. Solomon called. The flop came     and both players checked. The turn was the   and Hollis bet 80,000. Solomon called and the river came the  . The action went check-check and Hollis showed   , good enough to win the pot.

Hand 114: Chris Solomon received a walk.

Hand 115: Chris Solomon limped on the button and Bryan Hollis checked. The flop came     and Hollis checked. Solomon bet 40,000 and Hollis called.

The turn was the   and Hollis checked again. Solomon bet 80,000 and Hollis called.

The river was the   and Hollis checked for the third time. Solomon moved all in and after some deliberation Hollis made the call. Solomon played the board and Hollis showed    good enough to double up and regain the chip lead.

Bryan Hollis	2,245,000	1,195,000
Chris Solomon	980,000	-1,190,000

The remaining two players are taking a 15-minute break ahead of schedule before heads-up play resumes. When they return they will play through the next couple blind levels. Here is how the chip counts look.

Bryan Hollis	1,960,000	40,000
Chris Solomon	1,295,000	-1,205,000

Hand 96: Chris Solomon got a walk.

Hand 97: Chris Solomon limped in from the small blind and Josh Clanton checked his option in the big blind. The flop came     and Solomon check-folded to a bet of 31,000 from Clanton.

Hand 98: Chris Solomon raised to 75,000 on the button and got no action.

Hand 99: Josh Clanton raised to 61,000 on the button and Chris Solomon defended his big blind. The flop came     and Solomon checked to Clanton, prompting him to bet 55,000. Solomon folded.

Hand 100: Bryan Hollis raised to 50,000 on the button and Josh Clanton defended his big blind. The flop came     and Clanton check-called a bet of 50,000 from Hollis. The turn was the   and both players checked to the river, which was the  . Clanton checked and Hollis bet 130,000. Clanton snap-called.

Hollis tabled    and Clanton mucked his hand.

Hand 101: Chris Solomon raised to 65,000 on the button and both Josh Clanton and Bryan Hollis called. The flop came     and action checked to Solomon. He bet 85,000, Clanton folded and Hollis called. The turn was the   and Hollis check-called another bet of 85,000 from Solomon. The river was the   and both players checked.

Solomon tabled    and Hollis showed    for a chop.

Hand 83: Josh Clanton limped in from under the gun, as did Chris Solomon from the small blind. Jermel Stephens was in the big blind and checked his option.

The flop came     and Solomon checked. Stephens bet 200,000 and Clanton instantly moved all in for 418,000. Solomon folded and Stephens called.

Stephens tabled    for top pair and Clanton tabled    for a set of jacks.

The turn was the   and Clanton celebrated as Stephens was drawing dead to the   on the river. Clanton doubled through, leaving Stephens with less than three big blinds.

Hand 84: Chris Solomon limped in on the button, and Jermel Stephens went all in for 52,000. Josh Clanton called from the big blind, as did Solomon. The flop came     and both players checked to the turn, which was he  . Solomon led out for 100,000 and Clanton folded.

Stephens was drawing dead with    as Solomon tabled    for a straight. The river was the   and Stephens was eliminated.

All remaining players are guaranteed a payout of $29,372.

Chris Solomon	2,500,000	270,000
Josh Clanton	900,000	650,000
Jermel Stephens	0	-357,000

Hand 70: Jermel Stephens limped from the small blind and Josh Clanton checked his option. The flop came     and both players checked. The turn was the   and Stephens checked to Clanton, who bet 30,000. Stephens folded.

Hand 71: Chris Solomon raised to 65,000 from the cutoff and everyone folded.

Hand 72: Chris Solomon got a walk.

Hand 73: Josh Clanton moved all in from the cutoff for 215,000 and Bryan Hollis re-shoved from the button for more. The blinds folded and the cards were turned face-up.

Clanton:   
Hollis:   

The board came       and Clanton's set of fours was good enough to take down the pot.

Hand 74: Jermel Stephens limped from the small blind and Josh Clanton pushed all in from the big blind. Stephens folded.

Hand 75: Chris Solomon moved all in from the cutoff and everyone folded.

Hand 76: Chris Solomon received a walk.

Hand 77: Chris Solomon moved all in from the small blind and Jermel Stephens called for less from the big blind.

Solomon:   
Stephens:   

Solomon was unable to catch any cards on the board of       and Stephens doubled up.

Hand 69: Bryan Hollis raised to 50,000 from the cutoff and Chris Solomon moved all in. Hollis folded.

Chris Solomon raised to 60,000 from the hijack position and Adem Arbuckle moved all in for 196,000. Solomon called and the cards were tabled.

Solomon:   
Arbuckle:   

The board came       giving Solomon the nut flush and eliminating Arbuckle in 6th place.

All remaining players are guaranteed a payout of $14,731.

Chris Solomon	1,560,000	200,000
Adem Arbukcle	0	0