Some 522 Bar Poker Open stalwarts graced the halls of the Golden Nugget Casino in the most highly anticipated event on the Bar Poker Open calendar, including defending champion Thomas Nefcy and the ever entertaining Ian Auvil.
Nefcy will have to fire a bullet in Day 1b if he wants to have a shot at successfully defending his title. However, last year's runner-up, Kourtney Sims, is still in with a chance of making back-to-back final tables as she bagged up 185,000 chips after 19 levels of poker.
Also bagging chips for Day 2, which takes place on June 13, is the fedora-donning regular William Fierro (415,000), Sunshine Poker League's Billy Ducheneaux (430,000) and Marvin Coom (1,050,000), who catapulted up the chip counts late in the day when he busted Jeffrey Weinberg to be the first player over one million chips. A notable mention for Will Unruh (5,000), who held tight during the bubble and managed to sneak into Day 2 with one-fifth of an ante to his name.
End of Day 1a Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | League | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anthony Lundy | New York Free Poker | 1,655,000 |
| 2 | Chad Miller | Aces Cracked Poker League | 1,300,000 |
| 3 | Marvin Coom | Pikes Peak Poker | 1,050,000 |
| 4 | Ryan Surdi | No Limit New York | 915,000 |
| 5 | Vince Carnett | KOntenders Poker USA | 760,000 |
| 6 | Ellen Schirmer | Deepstacks Poker League | 695,000 |
| 7 | John Dennehy | Eastern Poker Tour | 610,000 |
| 8 | Edward Holt | Eastern Poker Tour | 605,000 |
| 9 | Clinton Musson | Jacksonville Poker Association | 553,000 |
| 10 | Brian Lerner | Deepstacks Poker League | 445,000 |
For those unsuccessful in navigating the field, there is another opportunity on June 13, starting at 11:00 a.m local time. Players that bagged today can also register, and if they are able to navigate the day, they can earn $1,500 for their second stack and will take their largest stack through for Day 2.
There was also a second flight today that collected 144 runners, in which another eight players safely navigated to Day 2 and joined the 26 players listed.
Stay tuned as PokerNews will be back on June 13 for coverage of the Bar Poker Open Championship Day 1b here at the Golden Nugget.
