Day 1a In The Bag; Vogelman In Control!
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The sun has set on another day in Auckland, and with it, Day 1a of the PokerStars.net Asia Pacific Poker Tour Auckland Main Event has come to an end!
After kicking off season fours third stop here at SKYCITY Auckland Casino with a traditional Haka welcoming, eighty-nine players took their seats in a relatively small, but highly skilled Day 1a field. Three players that have enjoyed success here over the past twelve months; Auckland Poker Championships winner James Honeybone, New Zealand Poker Open Champion Jackson Zheng and APPT Auckland High Rollers Champion Kevin Clark were waving the flag for the locals along with high-stakes cash game player Phillip Willcocks and SKYCITY Auckland ambassador Brooke Howard-Smith.
However they would all find themselves on the rail throughout the day along with Australians and New South Welshmans Michael O'Grady, APPT Sydney Champion Aaron Benton and Sydney Poker Championship and ANZPT Sydney High Rollers Champion Daniel Neilson also found themselves having to make an early exit during the day.
When the dust settled and the chips were bagged and tagged, it is online qualifier and United States resident Noah Vogelman amassing the most chips on the day with an impressive 128,275-chip stack to lead the 41-strong field into Day 2. Snapping on his heels, but unable to finish in the six-figure club are John Harman (94,800), Tao Luo (94,050) and Ricky Kroesen (81,900) while notables Aussie Millions and APPT Sydney title holder Andrew Hinrichsen (69,400), ANZPT Queenstown Champion Julian Cohen (22,175) and APPT Macau Champion Victorino Torres (12,125) all remain in contention amongst a field mixed of locals, amateurs and online qualifiers.
Day 1b is set to kick off tomorrow at 12:15 p.m NZST with 114 players already registered, and if a few more can make their way down to the SKYCITY Auckland Casino, then the third annual PokerStars.net APPT Auckland[/url] may just give last years figures a shake!