JESSE JONES BAGS DAY 1B CHIP LEAD BLAKE WHITTINGTON OVERALL LEADER

Calvin Anderson looks for first WSOP ring in Tunica Main Event 

5 May 2019 (Tunica, MS) -  Both starting flights of the World Series of Poker Circuit Main Event at Horseshoe Tunica are now complete, and Jesse Jones (pictured) has emerged as the Day 1B chipleader. He will be headed into Day 2 second in chips, behind Day 1A chipleader Blake Whittington.

Jones sat under the radar for most of the day and it was not until the very end of the night that he started to spin up a stack. He found a way to turn an average-sized stack into the end-of-day chip lead in just the last few levels. The Springfield, MO, native has $75,000 in WSOP cashes and will be looking to add his first ring here in the main event.

Another player to acquire a sizable stack from the Day 1B flight is David 'Ruetama' Moses, after running up a stack early in the day. Moses had a few bumps in the road but ended the day strong and will be headed into Day 2 with the third place stack overall.

Day 1A had a total of 167 registration slips sold, with just 22 bagging by night's end. The second starting flight pulled in an outstanding 299 and when the Last Chance Saloon had closed for business only 40 were left. This brings a total of 62 coming back for Day 2 of the 466 slips that were sold.

The 466 entries accumulated a total prizepool of $705,990 and destroyed the half a million guarantee that was set. There will be a total of 54 players earning at least a min-cash of $2,711 and the last person standing will be taking home a staggering $151,789, along with a prestigious WSOP gold ring and a seat to the 2019 Global Casino Championship

All the players remaining tomorrow will be in a race to catch up to Whittington, who bagged the overall chip lead with 751,500. He has been on a heater all week, securing three cashes and one ring already. Whittington looks to add ring number five to his resume.

A couple of well-known players to bring lots of action to Day 1B are Hamid Izadi (160,000) and Calvin Anderson (362,000). The two played almost every hand at the end of night and brought a lot of excitement. Izadi almost secured his third ring earlier this week, falling just short to Maurice Hawkins. Anderson is a well-known pro that has two bracelets and over $1,300,000 in WSOP cashes, but he has yet to capture a ring and is certainly in contention here.

Some other impressive stacks headed into Day 2 include Trace Henderson (504,000), Chander Jain (488,500), Robert Parnell (449,000), Stanislav Angelov (434,000), Lakisha Slaughter (392,500), Daniel Garber (373,000), and Preston McEwen (358,500).

The remaining players from the two starting flights will combine to play Day 2 on Sunday at Noon. A total of ten 60-minute levels will be played or until the final table is reached, before bagging up and heading into Day 3. Play begins at level 17 with the blinds at 2,500/5,000 with a 500 ante.

Here are the top 10 chip counts for all advancing Day 1 players:

1 - Blake Whittington - 751,500
2 - Jesse Jones - 660,000
3 - David Moses - 551,000
4 - Trace Henderson - 504,000
5 - Chander Jain - 488,500
6 - Robert Parnell - 449,000
7 - Stanislav Angelov - 434,000
8 - Lakisha Slaughter - 392,500
9 - Daniel Garber - 373,000
10 - Calvin Anderson - 362,000