Two-Time WPT Champs Mermelstein and Rettenmaier Top Day 1c Counts at WinStar
A pair of two-time World Poker Tour champs dominated Day 1c at WinStar River Poker Series $2,500 Main Event, bagging the top two chip stacks after a 14-hour grind.
Aaron Mermelstein (622,500) and Marvin Rettenmaier (521,500) are the headliners of the 48 players who made it through the third and final Day 1 flight in Thackerville, Okla.
Mermelstein, an East Coast grinder who won WPT Maryland Live! in 2016 and WPT Borgata Winter Poker Open in 2015, had a rough go of it on Day 1a and Day 1b as he fired a number of bullets that all turned out to be blanks.
However, things went much more smoothly for him on Day 1c. His fortunes turned when he picked up pocket aces in Level 13 (1,200/2,400/300) and found two players shoving their chips in ahead of him. They turned out to have weaker pocket pairs, tens and kings, and Mermelstein's bullets held to rocket him past 100 big blinds.
Mermelstein then dialed up the aggression big time on the bubble.
"You can't be getting that many good hands," a player at his table exclaimed as Mermelstein continued to open pot after pot and add to his stack.
Rettenmaier's WPT titles both came back in 2012, when the German pro took down WPT Cyprus and WPT World Championship. He came into this event hot after nearly joining the exclusive club of three-time champs at WPT Legends of Poker, where he finished fifth last week.
Unlike Mermelstein, Rettenmaier hadn't been plugging away in a dogged effort to find a bag over the course of the first few days. He tried firing just before registration closed on Day 1b but was a few ticks too late and had to make do with just Day 1c. Make do he did, despite splitting his attention between his live chip stack and an online one or two that he manipulated on a laptop throughout the middle levels of the event.
About an hour before bagging time, Rettenmaier turned a straight with seven-six in a massive pot against Jim Carroll that saw the latter check-raise the flop and barrel the turn before both players shut down on the river with a three-flush and a paired board. Carroll showed down just top pair.
Sam Phillips, Grant Hinkle, Anthony Spinella, Johanssy Joseph, Tommy Vedes, Greg Himmelbrand and former WSOP Main Event champ Chris Moneymaker also advanced to Monday's Day 2. Hinkle seeks back-to-back "wins" in this event after being part of a five-way chop last year, when he claimed over $200,000.
The 395 entries who turned up made for a total field of 926. Day 2 will see 113 of those return to the felt, all in the money. Play is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m., and PokerNews will be on hand for all of the live updates as the field is reduced throughout the day.
, no threat to Hinkle, who was part of a five-way chop in this event last year and looks like a favorite to see Day 2 after the big hold.
and got called by a player with 
.
.
, and the board ran out 
and Kevin Eyster went all in for about 30,000. Onikel called and was ahead of Eyster's 
, holding 
for a straight with a flush redraw. 
and Kruger bet 7,200. Both players called. The turn was the 
and was against trip sevens, his opponent held 
for trips. Qartomy held through the river and won the pot for a nice double up and then some on his first hand this bullet.
