$600 Grand Poker Series Championship No-Limit Hold'em Day 2 | 2021 Golden Nugget Grand Poker Series

10-11-2021 07:05 UTC

Mark Harraka Bags Chip Lead at the Final Table of Event #22: $600 Championship No-Limit Hold'em $500,000 Guaranteed

Brandon Bloom

Level 28 : 50,000/100,000, 100,000 ante

Mark Harraka bagged the chip lead in Day 2 of Event #22: $600 Championship No-Limit Hold’em $500,000 Guarantee, the Main Event of The Grand Poker Series at the Golden Nugget.

Harraka started the day with 369,000 chips and had a prosperous day to finish as the chip leader heading into the final table with 5,975,000 chips. Harraka will be joined by John Gardner (4,550,000) and Jason Bartholomew (3,825,000) as the top stacks when they resume play on Oct. 11 at 12 p.m. local time.

Final Table Starting Counts

Place	Player	Chips
1	Mark Harraka	5,975,000
2	John Gardner	4,550,000
3	Jason Bartholomew	3,825,000
4	Greg Koutelidakis	3,100,000
5	Danny Dagostino	2,400,000
6	Jesse Jaurigue	2,300,000
7	Ken Huynh	2,250,000
8	Phillip Latimer	1,500,000
9	Benjamin Jacobs	1,200,000

Out of 1,096 total entries, 138 players started on Day 2. Now, only nine remain. The final nine players will battle it out tomorrow where one player will take home the $102,266 first-place prize.

Be sure to follow PokerNews on October 11, for Day 3, where they will play to a winner starting at 12 p.m. local time.

10-11-2021 05:31 UTC

Moe Affaneh Eliminated in 10th Place ($9,545)

Brandon Bloom

Level 28 : 50,000/100,000, 100,000 ante

Moe Affaneh got the rest of his chip into the middle on the flop and was up against John Gardner.

Moe Affaneh:
John Gardner:

Affaneh had top pair but Gardner flopped a flush. The and completed the board to eliminate Affaneh and send the remaining 9 players to the final table.

Player	Chips	Progress
John Gardner	4,550,000 2,250,000	2,250,000
Moe Affaneh	Busted

10-11-2021 04:53 UTC

Allen Kerlin Eliminated in 12th Place ($7,385)

Brandon Bloom

Level 28 : 50,000/100,000, 100,000 ante

Allen Kerlin got the rest of his stack in preflop and was against Jason Bartholomew.

Allen Kerlin:
Jason Bartholomew:

Kerlin found himself in an unfortunate spot and couldn't improve on the board. He was gone from the tournament while Bartholomew chipped up.

Player	Chips	Progress
Jason Bartholomew	4,200,000 200,000	200,000
Allen Kerlin	Busted

10-11-2021 04:25 UTC

Steve Firestone Eliminated in 13th Place ($5,800)

Brandon Bloom

Level 27 : 50,000/75,000, 75,000 ante

Steve Firestone was kind enough to relay details of his bust-out hand. He had all his 800,000 chips in preflop and was flipping.

Steve Firestone:
Mark Harraka:

The board ran out and Harraka took down the pot to eliminate Firestone.

Player	Chips	Progress
Mark Harraka	3,000,000 2,300,000	2,300,000
Steve Firestone	Busted

10-11-2021 04:04 UTC

Burt Boutin Eliminated in 14th Place ($5,800)

Brandon Bloom

Level 27 : 50,000/75,000, 75,000 ante

Burt Boutin had gotten his stack of about 1.2 million all in preflop and was at risk of going home against Greg Koutelidakis.

Burt Boutin:
Greg Koutelidakis:

Boutin ran his fishhooks into ladies and found no help on the runout. Meanwhile, Koutelidakis now has one of the bigger stacks in the tournament.

Player	Chips	Progress
Greg Koutelidakis	4,500,000 3,200,000	3,200,000
Burt Boutin	Busted

10-11-2021 03:54 UTC

Ruth Graham Eliminated in 17th Place ($4,720)

Brandon Bloom

Level 26 : 30,000/60,000, 60,000 ante

Ruth Graham jammed in early position for about 250,000 and Jason Bartholomew called from middle position.

Ruth Graham:
Jason Bartholomew:

Bartholomew flopped trips on the flop, but Graham made a straight on the turn. The tides changed once again on the river which gave Bartholomew a boat and eliminated Graham.

Others at the table said Graham had navigated through the tournament with skill and that "she would not die", and would probably make the final table had she stayed alive in the hand.

Player	Chips	Progress
Jason Bartholomew	2,400,000 200,000	200,000
Ruth Graham	Busted

10-11-2021 03:37 UTC

Boutin Flops Flush to Leave Graham Short

Brandon Bloom

Level 26 : 30,000/60,000, 60,000 ante

Burt Boutin had his last 560,000 chips committed to the pot and was about to reveal hands with Ruth Graham.

Burt Boutin:
Ruth Graham:

Graham was in a dominating spot but it was all over as the dealer spread the flop to give Boutin a flush as he celebrated his good fortune. The meaningless and completed the board and left Graham with a short stack.

Player	Chips	Progress
Burt Boutin	1,200,000 700,000	700,000

Ruth Graham	50,000 -550,000	-550,000

10-11-2021 00:50 UTC

Vaynberg Flops Boat to Eliminate Two

Brandon Bloom

Level 22 : 15,000/25,000, 25,000 ante

A player had jammed in his 120,000 stack, another player jammed in his 460,000 stack, and Boris Vaynberg covered both players and put his chips in.

Opponent:
Opponent:
Boris Vaynberg:

The flop all but ended it in Vaynberg's favor. The board ran out to confirm the result and two more players were gone.

Player	Chips	Progress
Boris Vaynberg	1,200,000 730,000	730,000

10-11-2021 00:30 UTC

Proscia Makes River Boat to Oust Turned Nut Flush

Brandon Bloom

Level 22 : 15,000/25,000, 25,000 ante

Three players were waiting for the dealer to run out the board with all of the action completed. One player had their 250,000 chip stack committed to the pot and the other had their 320,000 committed. Gennaro Proscia was in the hand as well and had both of them covered.

Opponent:
Opponent:
Gennaro Proscia:

The flop was to keep Proscia in the lead but also put a flush draw out there. The turn completed the nut flush for one of his opponents, but the hand wasn't over yet as it also gave Proscia a set and a possibility of a full house.

The dealer completed the board with the and the table erupted at the sight of the rollercoaster runout and the elimination of two players. Meanwhile, Proscia now appears to be the chip leader with over 2 million in chips.

Player	Chips	Progress
Gennaro Proscia	2,100,000 1,723,000	1,723,000

10-10-2021 23:10 UTC

Kerlin Flops Straight Flush

Brandon Bloom

Level 21 : 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante

Allen Kerlin recounted one of the hands that led to Tim Reilly's demise.

Tim Reilly min-raised in middle position and Allen Kerlin called in the hijack.

The flop came and Kerlin called a bet. The turn was the and both players checked to the river. On the river, Reilly check-jammed after Kerlin made a 90,000 bet and Kerlin called for his remaining 300,000 stack.

Reilly asked if he had jack-ten but instead, Kerlin flipped over the for a flopped straight flush while Reilly mucked.

Player	Chips	Progress
Allen Kerlin	855,000