Eric Rando Leads Day 1 as 123 Players Advance
Day 1a is in the books here at Foxwoods, and by our counts Eric Rando of East Providence, Rhode Island leads the 123 surviving players with 143,100. We didn't catch Rando's big hand, but according to Andy Frankenberger, he got it when his 
overcame 
and in a three-way all-in situation.
Not far behind is Erek Gaines, who would have finished with the chip lead if not for a bad last level. In one hand, Gaines and Andrew Higgins each put in 8,500 preflop and saw a flop of 
. Higgins moved all in for 51,500 and Gaines opted to throw away his hand, which he claimed was pocket jacks. Higgins showed the 
. Despite losing that hand, Gaines still finished the night with a heatlhy 133,600.
Others who punched their ticket to Day 2 in the first starting flight were Greg Raymer (89,500), Allen Kessler (72,300), Nancy Birnbaum (109,500), John Dibella (30,400) and the aforementioned Frankenberger (94,000).
The action is far from over here at Foxwoods as the Day 1b flight is still taking place. We pick up the action in Level 5. In the meantime, here are some notable counts from Day 1a:
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
143,100 | 143,100 |
|
133,600 | -40,400 |
|
|
124,900 | 124,900 |
|
109,500 | 7,500 |
|
109,200 | 109,200 |
|
|
107,100 | 107,100 |
|
94,000 | 10,000 |
|
|
89,900 | 89,900 |
|
89,500 | 41,500 |
|
86,800 | 41,800 |
|
85,000 | 85,000 |
|
81,700 | 33,700 |
|
72,300 | 2,300 |
|
69,700 | 69,700 |
|
68,700 | -12,300 |
|
57,300 | 35,800 |
|
44,000 | 24,000 |
|
35,600 | 11,600 |
|
|
35,500 | 35,500 |
|
34,300 | 27,500 |
|
30,400 | 400 |
|
27,000 | -8,000 |
|
19,500 | -27,500 |