Around 70,000 was in the pot when Maria Konnikova bet enough from middle position to put Erik Nomberg all in on a board of 7♠2♦10♠6♥K♣.
Nomberg, in the small blind, tanked for several minutes until he called for his last 50,000. Konnikova then showed A♠A♦ and Nomberg shot out of his seat and slammed his cards in the muck before making his exit.
Chinchia Hsu raised to 10,000 in early position and Peter Hengsakul three-bet to 35,000 in the big blind. Hsu then four-bet to 65,000 and Hengsakul called.
The flop came 6♠3♥2♦ and Hsu continued for 25,000. Hengsakul then moved all in and Hsu snap-called.
Chinchia Hsu: A♦A♣
Peter Hengsakul: J♥J♠
Hengsakul had run into Hsu's aces as the 10♣10♥ turn and river provided no help. He was already out of his seat and walking out of the tournament area, but a count showed he barely had Hsu's 90,000 covered and he had to be called back to nurse his extreme short stack.
In a blind versus blind battle, David Dongwoo Ko moved all in for 115,000 as Stanley Lee put him at risk, having Ko barely covered.
David Dongwoo Ko: 9♦9♠
Stanley Lee: 8♥8♣
Both players had picked up a pocket pair, but Ko was on the right side with his nines as the board ran out 7♠6♣2♣10♥2♥ to earn him a double up, leaving Lee on a short stack.
Mario Diaz Quilez raised to 12,000 in middle position, Rory Jennings moved all in for 51,000 in the cutoff, and Quilez called.
Rory Jennings: A♥K♠
Mario Diaz Quilez: A♣3♣
Jennings had Quilez dominated until the flop brought 5♦3♥2♠ to give Quilez a pair of threes. The rest of the board was 9♣2♣ and Quilez took the pot to send the PokerStars Ambassador to the rail a few spots short of the money.
Rhett van Leeuwen raised to 13,000 in the cutoff before Sung Lee three-bet to 46,000 on the button. Van Leeuwen then moved all in and Lee snap-called for 120,000.
Sung Lee: K♣K♠
Rhett van Leeuwen: A♣K♣
Lee had picked up kings and was a favorite to double up, but the A♠Q♦10♠ flop gave Van Leeuwen the lead with a pair of aces. The rest of the board ran out 2♥9♥ and Lee was sent to the rail, while Van Leeuwen moved up past 500,000.
Chia Hsu bet 25,000 from the big blind on a flop of J♥3♦4♣ and David Dongwoo Ko moved all in on the button. Hsu snap-called for 60,000.
"I have a big pair," Ko told Hsu as they waited to turn over their cards.
"Bigger than that?" Hsu asked, pointing at the jack on board.
Chia Hsu: K♠J♠
David Dongwoo Ko: 8♠8♦
Hsu was ahead with his pair of jacks as the turn came the 6♣. The river was the 8♣ and Ko spiked a two-outer to make a set. "Let me take a picture," Hsu said before making his exit on the money bubble.
At the same time as Chia Hsu was eliminated on another table, Leonidas Georgopoulos moved all in for 30,000 from early position and Joshua Remitio reshoved in the small blind. Antony Ammar called for 80,000 in the big blind.
Georgopoulos remained in the lead with his queens through the turn on a board of 5♣9♣2♠10♦, but Ammar hit the K♦ on the river to make a pair of kings and scoop the pot, doubling up off Remitio while sending Georgopoulos to the rail on the bubble.
The final and largest starting flight of $550 Mystery Bounty at the PokerStars North American Poker Tour (NAPT) festival at Resorts World Las Vegas saw 63 players advancing and Rhett Van Leeuwen leading the way over big stacks Chang Lin, David Dongwoo Ko and PokerStars Ambassador and recentLife Outside Poker guest Maria Konnikova.
The night ended after simultaneous knockouts that saw Leonidas Georgopoulos and another player missing out on paydays.
The Day 1e survivors will join the 116 players who bagged the previous four starting flights on Nov. 4 at noon local time for Day 2, which will play down to a winner and award the first NAPT title of the series. Bountys will be introduced on Day 2 with prizes up to $25,000 up for grabs.
Day 1e Top 10 Chip Counts
Rank
Name
Country
Chip Count
Big Blinds
1
Rhett Van Leeuwen
United States
701,000
140
2
Maria Konnikova
United States
505,000
101
3
Chang Lin
United States
426,000
85
4
David Dongwoo Ko
Canada
423,000
85
5
Alexandro Tricarico
Belgium
415,000
83
6
Nicholas Whitehead
United States
387,000
77
7
Ronnie Lamb
United States
385,000
77
8
Michael McKuin
United States
361,000
72
9
Daniel Samson
United Kingdom
330,000
66
10
Wasim Assaf
United States
319,000
64
Final Flight Action
The event drew a total of 1,201 players to nearly double the $300,000 prize pool with a total of $576,480. That's split into $300,250 in the bounty prize pool and $276,230 in the regular prize pool. Prize pool and bounty specifics will be made available on Day 2.
Day 1e was the biggest starting flight by more than a hundred players and occupied nearly the entire Resorts World Poker Room, save for a few cash game tables and the Cardplayer Lifestyle Mixed Game Festival IX in the back corner where Robbie Strazynski celebrated his birthday with a cake that he kindly shared with tournament players and media. Happy Birthday, Robbie!
The big hands continued on Sunday with content creator Nikki Limo getting kings cracked at a table that included Konnikova, as well as Gary Melnick making "the craziest call I ever made" by calling 27-big-blind shove by Irene Carey with queen-nine offsuit. He was dominated as Carey held ace-queen but managed to outflop Carey by spiking a nine.
Nikki Limo
Some other departures on Day 1e included Qing Liu, Tyler Patterson, Utah's second-all-time-money-leaderFrank Stepuchin and PokerStars Ambassadors Rory Jennings and Marle Spragg. While Spragg didn't survive the flight, the content creator's father, Gary Cordeiro, advanced to Day 2.
Action will pick back up with 19 minutes left in Level 16 with blinds of 2,000/5,000/5,000.
Stay tuned as the PokerNews live reporting team will be back on-site at Resorts World Las Vegas tomorrow for continued coverage of the NAPT Las Vegas kickoff.
