Day 1b of the RunGood Poker Series Horseshoe Casino $675 buy-in Main Event in Council Bluffs, Iowa attracted 166 entries, which along with Day 1a's has brought the field up to 315 and demolished the $100,000 guarantee – and there's still tonight's Day 1c flight to go!
After 13 levels of play, just 32 players survived the Day 1b fray including chip leader Joe Hebda, who bagged up 323,000. That's just shy of his fellow RunGood Ambassador, Ryan Tepen, who bagged 330,000 on Day 1a.
Plenty of notables took a shot in the Day 1b field only to fall in the massacre. Those players included RunGood Ambassadors Ross Bybee, Bernard Lee, and Bryan Campanello; RunGood Poker Series Downstream champ Saied Moradi; and three-time WSOP Circuit ring winners Stephen Kats. We expect most will try again in the third and final starting flight.
The Main Event, which will award the eventual winner a nice payday as well as a $10,000 seat into the 2015 World Series of Poker Main Event, continues with Day 1c, which is happening now. Follow updates from that flight by clicking here.
Nebraska farmer Phil Mader just met his maker, and his name is Bob Slezak.
We learned the details after the fact, but according to Slezak, Mader had opened with a raise. Slezak called, as did another player, and the flop came down jack-high. Mader bet, Slezak just called, and the third player got out of the way. Long story short, Mader held , Slezak , and the two got it in on the turn.
Slezak's hand held, and Mader was left to decided whether or not to jump into the Day 1c flight, which is currently playing out on the other side of the room.
Just before the break, action exploded on a flop between Isaac Tucker and James Hall. Unfortunately we missed the exact action, but we do know Tucker got his tack of 95,000 or so all in and was in dire straits against James Hall.
Tucker:
Hall:
"Maybe I'll get lucky this time," said Tucker, who had flopped top pair but was crushed by Hall's set. Tucker needed a ton of help, but the turn took away any chance of it happening. The meaningless was put out on the river, and Tucker informed the table that he'd be back for Day 1c, which will be kicking off in just a few minutes.
Back in 2001, Omaha's Stanley Schrier finished third in the World Series of Poker Main Event. It was a feat that earned him $699,315, and was especially impressive considering the finalist in the field of 613.
If you recall, that was the year Spain's Carlos Mortensen defeated Dewey Tomko in heads-up play to win the $1.5 million first-place prize. Also at that final table were Phil Gordon (4th - $399,610), Phil Hellmuth (5th - $303,705), and Mike Matusow (6th - $239,765), while another future superstar barely missed out in Daniel Negreanu, who finished 11th for $63,940.
When "Kid Poker" learned Schrier was playing today, he was quick to point out that was the year he finished 11th despite being the chip leader with 12 left:
Schrier, who will turn 80 this year, was firing is one and only bullet on Day 1b, but unfortunately it just came to an end. He got his last 20,000 or so all in preflop holding the only to run into a player holding the . The board ran out and Schrier hit the rail. Schrier won't return this evening, but he did say he'll be making the trip to Vegas this summer and is looking forward to playing the Super Seniors Event at the WSOP.
RunGood Ambassador Joe Hebda caught fire in Level 10.
First, he won a massive pot when both he and another big stack clashed on a flop. There was already 14,000 in the pot when a raising war broke out that saw Hebda's opponent get his stack of 40,000 or so all in.
Hebda:
Opponent:
Hebda was well out in front with his cowboys, and he took down the pot after the blanked on the turn followed by the on the river.
Not long after, Hebda opened for 3,300 only to have fellow RunGood Ambassador Bryan Campanello three-bet all in for 43,000. Action folded back to Hebda and he made the call.
Hebda:
Campanello:
It was a flip, but the proverbial coin would not come down in Campanello's favor as the board ran out a dry . Hebda closed in on 200K with that pot, while Campanello has to wait until the Day 1c flight in 90 minutes to try again.
Ryan Phan fired a bullet earlier on Day 1b, and opted to reenter upon busting it. Unfortunately for him, the second time didn't prove to be the charm.
We missed how the action unfolded, but we do know Phan got his stack of 17,500 all in preflop and was up against John Maras.
Maras:
Phan:
Phan was behind, but he did hold two live cards. The flop contained one paint card, but it was the one Phan didn't need. Neither the turn nor river helped Phan, and his Day 1b officially came to an end.
Foxwoods Resort Casino, the largest resort casino in North America, is hosting the annual Foxwoods Poker Classic from March 14-30. The two-week tournament will attract top fields of both professional and amateur poker players, so you don't want to miss out!
