Friday, November 22, 2013 11:46 AM Local Time
Just 18 players remain in the Casino Lac-Leamy Main Event with $122,435, a gold ring and a berth in the WSOP National Championship on the line.
Leading the field by a margin is Charles Sylvestre. Sylvestre holds better than 1,200,000 chips and is at a greater than two-to-one advantage over Canadian pro Mike Leah (608,000).
Trailing these players are Casino Championship contender Adam Podstawka (295,000) and Jason Sagle (312,000). Sagle is best known for his 23rd-place finish in 2004 WSOP Main Event and a runner-up finish in the WPT North American Championship for more than $600,000.
Just two Americans are left standing -- John Nelson (189,000) and Bryan Moon (516,000). Less than a month ago Moon placed 10th in the record-breaking 1,717-player Circuit Main Event at Hammond.
Each of the remaining 18 players secured a score of $6,400, but they're just a few eliminations away from the six-figure first prize.
Cards go in the air at 1 p.m. ET with blinds of 6,000/12,000 and a 2,000 ante.
The levels to jump to 75 minutes at Level 26.
Although the tournament is scheduled to conclude tomorrow, tournament staff expects play to move steadily and finish late this evening.
Table assignments and chip counts:
Seat 1: Justin Dean - 270,000
Seat 2: Charles Sylvestre - 1,227,000
Seat 3: Vladimir Faubert - 248,000
Seat 4: Claude St. Pierre - 235,000
Seat 5: John Nelson - 189,000
Seat 6: Tony Della Sciucca - 439,000
Seat 7: Bryan Moon - 516,000
Seat 8: Gabriel Menard - 435,000
Seat 9: Robert Repaci - 209,000
Seat 1: Mike Leah - 608,000
Seat 2: Jason Sagle - 312,000
Seat 3: John Pentefountas - 168,000
Seat 4: Richard Reimer - 461,000
Seat 5: Jeremie Trepanier - 151,000
Seat 6: Dinara Khaziyeva - 576,000
Seat 7: Daniel Charette - 599,000
Seat 8: Sol Bergren - 503,000
Seat 9: Adam Podstawka - 295,000