Day 1e of The Great Lakes Poker Classic Main Event Begins at 11:00 a.m.
Four flights have come and gone in the Great Lakes Poker Classic $1,200 Main Event over these past two days. 151 entrants have all had their eyes set on the $300,000 prize pool guarantee, with only 20 of them having been fortunate enough to take that step closer. Just two more flights remain for others to advance in their quest to become the first Great Lakes Poker Classic champion out here at Firekeepers Casino in Battle Creek, Michigan.
Jeff Hill leads the 20 surviving players into Day 2 with his stack of 572,000, having bagged the lead in Day 1b. He is one of the three players that have crossed the 500k threshold, along with Robert Strunk (548,000) and Frank Lucarelli (504,000). Among the others surviving are Day 1a’s chip leader Brian Barnes (407,000), Day 1d’s chip leader Areef Syed (329,000), and MSPT Main Event champion Christopher Moon (179,000).
Day 1abcd Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Hometown | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jeff Hill | Augusta, MI | 572,000 |
| 2 | Robert Strunk | Schoolcraft, MI | 548,000 |
| 3 | Frank Lucarelli | Woodhaven, MI | 504,000 |
| 4 | Andrew Olive | Wichita, KS | 481,000 |
| 5 | Brian Barnes | Augusta, MI | 407,000 |
| 6 | Alec Magdan | Warren, MI | 391,000 |
| 7 | Areef Syed | Kalamazoo, MI | 329,000 |
| 8 | Abbas Haidar | Dearborn Heights, MI | 315,000 |
| 9 | Zachary Matice | White Lake, MI | 266,000 |
| 10 | Shawn Rings | Grand Rapids, MI | 261,000 |
With today being the last opportunity for players to advance, it is possible that those who played earlier in the week may show up. Players like MSPT hall of famer Pat Steele, Michael Ferrarotti, WSOP bracelet winners Todd Estes and Jean "Prince" Gaspard, and have their chance to make more appearances throughout the day.
Players sit down with 40,000 in starting chips, with blinds beginning at 100/200, with a 200 big blind ante. Levels will escalate once every 40 minutes, with a 15-minute break occurring at the conclusion of every three levels. Registration will remain open until the beginning of Level 13, where play will continue until 15 full levels are played or 11% of the field is reached. Those who do not bag up in this flight will have one final opportunity in the following flight to advance to Day 2, which occurs on Sunday at noon.
Remaining Days
| Date | Day | Time |
|---|---|---|
| March 21st | Day 1e | 11:00 a.m. |
| March 21st | Day 1f | 5:00 p.m. |
| March 22nd | Day 2 | 12:00 p.m. |
Players who double bag will receive a bonus of $3,000, with all players who bag up more than twice receiving $5,000 with each of their bags. So far only Alec Magdan has successfully capitalized on that bonus, receiving $8,000 so far for his bagging efforts.
Stay tuned to PokerNews for all of the exciting coverage on the ground at Firekeepers Casino!