Apter Crushes, Hawkins Bags Solid Stack on Day 1b
After a tough finish to Day 1a, Brett Apter came back for more on Day 1b of WSOP Circuit Ameristar St. Charles $1,700 Main Event. He put together a banner day to join the one-member 500,000 club, finishing the night with 516,000 after a hard stop was once again reached at 16% of the field.
Apter has made WSOP events his personal stomping ground in recent years, collecting two rings and a bracelet to the tune of $675K in winnings.
Here in Ameristar St. Charles, Apter found two kings to be his weapon of choice. He twice won large pots with the cowboys. First, he scooped up a three-way all in, easily fading players holding eight-four suited and ace-queen suited. Then, he bet-called for stacks with three threes on the board, his full house pipping an opponent who held queens and check-jammed.
From, there, it was a simple matter of applying pressure in the right spots as the bagging bubble neared.
Another Circuit stalwart also had a solid showing as all-time ring leader Maurice Hawkins bagged 199,000. While that number is a bit below where Hawkins climbed when he was around the 300,000 mark, it's still going to be good for 50 big blinds when Day 2 play commences.
Others finding bags included Jon Lawson (325,000), Tim Vance (320,000), Nic Ditrapani (279,000) and Heather Alcorn (206,000).
The 173 entries pushed the two-flight total to 281, edging the tournament past the $400,000 guarantee. The prize pool was confirmed late in the day, with the winner to receive $92,886 and a WSOPC gold ring.
A total of 46 players have earned their ways to Day 2, and they'll return at noon on Sunday. The earlier hard stop on Day 1a means there will be just over 49 minutes left at 2,000/4,000/4,000. Come back to PokerNews to follow the Main Event to the late stages.