Six-Time WSOP Champ Brian Hastings Bags the Chip Lead After Day 1a of the $1,200 Main Event at The Commerce Hold'em Series
Day 1a at The Commerce Hotel Casino in the $1,200 Main Event has been completed. The first of five flights saw 27 entrants, with three players making the money and advancing to Day 2. The chip leader at the end of the night was Brian Hastings, who bagged 409,000.
Hastings is a six-time World Series of Poker Bracelet winner with over $5,000,000 in career poker earnings. Hastings is by far the most accomplished player in the field, and on the other end of the spectrum is the player sitting in second, Preston Patz. The Villa Park, Ca resident has just over $40,000 in career poker earnings, and is looking to top his career best score of $11,487 with a deep run in this event. Third in chips is Fred Lavassani, who is just shy of $300,000 in career poker earnings.
End of Day 1a Chip Counts
| Place | Name | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brian Hastings | United States | 409,000 |
| 2 | Preston Patz | United States | 370,000 |
| 3 | Fred Lavassani | United States | 301,000 |
With only six players remaining, a wild hand got the players on the money bubble, when Preston Patz scored a double knockout after a three-way all-in preflop. Patz flopped a set of queens to crack the aces of Chris Nelson, to eliminate him and Marc Fiorenti who held pocket tens.
The unfortunate bubble boy was Michael Casella, who got eliminated in brutal fashion, after a cooler from the hands of the chip leader Brian Hastings. Casella flopped trip aces with his ace-jack, but Hastings flopped a full house with his ace-six suited. After the board ran out, Casella was eliminated, and the massive pot gave Hastings the chip lead as the night concluded.
Remaining Schedule for $1,200 Main Event
| Day | Date | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1b | September 18 | 12:00 p.m. |
| 1c | September 19 | 12:00 p.m. |
| 1d | September 20 | 12:00 p.m. |
| 1e | September 21 | 12:00 p.m. |
| 2 | September 22 | 11:00 a.m. |
For the Day 1 flights, players will start with 40,000 chips at the 100/200 blind levels. There will be 40-minute blind levels, until the final table where they will play 60-minute levels. Players will have a 15-minute break after every three levels of play. This event has unlimited rebuys, with registration for this event concluding after the start of Level 10, and Day 1 flights ending after the players make the money. 1 out of 10 players will make the money. Players may play multiple Day 1 flights after bagging to improve their Day 2 stack. Any player who bags multiple times will have their smaller stack taken out of play, and receive a min cash for their stack.
Be sure to follow PokerNews for live updates and coverage throughout the entirety of this event.