Noel Rodriguez Bags the Day 1a Chip Lead in the WSOPC Thunder Valley Main Event
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.
flop, an opponent reraised all in, and Kessler made the call, putting his remaining 45,000 in the pot.
and river 
sealed the big blind win.
. However, the turn 
gave Kashiwagi a straight, leaving Murray with only the two remaining jacks in the deck left to chop. The river 
and the big blind was in the process of putting out a bet of 16,500. Srini Godavarthy was under the gun and went all in over the top of the bet. His opponent called.
and stacks were pushed forward.
turn, Park bet 14,000 and got the call. Both players checked through the 
river, and Park showed down 
, good enough to take it down against the opponent's 
, Brett Murray checked from the big blind blind. A player under the gun also checked, as did Wayne Taylor on the button.
, taking the pot with the rivered pair of aces.
turn.
came in on the river, Ross bet 11,500, and Wong went deep into the tank. After several minutes Wong folded, and Ross showed 
flop. 
