LIVE EVENTS

Day 1D attracted 217 runners making it the largest Day 1 flight and bringing the total number of entries up to 562 players.  Of the 217 entries tonight, 46 players have bagged to advance to Day 2 in addition to the 71 others who have bagged in the previous day 1 flights, bringing the total to 117 players, with the top 71 making it into the money.  Day 2 takes place tomorrow, Saturday, at 2:00pm.

Tonight’s field started off with a bang and continued to play strong but finally the action slowed down once the re-entry period came to a close. In the last two levels of play, the short stacks were shoving but there were no major confrontations between any of the big stacks and in the end, it was local player Norman Gauthier who bagged the most chips, a respectable 321,500. He is followed closely by Alexandre Patry (318,500), then by the second break chip leader, Chamarthi Gautham Raju (269,900). Carl Des Granges who was the leader through the first half of the tournament made it to the end of the night, but was only able to bag 47,500.

For a complete list of the combined Day 1 results, click here  (Day 1D results will be added in sometime late on Saturday morning). The Day 2 seating draw will also be available on Saturday morning. When play resumes on Day 2, the blinds will be at 1,500/3,000.

When the players return for Day 2, here are the payouts that they will be playing for:

Play is now in the last level of the evening, and everyone in the room is looking to be able to bag and tag and return tomorrow to play in Day 2.

Here are some of the players with healthier stacks who are still in contention:

As expected, the chip stacks have now grown as the tournament heads into the final three levels of the evening. With 82 players still left in the field, the average chip stack is now 66,100. On table 32, Chamarthi Gautham Raju has taken a commanding lead and is the only player currently above 200,000, sitting on a cool 235,400 chips. He is followed by Norman Gauthier (161,600), John Rathbun (159,700) and Brent McCue (159,300).

We will watch the action as play continues as there are always some huge coolers in the final few levels with the short stacks shoving and the big stacks calling. Stay tuned to see how the last few levels play out.

Here is the full leaderboard:

With a total of 562 entries, the prize pool surpassed the $100,000 guarantee and the top 71 players will be in the money, with a min-cash in 64th-71st position paying $340, and the event champion earning a sweet $20,818 in 1st place.

The chips have been moving back and forth across the tables and with 126 players still in contention and an average stack hovering around 43,000, John Rathbun has bolted into the lead with 133,200 chips. He is followed in second place by Jason Galet, sitting on 120,100 chips.  The first break chip leader Carl Des Granges has taken a large hit to his stack but is still sitting above average, with a little work ahead of him he hopefully will be able to climb back onto the leaderboard.

It’s obvious that since the re-entry period came to a close, play has become more cautious as there were no “no mega stacks” to be found in the room, and, on many of the tables, there are quite a few players now with similar stacks. As play continues there is sure to be more changes to the leaderboard before the next break hits in just over an hour from now.

Here is the leaderboard from the second break:

The late registration and re-entry period has just ended. The total number of entries climbed all the way to 217, including 42 re-entries, making Day 1D the largest starting flight of all. That means two things: the combined number of entries for all flights is 562, allowing the tournament to surpass the $100,000 guaranteed prize pool, and that there are 5,425,000 in chips in play! The potential for some players to build monstrous stacks is definitely there so it will be interesting to see how the rest of the night plays out.

On table 30, Richard Sysko, hailing from Northern Vermont and a regular visitor to Playground, had his stack reduce well below average.With the blinds at 250/500, he decided to shove his stack of just over 20 big blinds (10,400) in early position after finding what appeared to be a premium hand. Carl Des Granges made the call in mid position as did Brendan Syrette on the button.

The flop came and action went check-check between Des Granges and Syrette. The turn brought the and again it went check-check. On the river came the and one more time both players checked it.

Syrette:
Sysko:
Des Granges:

Sysko was open-ended on the turn but didn’t improve while Des Granges continued to make hands by hitting his king on the river, which sent Sysko to the rail.

The players have just returned to their seats following their first break of the evening. With 192 entries (including 24 re-entries) the average chip stack is now just around 30,000 chips. One player has jumped way ahead of the pack and has managed to go north of 100,000; Carl des Granges, from Trenton, Ontario, is in the lead with a whopping 108,600 chips. Ron S. follows in second place with 82,300 chips.

Here is the first leaderboard of the evening:

There are now 178 entries, including 18 re-entries, and there is still over 1 hour to go in the re-entry and late registration period.

Table 33 is an action table. With the blinds at 100/200, Michel Champagne limped in from early position and was followed by Ron S., Louis Richard and Scott Bain. Tu Kahm Tran, seated in the small blind, decided that he would have none of that and raised it up to 1,200. Champagne made the call, and the other players folded.

The flop came , and Tran led out for 2,500, finding a call from Champagne. The turn brought the and both players checked. On the river came the , and Tran bet 6,000. Champagne thought about it for a few seconds before making the call. Tran mucked his hand and Champagne showed the for a rivered full house.

The room is filling up nicely and there are now 147 entries (including 6 re-entries), just a few more players and the $100,000 guarantee will be surpassed! Head down to Playground and take a shot at becoming the next Playground 200 champion!

Here are some of the players grinding it out on the felt:

This is it, your last chance to join the action in Event #1 of the September Power Weekend, the $200 + $20 Playground 200, as the final flight, Day 1D has just begun!

The Playground 200 features a guaranteed prize pool of $100,000 offering some outstanding value to the players. Each Day 1 starts players with a stack of 25,000 in chips and permits unlimited re-entries until the beginning of the seventh level of play, which is at 10:15pm. Each Day 1 will plays 14 levels of 30 minutes in length.

With three live starting flights and the Online Day 1 in the books, 71 players have now secured their spots on Day 2. There have so far been a total of 345 entries between the online Day 1 on partypoker and the three live Day 1’s here at Playground. With already 75 players in their seats, tonight’s flight is sure to be the biggest of all of the starting flights which will result in a ton of chips in play!

The overall chip leader is Ami Alibay, who took control of Day 1A during the late stages of play and bagged 408,000 in chips. Have no fear as with the amazing structure offered in the Playground 200, even the players who return on day 2 with only 60,000 in chips will still be playing a 20-big-blind stack, plenty of chips to reach the final table and its amazing prize pool!

Players can enter multiple Day 1s, even if they have already qualified for Day 2. Players who qualify for Day 2 more than once will resume play on Day 2 with their largest qualifying stack; all other stacks will be forfeited.

Good luck to all!