$200 No-Limit Hold'em Day 1b | 2018 Seneca Niagara Falls Summer Slam

Day 1b of Event #2: $200 No-Limit Hold'em $50,000 Guarantee saw a rise in attendance closing with 151 entries. By the end of the 14th level, the field had been reduced to just 19. Leading the way on Day 1b was Chris Gras.

With 134 entries received on Day 1a and the 151 total entries gathered on Day 1b, the $50,000 guarantee has almost been met with $46,028 already in the prize pool. So far 39 hopefuls have booked their seat on Day 2 with two more flights to play out on Saturday.

Gras will be looking to make a second straight deep run as the current defending champion of the $200 four-flight Hold'em event. At the 2018 Western New York Poker Challenge in April, Gras claimed the title and a top prize of $18,000.

Gras bagged 235,700 to end Day 1b with the chip lead. Gras missed the mark set by Andy Spears on Day 1a but will have more than enough ammo to put up a fight on Sunday. Ken Wasik was second best with 208,000 in the bag, slightly edging Tyler Dietz (207,000) for the honors.

Daniel Frederick (182,300), Dan Wagner (160,300), Shannon Farrell (156,600), Paul Herberger (135,000), Maria Parlatore (130,900), Barry Kruger (120,700), Marcy Jo Phillips (108,600), Jeff McGill (107,500), Chris Graham (105,000), and Aaron Olshan (100,700) were all the members of the 100k+ club when the last card came off the deck.

A few notables that will need to fire at least one more bullet in order to keep the dream alive include Alicia LaPorte Pachla, Michelle Caldwell, Anthony Soluri, Dave Grana, Jordan Lagano, Anne Jones, and Colin Phoenix.

Any player unfortunate enough to not make it through will have two more chances to secure a seat on Sunday for Day 2. Day 1c gets underway at 10 a.m. Saturday morning followed immediately by Day 1d at 6 p.m.

Stay tuned to the blog as PokerNews will be on the floor providing live coverage throughout the series.

Tags: Aaron Olshan Alicia LaPorte Pachla Andy Spears Anne Jones Anthony Soluri Barry Kruger Chris Graham Chris Gras Colin Phoenix Dan Wagner Dave Grana Jordan Lagano Ken Wasik Marcy Jo Phillips Maria Parlatore Michelle Caldwell Paul Herberger Tyler Dietz

With Day 1a in the books, the focus shifts to Day 1b of Event #2: $200 No-Limit Hold'em. The action will get underway on Friday evening with a guaranteed prize pool of $50,000 up for grabs. Day 1b will see cards get in the air at 6 p.m.

Players will start with 15,000 in chips and play 30-minute blind levels. Late registration and unlimited re-entry are available until the start of Level 9. Players may fire more than one flight with only their largest stack moving forward to Day 2.

Day 1a played out starting at 10 a.m. Friday morning and gathered 134 entries before registration closed. Just 20 were left with chips to bag. The player with the largest stack heading to Day 2 was Andy Spears with 326,200.

There will be another two flights on Saturday at the same times with the surviving field converging on Sunday where they will play down to a winner.

At the 2017 Summer Slam, a total of 520 entries were received. Jeff Roth took home the top honors after multiple deals chopped up the prize pool at the final table. Roth cashed for $8,992 and took home the trophy after the play ended four-handed with him in the lead.

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Stay tuned to the blog as PokerNews will be on the floor providing live coverage throughout the series.

Tags: Andy Spears