The third leg of the World Poker Tour’s California Swing was in full…swing…this weekend with the 2015 WPT Rolling Thunder Main Event at the Thunder Valley Casino in the Sacramento, California area. A total of 379 players have entered the tournament – 181 on Saturday and 198 on Sunday – making it easily the smallest of the three California Swing events this month.
Ari Engel came out of Day 1B to lead the 152 total Day 1 survivors with 240,900 chips. He got to that point through steady, consistent play throughout Sunday, though he also provided several knockout blows along the way. At the end of the day, in particular, Engel did some damage. In one hand, he made a great read on his opponent’s bluff. With the board showing K♠-7♦-5♣-9♦, his opponent moved all-in for 13,100 chips. Engel thought about it then called with A♣-9♥. The other player had just J♦-4♦, only playing the flush draw. That flush never materialized (Engel hit another 9 for good measure) and Engel was almost at 200,000 chips.
A few minutes later, Engel and Ryan D’Angelo got into a raising war pre-flop until all of D’Angelo’s chips were in the middle. Engel had D’Angelo dominated, A-K versus K-J, and that hand held up, as the board dealt out just Ten-high. After that, Ari Engel added a few more chips before calling it a night.
Engel has had success on the live tournament circuit, earning $2 million, according to TheHendonMob.com. Perhaps interestingly, with all of those winnings, he has never won a major event and has never ever had a cash of over $200,000. Lots and lots of four and five-figure cashes for Engel, along with some six-figure cashes, have added up to quite a nice sum.
The tournament’s 379 entries made the prize pool $1,212,800. A total of 45 spots will be paid, with first place receiving $266,857.
The World Poker Tour Rolling Thunder Main Event Day 2 will pick up at noon Pacific on Monday.
2015 World Poker Tour Rolling Thunder Main Event – Day 1A Chip Leaders
1. Daniel Strelitz – 231,200
2. Eric Matulis – 218,900
3. Jordan Cristos – 190,200
4. Darren Elias – 181,700
5. David Miscikowski – 168,200
6. Raymond Dandrea – 163,300
7. JJ Liu – 158,900
8. Randy Gil – 141,800
9. Harry Arutyunyan – 135,200
10. Lily Kiletto – 131,300
2015 World Poker Tour Rolling Thunder Main Event – Day 1B Chip Leaders
1. Ari Engel – 240,900
2. Sang Tran – 190,400
3. Barry Hutter – 154,800
4. Jesse Rockowitz – 137,800
5. Aaron Mermelstein – 120,000
6. Chris McCormack – 120,000
7. Mukul Pahuja – 107,400
8. Joe Kuether – 101,300
9. Dylan Wilkerson – 100,200
10. Jeff Madsen – 99,100
2015 World Poker Tour Rolling Thunder Main Event – Combined Day 1 Chip Leaders
1. Ari Engel – 240,900
2. Daniel Strelitz – 231,200
3. Eric Matulis – 218,900
4. Sang Tran – 190,400
5. Jordan Cristos – 190,200
6. Darren Elias – 181,700
7. David Miscikowski – 168,200
8. Raymond Dandrea – 163,300
9. JJ Liu – 158,900
10. Barry Hutter – 154,800
*Tournament info and updates courtesy of WPT.com.
