Toan Nguyen Leads Day 1b as they Combine for Day 2 Tomorrow at 11 a.m.!
The air was abuzz this morning as players began entering the room around 10:30 and were greeted with a black tarmac experience found here at Thunder Valley. The staff was in full flight mode complete with pilot’s outfits while Jeff Platt and Hayley Hochstetler put on an incredible TV performance while Tana Karn and Ben Erwin joined in the commentary. The entire room was truly a spectacle to behold as the "Final Boarding" promo video was aired and it was a perfect fit to have defending champ Tyler Patterson (who bagged 163,500 in Day 1a) announce “Shuffle Up and Deal!”
After that, it was smooth sailing as 241 players took their seats throughout the day with 81 finding their way to a bag after ten 1-hour levels of play.
Leading the way for Day 1b after the dust settled is Toan Nguyen with 351,000 followed by Nic Decalo with 319,500. This puts them in third and fifth place overall when they return tomorrow for Day 2 and combine with Day 1a.
Day 1 Combined Top Ten Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andrew Voor | United States | 390,000 | 156 |
| 2 | Yunkyu Song | United States | 367,500 | 147 |
| 3 | Toan Nguyen | United States | 351,000 | 140 |
| 4 | Daniel Rezaei | Austria | 350,000 | 140 |
| 5 | Niv Decalo | United States | 319,500 | 128 |
| 6 | Kyung Yoo | United States | 302,000 | 121 |
| 7 | Joshua Prager | United States | 281,000 | 112 |
| 8 | Jared Jaffee | United States | 278,000 | 111 |
| 9 | Andrew Ostapchenko | United States | 274,000 | 110 |
| 10 | Richard Green Jr | United States | 263,000 | 105 |
Some familiar names that also managed to find a bag include Thunder Valley favorite Brett Murray (107,000), Evan Sandberg, and Buffalo Hunter Extraordinaire Allen Kessler.
Those who didn’t make it through the day and have missed their chance to advance include Brek Schutten, JC Tran, Daniel Smiljkovic, Jamie Kerstetter, Michael ‘Murph’ Murphy, and Jeff Lennon who busted on the final hand of the night.
The Return for Day 2 Tomorrow
With both opening flights in the books, Day 2 will take place Sunday at 11 a.m. local time and will start at level 11 with blinds as 1,500/2,500 with a 2,500 big blind ante. The day will consist of another ten 60-minute levels of play before bagging up to return on Monday for Day 3.
Stay tuned to PokerNews for continued coverage from the beautiful Thunder Valley Casino Resort until a Destination Champion is crowned on Monday!