Kathy Sawers built a big stack yesterday and eventually bubbled Day 1c. Today she is in the field again and building another big stack. Yesterday she busted when she check-raised all in with second pair and Day 1c chip leader Esmail El Megharbel called with top pair.
Today is another busy day with four more live Day 1 flights of the partypoker Grand Prix Poker Tour $500,000 Guarantee. This is event #16 and this tournament sports the biggest guarantee of the WCC. It also has the lowest buy in, only $109.
Today's Day 1h flight is the eighth of eleven live starting flights. There have been a ton of online Day 1 flights as well and online flights are still starting 30 minutes after each live flight. Mike Stannard is the big stack so far with 668,500 qualifying from one of the earlier online flights.
There are still plenty of chances for live players to match Stannard's stack, beginning with Day 1i at 1 p.m. This will be the first of four starting flights today. The regular flights will have 20-minute levels and the turbo flights will have 15-minute levels. Each player will start with 20,000 and each starting flight play will continue until ten percent of the field remains. Day 1h is a turbo flight with 15-minute levels.
One of the unique elements of the GPPT is a "Golden Chip." The golden chip can be earned in a series of 1-cent online tournaments. The top five players from each of the tournaments earns a virtual golden chip. If a player with a virtual golden chip makes Day 2, they get a physical golden chip. Then any player who wins the tournament and has a golden chip adds $50,000 to their first place prize.
The Party Poker Grand Prix $500,000 Guarantee is Event #16 of the World Cup of Cards. PokerNews will be here throughout the festival, bringing you all the news, updates, and photos. Follow @pokernews on Twitter for live updates, Periscope broadcasts, and more. Also, follow PokerNews on Facebook and Instagram.
