Level: 15
Blinds: 1,500/3,000
Ante: 3,000
2019 World Series of Poker Circuit Thunder Valley
$1,700 Main Event
Day: 1b
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 1b
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
273
Players Left
65
Haley Four-Bet Shoves, Gets No Takers
Level 14
: 1,000/2,500, 2,500 ante
Rickey Evans opened to 7,000 from middle position, the player in the hijack three-bet to 15,500, and William Haley four-bet all in for his 65,000 stack.
Evans quickly folded, and the hijack player went deep into the tank before eventually also folding.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
95,000 | 14,300 |
Reardon Takes from Minkin; Minkin Eliminates Joe Elpayaa
Level 14
: 1,000/2,500, 2,500 ante
Hand #1:
Terence Reardon saw action folded to him in the small blind and raised to 7,000. Kelly Minkin defended her big blind, bringing a flop of 
. Reardon fired a continuation-bet of 8,500 and Minkin called.
The turn came 
. Minkin looked over at Reardon to see what he was going to do and he responded by putting out another bet of 12,500. Minkin called.
The river came 
and both players checked. Reardon asked Minkin a question about her hand and she responded in a manner that she was not about to table her hand until he did, as he was out of position.
Reardon turned over 
for treys full of nines and Minkin slid her cards forward to muck them.
Hand #2:
Moments later, Joe Elpayaa had gotten his last 23,000 or so all in preflop against Minkin, who gave him action.
Joe Elpayaa: 
Kelly Minkin: 
The two were off to the races with Elpayaa ahead, but the flop 
fell in Minkin's favor. The turn came 
to give Elpayaa four more outs to a straight, but the river came 
to end his night at the expense of Minkin, who continues to build her stack during the last levels of the evening.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
335,500 | 19,500 |
|
155,000 | |
|
Busted |
Minkin, Chai on Big Stacks
Level 14
: 1,000/2,500, 2,500 ante
Kelly Minkin raised to 20,500 on a 
flop, and her opponent on the button went all in over the top. Minkin made the call.
Kelly Minkin: 
Opponent: 
Minkin had the nuts, but the button opponent had the open-ended straight flush draw. The turn and river clinched the win for Minking, who's now over the 300k mark.
One table over, Paul Chai is on an even big bigger stack, with nearly 400k. Minkin and Chai are two of the big blindgest stacks in play as Day 1b approaches its conclusion.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
397,000 | 290,000 |
|
|
316,000 | 181,000 |
Miller Gets a Knockout
Level 14
: 1,000/2,500, 2,500 ante
A player in early position went all in for around 31,000 and had gotten action from Glenn Miller, who was in middle position on his direct left.
All-In Player: 
Glenn Miller: 
The board ran out 
, leaving Miller with the best hand after the hand was completed and earning him the knockout and the pot along the way.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
82,000 | 21,000 |
Le One Card Away from Knocking Out Tran
Level 14
: 1,000/2,500, 2,500 ante
Billy Le gave PokerNews the details of a hand where he had JC Tran on the ropes going into the river.
Le said he opened under the gun, and Tran called in late position. The flop came 
, and Le check-called a 4,000 bet from Tran.
The turn came 
, Le checked again and Tran bet 10,000. Le went all in, and Tran called for 30,000 more.
JC Tran:
Billy Le: 
Le was ahead with his top pair and open-ended straight draw, but the spade came in on the river, with the hitting the board to give Tran the flush. Tran, with more than $13 million in lifetime tournament earnings, lives to play on in the Main Event, while Le earns the right to tell a great story for the rest of his lifetime.
Aces Treat Turkzadeh Right; Sinaei Eliminated
Level 14
: 1,000/2,500, 2,500 ante
A player went all in from under the gun for about 28,000 and Amir Turkzadeh shoved over the top from his direct left. Action folded around to JC Tran who was in the big blind and asked for a count.
Turkzadeh took the initiative, cutting out his stack to its total of 35,500. Tran thought for a bit from across the table in the nine-seat and eventually lifted up his cards about five inches off the table and set them down directly on top of the muck pile that was to his left.
All-In Player:
Amir Turkzadeh:
The flop came 
, leaving Turkzadeh firmly out in front. He picked up a small sweat on the turn , but the river fell and he secured the knockout.
"Oh my goodness, JC! Quads! I folded pocket eights!" exclaimed Billy Le, telling Tran who had just spent time himself debating whether or not to commit chips.
"Hey!" said Turkzadeh as he collected the pot. "We don't believe poker players!"
The table chimed in, quasi-agreeing. After all was said and done, the general consensus was that Le liked to tell stories, but he did not lie.
Meanwhile, the seat formerly occupied by Farhad Sinaei on an adjacent table has recently been vacated. Sinaei found himself grinding out a 20 big-blind stack throughout the entirety of the day and it appears his luck ran dry shortly before the the beginning of the penultimate level of the day.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
136,000 | 32,000 |
|
|
69,500 | -3,500 |
|
64,500 | 17,500 |
|
Busted |
Level: 14
Blinds: 1,000/2,500
Ante: 2,500
Tran Blasts the River
Level 13
: 1,000/2,000, 2,000 ante
A player raised from under the gun to 4,500 and was called by Thu Tran on his direct left. David Mallet also came along, calling from middle position to take action three ways to the flop . The original raiser made a continuation-bet of 10,000 and Tran called. Mallet folded to take further action heads up.
The turn fell 
and the under-the-gun player continued, firing a second barrel for 13,500. Tran called.
The river came 
and the aggressor throughout the hand decided it was time to slow down. He checked and Tran went all in for about 43,500. Tran quickly received a fold and took down the pot.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
109,000 | 109,000 |
|
14,500 | -44,700 |
Late Registration Over
Level 13
: 1,000/2,000, 2,000 ante
The late registration period has ended for the WSOP Circuit Thunder Valley Main Event.
The totals are in and the tournament drew 414 total entries over Day 1a and Day 1b. The total prize pool is $627,210, exceeding the $500,000 guaranteed mark. First prize will award $130,667 to the winner.