The World Poker Tour has taken a trek to South Africa this weekend, wrapping up two Day Ones of action in the WPT Emperors Palace Poker Classic in Johannesburg on Thursday and yesterday. As the action heads into Day Two, the crème of the South African poker community is atop the leaderboard, but a contingent of international pros are within striking distance.
For Thursday’s action, 85 entries were received and, by the end of the day, Nahum Lum was sitting atop the field with his 123,725 in chips. He was joined by Barny Boatman, Melanie Weisner, Faraz Jaka, Gaelle Baumann and Amanda Musumeci. Also among the international pros in the field on Day 1A was the defending champion of this event, Dominik Nitsche, who also made it through the Day 1A battles.
On Friday, 91 entries came to the tables (late registration was allowed until the end of the first level of Day Two today) and the locals once again reigned supreme. Eugene du Plessis emerged as the overall leader of the Day One starting fields with his 142,100 in chips, due in part to his elimination of the first African to ever make a World Series of Poker Championship Event final table, 2007 third place finisher Raymond Rahme. On that elimination, Rahme chose an inopportune time to bluff all in at a J-10-2-7 board as du Plessis held pocket tens for the flopped set to send Rahme to the rail.
As the action picked up this afternoon in Johannesburg (early morning U. S. time), some of the pros in the field began to drop away. Jennifer Leigh (who has been running some stunning photos of her stay in Africa on her Facebook page) was one of the first to go, but overall it sounded as if she enjoyed her time in Africa. “No more Main Event for me!” Leigh wrote on her Facebook page. “I lost a crucial race, like the usual, to bust. Not very upset about it…I am absolutely gratified with this experience overall!”
There was another surprise awaiting a contestant in this tournament. Maria Mayrinck, playing in the tournament with her boyfriend Matt Lawrence, was ready to resume the event after a break when Lawrence decided to take a big step. He pulled out a diamond ring and, in front of the remaining players in the tournament, proposed to Mayrinck on the spot. Mayrinck happily accepted (and tweeted a nice photo of the engagement ring at the table) and, as the play resumed, Lawrence immediately showed his devotion to Mayrinck by three-betting her on the very first hand back!
With the conclusion of the break (and the Mayrinck-Lawrence proposal), the prize pool was announced for the tournament. After the end of late registration, 191 entries were counted to build a prize pool of $561,528. The top 27 finishers in the tournament will earn a WPT cash for their resumes, but everyone still left was looking at taking down the $132,128 first place prize (and the seat to the WPT Championship in April 2014) rather than the min-cash of $4661.
Unfortunately, several pros have already joined Leigh on the rail and will be watching the event rather than playing in it. MMA fighter Ben Cade eliminated two players, Adam Speechly and Hennie Appel, on the same hand. Jerome Bradpiece ran his Big Slick into 2012 Emperors Palace Poker Classic fifth place finisher Jason Strauss’ pocket nines and was unable to emerge victorious. WPT announcer and Poker Hall of Famer Mike Sexton went down to a cooler, his pocket Jacks falling to Ryan Eber’s pocket Kings to send Sexton back to the announcer’s chair. Ryan D’Angelo and Rupert Elder also headed to the rails through the early action on Saturday.
As the action continues at the Emperors Palace right now, the leaderboard is replete with local players and one defending champion looking for a repeat (something that has never been done on the WPT):
1. Eugene du Plessis, 260,000
2. Bartolome Gomila Romero, 240,000
3. Rob Fenner, 170,000
4. Edward Pastoll, 165,000
5. Nahum Lum, 160,000
(tie) Kinesh Pather, 160,000
(tie) Dominik Nitsche, 160,000
8. Warren Zackey, 150,000
(tie) Harold Brooks, 150,000
10. Benjamin Cole, 145,000
Further down the leaderboard, such pros as Baumann (84K), Bryn Kenney (65K), Musumeci (60K), Boatman (35K) and Weisner (35K) are still in the mix, but will have to get to work soon to get into contention for the championship.
By the end of today’s Day Two action, WPT officials are looking to reach the money bubble but are prepared to extend play if that bubble is close. The final table is set for Monday, at which time the latest champion on the World Poker Tour will be crowned.