2014 PPC North America Championship at Tampa Downs Day 1c/d: Big Lead for Lobato
On Saturday, play continued at the 2014 PPC North America Championship Main Event at Tampa Downs with the final two of four starting flights taking place. Day 1c attracted 134 entries, while Day 1d brought in another 105. All told, that accounted for a field size of 420 entries and a prize pool of $223,400.
Danny Lobato proved unable to be stopped on Day 1d, and he bagged up a whopping 522,300 in chips. The next closest person was Chris Swanson with 330,100, and Day 1c's biggest stack was Fred Miller with 268,400.
Day 1c/1d Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Danny Lobato | 522,300 |
| 2 | Chris Swanson | 330,100 |
| 3 | Fred Miller | 268,400 |
| 4 | Stanley Trim | 245,400 |
| 5 | Ian Zeaman | 231,800 |
| 6 | Steve Trizis | 211,800 |
| 7 | Evlys Gutierrez | 210,000 |
| 8 | Ken Fishman | 190,400 |
| 9 | Chris Thompson | 180,100 |
| 10 | Sunny Moroz | 174,500 |
The big pot that gave Lobato such a big lead gave in the final level of the night when he busted Christian Rodriguez.
After the player on the button opened with a raise, Lobato moved all in from the small blind to apply maximum pressure. In the big blind, Rodriguez made the call, and the player on the button folded. This put Rodriguez at risk and in a massive 300,000-plus pot against Lobato. Rodriguez had the best of it with the A♣K♠, and Lobato had the A♠6♥. Following a run out of Q♦J♥4♥5♦6♦, Rodriguez was eliminated thanks to the six on the river.
Rodriguez wasn't the only player eliminated from action on Saturday, as Alex Outhred hit the rail once more, Michael Laake was eliminated, and so was Jordan Wunder.
Some of those to advance to Sunday's Day 2 were John Pappas, Chris Bolek, Natasha Barbour, and Keith Farina.
With 64 players remaining and the top 45 set to be paid, Sunday will surely be an exciting day of poker. The top prize is set at $44,757, and the top four finishers will receive a $5,000 PPC Aruba World Championship package.
Day 2 of the 2014 PPC North America Championship Main Event at Tampa Downs is scheduled to kick off at 3 p.m. local time, and you can follow along with the coverage by clicking here.
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