On Monday, the final 133 players returned for Day 2 of the WinStar World Casino Resort River Poker Series Main Event. After 10 levels of play, the unofficial final table of 10 was set. Kevin Eyster bagged up the chip lead with 5.74 million and is the player closest to earning the $1 million payday guaranteed for first place.
Eyster is no stranger to tournament success, having over $2.1 million in live winnings to his name prior to this cash. While Eyster has been around the tournament circuit for quite some time, his most notable career victory came just months ago at the 2014 World Series of Poker. Eyster took down his first gold bracelet and over $622,000 in Event #24: $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em Six-Handed. Eyster is looking to top that cash with a win on the final day of this event.
While Eyster bagged the largest stack at the end of the day, his path to glory will not be easy. Eyster is surrounded by tough competition at this prestigious final table. Perhaps the most notable player at the table is fellow WSOP bracelet winner David "ODB" Baker.
Baker advanced on Day 1c after firing a few bullets throughout the starting flights. Baker outlasted the tough Day 2 competition and will bring a stack of 1.705 million to the final day.
Also present at the final table is 2013/14 WSOP Circuit Harrah's Tunica Main Event champion Jonathan Gaviao. Gaviao had a roller coaster of a day, spiking a miracle during the final few levels to stay alive and secure his spot at the final table. Gaviao bagged 2.795 million to end the day.
Since each Day 1 flight played down to the top 10% of the field, the day began with each player guaranteed a payday of at least $4,415. Notable players to hit the rail on Day 2 include La Sengphet (130th), Seneca Easley (110th), Rep Porter (98th), Christian Harder (92nd), Grayson Ramage (87th), Andy Philachack (73rd), Scott Clements (70th), Brandon Steven (68th), Lynn Samples (41st), Austin Lewis (32nd), Bryan Campanello (21st), and Joseph Cheong (13th).
Here' a look at the seating chart and chips heading into the final day of play:
Seat
Name
Chip Count
1
Rodeen Talebi
725,000
2
David "ODB" Baker
1,705,000
3
Rhett Trusler
2,180,000
4
Kevin Eyster
5,740,000
5
Travis Rice
4,480,000
6
Jonathan Gaviao
2,975,000
7
Jason Helder
4,310,000
8
Kong Li
3,570,000
9
Khoa Nguyen
5,190,000
10
Chris Drake
2,505,000
Play will resume at 12 p.m. on Tuesday where the field will play down to a champion. As always, be sure to return to PokerNews for all of the latest as this exciting event reaches its conclusion.
Action folded to Joseph Cheong's button and moved all in for 945,000 total. Travis Rice called from the small blind and the big blind folded.
Cheong:
Rice:
Cheong needed to improve and found no help on the flop. The hit fourth street, pairing Rice but giving Cheong an open-ended straight draw. His draw whiffed on the river, however, and was eliminated from play in 13th place. Rice took down the pot and now has about 4.05 million to his name.
Jason Helder opened for 100,000 and Kyle Arora moved all in from the small blind for 595,000. Kevin Eyster made the call out of the big blind and Helder quickly folded. Arora had and was dominated by Eyster's . The flop came giving Eyster queens and eights. Arora would pick up a flush draw on the turn but the river would be the to send him to the rail in 15th place. Eyster finished the hand with 4.8 million in chips.
Chris Drake was under the gun plus one and opened to 110,000. Esther Taylor three-bet all in for 425,000 from the next seat over and action folded back around to Drake. He cut out calling chips only to find that his hand was dominated.
Drake:
Taylor:
The flop came down , keeping Taylor's ace-high in the lead. That all changed on the turn, however, as the peeled off and paired Drake. The gave him trips on the river and Taylor was sent packing in 17th place.
Bryan Campanello and Khoa Nguyen would square off in an all in pre-flop confrontation with Campanello holding and Nguyen . Campanello would be eliminated in 21st place when the board ran out . The bracelet winner quietly said "nice hand" as Nguyen shook his hand.
Nguyen moved to 3.75 million chips with that knock out.
A short-stacked Adam Foster moved all in for 240,000 and would find one caller in David "ODB" Baker. Foster held and Baker said "this is the bottom of my range" as he turned over . The board ran out to eliminate Foster in 23rd place which was good for $15,876. Baker moved to 2.1 million chips with the win.
Keith Carter moved all in first to act from the small blind for just shy of a million in chips. Jason Helder peeked at his cards in the big blind and made the call with . It was a race as Helder had . Carter would end up hitting two pair but it would be no good as Helder would flop a set. Carter collected $14,288 for his play and Helder moved up to 3.8 million in chips, good for the current chip lead.
Welcome back to our coverage of the River Poker Series Main Event at WinStar World Casino and Resort! The three starting flights are complete and just 133 players remain in contention to take home the $1 million first-place prize. Darrell Hopkins is the player closest to achieving that goal, bagging the overall chip lead after the conclusion of Day 1c. Hopkins will bring a stack of 956,000 to Day 2.
Hopkins holds the largest stack by a significant margin, but as the day progresses and chips shift hands, players will soon begin to close the gap. Keith Carter is next in line behind Hopkins, holding 835,000. Kevin Eyster rounds out the top three with 819,000 to his name.
While these three players hold the largest stacks, they're surrounded by a sea of notable names and faces. Some of the returning players include Austin Lewis (652,000), Joseph Cheong (511,000), Lynn Samples (401,500), Scott Clements (386,000), Brandon Steven (308,000), Nate Kogel (296,000), Darren Rabinowitz (269,000), David "ODB" Baker (262,000), Noah Vaillancourt (233,000), and Andy Philachack (215,000).
Play resumes at 2 p.m. local time where the field is scheduled to play ten 60-minute levels. As always, be sure to keep your browsers locked to PokerNews for all of the latest.
flop. The 
hit fourth street, pairing Rice but giving Cheong an open-ended straight draw. His draw whiffed on the 
river, however, and was eliminated from play in 13th place. Rice took down the pot and now has about 4.05 million to his name.
and was dominated by Eyster's 
. The flop came 
giving Eyster queens and eights. Arora would pick up a flush draw on the 
turn but the river would be the 
, keeping Taylor's ace-high in the lead. That all changed on the turn, however, as the 
gave him trips on the river and Taylor was sent packing in 17th place.
to eliminate Foster in 23rd place which was good for $15,876. Baker moved to 2.1 million chips with the win.
