Jihad Yehya opened to 7,000 from the hijack and received calls from Dawid Smolka in on the button and Simas Karaliunas in the small blind.
The flop came A♦4♥9♥ and action checked around to Smolka who bet 8,000. Both opponents made the call.
On the 7♥ turn Smolka bet again when checked to, this time for 23,000. Karaliunas called while Yehya got out of the way.
Karaliunas checked once more on the 10♣ river and Smolka bet 60,000, sending Karaliunas deep into the tank.
After a few minutes a player called the clock and shortly afterwards Karaliunas made the call. Smolka had 5♥5♣ for a small pair turned into a bluff while Karaliunas tabled A♦J♥ for top pair to take down a sizable pot.
Action was opened in early position to 7,500. The cutoff called, Eli Saad called on the button and the big blind defended.
The 10♠8♠2♠ flop hit the felt and action checked all the way through to an A♦ turn. It then checked through to an 9♦ river where they finally saw some betting.
The original raiser gathered some chips and put out a bet of 17,000. The cutoff folded and then Eli Saad snap called from the button. The big blind got out of the way and the original raiser tapped the table to say "nice hand" as he tabled K♣J♥ for just king-high.
Saad tabled 8♣3♦ for fourth pair. He scooped the pot after making a great river call.
The curtain has closed for Day 1c of the 2023 Gangster Series $3,300 Main Event. The day attracted a total of 114 entrants with 62 players advancing to Day 2.
Stay tuned for a full recap of the day's events including full updated chip counts that will follow shortly.
Day 1c of the 2023 Merit Poker Gangster Series $3,300 Main Event hosted by the Merit Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino attracted a total of 114 runners, with late registration still open till the end of level 14 on Day 2.
After nine levels of play, 62 players remained. Among the big stacks sits Simas Karaliunas of Lithuania, who bagged 504,500, along with Damir Gabdullin
of Russia with 463,500, with both claiming a spot inside the top three.
Damir Gabdullin
Karaliunas found himself in a few interesting spots throughout the day, including a big pot that was won when his opponent limp-back-jammed with seven-duece and was called by the ace-ten of Karaliunas to scoop a massive pot and accumulate a ton of chips.
Later in the day, he would make a huge hero call when Dawid Smolka was caught with his hand in the cookie jar holding an under-pair. Karaliunas tank-called after a player at the table called the clock and he scooped another big pot.
Top Ten Chip Counts
Place
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Blinds
1
John One
Turkey
764,500
306
2
Simas Karaliunas
Lithuania
504,500
202
3
Damir Gabdullin
Russia
463,500
185
4
Ali El-Siblani
Lebanon
431,000
172
5
Mariappan Subramaniam
Singapore
415,500
166
6
Kostiantyn Nikulin
Israel
358,500
143
7
Amir Sonsino
Israel
345,000
138
8
George Alahwal
Jordan
311,000
124
9
Anatoly Korochenskiy
Russia
287,000
115
10
Nikolay Tyurin
Russia
280,000
112
Benjamin Hamnett
Some other notable names to find a bag on Day 1 include WPT champion Benjamin Hamnett with 95,000, Russian crusher Oleg Netaliev who has finished runner-up in a Merit Poker Main Event in the past with 118,500, and two-time WSOP bracelet winner Dmitry Yurasov with 231,000.
Day 2 of the event is set to begin at 12:00 p.m. local time. Players who qualified on the first day will be returning to level 10. The blinds will be set at 1,000/2,500/2,500, and players are scheduled to play for another nine levels concluding around 9:45 p.m. local time. Each level will last for 60 minutes.
As always, stay tuned into PokerNews for all the updates on the Merit Poker Gangster Series and all the other best events happening around the world!
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