PokerStars.net NAPT Mohegan Sun Day 1: Tryba Leads the Way
The 2011 PokerStars.net North American Poker Tour Mohegan Sun kicked off on Saturday from Uncasville, Connecticut. A field of 387 came to play, creating a prize pool of $1,746,330 and a $450,000 first-place prize. After eight levels on Day 1, Chris Tryba is at the top of the counts with 173,400, to lead the 230 players who will be returning for Sunday's Day 2.
Tryba was in the middle of the pack for much of the day before winning a key pot near the end of Level 8 to catapult to the chip lead. On a J♣7♠3♠ board, Tryba tangled with Team PokerStars Pro Eugene Katchalov and one-time Day 1 chip leader Mehrdad Yousefzadeh. They got it all-in on the flop and in the lead was Yousefzadeh with top set. Katchalov, with a set of sevens, had the worst of it. Meanwhile, Tryba who was holding A♠9♠, needed help and, sure enough, he got there. After the turn was a blank, the river brought the Q♠ to give Tryba the nut flush and the chip lead.
Not far behind is PokerStars Team Pro Vanessa Rousso with 125,300. During Level 7, Rousso caught fire and stormed up the chip counts during what she called, "The sickest level of her life." Also with more than 100,000 to their names are PokerStars Team Pro Victor Ramdin (123,000), Adam Junglen (117,600), Mike "Little Man" Sica (112,700), John D'Agostino (112,500) and Carlos Moretensen (107,400).
Also still in the field is 2010 NAPT Mohegan Sun Champion Vanessa Selbst. She bagged up 87,600 and will no doubt be looking at making another run to the winner's circle. Others that will be returning for Day 2 are Faraz Jaka (54,500), Team PokerStars Pro Jason Mercier (30,800), Amnon Filippi (29,000), Jeff Madsen (26,200), and Matt Glantz (12,200).
On the other end of the spectrum, several notables were unable to make it through to Day 2. Team PokerStars Pros Chris Moneymaker, Daniel Negreanu, and David Williams could not get anything going at all and were eliminated early on. Joining them on the rail as the day went on were Bryn Kenney, Kathy Liebert, Melanie Weisner, Dan Heimiller, Chau Giang, and Erick Lindgren.
Here are the top ten stacks heading into Day 2.
| Place | Player | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chris Tryba | 173,400 |
| 2 | Jerry Wong | 165,000 |
| 3 | Aaron Mermelstein | 147,500 |
| 4 | Mehrdad Yousefzadeh | 131,700 |
| 5 | Sean Ripp | 128,700 |
| 6 | Vanessa Rousso | 125,800 |
| 7 | Joseph Gibbons | 125,400 |
| 8 | Victor Ramdin | 123,100 |
| 9 | Adam Junglen | 117,600 |
| 10 | Greg Ostrander | 116,000 |
Play resumes Sunday at 1200 EDT (1600 GMT) with Day 2. Our Live Reporting Team will be back on the floor to keep you up-to-date on everything that happens, and as always, follow us on Twitter for up-to-the-minute news.
