After 12 levels of play the second starting flight of the 2013-14 World Series of Poker Horseshoe Southern Indiana Main Event has officially come to an end. A total of 171 players came out for Day 1B which brings the total number of entrants for the event up to 290. This number is not the official final total, however, as players have the option of firing one more bullet before play begins on Day 2. Only 56 players survived Day 1B and tomorrow they will join with the 34 who made it through Day 1A.
Chips changed hands quite frequently during the last few levels of play with big stacks becoming short stacks and middle stacks absorbing each other to rocket toward the top. When the clock wound down, though, it was Nicholas Depalma who bagged up the largest stack with 163,000. Though Depalma is the Day 1B chip leader, he is still ultimately behind Day 1A chip leader Sean Lippel and his 185,500-chip stack for the top position.
Noted tournament professional Eric Crain showed up with just a few levels to go in the night and managed to turn his starting stack of 20,000 into an impressive 136,700 by the end of the night. Crain built a solid stack after having his pocket aces hold against a few limpers in a pot but the majority of his chips were attained after the final three hands of the night were called. Crain found himself in an all in situation holding an open-ended straight draw and overcards against a shorter-stacked all in player with middle pair and a bigger stack with top pair and four to a flush. Crain drilled his straight on the turn and the river bricked out, allowing him to scoop the pot and finish well over the 100k mark for the night.
Circuit legend Mark "Pegasus" Smith will also return for Day 2 with a big stack. Smith found very few large confrontations throughout the day and seemed to slowly climb the chip counts as the day progressed. By the end of the night the five-time Circuit ring winner tossed 101,700 into his bag and left the poker room with a wide grin.
Other notable players to return for Day 2 include Event #7: $365 Pot-Limit Omaha w/ Rebuys champion Eric Fields (52,000), two-time ring winner Aaron Massey (48,400), current Horseshoe Indiana Casino Champion points leader Patricia Till (44,800), and 2011 WSOP bracelet winner Aaron Seutry (32,200).
While those players thrived throughout the day and will progress onto the second day, a handful of notable names were not as fortunate. Players like Cord Garcia, "Cowboy" John Land, Keven Stammen, Benjamin Grise, Robert Cheung, and recent ring winner Stephen Binkley were all eliminated from play before the clock reached zero for the day.
Play will resume on Sunday at the poker room on the bottom floor of the Horseshoe Southern Indiana at 1pm. There, the final 90 players along with any last minute entrants will battle for a spot at the coveted final table.
Here's a look at the top 3 stacks from Day 1B:
1. Nick Depalma - 163,000
2. Zachary Burton - 155,400
3. Taylor Firebaugh - 143,500
You can view the full Day 2 chip counts and seat assignments by clicking here.