July 7, 2019 (Las Vegas) - The World Series of Poker Main Event continued today with Day 2 for flights A and B. Each flight played in a different room and they will return for Day 3 Monday. Anton Morgenstern is bagging the second biggest stack, and will be among the largest stacks when Day 3 begins. He flopped a flush in a three-way pot and broke the 700,000 chip barrier. Timothy Su bagged 791,000 to be the unofficial chip leader.
The 2003 Main Event Champion, Chris Moneymaker spent some time on the feature table, but it was Jacqueline Burkhart who stole the show and ran up a stack. In a few hands toward the end of the evening, Burkhart made a big fold against Andrew Seidman when he had flopped a full house. She also got some value from Seidman when she defended her big blind and made a straight.
Another Main Event Champion, Qui Nguyen, built a monster stack. He flopped a wheel and sent Carlton Taylor home early on Day 2. Nguyen was at 295,200 early in the day and added roughly 200,000 more to bag 602,400 heading into Day 3.
Kelly Minkin had a massive upswing in the final level of the day, coming from around 80,000 to over 400,000. Minkin has been the last woman standing twice, most recently finishing 50th in last year’s main event.
She won about 200,000 when she flopped a set of kings and rivered a full house.
Bryan Campanello bagged a big lead in Day 1A, with 415,000 and didn’t have a monumental day, but bagged enough on Day 1 to take some hits and still bag a big stack.
“It’s the first time I’ve ever had a big stack early in this thing, so I expected there to be bumps in the road after. So I just wanted to stay patient. Normally, you bag chips and are like, ‘alright Day 2 I need to make an advancement. In this tournament, I bagged so massive on Day 1, if I bagged 300 on Day 2 that would be insane still,” Campanello said.
Campanello won the 2013 $2,500 Razz for his only WSOP bracelet. He has $211,750 in WSOP tournament winnings and $857,276 in lifetime tournament winnings. He spent some time grinding the WSOP circuit as well and was a regular face at the WSOP.
He was looking for a change, so he went to flight school and plans to fly chartered or private jets. Flight school and being a pilot will also give him the time to dabble in poker as opposed to the grind he has been on previously.
“It’s more of a side job almost. There are spots where I’m not entirely sure what to do. Three years ago I would have just known what to do in a spot. Now I just think about it for a couple extra minutes.”
He still enjoys playing poker and maybe the time off has allowed him to feel a little more comfortable on the felt, since he hasn’t spent the entire summer on the grind.
“I just enjoy the competition and all that stuff. Getting to play it and coming in relaxed and fresh to the main event is a lot different feeling. Cause normally I’ve been out here for seven weeks already and played fifty tournaments and busted fifty tournaments.”
A few weather problems have delayed Campanello’s flight school training, but he’s making ground and has already started to accumulate flight hours.
“I started flight school eight months ago. A big milestone for me, I feel really good about that. I’m really enjoying it. It’s a big change of pace, but I enjoy getting in there and flying. It’s a much different lifestyle, but it is also a beneficial lifestyle that will allow me to play poker still. The opportunity to both things was really big for me.”
Whereas Campanello’s day was pretty uneventful, it was Patrick Serda who enjoyed a bit of an uptick after bagging about 200,000 less than Campanello.
“I just ran really, really good. Made a couple sets and got paid. It’s kind of been a weird feeling so far, I’ve just made a lot of hands the first few days. I’m not really used to having it this much,” Serda said.
Serda has $1,778,406 in career tournament winnings, but has never cashed the main. He feels like this might just be his year.
“I think just continue to take it one hand at a time and just make the best decision as much as I can. I’ve had chips in the main before, I’ve never cashed. I think nine starting stacks is as much as I’ve ever had. Looking forward to the rest of the tournament now and hopefully we can get that monkey off the back.”
This is set to be the second largest main event ever and perhaps Serda picked a good year to possibly make a deep run.
“I think poker is definitely booming again. The numbers clearly show that. It’s gonna be the second-biggest or maybe even the biggest main. Mood’s definitely light-hearted. I played 1A so I didn’t get to experience any of the shenanigans.”
Things were a little subdued today. Yesterday, during Day 1C, two players were disqualified and an earthquake hit the Rio for a brief moment, sending the players to an early dinner break.
The players who bagged today's flights will return on Monday for Day 3 of the biggest poker tournament in the world.
Live Updates from Day 2AB
End of Day Chip Counts for Both Flights