Leon Sturm raised to 11,000 on the button and Byron Kaverman three-bet jammed in the small blind for about 140,000 to put himself at risk. Sturm made the call.
Byron Kaverman: 2♥2♦
Leon Sturm: A♥Q♠
It was a fair fight but Sturm pulled ahead on the A♠K♠3♦ flop, pairing his ace. The 10♠ turn and 7♠ river offered no help to Kaverman and he was sent to the rail.
Brandon Wilson had lost the majority of his stack and was all in from the big blind as Jesse Lonis opened to 12,000 in early position and Thomas Boivin called in the small blind.
Boivin led out for 6,000 on the flop of 7♣6♥4♠ and Lonis raised to 22,000. Boivin called. Boivin checked on the A♠ turn and Lonis sized up to 64,000.
Boivin then check-jammed to send Lonis deep into the tank as he considered calling off for his remaining 150,000. He eventually folded.
Brandon Wilson: K♣7♦
Thomas Boivin: 6♠5♠
Wilson was miraculously in front with a pair of sevens but couldn't stay ahead as the 8♣ river gave Wilson a straight to earn him both pots and to send Wilson to the rail. Meanwhile, Lonis muttered to himself a bit after seeing that Boivin had check-jammed with a draw.
The mirrored sunglasses, death stares and statue poses continue on today with Day 2 of the biggest buy-in of PokerStars North American Poker Tour (NAPT) at Resorts World Las Vegas.
Day 1 of the $50,000 Super High Roller was an intimate affair with no more than three tables and 15 players. Only six players bagged for Day 2, but the field is likely to grow significantly with late registration remaining open until the start of play. Those who join the fray will receive a starting stack of 250,000, good for 50 big blinds.
Leading the way is Belgium's Thomas Boivin, who bagged a seven-figure tower of 1,502,000 over fellow big stacks Stephen Chidwick (714,000) and Dan Smith (568,000), midding stacks Brandon Wilson (464,000) and Ben Tollerene (349,000), and shortie Byron Kaverman (149,000).
$50,000 Super High Roller Start of Day 2 Chip Counts
Rank
Player
Country
Chip Count
1
Thomas Boivin
Belgium
1,502,000
2
Stephen Chidwick
United Kingdom
714,000
3
Dan Smith
United States
568,000
4
Brandon Wilson
United States
464,000
5
Ben Tollerene
United States
349,000
6
Byron Kaverman
United States
149,000
Those who busted on Day 1 included Seth Davies, Sam Soverel, Michael Gathy, Isaac Haxton and Nick Petrangelo — who has already scored a victory ($20,000 Super High Roller Warm Up - $309,030) and a runner-up finish ($5,300 Mystery Bounty - $71,100) — though all are free to hop back into the unlimited reentry event. Many of them were seen late last night sharing laughs in the $10,200 NLH/PLO Round of Each event.
Seth Davies
Like with Day 1, levels on Day 2 will last for 60 minutes in duration, and there will be 15-minute breaks every two levels. Action will kick off at 12:30 p.m. local time with approximately 20 minutes remaining in Level 8 with blinds of 2,000/5,000/5,000.
Last year's winner, 2024 GPI Player of the Year Stephen Song, has yet to make an appearance as he is deep in the $1,100 PS Open Main Event.
Stay tuned as the PokerNews live reporting team is on-site and ready to provide continued coverage of the high-stakes action in the $50,000 Super High Roller.
