Day 1b of Event #89: $3,000 Mid-Stakes Championship No-Limit Hold'em attracted 2,001 players to the Horseshoe and Paris, Las Vegas, taking the total attendance to 3,220. One level of late registration remains. At the close of play, 667 players bagged and tagged their chips, with Austria's Felix Rabas (654,000) claiming the flight's chip lead.
Rabas enjoyed a productive day at the felt and finished Day 1b with 262 big blinds, some 69 more than Antonio Salorio (482,500) in second and 77 more than third-placed Inigo Naveiro (462,500).
Day 1b Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Felix Rabas | Austria | 654,000 | 262 |
| 2 | Antonio Salorio | United States | 482,500 | 193 |
| 3 | Inigo Naveiro | Spain | 462,500 | 185 |
| 4 | Luis Vazquez | United States | 460,000 | 184 |
| 5 | Michael Berk | United States | 445,500 | 178 |
| 6 | Blake Bohn | United States | 430,500 | 172 |
| 7 | Jason Wheeler | United States | 420,500 | 168 |
| 8 | Vlad Darie | Romania | 415,000 | 166 |
| 9 | Mark Seif | United States | 401,000 | 160 |
| 10 | Armin Rezaei | Austria | 373,000 | 149 |
Dozens of top-tier grinders entered this event today, with plenty of them progressing to Day 2. Jason Wheeler (420,500), Vlad Darie (415,000), and Mark Seif (401,000) bagged up enough chips for a top ten spot on the overnight leaderboard. Mike Leah (331,000), Jesse Lonis (330,000), and Roman Hrabec (321,000) finished in this flight's top 30.
Two Main Event champions made it through the ten Day 1b levels. Joe McKeehen (83,000) and Jamie Gold (42,500) are among the shorter stacks but by no means out of contention.
On Day 1b, two members of the Poker Hall of Fame punched their Day 2 tickets. John Juanda (138,000) and Brian Rast (134,000) finished this flight in the middle of the pack.
Others to keep an eye during Day 2 include Chris Hunichen (250,500), David Peters (230,000), Alex Foxen (198,000), Matt Glantz (163,000), Jon Kyte (100,500), and Kane Kalas (60,000).
Day 2 shuffles up and deals at 1 p.m. local time on Friday, July 11. Late registration is open until the end of Level 11, which will be around 2:15 p.m. local time. The returning players are tasked with playing another ten 60-minute levels. Stay tuned to PokerNews to discover who achieves that feat.
