Sunday, March 15, 2015 12:14 AM Local Time
At the end of 15 levels of play Day 1A of the World Series of Poker Circuit Bicycle Casino main event is in the books and Stuart Rabin leads the field.
Play got underway at noon on Saturday 314 players made their way to Los Angeles to put up the $1,675 for their shot at Circuit glory. By the end of the day, though, only 62 remained with Rabin bagging the most chips with 334,500.
Joining Rabin at the top of the chip counts are Shane Schleger, Amad Shalan, Chris DeMaci and Steve Johnson. They finished up with 309,000, 241,000, 240,500 and 204,000, respectively.
Other notables to survive the 15 levels of No Limit Hold'em include Matt Stout, Nancy Nguye, Josh Field, Maria Ho and defending champion, Nipun Java.
With Java and Schleger making it to Day 2, there is still a possibility of a repeat heads-up match, but they aren't the only ones from last year's final table who are still alive. Third and fourth place finisher from last year's main event, David Chase and Danny Illingworth will also be coming back on Monday.
Not everybody enjoyed their same fate though, with plenty of notables hitting the rail as the day moved on. John Holley, Josh Evans, James Carroll, Joe Tehan, Eddy Sabat, Bernard Lee, Cord Garcia, and WSOP commentator David Tuchman all hit the rail before the day finished. If they only fired one bullet at the event, they are still eligible to fire one more at it before Day 2 gets cards in the air.
Day 1B takes place on Sunday at noon and the survivors from that flight will join the Day 1A survivors on Sunday afternoon for the second day of the tournament. Stay tuned to WSOP.com for complete coverage of the rest of the tournament.
Saturday, March 14, 2015 11:48 PM Local Time
Play has concluded for the night, and the remaining players are counting their chips. A full recap of the day will be posted shortly.
Saturday, March 14, 2015 11:18 PM Local Time
Josh Field checks out of the big blind and Chris DeMaci bets 16,700 on the turn with the board reading . Field check-calls and the dealer peels off the on the river. DeMaci pauses for a moment before grabbing a bunch of blue, 5,000 denomination chips and betting 30,000.
Field sits motionless in the tank shuffling a stack of chips for a couple minutes. After a while, Field grabs chips and pushes forward a call.
DeMaci tables and Field mucks his hand.
Chris DeMaci - 250,000
Josh Field - 108,000
Saturday, March 14, 2015 11:05 PM Local Time
The board reaeds on the turn, and Maria Ho checks from early position. The player to her immediate left bets 21,000. Ho thinks for a minute, then pushes out a check-raise to 50,000. Her opponent thinks for a couple minutes, then mucks.
Maria Ho - 112,000
Saturday, March 14, 2015 10:53 PM Local Time
Level: 14
Blinds: 1,200/2,400
Ante: 400
Saturday, March 14, 2015 10:52 PM Local Time
John Holley moves all in for roughly 20,000 from middle position and is called by the player on the button. Holley shows and is in the lead against the button's .
"I'm gambling with you," said the button before the dealer runs the community cards.
The board runs out and Holley is eliminated as the button makes two pair.
John Holley - Eliminated
Saturday, March 14, 2015 10:32 PM Local Time
Chris DeMaci gets his opponent to put his last 15,000 into the middle on a flop of . DeMaci tables and has his opponent's drawing very slim.
The turn is the , giving his opponent a straight draw and the river is the to fill that draw and DeMaci pushes his chips across the table.
Chris DeMaci - 128,000
Saturday, March 14, 2015 10:20 PM Local Time
Action folds to the player in the cutoff, who moves all in. The button moves all in over the top and David Chase calls off his stack in the small blind.
The cutoff shows , the button shows and Chase has the best of it with . The flop gives Chase the an almost unbeatable hand as it comes , giving the button a full house, but Chase quads. The cutoff's only hope is running cards for a royal flush, but the on the turn and the on the river give Chase the pot. The cutoff is eliminated and Chase triples up.
David Chase - 66,000
Saturday, March 14, 2015 10:11 PM Local Time
Level: 12
Blinds: 1,000/2,000
Ante: 300
Saturday, March 14, 2015 9:58 PM Local Time
Josh Evans raises to 3,500 from the cutoff, and the button calls. Ed Shalan then three-bets to 7,000 from the small blind. Evans folds, and the button calls.
