$1,200 Destination RunGood: Day 1b of the Jacksonville Main Event has come to an end and Le Thieu is the chip leader after 14 levels of play. The 25 surviving players will return to Bestbet Jacksonville on Sunday to join two other groups to determine the winner.
The second of three flights attracted 185 participants and contributed $192,400 toward the $300,000 guarantee. After two flights, the number of participants has now reached 244, of which 59 will take part in the opening game on Thursday.
Tiu had over half a million chips, followed by Ron Slacker, who held the chip lead until the end of the level until he lost it to Tiu. Slack, a Chicago native who lives in Ponte Vedra, nearly took the lead when she knocked out Kaitlyn Komski in the night’s final steeplechase.
Tiu and Slacker were close behind, with Jared Reinstein third, Jason Isbell fourth and T.K. Miles rounded out the top five.
There were 45 players present at the start of competition day and the number grew quickly as the day progressed. According to Hendon Mob, Elanit Hasas was an early favorite, earning more than $564,000 on the day. Hasas lasted the entire day but ultimately failed to finish on day two after Isbell was eliminated with Big Slick in the 13 class.
Isbell was one of the early day players and finished in the top five on day two with 357,000 in chips. He was joined by Deborah Miller, one of the early risers for the tournament. Miller built up a healthy stack throughout the day, but suffered a setback when Mark McGarity moved all-in with pocket aces after flopping two pair. On the river the cards matched and McGarity got a big double that helped him crack the top ten.
Miller quickly returned to form, winning $327,000 in Sunday’s final. Day two also featured Judith Bilan, who won the final level as a short stack before doubling down with Queen to secure her spot. Nancy Birnbaum joined them, becoming the third woman on the flight to find her luggage.
Day two qualifiers also included Ray Henson, Chris Burchfield, Chris Conrad, Edward Mroczkowski and Ted McNulty, who managed to survive a seven-man field of four with a flush on the river.
The third and final flight starts at 12:00 on Saturday, and the surviving players will return to Bestbet at 12:00 on Sunday to determine the winner.
Day 1b has ended with 25 participants remaining. Stay tuned for chip counts and full coverage from the PokerNews team.
The tournament director stopped the clock with ten minutes left and announced that there were still three rounds left before the players could pack their bags.
Caitlin Komski does her best, but Ron Slack puts her in danger. The cards are dealt and the dealer is ready to go.
The board read 7♣6♦3♣J♠2♥ and Slacker continued to hold the pocket king, eliminating Comeskey late in the night.
Level 14 is currently underway and will be the final level of the night. The flight will end at the end of level 14, when 24 players remain. Which comes first?
There was a commotion at table 56, where Christopher Long was pulling out a big pot to play against Ewan Leatham.
The board read A♥7♠6♥5♥3♣, Leatham’s 7x7x for a set of sevens, but Long came up with A?A♠ for a better ace hand, resulting in a big double.
Meanwhile, Jason Isbell wants to blog about how he folded a straight today, but not in this hand.
Post time: Mar-23-2024