Wynn Spring Classic $1M GTD Championship Day 1a | 2021 Wynn Spring Classic

03-13-2021 01:55 UTC-7

McKeehen Bags Day 1a, Looks to Add to Recent Winnings

mnuwwarah

Level 10 : 800/1,600, 1,600 ante

A slew of well-known pros turned out and the field nearly met the guarantee on the first day, making for a successful Day 1a of the Wynn Spring Classic $3,500 Championship.

When the first 10 levels were a wrap, about 90 of the 268 entries had punched tickets to Sunday's Day 2.

Among the players advancing was former WSOP Main Event champ Joe McKeehen. McKeehen didn't exactly have a banner day as he busted a couple of bullets before turning things around, but he did bag a solid stack with 209,500. Most importantly, McKeehen is on a roll coming into this event, as he had a near miss with a second-place finish at WPT Venetian worth $491K and followed that up with a victory in the $10K High Roller just yesterday here at the Wynn for $224,100.

Combined, that's north of $700K in cashes, and McKeehen has put himself in good position to add to that total if he can author another deep run.

The biggest stacks of the bunch belonged to Paul Balzano (397,000), James Anderson (325,000) and Brian Green (311,500). Balzano has made his presence felt at the Wynn before, chopping the Wynn Summer Classic $1,600 Championship for $180,583 back in 2014.

Some of those running dry on chips at least once included Ali Imsirovic, Nick Pupillo, Darren Elias and Sergi Reixach. All will have plenty more chances on Saturday's Day 1b, which will surely see the prize pool race past the $1 million guarantee early on.

Action resumes with Day 1b at noon local time, so be sure to come back to PokerNews to monitor the final starting day.

03-12-2021 22:16 UTC-7

Afriat Triples

mnuwwarah

Level 8 : 500/1,000, 1,000 ante

Eric Afriat was down under 10,000 early a couple of times but he is now more than healthy with six figures after a tripled up.

We didn't see the action but it looked to have gone all in three ways on an flop. Afriat was in late position with and he held against a middle player with and the big blind's combo draw as the board ran , .

Afriat collected 33,100 from each opponent, as well as the 12K in the middle.

Player	Chips	Progress
Eric Afriat	111,000	76,000

Tags: Eric Afriat

03-12-2021 20:44 UTC-7

Kornuth Down a Bullet

mnuwwarah

Level 7 : 400/800, 800 ante

With on the felt, Thissa deSilva in the cutoff checked to Chance Kornuth on the button. There was already about 40,000 in the middle and Kornuth looked to have less than 20K back. He stuck that in and was snap-called.

We didn't catch his hand but it was quickly mucked as deSilva showed .

Kornuth bought back in immediately.

Player	Chips	Progress
Chance Kornuth	40,000	-107,000

Tags: Chance Kornuth

03-12-2021 16:43 UTC-7

McKeehen Busted, Back in

mnuwwarah

Level 4 : 200/400, 400 ante

Joe McKeehen opened in the cutoff for 1,000, the next player made it 3,000, and the big blind cold-called. McKeehen didn't need long before jamming all in. It was 20,300 more and the player who three-bet tanked awhile before calling. The other player snap-folded.

McKeehen:
Opponent:

McKeehen was crushed and the runout didn't change that. Luckily for McKeehen, he's got some ammo for another bullet after winning last night's $10K High Roller here for more than $224K, and he quickly headed back to the registration desk to take another shot.

Player	Chips	Progress
Joe McKeehen	40,000	10,000

03-12-2021 14:31 UTC-7

Riess Loses Out on River Value

mnuwwarah

Level 2 : 100/200, 200 ante

Ryan Riess was in the big blind and checked a flop. An opponent in early position bet an unknown amount with a T1,000 chip and Riess check-raised to 2,000. His opponent quickly called, bringing the turn. Riess bet big with 6,000, and his opponent tanked a long time before calling.

On the river, both players checked. Riess flicked in for a set and his opponent grumbled and mucked .

Player	Chips	Progress
Ryan Riess	48,000	8,000

Tags: Ryan Riess

03-12-2021 14:03 UTC-7

History of the Wynn Spring Classic Main Event

mnuwwarah

Level 1 : 100/100, 100 ante

The Wynn Spring Classic may not immediately jump to mind when you think of long-running Vegas poker series, as competitors like Venetian and Caesar's/WSOP have flooded the market with more events over the years.

However, it does have its own rich history, hosting events dating back more than a decade, to times when it was formerly just the Wynn Classic before fall and summer events were added.

Here's a look at past winners of the event. Note that in 2012 the venue partnered with CardPlayer and the event was rebranded under the CardPlayer Poker Tour.

