With a straight and flush draw on the turn, Dan Wagner moved all in and was put at risk by Rob Zaenglein who made the call with pocket aces. No help came for Wagner and he hit the rail.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
228,000
78,000
|
78,000 |
|
||
|
Busted | |
Henry Zou opened to 5,500 under the gun, RJ Mineo called in middle position, the player in late position called, and Buck Ramsay defended his big blind.
The flop came down 
and three checks saw the player in late position bet 12,000. Ramsay folded but Zou popped it up to 26,000. Mineo check-shoved all in for 109,000 getting the player in late position to fold and after a short time in the tank, Zou did as well.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
297,000
2,000
|
2,000 |
|
296,000
64,000
|
64,000 |
|
164,000
59,500
|
59,500 |
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
Busted |
Level: 15
Blinds: 1,500/3,000
Ante: 400
The 15th and final level of the night has begun. Unless the field loses six more players when the clock reached 10 minutes remaining, it will be paused and each table will play a set number of hands before the players bag for the night.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
302,000
74,000
|
74,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
280,000
116,000
|
116,000 |
|
250,000
30,000
|
30,000 |
|
230,000
100,000
|
100,000 |
|
|
220,000
77,000
|
77,000 |
|
|
220,000
76,000
|
76,000 |
The clock has been paused on Day 1a and each table will play four more hands before the remaining players bag their chips for the night.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
347,500
45,500
|
45,500 |
|
|
||
|
|
333,500
83,500
|
83,500 |
|
|
270,000 | |
|
|
262,500
143,500
|
143,500 |
|
231,500 | |
|
210,000 | |
|
|
209,000
21,000
|
21,000 |
|
199,000 | |
|
|
187,500
32,500
|
32,500 |
|
|
164,000 | |
|
|
162,500
57,500
|
57,500 |
|
148,500
73,500
|
73,500 |
|
|
137,500 | |
|
|
128,500 | |
|
99,500 | |
After 15 levels of play on Day 1a, just 15 of 103 entries secured a seat for Day 2 of the $200,000 guaranteed Summer Slam 2018 Event #8:$ 600 Main Event. Leading the as the chips went in the bag was Rob Zaenglein.
Zanglein maintained a spot among the top stacks for the majority of play on Day 1a and really climbed the ranks in the latter stages. Zaenglein picked up pocket aces during the penultimate level and busted Seneca regular Dan Wagner en route to bagging 347,500.
Justin Canazzi bagged second-best with 333,500 as him and Zaenglein were the only players to eclipse the 300k-mark. RJ Mineo (270,000), Matt Murray (262,500), Omar El-Nasrallah (231,500), Anthony Carbone (210,000), and Summer Slam 2018 High Roller runner-up, Tyler Dietz (209,000) round out the top of the leaderboard.
The 2014 Summer Slam Main Event champion, Buck Ramsay is also in the mix. Ramsay actually led the field for a large portion during the middle stages and had over 300,000 after dinner. Ramsay wasn't able to maintain the big stack but will return comfortably on Day 2 with 162,500.
Day 1a drew a total attendance of 103 entries. More than a quarter of the $200,000 guarantee has been collected with $54,951 already in the prize pool.
Matt Marcinkiewicz and Peter Raimondi were two of the early casualties on the day, seeing their chips dispersed amongst their table tablemates before the first break. Victor Smith, Brad Girdler, DJ MacKinnon, Alex Visbisky, Andy Spears, Rob Bourkney, and Chris Gras were just some of the other notables to miss the mark before the end of play.
Day 1b will have an earlier start with cards hitting the felt at 11 a.m on Friday. Another 15 levels are scheduled. Any player that did not make it through on Thursday or does not like the size of their stack may try again on Friday.
Stay tuned to the blog as PokerNews will be on the floor providing live coverage throughout the main event.
