Monday, March 7, 2016 2:07 PM Local Time
Play is just about to begin, and the field size has grown to 101 with the addition of six new players:
Rich Dixon
Bryn Kenney
Darren Rabinowitz
Patrick Truong
David Tuthill
Ming Zhu
Monday, March 7, 2016 1:37 PM Local Time
Welcome back to continuing coverage of the $3,250 WSOP Circuit High Roller event at Bally's Las Vegas.
This event began yesterday afternoon with 95 players turning up to play. Twelve levels were put in the books, and the field was reduced to 29 survivors by the time the clock ran out on Day 1. Registration remains open until the start of play today, so that number is expected to grow slightly. The prizepool and payout information will be released shortly after action begins.
Harry Arutyunyan did the most work yesterday, bagging up the big stack of 217,900 chips. He'll set the pace when the field returns to play, but the pack chasing him is littered with dangerous players. Ari Engel has been in the Circuit winner's circle seven times before, and he finished Day 1 with 204,900 chips, good enough for third place on the leaderboard. Marshall White is a two-time ring winner in his own right, and his stack of 160,200 is good enough for a spot in the top five, too.
In addition to the Circuit success stories in the room, there are also five former bracelet winners remaining in the field. Arkadiy Tsinis (122,900), Barry Hutter (55,000), Mike Wang (50,200), Leo Wolpert (44,400), and Cliff Goldkind (28,400) all have WSOP hardware in their trophy cases, but each of them are looking for their first WSOP Circuit ring this afternoon.
Cards go in the air at 2:00 pm, and they'll play until a winner is determined.
Monday, March 7, 2016 2:17 AM Local Time
Sunday was Day 1 of the $3,250 High Roller event at Bally's Las Vegas. Cards went in the air at 4:00 this afternoon with about 30 players in their chairs. That number ballooned to 95 by night's end, and registration remains open until the start of Day 2.
Twelve levels were put in the books, and Harry Arutyunyan bagged up the big stack of 287,600 at the end of the night. Arutyunyan's big boost came at the expense of Ricardo Alvarado during the penultimate level. Alvardo five-bet shoved preflop with , and Arutyunyan's call with put a pot in excess of 100 big blinds in the middle of the table. The board ran out clean, and Arutyunyan dragged the day's biggest pot to leapfrog to the top of the counts.
Tom Kearney is next in line behind Arutyunyan, ending the day with 217,900. Seven-time ring winner Ari Engel finished with 203,900, and those three are the only three with more than 200,000 chips so far. Others who'll return for Day 2 include Dylan Wilkerson (193,600), Marshall White (160,200), Andy Spears (128,600), Joseph Cheong (74,700), and Igor Kurganov (69,900), along with bracelet winners Arkadiy Tsinis (122,900), Barry Hutter (55,000), Mike Wang (50,200), Leo Wolpert (44,400), and Cliff Goldkind (28,400).
The survivors return to action Monday at 2:00 pm, and they'll play until a winner is crowned. Registration closes when play begins, and the prizepool and payouts will be finalized shortly thereafter.
Click here to see the full list of chip counts for the 29 survivors.
Monday, March 7, 2016 1:18 AM Local Time
Of the 95 players that turned up today, the 29 who've survived are filling out their end-of-day paperwork. A recap of the day's action will be published shortly.
Monday, March 7, 2016 1:10 AM Local Time
Joe Kuether moves all in for 21,000, and Randy Pfeifer calls with the covering stack.
Kuether:
Pfeifer:
Kuether is out-flopped on the , and the turn puts him one card from the exit. The river is the , though, saving him from elimination and doubling him up in the closing moments of Day 1.
Joe Kuether - 42,000
Randy Pfeifer - 91,000
Monday, March 7, 2016 12:48 AM Local Time
The clock is paused with ten minutes left in Level 12, and a card is drawn. It's a six, so each table will play that many more hands before the survivors bag up for the night.
Monday, March 7, 2016 12:44 AM Local Time
Under the gun, Val Vornicu opens to 4,500, and both Dylan Wilkerson (button) and Leo Wolpert (big blind) call.
The flop comes , and Vornicu continues for 5,700. Wilkerson raises to 13,500, and that's enough to fold Wolpert out of the way with some reluctance. Vornicu responds with a reraise to 30,700, though, and Wilkerson calls the remainder to see the turn.
It's the , and Vornicu moves all in for 39,500. Wilkerson cuts the chips from his stack, and it appears that a call would represent just over half of what he has remaining. He and Vornicu exchange a bit of small talk, during which Vornicu tries to convince Wilkerson to fold a flush draw, if he has one.
After a couple minutes of consideration, Wilkerson calls to put his opponent at risk.
"Flush draw?" Vornicu asks hopefully.
"No," comes the reply.
Vornicu: (flush draw)
Wilkerson: (pair of jacks)
It's Vornicu who's on the flush draw, needing to find a club or an ace to stay alive. The river is the blank though, and Wilkerson wins the pot with jacks up.
Dylan Wilkerson - 175,000
Val Vornicu - Eliminated
Monday, March 7, 2016 12:36 AM Local Time
Will Givens moves all in for 26,500 in middle position, and Igor Kurganov calls in the big blind.
