Paul Sampson Crushes Day 1b as 52 Survive
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Day 1b of the 2016 Run It Up Reno Main Event came to a conclusion on Saturday night with Paul Sampson steam-rolling the field to lead the remaining 52 players into Day 2 on Sunday.
Saturday would play host to two Main Event flights with Day 1b running as a regular flight, while Day 1c later that night would play as a turbo. A total of 162 players were tallied throughout the day to crush the $150,000 guarantee before a seat was even sold in the final flight.
A plethora of re-entrants would lead the field into Day 1b, as the likes of early-week winners Thomas Dominguez, Michael Cooper, and "Boston" Rob Mariano all took their chance at surviving. Additionally, Deb Swift, Marty Gorenc, Scott Ball, Tyler Rauh, Nadya Magnus, Tyson Apostol, and last year's runner up Jesse Capps all entered but were unable to bag chips after the 12-level day.
The day would belong to Thursday Thrilla fourth-place finisher Paul Sampson, who surged to the top early and kept his foot on the gas until the last hand.
Sampson's first big pot came when his top set of aces stacked an opponent with two pair before he picked off a big bluff with just top pair. Sampson would then take care of Magnus when he rivered his two overcards before he would eliminate two players in the last few orbits of the night. The first saw his pocket fives hold against ace-jack before on the penultimate hand of the night saw his turned set of queens eliminate another victim and send him soaring up to 456,400 to end the night as the overwhelming leader.
Brandon Boatman sat second with 256,500, which would have been good for the Day 1a chip lead, while Run It Up Reno festival host Jason Somerville bagged an impressive 98,100. Bracelet winner Leo Wolpert (25,900), Kristin Kane (34,500), Garry Gates (50,500), and Mariano (39,700) also made it through to Day 2 where the 52 from Day 1b will join the 63 from Day 1a.
Day 2 for the survivors will be on Sunday at 12 p.m. local time with PokerNews providing continuous coverage until the Run It Up Reno Main Event champion is crowned.