The Big Event Main Event Day 2: Ramdin Rockin' and Rollin'
Day 2 at The Big Event Main Event in Bell Gardens, California, concluded on Monday after the returning field of 221 players was whittled down to 68. With the first 13 levels now complete in the $5,000 buy-in event, Victor Ramdin leads the pack with a whopping 1,070,000 in chips. He holds around 8 percent of the total chips in play and will be the man to catch when everyone returns for Day 3’s action on Tuesday at 12 p.m. local time.
Ramdin had himself a great day of action. Over the course of the six levels played out on Day 2, he climbed from under six figures (81,000) to seven figures. One big pot that helped Ramdin get himself to the top came after he turned a set of sixes and stacked a player holding a straight and flush draw.
Two-time World Series of Poker gold bracelet winner Scott Clements raised to 4,800 with the blinds at 1,000 to 2,000 with a 200 ante. The next player to act reraised to 12,500. On the button, Ramdin made the call before Clements called, as well. The three players saw the flop come down 10♣3♣2♦ and everyone checked to see the 6♠ added on the turn. Action checked to Ramdin and he bet 17,500. Clements called and then the other player moved all in for approximately 70,000. Ramdin quickly made the call while Clements made the fold.
Ramdin held a set of sixes with the 6♥6♣. His opponent wasn’t dead yet as he held the 7♣5♣ for a club flush draw and a gutshot straight draw. Neither of those came in though as the 8♥ completed the board on the river and the pot went Ramdin’s way.
In the last level of the night, Ramdin was able to finish off Clements after coming from behind and flopping a straight despite being dominated preflop. Clements had moved all in with the K♦10♠ before Ramdin called with the 10♥9♥. The flop came down J♣8♣7♥ to give Ramdin the nut straight before the 6♠ and A♣ followed on the turn and river, respectively.
Another player who had a great day on the felt was 2010 North American Poker Tour Los Angeles runner-up Chris DeMaci. Entering the day as the overall chip leader, DeMaci built his stack up to 416,800 to finish up. He, too, had plenty of good fortune on Day 2, including a fast-moving wheel against Ana Marquez.
With about 60,000 in the pot and a board reading J♠5♠2♦A♦, DeMaci bet 33,000 into his sole opponent, Marquez. She had around 150,000 back and announced she was all-in. DeMaci snap-called and the cards were turned up:
Marquez: A♠A♥
DeMaci: 4♠3♠
As it appeared, DeMaci had decided to gamble with his small cards and hit the jackpot with a wheel; however, Marquez had a set of aces and could still win the hand if the board paired on the river. With over 300,000 at stake, the dealer put out the 6♥. A shell-shocked Marquez made her exit from The Big Event while DeMaci moved to over 500,000 at that point. From there he lost a few chips, but still finished in the top pack.
Some of the other notable players who have moved on to Day 3 are Daniel Negreanu, Shawn Busse, David Paredes, Alex Kamberis, Greg Debora and Anh Van Nguyen. Negreanu will be one of the larger stacks with 360,700 in chips.
Those was failed to survive the day included Allen Kessler, Kathy Liebert, Dwyte Pilgrim, Amnon Filippi, Nach Barbero and Barry Greenstein. 2010 NAPT LA winner Joe Tehan also fell to the rail. He was eliminated by Joseph Cheong during Level 10.
With the money line set at 56, that means the remaining players have still yet to cash. That is guaranteed to happen on Tuesday where the plan is to work all the way down until the final 24 are reached. However long that may take, you can bet that the PokerNews Live Reporting Team is ready to provide you with all the live coverage straight from the tournament floor.
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