$1,500 Main Event
Day 1a Completed
2019 WinStar Labor Day River Poker Series
$1,500 Main Event
Day: 1a
Daniel Lu Leads After Day 1a of 2019 WinStar Labor Day River Poker Series $1,500 Main Event
Level 16
: 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante
The 2019 WinStar Labor Day River Poker Series may have lowered its buy-in for the $1,500 Main Event, but there was certainly no shortage of action. Day 1a saw 293 entries fire away at their shot at advancing through the tournament’s first of three initial flights, and the day concluded when the bubble broke with the 36 remaining players all making it into the money with 15:08 left in Level 16 (3,000/6,000/6,000)
The chip leader when chips went into bags, and throughout the majority of the night, was Daniel Lu (658,000), who bagged what is guaranteed to be over a 100-big blind stack when the field combines on Monday for Day 2.
Lu was a part of the action throughout a lot of the evening, having found his way from 100,000 to over 400,000 around Level 11 on a table that saw chips flying all over the place. He corralled a chunk of them and was able to use them to continue to accumulate, putting an exclamation mark on the evening when he knocked out Jim Carroll after calling for an ace on the river to suck out near the end of the night.
Second in chips from the initial flight is Spencer Champlin, who finished the day with 604,000 in chips. Champlin is looking to surpass $1 million in lifetime earnings from this tournament, coming into it less than $12,000 away from hitting that mark. His day saw constant accumulation, winning a handful of pots by consistently making the best hand at showdown. He had an above-average stack of 205,000 after the break following Level 12 and was able to almost triple that figure by the time play ended at the end of the night.
Other players to advance from Day 1a included La Sengphet (348,000) Shawn Rice (259,500), WinStar Ambassador Maria Ho (192,000), Kami Hudson (171,500), and brothers Brandon Gilliam (309,500) and Tim Gilliam (197,000).
Several of the players who were not fortunate enough to advance were Lokesh Garg, Ben Keeline, Kelly Minkin, Ray Henson, and Will Berry.
All who have yet to make their way into Day 2 will have unlimited opportunities to advance in the two remaining flights, with the next being Day 1b on Saturday at noon local time. The PokerNews team will be on hand for another full day of play, so come back and see who else will add their name to the list of Day 2 participants as the day unfolds.
End Of Day 1a Chip Counts (full)
Level 16
: 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
658,000 | -8,000 |
|
604,500 | 124,500 |
|
369,500 | 369,500 |
|
365,500 | 365,500 |
|
348,000 | 35,000 |
|
347,500 | -2,500 |
|
309,500 | -54,500 |
|
303,000 | -15,000 |
|
259,500 | -96,500 |
|
259,000 | 112,000 |
|
|
257,000 | 257,000 |
|
219,000 | 219,000 |
|
217,000 | 217,000 |
|
197,000 | 82,000 |
|
|
192,500 | 131,000 |
|
192,000 | 2,000 |
|
171,500 | -89,500 |
|
|
170,000 | -10,000 |
|
|
160,500 | 160,500 |
|
152,500 | 72,500 |
|
|
148,000 | 148,000 |
|
146,000 | 146,000 |
|
140,000 | 140,000 |
|
136,000 | 136,000 |
|
124,500 | 35,500 |
Lucas Busts the Bubble to End Day 1a
Level 16
: 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante
A player jammed for 82,500 from under the gun, and Landen Lucas confirmed the amount before calling on the button.
Opponent: 
Landen Lucas: 
Lucas had his opponent outkicked, and the 
flop left him well in front. The 
turn meant only a king would save the under-the-gun player from being the bubble, but the 
river earned a cheer from the remaining 36 players as they confirmed they would end the night with a bag.
Stay tuned for full chip counts and a full recap of today's action.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
350,000 | 80,000 |
O'Haver Falls Two Spots Shy of a Bag
Level 16
: 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante
Spencer Champlin checked a 
flop from early position, and Randy O'Haver jammed for 57,000 into a pot of around 80,000 from middle position. Champlin thought for a minute, then flicked a chip in to call.
Randy O'Haver: 
Spencer Champlin: 
Champlin's pair of aces held the lead, one that wouldn't be relinguished on the 
turn or 
river, sending O'Haver out the door just shy of a bag.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
480,000 | 255,000 |
|
|
Busted |
Bubble Time
Level 16
: 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante
The final 38 players have begun the hand-for-hand process, as only 36 players will bag up from today's Day 1a flight to return for Monday's Day 2. Stay tuned as we await who our unfortunate bubble boy or girl will be.
Ngo Doubles Through Gulikers; Keeline Ousted
Level 16
: 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante
Khiem Ngo jammed for 26,500 from the button, and David Gulikers called in the small blind.
Khiem Ngo: 
David Gulikers: 
Ngo found a jack on the 
flop, and Gulikers couldn't improve on the 
turn or 
river to earn Ngo a double.
At the same time, Ben Keeline ran his ace-queen into the queens of an opponent, and he failed to improve, sending out the door just short of a Day 2 bag.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
115,000 | -62,000 |
|
|
60,000 | 33,500 |
|
Busted |
Carroll Rivered By Lu To Bust
Level 16
: 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante
Jim Carroll was getting up from his seat after having just been eliminated by Daniel Lu. According to Carroll, he had gotten his last chips in with 
on a 
board and got called by Lu's 
. He was in great shape to double until an hit on the river, sending him home just a few eliminations away from making it to the end of Day 1a and into the money.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
666,000 | 161,000 |
|
Busted |
Sengphet Turns the Nuts
Level 16
: 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante
La Sengphet was in the process of calling a bet of 12,000 in the cutoff from her opponent in the small blind on a flop of 
. The turn came and the small blind checked. Sengphet bet 16,00 and the small blind called.
The river came 
and the small blind checked again. Sengphet threw out a bet of 60,000. Her opponent asked for a count, thought for another 90 seconds, and eventually called.
Sengphet turned over 
for a turned straight and her opponent confirmed that she had hit the perfect turn as the pot was sent her way and she stacked her newly-earned chips.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
313,000 | 158,000 |
Lucas Cautious With Queens
Level 16
: 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante
Landen Lucas raised to 16,000 from early position, and was met with a three-bet to 45,000 by the player next to act. Lucas called.
The 
flop was checked by Lucas, and his opponent bet 25,000. Lucas called.
Both players checked through the 
turn and river, and after his opponent tabled , Lucas turned over his shaking his head after seeing he had his opponent beat the whole way, before taking down the pot.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
270,000 | 130,000 |