PokerStars.net APPT Sydney, Day 1b: Gwinner, Scotty Nguyen Close with Rushes

PokerStars.net APPT Sydney, Day 1b: Gwinner, Scotty Nguyen Close with Rushes 0001

With major poker tournaments going on all over the globe, there were still plenty of superstars on hand at the Star City Hotel and Casino in Sydney for Day 1b of the PokerStars.net Asia Pacific Poker Tour Grand Final. Among the big names in attendance were 1998 World Champion Scotty Nguyen, Tony Hachem, Jeff Lisandro and Lee 'Final Table' Nelson.

Hachem's day ended early when he rivered a straight with the same gin card that gave his opponent a flush. Hachem and Michael Haddad got all the chips in the middle on the river when the board read 64823, and Hachem tabled 65 for the rivered straight. Haddad made the nut flush with AJ, and Hachem made an early exit.

Van Marcus rode a roller coaster early in the day when he moved a ton of chips in back-to-back hands. In the first, Marcus re-raised preflop after one player went all in and found another caller. Marcus then bet enough in the dark to put his remaining opponent all in, who called. The flop came down 572, and the players tabled their hands:

Marcus – QQ

Opponent 1 – 66

Opponent 2 – A5

The turn and river were ugly for Marcus, as they came down 43 to give both his opponents straights. On the very next hand, Marcus sold the tilt-betting well enough to get called on every street on a board of 873K4. Marcus turned over AA to boost his stack back up to a healthy size. Marcus made it through Day 1b in the middle of the pack.

Henrik Gwinner took over the chip lead late in the day in a huge pot with James Potter. Gwinner raised preflop from the button and Potter called from the small blind. Potter checked the AKQ flop, and Gwinner bet out. Potter raised, and Gwinner called. The Q came on the turn, and Potter check-raised again, going all in over the top of Gwinner's raise. Gwinner made the call with J10 for the flopped straight, and Potter tabled AK for top two pair. No help came on the river for Potter, and he was eliminated as Gwinner stacked a massive pot.

Popular local pro 'Aussie' Sarah Bilney went to the rail after tangling with Jim Kilarjian in a big hand. Kilarjian bet out on the flop of 24Q and Bilney called. Both players checked the 7 turn, and Bilney pushed all in when the 5 came on the river. Her KQ was no good to Kilarjian's pocket kings, and she was eliminated. APPT Seoul runner-up Jozef Berec was among the other notable players eliminated on Day 1B.

Scotty Nguyen drew a huge crowd of spectators, as always, and put on a good show for them, finishing the day with one of the biggest stacks. In one of the last hands of the day, Nguyen made a huge call against Terris Preston on a board of 10365 with pocket nines against Preston's pocket eights. The 3 river sent Preston to the rail and Nguyen to near the chip lead.

42 players made it through Day 1b, including Scotty Nguyen and Lee 'Final Table' Nelson. Here are the top ten chip stacks as play wrapped up for the night:

Henrik Gwinner - 390,400

Scotty Nguyen - 250,400

Gary Diamond - 239,000

Julious Colman - 196,600

Larry Wright - 180,600

Matthieu Logel - 150,200

Sol Bergren - 142,600

Leo Boxell - 142,100

Jai Kemp - 109,000

Sid Kim - 107,300

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