Held in the largest poker room on the East Coast and spanning 17 days, this 21-event series will be highlighted by a $600 No-Limit Hold’em event, which will feature a $500,000 guarantee; and a $2,700 No-Limit Hold’em Main Event, which will also feature a $500,000 guarantee.
Last year’s Foxwoods Poker Classic had a total of 4,458 entries and paid out over $2.1 million in prize money, with the Main Event drawing 226 entries and a prize pool of over $548,000. This year, Foxwoods added several increased guarantees to their events, totaling $1,600,000.
Foxwoods Poker Room boasts close to 100 tables in the sprawling main room featuring a variety of live-action games that are spread around the clock. An additional 60 tournament tables are located in a separate tournament room offering weekly no-limit hold’em events with total payouts over $200,000 and guarantees totaling over $70,000. Foxwoods is also associated with the World Series of Poker and will host a WSOP Circuit event beginning May 13-24, so mark your calendar. In addition, Foxwoods will also offer satellites for the WSOP Main Event from June 1-14.
For more information and results from the Foxwoods Poker Classic, as well as other poker events happening at Foxwoods Resort Casino, visit www.foxwoods.com, like Foxwoods on Facebook, and follow Foxwoods on Twitter.
We happened upon the action with approximately 18,000 in the pot and a board reading . RunGood Ambassador Jonathan Gaviao, who busted in the last hand of the Day 1a flight late last night, had moved all in for roughly 19,000, and his opponent on the button, who had a stack of 17,000, hit the tank before calling off.
Gaviao tabled the for flopped trips, and it was good as the busted button showed the before taking his leave.
Joe Hebda, who is in today's field, grew up playing football, basketball, and baseball, and it's safe to say his competitive nature started at a young age.
"I never liked losing," he says. "I started playing poker in high school, right around the time of the Moneymaker effect. I graduated from Andrean high school and then Indiana University with a degree in general studies. The one constant through it all was poker."
Upon graduating, Hebda worked unloading trucks for a grocery store whilst grinding poker online. Eventually he decided to go pro, and over the next six years he amassed over $1 million in online earnings (he won $25K in the Bodog $100K guarantee, runner-up for $47K in the MiniFTOPS $20 Rush Rebuy, and runner-up for $32K in the Bodog Main), not to mention the $317,769 he's amassed in the live realm.
Speaking of his live scores, his biggest to date us $81,774 for a sixth-place finish in the 2011 World Series of Poker Circuit Hammond. He also won $31,793 for finishing fifth in the 2013 Heartland Poker Tour Indiana; $29,400 for 381st in the 2014 WSOP Main Event; and $23,550 for winning a $365 No-Limit Hold'em Six-Handed event at the 2014 WSOP Circuit Harrahs Tunica, which also awarded him a coveted gold ring.
Back in February, Saied Moradi topped a field of 328 players to win the 2015 RunGoodGear.com Poker Series Main Event at the Downstream Casino Resort, which is located on the outskirts of Joplin, Missouri. As part of a four-way chop, Moradi took home $27,116 for his performance.
Moradi took a shot here in Council Bluffs yesterday, but failed to make it through. Not surprisingly, he's back on Day 1b to give it another go, and this time he's gotten off to a hot start by scoring the first elimination of the day.
It happened when Paul Koskovich of Sioux Falls opened for 225 from early position and Moradi called from the hijack. Isaac Tucker then three-bet to 600 from the button, Koskovich called, and Moradi pushed back with a four-bet to 3,225. Tucker called, as did Koskovich, and all three players took a flop of .
Koskovich checked, Moradi bet 6,000, and Tucker got out of the way. Koskovich proceeded to check-raise all in, and Moradi snap-called.
Moradi:
Koskovich:
Moradi was ahead with two pair, but Koskovich help a flush draw. Unfortunately for him, neither the turn nor river completed it and Koskovich became the first elimination of Day 1b, though he did ask where he should go to reenter.
, Slezak 
flop between Isaac Tucker and James Hall. Unfortunately we missed the exact action, but we do know Tucker got his tack of 95,000 or so all in and was in dire straits against James Hall.
turn took away any chance of it happening. The meaningless 
was put out on the river, and Tucker informed the table that he'd be back for Day 1c, which will be kicking off in just a few minutes.
only to run into a player holding the 
. The board ran out 
flop. There was already 14,000 in the pot when a raising war broke out that saw Hebda's opponent get his stack of 40,000 or so all in.
blanked on the turn followed by the 
on the river.
. Hebda closed in on 200K with that pot, while Campanello has to wait until the Day 1c flight in 90 minutes to try again.
turn nor 
before taking his leave.
