PokerStars.net NAPT Los Angeles Day 2: Guinther Flying the Highest
It was all about the money on Day 2 in the City of Angels for the 2010 PokerStars.net North American Poker Tour Los Angeles Main Event. When play began on Sunday afternoon, 314 players returned to action after the remaining fields from the two starting days combined. After seven 75-minute levels of play and the bursting of the money bubble, 81 players were left standing to move on to Day 3. Topping them all is Jimmie Guinther with 894,000 in chips. Not too far behind him is Travis Pearson with 835,000.
With 314 players returning, more than two thirds of them would fall short of the money - only 104 places would get paid. Finishing on the bubble in 105th place was 2008 PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker Main Event winner Carter King.
King had check-raised the flop of 8♠6♠5♦ against Micah Raskin. A reraise was the response from Raskin before King moved all in. Raskin called with just the A♥10♣ for ace high. His ace high was currently the best hand against the 10♠9♠ for King. King did have some draws working in his favor. The turn brought the 8♣ and the river the 3♣, missing King and giving Raskin that pot. That was the hand that put everyone else in the money and guaranteed him or her at least $7,500.
As soon as the money bubble burst, more players hit the rail. Those who squeaked their way into the money, but won’t be returning for Day 3 were Marcello Del Grosso, Shannon Shorr, Ronnie Bardah, Adam Junglen, Eric Baldwin and Joseph Elpayaa.
There are still plenty of big names who will be returning to action tomorrow to continue their quest to claim the last title up for grabs of Season 1 on the NAPT. Team PokerStars will be represented by Jason Mercier, Anh Van Nguyen and George Lind. Nguyen has the most chips out of those three with 614,000.
It’d be a shame to forget about Phil Laak, Michael Binger, Bryn Kenney, Mike Sowers and Matt Afleck. They’ll all be coming back for Day 3 as well.
Kenney was able to get a nice chunk of his chips from another big stack, Nick Grippo. Grippo raised to 6,600 from early position, and Kenney called. The flop came Q♠6♣2♥ and Grippo bet 8,500. Kenney flatted, and he faced another bet of 21,000 following the 9♥ on the turn. He wasn't flatting this time. Kenney stuck in a raise to 54,000, and Grippo was the one who made the call. The Q♦ filled out the board with a pair and Kenney made a healthy bet of 113,000 chips. Grippo tanked for a long while, eventually surrendering the big pot to Kenney.
NAPT Venetian Main Event champion Tom Marchese will also be returning for Day 3’s action. He’ll only be coming back with 54,000 in chips so he’ll need to make a run at things early before the blinds and antes start eating away at his stack. Look for him to make some moves early on.
Top Ten Chip Counts
| Player | Chips |
|---|---|
| Jimmie Guinther | 894,000 |
| Travis Pearson | 835,000 |
| Anh Van Nguyen | 614,000 |
| Bryn Kenney | 586,000 |
| Tom Middleton | 519,000 |
| Micah Raskin | 515,500 |
| Tom Lee | 509,000 |
| Nicholas Verkaik | 495,500 |
| Mike Sowers | 481,000 |
| Michael Binger | 474,000 |
Play resumes on Monday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. local time at The Bicycle Casino in Bell Gardens, California, so be sure to keep it locked to PokerNews for all the action from the felt.
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