The flop comes , and Shalan continues for another 7,000. The button thinks for a minute, then slides his cards to the muck. As the dealer pushes the pot, Shalan shows for top pair.
Ed Shalan - 162,000
Saturday, March 14, 2015 9:57 PM Local Time
Bart Hanson raises to 3,500 from middle position and William Hung calls from the cutoff. The button and the big blind come along and the flop is . The big blind checks and Hanson bets 4,500. Hung folds, the button calls and the big blind calls as well.
All three players check the turn card and the river is the . The big blind checks and Hanson reaches for chips before betting 7,500. The button quickly mucks his hand and the big blind takes a few moments before tossing in a call.
Hanson shows and takes the pot after the big blind mucks his hand.
Bart Hanson - 93,000
Saturday, March 14, 2015 9:33 PM Local Time
Level: 13
Blinds: 800/1,600
Ante: 200
Saturday, March 14, 2015 9:24 PM Local Time
Players are now on their last break of the night. The tournament will resume in about 10 minutes.
Saturday, March 14, 2015 9:12 PM Local Time
After Adam Geyer raises to 2,700, Danny Illingworth three-bets to 6,800. Action folds back around to the Geyer, who calls.
The flop comes , and it's checks to Illingworth. He continues for another 6,800, and Geyer calls. The turn is the , and Geyer checks again. Illingworth bets 16,700, and Geyer goes deep into the tank. After a couple minutes, he pushes out a call, and the river is the .
Geyer checks a third time, And Illingworth announces he's all in. He has about 40,000 . Geyer calls, and Illingworth tables . Geyer mucks his cards, and Illingworth knowck Geyer from the tournament, nearly doubling up in the process.
Danny Illingworth - 135,000
Saturday, March 14, 2015 8:53 PM Local Time
On a flop of , the small blind and big blind both check to Shane Schleger, who bets 5,700. The small blind check-raises all in for 15,600 and then the big blind moves all in for 31,800.
The dealer counts down the stack and gives Schleger an exact count, who then tosses in a call. The small blind shows , the big blind shows and Schleger is looking for a diamond with his .
Schleger doesn't wait long for it as the turn is the . The river is the and Schleger scoops the pot and increases his massive chip lead on the rest of the field.
"I have a lot of respect for your game," said David Tuchman. "But I've rarely seen anyone run as hot as you have over the last few hours."
"Don't mush me," said Schleger.
Shane Schleger - 264,000
Saturday, March 14, 2015 8:49 PM Local Time
John Holley moves all in from under the gun for his last 6,700. Action folds around to the small blind, and he calls, and the big blind folds.
John Holley:
Small Blind:
The board runs out . Holley wins the pot with his pair of threes and doubles up.
John Holley - 15,800
Saturday, March 14, 2015 8:43 PM Local Time
Level: 12
Blinds: 600/1,200
Ante: 200
Saturday, March 14, 2015 8:39 PM Local Time
Andrew Miramontes gets his last 31,000 into the middle preflop against Ira Marcus. Marcus tables and is flipping with Miramontes' .
The board runs out and Miramontes is eliminated towards the end of Level 11. He is still eligible to fire one more bullet at the event up until the start of Day 2.
Ira Marcus - 65,000
Andrew Miramontes - Eliminated
Saturday, March 14, 2015 8:37 PM Local Time
There are three players in the hand on the turn, and the board reads . Action checks to the cutoff, who bets 5,000. Shane Schleger check-raises to 13,000 from the small blind. The hijack folds, and the cutoff reraises all in.
Schleger calls and shows for a straight. He's up against . The river is the , and Schleger wins the pot, sending his opponent to the rail.
Shane Schleger - 197,000
Saturday, March 14, 2015 8:11 PM Local Time
On a flop of , the big blind leads out for 3,500 and Nipun Java raises to 15,000. The big blind spends some time in the tank before moving all in and Nipun Java calls off the rest of his stack and is all in for 25,500.
Java tables and needs help against his opponent's . The turn is the and Java vaults into the lead. The river is the and Java's pair of queens is good enough for a double up.
Nipun Java - 56,900