Pupillo Cruises to Day 1b Lead in WSOPC Horseshoe Southern Indiana
Day 1b of the 2019 World Series of Poker Circuit Horseshoe Southern Indiana $1,700 Main Event drew 199 total entrants, with 37 bagging up at the end of play. Combined with the 30 survivors from Day 1a, 67 will return at noon tomorrow for Day 2 action, with 54 of those players walking away with a piece of the prize pool.
Nick Pupillo soared to the top of the chip counts in Level 8 after he coolered Kenton New with kings, and although he took a hit from his peak of over 400,000 just before the end of play, Pupillo never relinquished the lead en route to bagging up 331,000, which is a fair amount shorter than Day 1a chip leader Robert James and his 414,500 in chips.
Few players have had more success than Pupillo in Circuit Main Events in recent years. He has a win and several other deep runs, and he'll be looking to build on his nearly $800K in tour earnings, as well as booking another trip to the Global Casino Championship.
Thomas Alcorn (304,500) and Robert Keeling (275,500) round out the top three, while Donnie Phan (260,000), WSOP bracelet winner Brett Apter (223,500), John Gallaher (194,500), Mark "Pegasus" Smith (117,000), and Ravi Raghavan (106,500) all managed to find a bag. WSOP bracelet winner Jessica Dawley ground a short stack for much of the final few levels, and will have to continue her spin-up magic, as she brings back 34,500 for tomorrow.
Robert Hankins, nine-time WSOPC ring winner and former champ of this very event, was unable to get anything going today and failed to find a bag. Likewise WSOP bracelet winners Frank Maggio and Keven Stammen, as well as Blake Whittington and Kurt Jewell.
A total of 357 entrants fired in the Main Event between the two flights, generating a total prize pool of $540,855. The eventual champion will walk away with $117,322, along with a seat in the 2020 WSOPC Global Casino Championship. A min-cash is good for $2,550, while making the final nine will guarantee a payday of $10,103.
Play will resume at Level 16, with the blinds at 2,000/4,000 and a 4,000 big blind ante, and levels will increase to one hour in length for the remainder of the tournament. Day 2 is scheduled to last for 10 levels, or until the final table of nine is reached, whichever comes first. Follow along with the PokerNews live reporting team as we return Sunday at noon to come one step closer to crowning a champion here in Elizabeth, Indiana.