History of the Wynn Spring Classic

Year	Buy-in	Entries	Winner	Prize
2007	$10,200	198	Zachary Hyman	$729,033
2008	$10,200	183	Chris Moore	$692,286
2009	$10,200	104	Keith Ferrera	$348,036
2010	$5,150	242	Brandon Cantu	$363,844
2011	$5,170	212	Tim West	$318,738
2012	$5,170	190	Isaac Baron	$240,512
2013	$5,000	207	Ray Dehkharghani	$235,931
2014	$5,000	86	Brandon Allen	$79,875*
2015	$2,100	248	Maxim Sorokin	$101,619*
2016	$1,600	499	Ludovic Geilich	$150,662
2017	$1,600	818	Eric Baldwin	$188,450
2018	$1,600	984	David Pham	$240,254
2019	$1,600	982	Terry Fleischer	$184,376*
2020	$1,600	687	Kevin Buck	$166,837*

*reflects deal

03-12-2021 13:23 UTC-7

Remaining 2021 Wynn Spring Classic Schedule

Chad Holloway

Level 1 : 100/100, 100 ante

Events with multiple flights will play Day 2 at 12 p.m. on the day subsequent to the final flight. All events start at 12 p.m. and are re-entry events unless otherwise noted. All events with 30-minute levels are single-day events. All events with 40-minute levels are two tournament days. All events with 60-minute levels are three tournament days.

All events will withhold 4% of the prize pool as a service charge for poker staff, with the exception of all $1,600 events, $3,500 event and the $10,500, which will withhold 3%, 2%, and $60 from each tournament entry respectively. See structure sheets for details.

Wynn reserve the right to revise, suspend, or cancel all events, without prior notice. IRS compliance requires a valid ID and SSN. Participants must be 21 years of age. Nonresident aliens are subject to 30% withholding.

Here's a look at the remaining schedule:

*Date	Time (PST)	Tournament	Guarantee	Buy-in	Starting Stack	Level Length (minutes)
Friday, March 12	Noon	Event #10: NLH Championship Day 1a	$1,000,000	$3,300+$200	40,000	60
Friday, March 12	6 p.m.	5 seat GTD Super Satellite to $3,500	-	$360+$40	15,000	30
Saturday, March 13	Noon	Event #10: NLH Championship Day 1b	$1,000,000	$3,300+$200	40,000	60
Sunday, March 14	2 p.m.	Event #11: NLH $500 Bounty	$50,000	$1,510+$90	25,000	30
Monday, March 15	Noon	Event #12: No-Limit Hold’em	$15,000	$270+$30	20,000	30
Tuesday, March 16	Noon	Event #13: No-Limit Hold’em	$15,000	$270+$30	20,000	30
Wednesday, March 17	Noon	Event #14: NLH $4K Survivor	$20,000	$360+$40	20,000	30
Thursday, March 18	Noon	Event #15: No-Limit Hold’em Day 1a	$1,000,000	$1,500+$100	30,000	60
Thursday, March 18	6 p.m.	5 seat GTD Super Satellite to $1,600	-	$270+$30	15,000	30
Friday, March 19	Noon	Event #15: No-Limit Hold’em Day 1b	$1,000,000	$1,500+$100	30,000	60
Friday, March 19	6 p.m.	5 seat GTD Super Satellite to $1,600	-	$270+$30	15,000	30
Saturday, March 20	Noon	Event #15: No-Limit Hold’em Day 1c	$1,000,000	$1,500+$100	30,000	60
Sunday, March 21	1 p.m.	Event #16: No-Limit Hold’em	$50,000	$500+$50	20,000	30

03-12-2021 12:27 UTC-7

Welcome to Day 1a of Wynn Spring Classic $3,500 Championship

mnuwwarah

After a slew of preliminary events, it's time for the Wynn Spring Classic $3,500 Championship here in Las Vegas.

The Wynn Spring Classic Championship is not the biggest buy-in of the series — that honor goes to last night's $10,000 High Roller — but it is tied for the largest guarantee with an even $1 million promised. Given the state of live poker's return in the U.S., it's a safe bet that a solid turnout will be recorded.

As for the tournament details, every $3,500 will buy a 40,000 starting stack. Blind levels last an hour apiece and start at a minuscule 100/100/100, so there will be plenty of play throughout the day even for those registering late. A one-hour dinner break will take place after six levels. Unlimited reentry is available for those wishing to fire more than once, and registration is open throughout Day 1a and Day 1b, as well as a few levels into Day 2.

Las year here at the Wynn, in one of the last big tournies before the pandemic shut everything down, Kevin Buck and Matt Bond chopped for $166K and $144K, respectively.

Action is scheduled to kick off at noon local time here in Las Vegas for the first of two starting days, and all of the updates can be found right here on PokerNews.

Tags: Wynn