The latest stop for the World Poker Tour brings the circuit to Jacksonville, FL, for the BestBet Jacksonville Fall Poker Scramble and the players have turned out in droves for the two Day Ones completed yesterday and Friday.
On Friday, the tournament kicked off with its unique entry format. The $3500 tournament featured a same day “re-entry” option for players who were knocked off within the first four levels of the tournament, prompting many in the field to show up for Day 1A with the two buy ins to ably take part in the tournament. By the end of the re-entry period, 214 entrants had taken their seat at least once, with top pros Jason Mercier, Phil Hellmuth and Daniel Negreanu headlining the field if not the leaderboard (all three would not make it through the Day 1A festivities).
Another familiar name would make his mark on the tournament throughout the day. 2012 World Series of Poker Championship Event final tablist Robert Salaburu was in attendance and made the most of his Day 1A appearance. His chip stack steadily climbed up the ladder and, when the action ended for Day 1A, Salaburu was among the chip leaders:
1. Tom Nguyen, 295,800
2. Edward Gray, 260,000
3. Blake Bohn, 254,100
4. Robert Salaburu, 249,200
5. Michael Wong, 239,400
6. Joey Weissman, 236,300
7. Noah Schwartz, 200,700
8. Joseph Elpayaa, 193,500
9. Mohsin Charania, 181,000
10. Jeremy Menard, 173,000
Other notables who made it through Day 1A included former WPT champion Lee Markholt, Chris Klodnicki and Jonathan Aguiar, while defending WPT Player of the Year Joe Serock, Thayer Rasmussen, John Racener, Matt Stout and Matt Giannetti would have to come back on Saturday with fresh stacks.
Yesterday’s play saw a host of players take a second shot, including some who still had a chip stack from Day 1A in an attempt to improve their position. Players such as Negreanu, Giannetti, Racener and Serock were back for their second shot, joined by other notables such as Jon Turner, Faraz Jaka, Amanda Musumeci and Dwyte Pilgrim who were also eliminated on Friday. The re-entry players in the field (and the same day re-entry which lasted through the first four levels) would eventually drive the number of entries on Saturday to 263 for a field size of 477 entries.
Musumeci would have difficulties from the start, seeing her 30K in chips wither away to only 800 within a couple of hours of the start of play. She was able to rebuild her stack back to 4000 chip mark, but would eventually bust out and re-enter before the end of the period. Negreanu would have much the same fate, shooting through two more entries to make this tournament a $14,000 buy in event for him.
Negreanu would make the most of his double effort on Saturday, even though he had to contend with Pilgrim also on his patch of felt, ending the day slightly over 117K in chips. Musumeci, however, had a much more difficult day; while she will be able to move onto Day 2, she will only carry 28,800 to the table with her today. There are others that would like to be in her place, however, with former WPT champions Shawn Cunix and Tony Ruberto, Matt Glantz, Tony Dunst and Rasmussen (again) making up part of the casualty list.
When the chips were counted down last night, Racener had made the most of his second chance on Saturday, ending with the Day 1B chip lead:
1. John Racener, 250,300
2. Mark Rose, 245,300
3. George Sinishtaj, 205,200
4. Raj Vohra, 202,400
5. Pavlos Savouidakis, 194,200
6. Shon Mekyten, 188,200
7. Hiren Patel, 186,100
8. Paul Rushing, 171,700
9. Lisa Hamilton, 168,800
10. Taylor Moore, 165,000
Combining the two fields, there are 155 players remaining in the tournament, with the Top Ten leaderboard looking like this:
1. Tom Nguyen, 295,800
2. Edward Gray, 260,000
3. Blake Bohn, 254,100
4. John Racener, 250,300
5. Robert Salaburu, 249,200
6. Mark Rose, 245,300
7. Michael Wong, 239,400
8. Joey Weissman, 236,300
9. George Sinishtaj, 205,200
10. Raj Vohra, 202,400
Play resumes with Day 2 at noon (Eastern Time) today in Jacksonville, with the eventual champion walking away with a $402,970 payday from the more than $1.5 million prize pool on Tuesday.