Todd Dunlop caught up with PokerNews after bagging 547,000 at the end of the Thursday's $600 Opener evening flight. "I'm doing better than when I started," he said. "Had a nice little run at the end there, so I'm feeling good going into Day 2."

Dunlop needed two bullets to get there but said he "Ended up making a nice little run, played a little more conservative at the end, hit a couple of nice big hands."

"I don't play a lot of tournaments, man, I really don't. I'm a cash game PLO player," Dunlop explained. "I'm gonna be having a PLO cash game at my house tomorrow night to practice, but then I'll be back Sunday and I gotta flip back to tournament mode. It's hard for me to be conservative and patient, waiting for spots — that's all against the PLO player's nature."

He'll share Day 2 with fellow local grinder Derek Childress, who recently took down the Borgata Opener at the Borgata Summer Poker Open, and he believes their tough home game crew gives both of them an edge. "If you can survive a Friday night at one of our house games, this is easy. It's just like practice back in high school or college — iron sharpens iron, man. Great players make for great play."

Tags: Derek ChildressTodd Dunlop