SAM DE SILVA LEADS 30 FLIGHT B SURVIVORS OF COUNCIL BLUFFS MAIN

Flight B is now wrapped up, and the two starting flights of the $1,675 no-limit hold'em Main Event at Council Bluffs are in the books. Sampath De Silva ended the day as chip leader with 316,500. Coming in second in today’s flight is JR Douglas with 229,500, and rounding out the top three is James Devaney with 227,000.

Friday’s Flight A drew a total of 122 entries, with 20 advancing. Flight B drew an additional 149 entries. At the conclusion of play tonight only 30 players remained, which means a total of 50 players from the combined flights will join together on Sunday at 12:00 pm to play Day 2. The prizepool was released late this evening, and the top 30 players will make the money tomorrow in Day 2. For a full look at the prizepool details please see this link.

Other notables that advanced from today’s flight included: Council Bluffs Main Event defending Champion Maurice Hawkins, Allen Kessler, Michael Sanders, Brian Green, Eric Rodawig, and Stanley Webb.

Not everyone was lucky enough to survive the day, and many notables will not be making an appearance tomorrow. Jamie Kerstetter, Bryan Campanello, Josh Reichard, Jeff Fielder, Neil Scott, Brandon Fish, Marco Palacios, Shaun Burnett, Mark Fink, Bernard Lee, TM Williams, and World Series of Poker bracelet winner Dennis Phillips were all eliminated over the course of the day. Brothers Mason, Blair, and Grant Hinkle all hit the rail at various points throughout Flight B as well, but not before youngest brother Mason brought a lot of laughs to the room as his alter-ego Uncle Ron.

While De Silva bagged the chip lead today, he is not the overall chip leader heading into Day 2. The top spot belongs to Ross Clare, who ended Flight A with 525,500. Here is a look at the top five from both combined flights:

1 - Ross Clare - 525,500
2 - Sam De Silva - 316,500
3 - J.R. Douglas - 229,500
4 - James Devaney - 227,000
5 - Bob Beck - 223,000

For a full list of all returning players, please see the Reports tab on WSOP.com.

The remaining 50 players will return Sunday at 12:00 pm for Day 2. Stay tuned here at WSOP.com for continued coverage as we play down to a winner.