Quintin and Hinh Neck and Neck After Day 1a of the PokerNews Cup
Day 1a of the Golden Nugget Grand Poker Series Event #55 2022 PokerNews Cup $1,100 is in the books after over twelve hours of play saw 181 entries be whittled down to 23 (12.5%) at the end of the night.
The leader in the clubhouse at the end of the night was Shea Quintin (586,000) who bagged just 1,000 more than Daniel Hinh (585,000) who finished the night in second place. Quintin did not enter until the latest possible moment after Level 12 and began with a ten big blind stack. He was able to turn those pennies into gold as he quickly catapulted to one of the larger stacks and polished off the day with some nice pots to cement his place at the top.
Quinton has had a magical last couple of months as he won an MSPT at the Venetian just a couple of weeks ago for more than $320,000 and he also pulled a $100,000 mystery bounty at the Lodge in Texas in May.
Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
| 1 | Shea Quinton | United States | 586,000 | 98 |
| 2 | Daniel Hinh | Australia | 585,000 | 98 |
| 3 | Gary Miller | United Kingdom | 543,000 | 91 |
| 4 | Logan Hewett | United States | 489,000 | 82 |
| 5 | Scott Berko | United Kingdom | 355,000 | 59 |
| 6 | Blake Barousse | United States | 338,000 | 56 |
| 7 | Forrest Kollar | United States | 263,000 | 44 |
| 8 | Andrew Rodgers | United States | 253,000 | 42 |
| 9 | Aaron Li | Australia | 252,000 | 42 |
| 10 | Nicholas Verderamo | United States | 242,000 | 40 |
Hinh’s rise in stacks was earlier in the day as he was spotted collecting pots about halfway through the day and held the chip lead for much of the night before being slightly pipped by Quintin.
Gary Miller bagged the third biggest stack with 543,000 after he accumulated most of his chips shortly after the dinner break and was able to hold on to the huge stack.
Logan Hewett with 489,000 and Scott Berko with 355,000 rounded out the top five counts at the end of the night.
Also, two women were able to advance to Day 2 as Meghan Smith (145,000) and Wendy Freedman (129,000) both navigated to the money after being among the players who started in Level 1.
Many players came and went as the day went on with Conrad Simpson, Angelina Rich and Jerod Smith among those unable to find a bag.
The surviving 23 players will advance to Day 2, which is on Monday 27 at noon local time. They will be joined by all players who live through Days 1b and 1c.
PokerNews will be there Saturday, June 25th, for Day 1b at the Goden Nugget to see who will also advance to Day 2.