Givens:
Kurganov:
The flop is bad news for Givens, and the turn leaves him drawing dead. The river is the insignificant , and Kurganov earns the knockout with a full house.
Igor Kurganov - 90,000
Will Givens - Eliminated
Monday, March 7, 2016 12:22 AM Local Time
Jesse Chinni is all in for 34,100 preflop, heads up for his tournament life against Michael Collins.
Chinni:
Collins:
The flop comes , and Collins claps his hands together with a loud, "Yes!" The turn leaves Chinni drawing dead, and he stands to leave as the completes the board.
Michael Collins - 125,000
Jesse Chinni - Eliminated
Monday, March 7, 2016 12:19 AM Local Time
Level: 12
Blinds: 1,000/2,000
Ante: 300
Monday, March 7, 2016 12:00 AM Local Time
Harry Arutyunyan and Ricardo Alvarado were two of the biggest stacks in the field, and they've just gotten involved in the biggest pot of the day.
Arutyunyan opens to 3,300, and Jake Schindler calls in position. Ricardo Alvarado three-bets to 12,300, and Arutyunyan comes right back over the top with a four-bet to 27,300. Schindler folds, and Alvarado moves all in for more than 100,000 total. The call comes quickly, and Alvarado is at risk.
Arutyunyan:
Alvarado:
The board runs out blanks, and Alvarado is eliminated. Thanks to that pot, Arutyunyan has opened up a big gap on the field with one level remaining in Day 1.
Harry Arutyunyan - 248,000
Ricardo Alvarado - Eliminated
Sunday, March 6, 2016 11:50 PM Local Time
Sean Berrios
Mike Wang opens to 3,500 under the gun, and both Will Givens and Michael Collins call in position. On the button, Sean Berrios squeezes all in for about 34,000 total, and Wang re-shoves for just less than 50,000. Givens folds, but Collins calls to put two players at risk.
"Oh, I'm in the worst shape," Berrios surmises correctly.
Wang:
Collins:
Berrios:
The board runs out , and Berrios can not catch up. Wang and Collins chop him up and send him to the exit.
Michael Collins - 95,000
Mike Wang - 68,000
Sean Berrios - Eliminated
Sunday, March 6, 2016 11:42 PM Local Time
Level: 11
Blinds: 800/1,600
Ante: 200
Sunday, March 6, 2016 11:33 PM Local Time
Harry Arutyunyan opens to 2,600 in the cutoff, and Jake Schindler three-bets to 6,300 on the button. From the big blind, Ricardo Alvarado makes a cold four-bet to a total of 15,100. Arutyunyan responds with a five-bet to 35,100, and Schindler quickly ducks out of the middle. Alvarado spends several minutes in the tank, though, eying up his opponent's stack.
"I started with seventy-nine," Arutyunyan helps him out. After another short while, Alvarado surrenders his cards into the muck.
"Pick one," Arutyunyan offers, sliding his cards across the table. Alvarado does just that, exposing the .
Harry Arutyunyan - 102,000
Ricardo Alvarado - 105,000
Sunday, March 6, 2016 11:14 PM Local Time
In early position, Marvin Rettenmaier grabs his last 5,200 chips and slides them into the middle with both hands. Action folds all the way around to the big blind where Daniel Park calls, drawing live for the knockout.
Rettenmaier:
Park:
The board runs out , and Rettenmaier doubles up with a pair of sevens.
Marvin Rettenmaier - 12,200
Daniel Park - 70,000
Sunday, March 6, 2016 11:04 PM Local Time
Daniel Park opens to 2,600 in the cutoff, and Brian Altman calls all in for his last 1,100 on the button. Dylan Wilkerson defends his big blind to create action on the side.
Both live players check through the , and the turn is the . When Park reaches for chips, Wilkerson quickly surrenders his cards into the muck.
Park:
Altman:
Altman is drawing live to a queen, but the river is a miss. He's eliminated.
Daniel Park - 77,000
Brian Altman - Eliminated
Sunday, March 6, 2016 10:57 PM Local Time
Level: 10
Blinds: 600/1,200
Ante: 200
Sunday, March 6, 2016 10:47 PM Local Time
Level 9 expires, and the players are on a 15-minute break. When they return, they'll play three more levels before they call it a night.
Sunday, March 6, 2016 10:42 PM Local Time
Sean Berrios opens to 2,200 in early position, and Justin Zaki three-bet shoves for 12,300. Thomas Kearney reraises with an uncounted handful of high-denomination chips, and Berrios folds to let Zaki fight heads up.
Zaki:
Kearney:
The board runs out , and Kearney wins the pot with jacks up. Zaki is eliminated.
Thomas Kearney - 79,000
Justin Zaki - Eliminated
Sunday, March 6, 2016 10:28 PM Local Time
Matt Riebel opens to 2,500 under the gun, and Justin Schwartz defends his big blind.
The flop comes , and Riebel continues for 5,000. Schwartz check-calls, and the turn is the . Riebel bets 8,000, and Schwartz check-raises all in for about 21,000 total. Riebel calls to put him at risk.
Riebel:
Schwartz:
Schwartz is behind, but he's drawing live to spades and sixes to stay alive. The river is a blank though, and he's eliminated.
Matt Riebel - 85,000
Justin Schwartz - Eliminated