2021 Golden Nugget Grand Poker Series

Robert Clark bagged the chip lead in Day 1C of Event #22: $600 Championship No-Limit Hold’em $500,000 Guarantee, the Main Event of The Grand Poker Series at the Golden Nugget.

Clark was a bigger stack for most of the day and cemented himself as the Day 1C chip leader by eliminating Thet Mah as the bubble boy in a brutal river beat to end the day with 579,000 chips. Clark will be joining Day 1A chip leader Derrick Contreras (544,000) and Day 1B chip leader Tim Reilly (748,000) as some of the biggest stacks among a field of 138 contenders as they resume play in Day 2, which is planned to crown a champion, on Oct. 10 at 12 p.m. local time.

End of Day 1C Top 10 Chip Counts

A total of 531 players showed up for Day 1C, with 67 players moving on to Day 2. Overall from all three flights, there were 1,096 total entries for a total prize pool of $565,536. 138 total players have made it into the money and bagged a stack for Day 2, where one player will take home the $102,266 first-place prize.

Be sure to follow PokerNews on Oct. 10, for Day 2, starting at 12 p.m. local time.

Thet Mah was all in for his last 60,000 chips and at risk of being the bubble boy at the hands of Robert Clark. Once the other tables completed their hands, the two players flipped over their cards.

Thet Mah:
Robert Clark:

Clark was yelling "Ace on the flop, one time, we're going home!", while Mah was silent and awaiting the dealer's runout which was all he could do.

The flop was safe for Mah as it came . The turn was the and all Mah had to do was avoid a three-outer on the river. Clark was repeatedly calling out "Ace!", and the room erupted as the spiked the river and signified that the remaining 67 players were now in the money and on to Day 2.

Mah, meanwhile, was still silent and only quietly said "What can you do?", which was all he could muster before exiting the room after the sick beat, while Robert Clark ends as one of the biggest stacks of the day.

Players are now bagging and tagging. Chip counts of all remaining players and a recap are to follow.

A player was all in and at risk preflop for 90,000 against James Patterson.

Opponent:
James Patterson:

The flop was to give the at-risk player a set of aces but also give Patterson a flush draw. The came on the turn to change nothing, but on the river, the disastrous hit the felt to give Patterson a flush and eliminate his opponent in brutal fashion so close to the bubble.

With 68 players remaining, play is now hand-for-hand.

J.J. Liu got the rest of her 50,000 or so stack in preflop and was against one player.

J.J. Liu:
Opponent:

The flop was the exact opposite of what Liu wanted to see as it came to leave her drawing dead. The meaningless and completed the board and left her with no chips as the players near the end of the day.

Scott Herrmann raised to 14,000 from the hijack and J.J. Liu jammed in the big blind to put him to the test. However, Herrmann snap-called.

J.J. Liu:
Scott Herrmann:

Herrmann had an easy decision with the rockets but still needed to hold.

The flop was . The turn was the which gave Herrmann a set but it also gave Liu a flush draw.

However, the came on the river to ensure Herrmann would not have his aces cracked this time and he stays alive and doubles close to the end-of-day bubble.

With late registration closed, the payouts have been announced. 67 players will make it through today with a cash.

Combined with the previous flights, there were 1,096 total entries combining for a $565,536 prize pool. 138 total players will be making it to Day 2 tomorrow and they will each receive a min-cash of $825, with the top three spots currently taking home $102,266, $66,570, and $44,325 respectively.

On a board of , Robert Sandoval bet 25,000 and was called.

The came on the river and he bet again and was called. Sandoval showed for quads to add to his stack while his opponent mucked.