Amazing Turnout for Flight 1a of the PokerStars Summer Series
Thursday morning the battle kicked off in Event #1: $550 No-Limit Hold 'em of the PokerStars Summer Series at Live! Casino and Hotel Philadelphia.
The entries came pouring in and the field had surpassed 100 runners by the end of Level 2. At the close of registration, the total had ballooned up to 174 entries. Of those, only 12.5 percent would move on to Day 2 and make the money. The bubble burst at about 8:30 p.m. with 21 remaining players moving on.
Vitaly Kouyazin bagged the 1a chip lead with 509,000. However, there are plenty of other healthy stacks moving on to Day 2. They include Boris Vaynberg (468,000), Christopher Book (464,000), Joshua Rothberg (455,500), Ronald Wilson (361,000), and Ryan Dodd (239,000).
Flights 1a & 1b Top Ten Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alesandro Jimenes | United States | 576,500 |
| 2 | Vitaly Kovyazin | United States | 509,000 |
| 3 | Boris Vaynberg | United States | 468,000 |
| 4 | Justin Martin | United States | 466,500 |
| 5 | Christopher Book | United States | 464,000 |
| 6 | Joshua Rothberg | United States | 455,500 |
| 7 | Ronald Wilson | United States | 361,000 |
| 8 | Michael Sontarp | United States | 353,000 |
| 9 | An Bui | United States | 329,500 |
| 10 | Tyler Petrovich | United States | 301,000 |
Justin Martin was also among the top chip counts ending the night with 466,000. He had a steady increase in chips leading up to a huge hand that happened late in the day. Martin called a massive all-in with jacks in a rough spot, but came out the winner and rode that pot to the end of the flight.
There are still four more starting flights before Sunday's Day 2. Players that didn’t bag in 1a can try their luck tonight in 1b, Friday in 1c/1d, or the last flight, 1e, on Saturday. More than $81,000 is already in the prize pool and with those remaining flights the tournament is sure to crush the $200,000 guarantee.
Day 1c kicks off at tomorrow morning, August 24th, at 11:15 a.m. and there will also be a second flight tomorrow at 6:15 p.m. The Day 1 flights will conclude with the last flight Saturday morning at 11:15 a.m. Day 2 will begin on Sunday at 11:15 a.m. when the surviving players will battle it out for a share of the prize pool and the coveted silver Spadie trophy.
Stay tuned to PokerNews for all the updates of Event #1 and all the other events happening at the PokerStars Summer Series!