An impressive 96 entrants took part in Day 1a of the 2014 PPC Aruba World Championship $2,200 Main Event and by the time play concluded early Sunday morning there were 35 left standing to return for Day 2 action on Monday at 1 p.m.
The 96 entrants has already toppled the 88 that took part in last years event and it was Steve Karp who ended the day as the chip leader with 152,700 in chips. Karp took a big pot against Eugenio Castaneda with set over set to move into the chip lead and he never looked back after that point.
PPC Pro Joe Serock has had incredicle success at this event winning it in 2012 and taking third in the 2013 event. Serock was steady throughout the day and ended up bagging 76,100 in chips.
Ronnie Bardah came into the tournament area today with a banner congratulating him on the record he set at this years World Series of Poker Main Event for cashing five consecutive years. Bardah would be eliminated shortly before the last level of the night started and will have to return for Day 1b tomorrow.
Sports radio personality John Auville flopped quad kings to crack aces and ended the day with 54,100 in chips. Other notables to move on to Day 2 included WSOP bracelet winner Joe Ebanks (112,600), PPC North American Championship winner Nick Mann (76,400), Jesse Chinni (75,300), Patrick Murphy (36,700), Catherine Dee (48,300) and Eugenio Castaneda (67,400).
Besides Bardah there were plenty who would fail to make it through the day including the likes of Mark Kroon, Parry Shaw, Chris Bolek, John Ott, Marcia Kuntz, and Wally Maddah.
Those players will be able to take another shot at it when Day 1b gets underway at 4 p.m. local time later today. Tune in to PokerNews for exciting coverage of the 2014 PPC World Championship Main Event.
It started out as two friends running bar leagues back in 2005 and has emerged into one of the up and coming poker tours in all of the world. The future is bright for Bryan Oulton and Sandy Swartzbaugh, the two responsible for running the PPC Poker Tour. They've moved on from bars to ballrooms at luxury hotels in Aruba and are expecting record growth in the upcoming year.
One of the reasons for the success of the tour is the potential to win a trip to Aruba for a "poker-cation" as Swartzbaugh likes to call it. "People like playing our tournaments because of the allure of the lower buy-ins for our Main Events. That and they have the potential to win a trip to Aruba and go to a beautiful tropical island and play poker with pros like 2012 World Poker Tour Player of the Year Joe Serock and Ronnie Bardah, the first player to ever cash in five straight World Series of Poker Main Events."
With a record already assured in this years $200,000 Guaranteed Main Event, the PPC Poker Tour is looking forward to their third season. They will host over 30 Main Events and will be adding stops to Nevada, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. Things will get underway in less than a week at the Silks Poker Room at Tampa Bay Downs from October 22nd thru the 26th including a $225 buy-in, $50,000 guaranteed Main Event.
"We're only growing," said Swartzbaugh. "We'll be adding stops all over the country in 2015 and things are only going to get bigger and better for the PPC."
To keep up with all the happenings of the PPC make sure to visit their page often: PPC Poker Tour Home Page
As they say here in Aruba... Bon bini... and welcome to PokerNews' live reporting coverage of the 2014 PPC Aruba World Championship Main Event. This is the third time this event has returned to this tropical paradise with the previous winners being Joe Serock in 2012 for $40,574 and [Removed:65] in 2013 for $59,139.
Serock would end up taking third in last years event in an attempt to defend his title. The runner up was World Series of Poker bracelet winner Joe Ebanks. Other notables to make the final table included David Tuthill who would finish in fifth place, Andy Seth, and Sterling Savill.
The PPC continues to show impressive growth adding numerous stops to qualify people into their "poker-cation" here in Aruba. In 2012, 31 entrants took part in the Main Event. Last year, it was an impressive 85 entrants. This year, they are looking to top three digits and with over 100 players winning packages at PPC Poker Tour stops this year, they have a great shot at doing just that and the turnout from some of the preliminary events is a sign of good things to come.
There is a $200,000 guarantee for this event and reentries are allowed until the start of Level 7. For those that do not make it through today, they will have another shot on Day 1b on Sunday. Players confirmed to be playing in the Main Event include the aforementioned Serock and Ebanks, the record-setting Ronnie Bardah, Chris Bolek, and Mark Kroon.
It's a great structure with players starting with 25,000 in chips and 45 minute levels on Day 1. The levels increase to 60 minutes on day two. Blinds start at 50/100 and there is a break every three levels with a one-hour dinner break after the sixth level.
Cards will be in the air at 4 p.m. local time. We'll see you here for all the exciting action!
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