Katip's First Ever Bag Is the Chip Lead at RGPS Cleveland Main Event
After a thrilling day of poker that saw a huge field of 252 entrants whittled down to 37 survivors, it’s Scott Katip taking 568,000 chips and the Day 1b chip lead into Sunday’s Day 2 of the RunGood Poker Series Cleveland $800 Main Event. His total also surpasses the 500,000 collected by Anthony Carbone who claimed the Day 1a chip lead.
Katip, who told PokerNews that this was his first time bagging a live tournament was the only player to surpass the 500,000 chip mark.
Not far behind him though are Daniel Swartz (498,000), Dan Henderson (420,000), and Taylor Howard (411,000).
End of Day 1b Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Name | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Scott Katip | United States | 568,000 |
| 2 | Daniel Swartz | United States | 498,000 |
| 3 | Dan Henderson | United States | 420,000 |
| 4 | Taylor Howard | United States | 411,000 |
| 5 | Rory Welsh | United States | 350,000 |
| 6 | Christopher Hewitt | United States | 348,000 |
| 7 | Chris Meyers | United States | 345,000 |
| 8 | David Menosky | United States | 340,000 |
| 9 | John Michalak | United States | 295,000 |
| 10 | Jason Bosze | United States | 288,000 |
Day 1b Action
Play wrapped up for the night with 12:16 remaining in Level 13 as the field was thinned to its final 15 percent.
Several players took turns with the chip lead in the later stages of the day including Michele Iacovone, who finished just outside the top ten with 266,000, but Boris Kravets, Dan Wagner, and Chad Stone each saw their once significant stacks disappear very late in the day.
Others who survived the day included Bradley Rogoff (210,000) and Dean Schultz (187,000) while such notables as WSOP bracelet winner Chris Tryba and PokerNews’ own WSOP bracelet winner Chad Holloway were not as fortunate.
Tryba fell in a pot that gave Katip the chip lead, while Holloway was ousted in a double elimination on the stone bubble.
Final Opening Flight Saturday
The final opening flight takes place Saturday, with a 12:15 p.m. starting time. Those who survived Day 1b with a short stack will also have this final opportunity to grow a bigger stack to take to Day 2 instead of their total from this flight.
Stay tuned to PokerNews for our continuing coverage of the event until a champion is crowned on Sunday at the incredible Jack Cleveland Casino.