Heads-up on a board of 5♥A♣10♥K♥, Aleksandr Kirichenko bet 20,500 from the big blind and Luis Mata called in middle position.
The river was the 6♠ and Kirichenko moved all in. Mata snap-called for his last 40,000 and Kirichenko turned over Q♥J♠ for the nut straight. Mata tossed 10♦10♠ into the muck as he made an early exit on Day 2.
The four opening flights at the Merit Poker Dolce Vita Series have been completed, and now it’s time for the remaining players to join together for Day 2 of the $2,200 La Notte Degli Assi.
The 363 returning contenders will fill up the poker room at the Merit Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino, but they won’t be the only ones taking a seat when play resumes at 12 p.m. local time. Late registration remains open for another five levels, along with unlimited reentries for those who see their chips disappear.
The field already sits at 902 entries ahead of Day 2, after 72 joined the turbo Day 1d last night. The prize pool has far surpassed the guarantee of $1,500,000, but by how much is still to be determined.
Leading the way is Abdallah Eddine of Lebanon, who ran hot late on Day 1c to collect 1,157,500 chips. Eddine sits as the only player with a seven-figure stack, well ahead of Day 1b chip leader Symeon Alexandridis (917,500).
Samir Nacer set the pace on Day 1a to bag 703,500, one of many notable players returning to action today. That list includes George Rabahie (725,000), Mircea Flutur (671,500), Georgios Skarparis (432,500) and Maxim Lykov (232,000).
Day 2 Top 10 Chip Counts
Place
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Blinds
1
Abdallah Eddine
Lebanon
1,137,500
455
2
Symeon Alexandridis
Greece
917,500
367
3
Gregory Luttke
France
897,000
359
4
Omar Lakdari
Algeria
864,500
359
5
Yassin Mahmoud
Jordan
747,000
299
6
George Rabahie
Lebanon
725,000
290
7
Samir Nacer
France
703,500
281
8
Zvezdan Tadic
Serbia
694,000
278
9
Navid Samavati
Iran
682,500
273
10
Ermanno Pacini
Italy
676,500
271
Simone Andrian
WSOP bracelet winner Simone Andrian (117,500) and WPT Champion Vlad Darie (72,000) will both have some work to do, as the field will find out how many players make the money later today.
The Day 2 field size was reduced by one, as Pouria Riahi found a bag twice this week. Riahi’s Day 1c stack of 161,500 dwarfed the 74,000 chips that he bagged on Day 1b, and he’ll return with 65 big blinds instead of 30.
$2,200 La Notte Degli Assi Remaining Schedule
Date
Day
Time
Thu. August 1
Day 2
12:00 p.m.
Fri. August 2
Day 3
12:00 p.m.
Sat. August 3
Day 4
12:00 p.m.
Sun. August 4
Final Day
12:00 p.m.
Day 2 gets underway at 12:00 p.m. on Level 10, where blinds will be 1,000/2,500 and a 2,500 big blind ante. Full prize pool and payout information will be announced after late registration has closed.
The PokerNews live reporting team will continue to provide full coverage, so don’t miss any of the action on the road to crowning a new champion at the Merit Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino.
