Former HPT POY Roberts Leads as 45 Advance From Day 1c of HPT Ameristar East Chicago
Day 1c of the HPT Ameristar East Chicago $1,650 Main Event saw 251 players hit the felt, bringing the total number of entrants between the three flights to 520, and the overall prize pool grew to $748,800. Only 45 players made it through the day, joining the 44 from the previous two flights, and a familiar face holds the chip lead, as 2015 HPT Player of the Year Reginald "Shawn" Roberts bagged up 436,000 in chips.
Roberts didn't make many moves until near the end of the day, patiently grinding a middle of the road stack until he began zooming up the counts near the end of the day. He was able to pick up a chunk of chips out of Cody Brinn's stack in Level 14 (1,500/3,000/3,000) with top two pair, and he continued to ride the heater all the way to the end-of-the-day chip lead.
Dale Hackney (424,000) was the only other player to bag over 400,000, while David Kenniston flirted with 500,000 for a while before settling with a 399,000 chip stack to bring to Day 2. 2018 HPT POY Aaron Johnson (305,000) and Barry South (290,000) round out the top five, while former HPT Ameristar East Chicago champ Gary Herstein (289,000), David "ruetama" Moses (232,000), the aforementioned Brinn (230,000), and Christopher Audrain (133,000) all found a bag.
Two of the biggest names in today's field, WSOP Bracelet winner Keven Stammen and HPT regular Matt Bond, both made it late into Day 1c, but found themselves out the door in the same hand. Bond's king-queen and Stammen's ace-queen were no match for Hackney and his kings, and the duo both fell short of a Day 2 bag.
Others that were unable to find a bag include the HPT's all-time earnings leader Craig Casino, Jill Bryant, Justin Lee, Matt Shepsky, and Mike O'Neill.
The remaining 89 players will return at 11 a.m. local time tomorrow, and play down to the final table of nine. Monday's final table kicks off at Noon local time, and will be available for streaming on Twitch. Fifty-four players will walk away with a cash, with everyone vying for the top prize of $171,411 and a $3,500 Championship Package. Be sure to stay tuned right here to PokerNews, as we whittle the field down to the televised final table of nine here at Ameristar East Chicago!