Farid Jattin had just gotten stacks all in against a player across the table and his winning hand of was tabled on a board reading .
Jattin's opponent's hand had already been mucked and the dealer was in the process of counting Jattin's remaining stack of 31,100 that would be doubled in addition to the 5,200 already in the middle from prior action. His opponent sent the proper amount to the dealer, who in turn shipped it over to Jattin, and Jattin now finds himself with over 67,000 early in the start of Level 2.
The field has risen to 181 in the closing minutes of Level 1 and plenty more players are in their seats. Here's a look at some of those already in contention around the room.
Hand #1: A limped pot with a dead small blind resulted in three players seeing a flop of . Chet Sickle bet 500 in the big blind and Austin Peck called. The cutoff also called and the dealer brought the turn .
Sickle checked to Peck, who bet 1,500 and received a call from the cutoff. Sickle then folded, taking action heads up to the river . Peck fired out another 2,600 and the cutoff thought for roughly a full minute before looking up Peck.
Peck obliged, showing for the flopped nuts. His opponent flashed for trips on the river before mucking to earn Peck the pot.
"That's a pretty good flop for that hand!" responded the player on Peck's right.
Hand #2: On the very next hand, the player on the button open-limped and the small blin raised to 800. Peck three-bet to 2,200 and only the small blind called.
The flop was and the small blind checked. Peck continuation-bet for 1,500 and the small blind check-raised to 5,500. Peck thought for a few moments and then called.
The turn came . The small blind slowed down, checking to Peck again. Peck stoically sat for a few moments and then put a bet out of 3,300. The small blind decided he no longer wanted to continue in the hand and sent his cards to the muck and Peck took down his second pot in as many hands.
There were three players to the turn on a board of and around 4,000 in the middle. Brennan Russell was first to act in middle position and made a bet of 3,000. The hijack folded and the player on the button called.
Action was then heads up to the river , where Russell took a bet of 4,000 and cut it onto the felt. The player on the button thought for about a minute and then slid his cards forward to the muck, earning Russell the pot without showdown and increasing his stack to 39,000 in the first half of Level 1.
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Faraz Jaka is among those 125 already in their seats after being eliminated with just 20 minutes remaining in last night's Day 1a. Also spotted in the room early are Austin Peck, [Removed:460], and Truyen Nguyen.
Ken Rawlinson is another player who has been spotted firing today. Rawlinson bagged in the first flight with a stack of 51,500 and is looking to advance once more and bring a larger stack into Sunday's Day 2.
Pre-tournament announcements are through and play is underway on Day 1b. The dealer button is in the one-seat and 115 entrants have been registered with a line of players through the poker room and onto the casino floor waiting to register.
The second of three starting flights for the 2020 Mid-States Poker Tour (MSPT) Venetian $1,600 Main Event is ready to get underway Friday morning at 11:10 a.m.
After Thursday's Day 1a drew 252 entries, the guaranteed prize pool of $400,000 will already be surpassed by the time players are in their seats for the start of the day. It's been no surprise that the Venetian's series-long large field sizes have continued into this event, and with registration and unlimited re-entry open throughout the entire day, another big crowd is expected to show up.
Players receive 30,000 in chips to start with blinds of 100/100. Levels are an hour apiece with 15-minute breaks after Levels 2, 4, and 8 and a 45-minute dinner break at the completion of Level 6 (approximately 5:40 p.m. local time). Play will conclude for the evening at the end of Level 10 (600/1,200/1,200).
Sixty-eight have already earned their seat into Day 2 and Salim Admon (293,000) of Sherman Oaks, CA is the current player to catch. PokerNews will be covering the action from a six-foot distance, so keep it here to see who else makes it through the day.