$1,700 Main Event Day 1a | 2020 World Series of Poker Circuit Thunder Valley

01-17-2020 16:01 UTC-7

Updated Chip Counts

Level 5 : 200/300, 300 ante

Player	Chips	Progress
Bob Mather	68,000 38,000	38,000
Ha Kwon	52,300 15,800	15,800
Neil Scott	34,400 3,600	3,600
Rayo Kniep	33,400
Tyler Patterson	31,600 2,800	2,800

Bryan Piccioli	30,800

Alfredo Girabaldi	29,600 11,900	11,900
Rambo Halpern	26,800 1,200	1,200
Sam Cosby	24,600
Alex Greenblatt	19,200
Dan Soliven	16,200 17,800	17,800

Level: 5

Blinds: 200/300

Ante: 300

01-17-2020 15:59 UTC-7

Marko Pantelic's Kings Hold

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Level 4 : 100/200, 200 ante

Mark Pantelic raised on the button and then called a shove from the small blind for 15,000 with .

His opponent had .

The board ran out and Pantelic won the pot and sent his opponent to the rail.

Player	Chips	Progress
Marko Pantelic	58,000 36,000	36,000

Tags: Marko Pantelic

01-17-2020 15:50 UTC-7

Jimmy Wester Victorious in Event #4: $400 NLH Double Stack

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Level 4 : 100/200, 200 ante

PokerNews is in town to live report both the $3,250 High Roller and $1,700 Main Event here at the World Series of Poker Circuit Thunder Valley, but that is just one of the gold ring events that will have played out by the end of the series.

For instance, Event #4: $400 NLH Double Stack was a one-day tournament featuring 20-minute levels. It attracted 125 runners, which offered up a $41,250 prize pool, and the top 19 got paid including Gerald Watts (16th - $610), Ryan Awwad (13th - $684), Jason Tang (8th - $1,156), Sam Cosby (5th - $2,520), and Marcus Laffen (3rd - $4,832).

In the end, Jimmy Wester bested Bruce Powell in heads-up play to win the title for $11,241 and his first gold ring.

“It feels great to get the win, I am happy it is over,” said Webster, who played three hours at the final table and ten overall. “There were a lot of good players at the final table, so I am happy to be able to win. I also came in fairly short and was one of the short stacks for a long time, but won a few pots here and there, grinding it out and managed to pull it off.”

Final Table Results

Place	Player	Hometown	Prize
1	Jimmy Wester	Fairfield, California	$11,241
2	Bruce Powell	Tracy, California	$6,945
3	Marcus Laffen	Cupertino, California	$4,832
4	Cory Cook	Bay Point, California	$3,445
5	Sam Cosby	Portland, Oregon	$2,520
6	Anthony Bloesch	Walnut Creek, California	$1,892
7	Salas Alam	Hayward, California	$1,459
8	Jason Tang	El Cajon, California	$1,156
9	Benjamin Heinrichs	Chico, California	$943

Tags: Jason Tang Marcus Laffen Ryan Awwad Sam Cosby

01-17-2020 15:38 UTC-7

Jasthi Kumar and Josh Prager Looking For More

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Level 4 : 100/200, 200 ante

Josh Prager, who has a win and a second place finish at this circuit stop so far is in the field with a little less than starting stack.

Prager finished first in the $400 6-Max and second in the $400 Opener for a total of $54,814. Prager is the current leader of the Casino Championship.

Kumar won his fourth circuit ring in the $400 One-Day No-Limit and has already built up a bit of a stack so far in the main event Day 1a.

Player	Chips	Progress
Jasthi Kumar	73,000
Josh Prager	29,500

Tags: Jasthi Kumar Josh Prager

Level: 4

Blinds: 100/200

Ante: 200

01-17-2020 15:06 UTC-7

Break Time

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Level 3 : 100/200, 200 ante

The players are on their first break of the day.

01-17-2020 15:05 UTC-7

Updated Chip Counts

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Level 3 : 100/200, 200 ante

Player	Chips	Progress
Thomas Cao	84,000
Dan Barker	41,000
Ha Kwon	36,500
Mike Nelson	35,000
John Hadley	34,000
Bob Mather	30,000
Rambo Halpern	28,000
Chung Ho	26,200
Marko Pantelic	22,000
JJ Velador	17,700
Joe Kuether	12,400

01-17-2020 14:51 UTC-7

Updated Chip Counts

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Level 3 : 100/200, 200 ante

Player	Chips	Progress
Ray Villaman	31,000 2,000	2,000
Scott Bohlman	31,000

Lexy Gavin	30,000

Shahin Shojaeyan	30,000
Tyler Patterson	28,800

Al Sanchez	22,600 9,800	9,800
Dan Landwirth	18,500
Alfredo Girabaldi	17,700
Catherine Miller	17,200 9,200	9,200
Haxia Zhang	8,900

01-17-2020 14:26 UTC-7

Michael Lin Kicks Off Stop w/ Victory in Event #1: $400 NLH Opener

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Level 3 : 100/200, 200 ante

PokerNews is in town to live report both the $3,250 High Roller and $1,700 Main Event here at the World Series of Poker Circuit Thunder Valley, but that is just one of the gold ring events that will have played out by the end of the series.

In Event #1: $400 NLH Opener, 1,319 entrants created a $435,270 prize pool that was paid out to the top 197 players. Among those to go deep and cash were Gregory Fils (20th - $3,046), Catherine Whidden (12th - $5,547), Jeff Lennon (7th - $11,091), Marco Maldonado (5th - $18,564), and Jim Fraser (3rd - $32,361).

In the end, Michael Lin beat out Thunder Valley juggernaut Josh Prager to win the title for $70,181 and his first gold ring.

“This is my dream and I have worked so hard for this; I have won other events before but WSOP is the pinnacle,” Lin told WSOP officials. “I was really short Day 1 and had less than 80,000 [chips] so I thought I was going home the first day, but the rest is history.”

Final Table Results

Place	Player	Hometown	Prize
1	Michael Lin	Mission Viejo, California	$70,181
2	Josh Prager	Yuba City, California	$43,374
3	Jim Fraser	N/A	$32,361
4	Andre Parishan	N/A	$24,387
5	Marco Maldonado	San Antonio, Texas	$18,564
6	Mario Samareta	Elk Grove, California	$14,276
7	Jeff Lennon	N/A	$11,091
8	Michael Needle	Santa Cruz, California	$8,707
9	Elliott Layus	N/A	$6,918

Tags: Gregory Fils Josh Prager Marco Maldonado Michael Lin Michael Needle