PokerStars.com APPT Sydney, Day 1b: Jason Gray Enjoys Huge Opening Session
The field for Day 1b of the PokerStars.com Asia Pacific Poker Tour Grand Final at the Star City Casino in Sydney was larger than Day 1a, with 172 players joining the event. Among the big names on hand were Gavin Griffin, Raymond Rahme, Terrence Chan and Mark Vos, as well as local favorites Jeff Lisandro, Billy "The Croc" Argyros and 2007 champion Grant "Grunter" Levy. At the end of the day, it was Australian pro Jason Gray leading the pack, with Gavin Griffin his nearest competitor atop the leader board.
Billy "The Croc" Argyros was an early casualty, putting him on the bad end of a last-longer bet he was trying to set up with 2008 World Series of Poker Main Event champion Peter Eastgate. Argyros put up $10,000 AUD that he would outlast Eastgate in the tournament, based on his assumption that the newly-minted world champ would be jetlagged from flying into Sydney the night before the tournament. Argyros busted early on Day 1b, leaving him the guaranteed loser if Eastgate makes the money. Argyros went bust in a brutal set-over-set hand against Terrence Chan when his 6♠6♣ was no good on a flop of A♠10♠6♦ against Chan's 10♣10♥.
Other notable eliminations on Day 1b included 2007 champ Grant Levy. He never got anything going in the event, and busted when he put the last of his chips in the middle with 7♥7♠ and was called by a player with K♠J♣. The board ran out K♦10♥A♣10♣3♠, and Levy headed to the rail. Jeff Lisandro, Gary Benson, Raymond Rahme and Peter Aristidou were among the bustouts on Day 1b.
Several big names performed well on Day 1b, as Mark Vos picked up aces twice in short order and doubled up both times with them. Vos lost some chips late in the day but finished in the middle of the pack. Finishing up somewhat better was Gavin Griffin, who came to Sydney to add a fourth notch on his belt. Griffin already has titles from the World Series of Poker, European Poker Tour and World Poker Tour to his credit, and he finished Day 1b second in chips as he looks to add an APPT trophy to his mantle.
By far the biggest stack in the field at the end of the day belonged to Jason Gray, and he moved into the lead early with a huge pot against Nathanael Seet. Gray raised preflop and was reraised by Seet. Gray called, and the flop came down 10♣9♦7♥. Seet led out, and Gray called once more to see the J♠ come on the turn. Seet checked, and Gray fired a bet. Seet check-raised all in, and Gray called with 8♦5♦ for the straight. Seet tabled Q♦Q♣ for an overpair and a straight draw, but the 10♦ on the river was no help as he headed to the rail and Gray dragged a massive pot. Gray never relinquished his chip lead, finishing the day with a huge edge over Griffin and the rest of the field. Other notable survivors included Lee Nelson, Eric Assadourian, Mark Vos and Jamie Pickering.
Join Pokernews at 12:30 PM local time as Thursday's Day 1c starting session kicks off. The top ten chip counts from Day 1b play were as follows:
Jason Gray - 185,000
Gavin Griffin – 130,000
Andy Meldrum - 78,000
Mark Vos - 74,000
Sam Korman - 73,000
Marlon Goonawardana - 68,000
Andrew Scott - 61,000
Suzy Khoueis - 45,000
Assadour Assadourian - 45,000
Jamie Pickering - 42,000
