What a difference a day made for Hassan Ali Nashar.
Nashar arrived at the Merit Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino for the start of the Merit Poker Dolce Vita Series ready to gamble, and it cost him on the opening day. He burned through three bullets on Day 1a of the $1,100 IPO Master, including bluffing off 250,000 on one of the last hands of the night with just king-three.
But that same style worked wonders for him today on Day 1b, as Nashar ended up as the only player with over 1,000,000. Nashar won most of his chips in a 600,000-chip pot against Abdelrahman Moursy when Moursy flopped a set of jacks, but Nashar made a straight. He finished the night with 1,025,000 and the clear chip leader over the remaining 194 players.
Day 1b Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hassan Nashar | Senegal | 1,025,000 | 410 |
| 2 | Ettore Cuzzone | Italy | 756,000 | 302 |
| 3 | Atilla Saracoglu | Turkey | 726,500 | 291 |
| 4 | Muhammed Hakim | Morocco | 648,500 | 259 |
| 5 | Rayan Aljawhari | Lebanon | 587,500 | 235 |
| 6 | Bakhos Joumaa | Lebanon | 568,000 | 227 |
| 7 | Azat Jafarov | Kazakhstan | 531,000 | 212 |
| 8 | Assyl Tleuzhanov | Kazakhstan | 518,000 | 207 |
| 9 | Sergey Nikishov | Russia | 475,000 | 190 |
| 10 | Albert Sapiano | United Kingdom | 463,000 | 185 |
Ettore Cuzzone also used some aggression to build up a big stack on Day 1b. Cuzzone won a big pot off Guillermo Gordo near the end of the night with a massive ten-high bluff on the river. The Italian ended up with 750,000 and in second place behind Nashar.
Other top stacks at the end of the day include Albert Sapiano (463,500), Merit Poker’s own Vytautas Milbutas (376,000), Fabio Peluso (370,500), Danut Chisu (330,000), and Denis Zelenkin (321,500), who won the EAPT Grand Final here in May.
The poker room was packed today as 404 players entered over the course of nine 45-minute levels, far eclipsing the 169 from the opening flight. The 194 surviving players join the 71 remaining from Day 1a, as well as players from the turbo Day 1c and 1d flights still to come, for Day 2 tomorrow at 12:30 p.m. Blinds will pick up on Level 10 at 1,000-2,500 with a 2,500 big blind ante. Late registration remains open through the end of Level 14, with unlimited reentries allowed. The total field currently stands at 573 entries, already surpassing the $500,000 guaranteed prize pool.
PokerNews will be back tomorrow as everyone will be in the same room chasing the crown on the opening event of the Merit Poker Dolce Vita Series.
