Shane Stegora Leads, Preston Dean Bags Another Big Stack on Day 1d of the RPT Casino State Championship
A flurry of eliminations brought Day 1d of the $250 Roughrider Poker Tour Casino State Championship to a swift end.
Preston Dean did his part, thanks to a little luck. Dean had Robert Hawkenberry at risk with two eights, but Hawkenberry had pocket aces and was poised for a double-up until Dean spiked a straight on the river to win the massive pot and bring the field down to 44 surviving players. Dean bagged up his second big stack of the tournament, ending up with 636,000.
Day 1d Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shane Stegora | United States | 731,000 |
| 2 | Preston Dean | United States | 636,000 |
| 3 | Duston Lantz | United States | 605,000 |
| 4 | Kevin Selby | United States | 493,000 |
| 5 | Bill Shalhoob | United States | 446,000 |
| 6 | Owen Martin | United States | 388,000 |
| 7 | Tim Rice | United States | 380,000 |
| 8 | Dustin Caspers | United States | 378,000 |
| 9 | Jarett Lovcik | United States | 372,000 |
| 10 | Weston Wells | United States | 360,000 |
He’s looking up only at Shane Stegora, who ended up as chip leader with 731,000. Duston Lantz, who cracked two kings with a full house in a three-way all-in earlier in the day, sits in third place with 605,000, while Kevin Selby (493,000) and Bill Shalhoob (446,000) round out the top five.
Owen Martin was the self-proclaimed master of hitting sets today and finished with 388,000. Others to survive the day included Tyler Kolness (356,000), RPT Tri-State Poker Championship winner Bridget Johnson (261,000), Terence Reid (98,000), and Corey Littlewolf (90,000). Weston Wells survived both flights today, his 360,000 stack on Day 1d surpassing his total from this morning’s flight, as did Jarett Lovcik (372,000), Roger Isla (279,000), Tim McFarland (177,000), and Katie Fowler (141,000).
A massive field showed up at the Spirit Lake Casino & Resort this afternoon for the fourth of six starting flights, the 352 entries on Day 1d bringing the field up to 951. A total of 118 have already secured their tickets to Day 2. There are still two more starting flights tomorrow, Day 1e at 9 a.m. and Day 1f at 5 p.m., before all remaining players combine for Day 2 on January 4 at 11 a.m. Anyone who is already through to the championship day can also enter tomorrow, with their smaller stack being taken out of play for a $710 payout.
PokerNews will be back tomorrow providing live updates as the last two starting flights promise to be the biggest yet from what is already a massive field.