The last World Series of Poker Circuit stop of 2015 is nearing an end, as the starting flights of the Main Event at the Bicycle Casino are now complete. After two starting days, the chip leader heading into Day 2 is Roland Israelashvili.
Israelashvili was severely short-stacked late in the day, down to 2,000 in chips after the last break. But he was soon on the road to recovery. He made a strong push during the last three levels, and finished the night with 252,000.
Day 1B kicked off Sunday at noon, and by the end of the day there were 394 entries. Only 74 survived through the end of the night. He’s followed by Jose Mendoza (243,000), Ed Shalan (226,000), Yong Kim (230,500), Hermilo Vargas (222,500), Glen Cressman (222,000), Neil Scott (207,000), and Dipak Bhakta (205,000).
In addition to the chip leaders, other players to make it through Day 1B include two-time bracelet winner Tuan Le (177,000), WSOP Colossus winner Cord Garcia (49,500), and Ben Keeline (110,000).
Day 1A – played on Saturday – drew 235 entries, and so far there are 629 in the two flights combined, meaning the prize pool will be at least $943,500. So far, there are 120 players returning for Day 2. Late registration is still open until the start of Day 2 on Monday. Once registration is closed, the official prize pool and payout structure will be announced.
The leader after Day 1A was Matthew Herrera, who bagged 240,500. He’s now in third place overall. The only other player from Day 1A to finish with over 200,000 is Craig Varnell (208,000). Among the players who advanced from Day 1A are nine-time Circuit ring winner Alex Masek, six-time ring winner Val Vornicu, Scott Stewart, and Nipun Java, who won the Main Event here two seasons ago. Also advancing is actor Bill Fagerbakke, famous for his role as Dauber on the sitcom Coach, as well as a recurring role on How I Met Your Mother.
Players who entered today but failed to advance include five-time bracelet winner Allen Cunningham, two-time bracelet winner Tony Ma, five-time National Championship qualifier Woody Moore, Matt Salsberg, Melanie Weisner, Sasha Barrese, Sean Berrios (the winner of the Circuit Main Event at Planet Hollywood), poker commentator David Tuchman, and Casino Champion frontrunner Wendy Freedman.
The eventual winner will earn the lion’s share of the prize money, a WSOP Circuit ring (provided by Jostens), and a free entry in the 2016 WSOP Global Casino Championship. This invitation-only tournament features a minimum prize pool of $1 million, and the free entry is valued at $10,000.
Day 2 begins Monday at noon, and the money bubble will likely burst within the first few hours of play. There will be 10 levels on Monday, each 60 minutes in length, and the players who advance to Day 3 will return Tuesday to determine a winner.
The full chips counts are available Reports Tab section of the updates page.