Mitchell Hynam Takes Slim Lead into Day 3 of LAPC Main Event
After two flights of the $10,000 LAPC Main Event featured slow and steady play, Day 2 was full of action and drama at the 2025 LA Poker Classic.
As 67 players returned to their bags to begin the day, they were joined by 33 new entrants at The Commerce Casino & Hotel before late registration came to a close. That brought the overall total to 145 entries, topping the number from last year’s Main Event.
The final prize pool of $1,348,500 will be split among the top 19 places after the bubble bursts on Tuesday. Those spots will be contested by 40 survivors, led by Mitchell Hynam who amassed a stack of 409,000 by day’s end. Hynam is coming off a cash earlier in the LAPC, and is also fresh off his largest career score last month in Ireland.
Close behind is Adam Weinraub (407,000), who saw his big stack dwindle down in the early levels before finding a triple up against kings and queens. That propelled him back into the top three, where he also sat after Day 1.
Anthony Hu sits in third spot with 402,000, as the top three players will return with more than 100 big blinds on Day 3. WSOP bracelet winner Frank Brannan (393,000) is just below that mark, staying close to the 400,000 chip mark after getting away from his hand in a big spot late in the night.
Day 2 Top 10 Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mitchell Hynam | United Kingdom | 409,000 | 102 |
| 2 | Adam Weinraub | United States | 407,000 | 102 |
| 3 | Anthony Hu | United States | 402,000 | 101 |
| 4 | Frank Brannan | United States | 393,000 | 98 |
| 5 | Evgeniy Tsyrenov | United States | 365,000 | 91 |
| 6 | Amir Mirrasouli | United States | 363,000 | 91 |
| 7 | Jonathan Cohen | Canada | 357,000 | 89 |
| 8 | Michael Nia | United States | 339,000 | 85 |
| 9 | Richard Hasnip | United Kingdom | 314,000 | 79 |
| 10 | Martin Carnero | Peru | 308,000 | 77 |
One of the names to watch on Tuesday will be Billy Baxter, who sits just outside the top 20 on the leaderboard with 189,000. Another familiar face, Faraz Jaka was busy all day, kicking off his ascent up the standings by taking out David Zakarian’s big slick. Jaka finished just below average stack heading into Day 3 with 209,000 chips.
Other notables is the mix include Jonathan Pastore (187,000) and Brian Hastings (186,000), both looking to put together a deep run this week. Michael Wang (76,000) and Tyler Cornell (70,000) sit among the short stacks as two of the five players below the 20 big blind mark.
Among the names who came up short on Day 2 were Nick Pupillo, who lost a flip against Gustavo Ortega to end his tournament run, and Dan Heimiller, who was knocked out when the pocket jacks across the table turned into quads on the flop.
$10,000 LAPC Main Event Payouts
| Place | Prize | Place | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $372,280 | 8 | $42,140 |
| 2 | $235,990 | 9 | $37,230 |
| 3 | $138,900 | 10-12 | $32,360 |
| 4 | $84,320 | 13-15 | $27,640 |
| 5 | $65,400 | 16-18 | $23,600 |
| 6 | $54,010 | 19 | $20,230 |
| 7 | $47,200 |
Each player to reach the money will earn at least $20,230, while the eventual champion will claim the LAPC trophy and first-place prize of $372,280.
Day 3 will begin on Level 13, with blinds of 2,000/4,000 and a 4,000 big blind ante. The schedule calls for play to continue until the final table is reached, which will be streamed from The Commerce on Wednesday.
The PokerNews live reporting team will continue to bring you all of the action, as the final contenders are revealed on the way to crowning a champion in Los Angeles.