button in SafariAntonio Vargas Tops the Counts in Day 2 of Event #16: $1,700 U.S. Circuit Championship No-Limit Holdem
Day 2 of Event #16: $1,700 U.S. Circuit Championship at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas is in the books. The day started with 381 players but has shrunk to 32, all of whom will be advancing to Day 3 and are guaranteed $12,660.
But the goal for tomorrow is to grab the top prize of $439,605 and the much-coveted WSOP golden bracelet. Closest to reaching that goal is Antonio Vargas, who ended the day bagging 8,650,000 chips. The moment that pushed Vargas up the chip lead was when he caught a bluff from Antonius Samuel earlier in the day. Since then, he has consistently grown his stack, choosing his spots strategically to reach the top of the chip counts.
Following close at his heels is Robert Kuhn (8,100,000). Kuhn already has a WSOP ring to his name and is closer to adding a WSOP bracelet to his chest of blings. Completing the top three is Malcolm Franchi (5,000,000). All three will have the advantage when it comes to taking the event down.
The battle to the top will be fierce, as some notables remain in contention, namely WSOP bracelet owners Pei Li, Kartik Ved, and Shawn Daniels.
Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Antonio Vargas | United States | 8,435,000 | 105 |
| 2 | Robert Kuhn | United States | 8,070,000 | 101 |
| 3 | Malcolm Franchi | France | 5,000,000 | 63 |
| 4 | Donovan Dicken | United States | 4,795,000 | 60 |
| 5 | Balakrishna Patur | United States | 4,320,000 | 54 |
| 6 | Manjunath Mulinti | United States | 4,310,000 | 54 |
| 7 | Martin Perez | United States | 3,865,000 | 48 |
| 8 | Pei Li | China | 3,845,000 | 48 |
| 9 | Kartik Ved | India | 3,825,000 | 48 |
| 10 | Liubomyr Melnyk | United States | 3,510,000 | 44 |
Highlights of the Day
Out of the 381 players that returned, only 323 players were in the money. Action significantly slowed down as the number of players reached that number, but the actual bubble time was relatively quick.
The money bubble burst just two hands into hand-for-hand play, as two players were eliminated simultaneously. Jarred Graham needed one of his overcards to connect, but Mykhailo Lendel’s pocket jacks held, sending Graham out.
Meanwhile, on another table, Giuseppe Pantaleo’s pocket nines lost to Dany Georges’ pocket kings. Because their eliminations occurred at separate tables, Graham and Pantaleo split the lowest payout, each receiving their buy-in back.
Other prominent players who weren’t able to make it to the end of the day included Shannon Shorr, Shiina Okamoto, Jonathan Tamayo, Matt Glantz, and Renji Mao, to name a few.
Action will resume tomorrow, June 4, at 12 p.m. in Paris Gold. Play will start at Level 26 with blinds at 40,000/80,000 and an 80,000 ante, and will continue until a champion stands victorious.
Stay tuned in to PokerNews for more exciting poker action straight from the floor!