EVENT UPDATES
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Friday, March 15, 2019 2:45 PM Local Time
Houston, Texas poker pro Trung Pham has earned the third Circuit ring of his career in winning Event #2 at Hard Rock Tulsa, $400 No-Limit Hold'em Big Blind Ante. The win is worth $13,901, and it comes at a fast-paced Day 2, where the remaining seven players were trimmed to just one in little more than one hour's play.
Pham, a native of Vietnam, rode a handful of big hands in all-in, pre-flop collisions to quickly rout the finish of Event 2. Seven players returned for the event's Day 2 conclusion, and the chips were in front of Pham a little over an hour later.
Springfield, MO's Jesse Jones finished second, earning $8,590, while early Day 2 chip leader Rob Noce, of Columbia, MO, took third for $6,183. A late collision between Pham and Noce defined the final table and the outcome, when Noce moved all in with pocket sixes and Pham called with pocket kings. No six or other help arrived, Noce hit the rail in third, and Pham entered heads-up play against Jones with a dominant lead.
Pham was in or near the lead throughout the late stages of this tourney, though he had to weather two hours of dry cards late on Day 1 before fortune turned his way again. The win was important for Pham in more ways than one. He's chasing a Casino Champion seat, and came to Hard Rock Tulsa in 79th place, needing to move up the ranks in search of a top 50, seat-earning spot. The 50 points he picked up here will help him immensely in that regard.
The win also helps erase Pham's bad memory of the recent Circuit Rio main event in Las Vegas, where an error (in which he miscounted his stack on a raise, ending up jamming all in, in a moment of tilt, he admitted) and ended up hitting the rail.
"You just have to keep fighting and fighting," he said, "and that's what I did."
Friday, March 15, 2019 1:09 PM Local Time
Seven players remain in Event #2 as Day 2 play has resumed. A $13,901 payday and a gold Circuit ring await today's winner.
Friday, March 15, 2019 1:03 AM Local Time
Seven players remain in Event #2, $400 No-Limit Hold'em Big Blind Ante, as Day 1's 22 levels of play are complete. Leading the way is Columbia, MO's Rob Noce, with 488,000 in chips. Here are the final seven:
Seat 1: Stuart Hendrickson - 79,000
Seat 2: William Scarsdale - 233,000
Seat 3: Rob Noce - 488,000
Seat 4: Mark Bernat - 370,000
Seat 5: Jesse Jones - 420,000
Seat 6: Jack Peterson - 301,000
Seat 7: Trung Pham - 430,000
Action resumes at 1 pm on Friday.
Thursday, March 14, 2019 11:00 PM Local Time
Event #2 has reached its unofficial final table of 10, led by Houston's Trung Pham, with 571,000 in chips. Here are the final 10, with seat assignments and chip counts:
Seat 1: Stuart Hendrickson - 148,000
Seat 2: William Scarsdale - 107,000
Seat 3: Rob Noce - 152,000
Seat 4: Jason Royman - 93,000
Seat 5: Stephen Hilowitz - 112,000
Seat 6: Mark Bernat - 363,000
Seat 7: Jesse Jones - 471,000
Seat 8: Jack Peterson - 221,000
Seat 9: Bart Bogard - 83,000
Seat 10: Trung Pham - 571,000
Thursday, March 14, 2019 7:16 PM Local Time
Registration has closed for Event #2 and prizepool and payout numbers have been calculated. Here are the topline numbers:
Entries: 156
Prizepool: $51,480
Places Paid: 18
1st Place: $13,901
Min-cash: $690
A complete listing is available under the "Prizepool" tab above.
Thursday, March 14, 2019 4:20 AM Local Time
Event #2, $400 No-Limit Hold'em Big Blind Ante, begins at 11 am.
This two-day event includes:
- 15,000 in starting chips
- Big-blind-ante format
- 30-minute levels through Level 22, 45-minute levels thereafter
- Late registration until the start of Level 13
- Re-entry event
Prizepool information will be available early this evening.
Thursday, March 14, 2019 4:16 AM Local Time