$1,700 Main Event
Day 1a Completed
2019 World Series of Poker Circuit Thunder Valley
$1,700 Main Event
Day: 1a
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 1a
2019 World Series of Poker Circuit Thunder Valley
Buy-in
$1,700
Prize Pool
$627,210
Entries
414
Level
31
Blinds
60,000 / 120,000
Ante
120,000
Entries
141
Players Left
31
Noel Rodriguez Bags the Day 1a Chip Lead in the WSOPC Thunder Valley Main Event
Level 15
: 1,500/3,000, 3,000 ante
The opening flight of the WSOP Circuit Thunder Valley $1,700 is complete. A total of 141 entries registered for the first of two Day 1 flights, with 31 players making it through to Day 2. Day 1a saw the field play through 15 40-minute levels, and at the end of the night, it was Noel Rodriguez bagging the chip lead with 315,500 chips.
Rodriguez entered the Main Event immediately after a sixth-place finish in the $3,250 High Roller event, and the well-accomplished tournament grinder will be looking to add a deep Main Event run to his list of accomplishments.
Closely following behind on the chip leaderboard are Travis Fujisaka (287,500), Alex Condon (285,500), Warren Kashiwagi (255,000), and Landen Lucas (229,500)
Plenty of big name players came through for the Day 1a flight, and some of the notable players advancing to Day 2 include Adam Demersseman (213,500), Eli Ross (205,500), Daniel Hendriks (171,000), Allen Kessler (160,000), Jasthi Kumar (72,500) and Lee Markholt (53,000).
Some of the notables that appeared in the Day 1a field, but didn’t make it through, include Ian Steinman, Kelly Minkin, Brett Murray,JC Tran,Amir Lehavot, Jarod Minghini, Craig Varnell and Josh Prager.
That group of players could take another shot at the Main Event Saturday, as all players are eligible for up to two entries per each of the Day 1 flights. Day 1b registration is expected to exceed the Day 1a numbers, and with a $500,000 guaranteed prize pool up for grabs, the Thunder Valley Poker Room is certain to be busy.
Day 1b starts Saturday at noon, with players starting with 30,000 chips and once again playing through 15 40-minute levels.
Follow along with the PokerNews live reporting team as the WSOPC Thunder Valley Main Event continues.
End of Day 1a Chip Counts (full)
Level 15
: 1,500/3,000, 3,000 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
315,500 | 2,500 |
|
287,500 | 54,500 |
|
285,500 | 103,500 |
|
255,000 | 159,000 |
|
229,500 | 4,500 |
|
213,500 | |
|
210,500 | 210,500 |
|
205,500 | -27,000 |
|
177,000 | 177,000 |
|
|
171,000 | -64,000 |
|
167,000 | 32,000 |
|
160,000 | -23,000 |
|
147,000 | 147,000 |
|
140,000 | 500 |
|
|
137,000 | 137,000 |
|
135,500 | -29,500 |
|
115,000 | -80,000 |
|
102,500 | -32,500 |
|
85,000 | -2,500 |
|
|
79,000 | 79,000 |
|
78,500 | -28,500 |
|
74,000 | 74,000 |
|
72,500 | -10,000 |
|
69,000 | 19,000 |
|
|
56,500 | 56,500 |
Three More Hands
Level 15
: 1,500/3,000, 3,000 ante
The tournament clock has reached the 10-minute mark and the number three has been drawn, meaning three more hands will be played at each of the remaining four tables before play concludes with chips being bagged and tagged for the evening.
Rodriguez Earns Knockout in Frigid Fashion
Level 15
: 1,500/3,000, 3,000 ante
A player raised to 8,000 from under the gun and was called by Noel Rodriguez in middle position. All players left to act folded and action went heads up to a flop of 
. The under-the-gun player continued, firing 12,000 forward. Rodriguez raised to 37,000 and his opponent postured for a few moments before pushing the rest of his chips forward. Rodriguez dropped chips into the pot before his opponent finished doing the same.
Noel Rodriguez: 
Opponent: 
Rodriguez's nut flush draw was up against his opponent's top pair with what would be an open-ended straight/royal flush draw if Rodriguez didn't block both outs. Nonetheless, Rodriguez did not have a live ace in the deck and due to his opponent's two clubs, only had seven outs left to the nut flush in addition to non-club eights and queens to make a straight. Much to Rodriguez's favor, two more of those seven remaining clubs would come as the turn 
and river 
fell, leaving him with the nuts to knock out his opponent whose second nuts proved to be second best.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
313,000 | 130,000 |
Ross Pushes Out Kumar
Level 15
: 1,500/3,000, 3,000 ante
Jasthi Kumar raised to 8,000 from the hijack and was three-bet to 22,000 by Eli Ross, who was on the button. Kumar thought for close to a minute and put in chips to call.
The dealer fanned a flop of 
and Kumar checked. Ross fired a continuation-bet of 30,000, sending Kumar back into the tank. He thought for about a minute again before ending on a different conclusion than the previous street, sending his cards into the muck and giving up contention of the pot that was shipped Ross' way.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
232,500 | 52,500 |
|
|
82,500 | -77,500 |
More Chip Counts
Level 15
: 1,500/3,000, 3,000 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
225,000 | 47,000 |
|
|
183,000 | -7,000 |
|
|
135,000 | -1,000 |
|
|
115,000 | -61,000 |
|
78,000 | 4,000 |
|
48,000 | -14,000 |
Richardson Gets a Knockout
Level 15
: 1,500/3,000, 3,000 ante
Paul Richardson was in the process of shaking the player to his right's hand and wishing him a good game as a pot was being sent his way.
Richardson's hand of 
was tabled, as was his opponent's 
. The two had gotten stacks in before the flop and when all was said and done, Richardson had improved to make the best hand and send his opponent to the rail.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
183,000 | 47,000 |
Chip Counts
Level 15
: 1,500/3,000, 3,000 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
233,000 | 141,000 |
|
|
195,000 | 25,000 |
|
|
183,000 | -69,000 |
|
|
182,000 | 111,000 |
|
|
180,000 | -12,000 |
|
|
165,000 | 26,000 |
|
|
160,000 | 27,500 |
|
|
135,000 | 70,000 |
|
|
111,000 | -59,000 |
|
|
87,500 | -1,500 |
|
38,000 | 6,000 |
|
|
38,000 | -88,000 |
|
30,000 | -103,000 |
|
25,000 | 4,000 |
Level: 15
Blinds: 1,500/3,000
Ante: 3,000