Day 1b of the 2024 Merit Poker Gatsby Gala Series has reached a conclusion here at the Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino. The second of four starting flights attracted 199 entrants and after the dust had settled just 77 players managed to find a bag and advance to Day 2.
Navid Samavati leads the way after bagging 628,000 chips, a stack worth 209 big blinds going into Day 2. Samavati is most closely followed by Traian Stanciu who bagged 608,000 while Dauren Zhaparov rounds out the top three with 597,500.
Day 1b Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
| 1 | Navid Samavati | Iran | 628,000 | 209 |
| 2 | Traian Stanciu | Romania | 608,000 | 203 |
| 3 | Dauren Zhaparov | Kazakhstan | 597,500 | 199 |
| 4 | Dmitry Gromov | Russian Federation | 538,000 | 179 |
| 5 | Banksy | United Kingdom | 537,000 | 179 |
| 6 | Caner Gunes | Turkey | 531,500 | 177 |
| 7 | Mikhail Zavoloka | Russian Federation | 503,500 | 168 |
| 8 | Boris Smuskevicius | Lithuania | 482,500 | 161 |
| 9 | Amir Sonsino | Israel | 470,000 | 157 |
| 10 | Oleg Ustinovich | Russian Federation | 435,000 | 145 |
The day began with 37 entrants and the tournament's slow structure, featuring 60-minute levels and a starting stack worth over 150 big blinds, ensured that players had plenty of room to maneuver in the first few levels of the day. Abdullah Alajmi wasted no time ramping up the aggression, putting an opponent to the test with a massive river shove worth twice what was in the pot in the first level of play. Alajmi had a roller coaster session from there, at one point finding himself among the chip leaders and ultimately finishing with 387,000.
Dmitry Gromov, who has had a number of deep runs and final tables in Merit Poker events, found himself near the top of the counts midway through the day after picking off a huge bluff from Sergey Baranski. Facing an all in river shove from Baranski on a king-high where flushes and straights were possible, Gromov correctly called off with top pair against Baranski's ace-high bluff for a pot worth over 200 big blinds. Gromov was able to ride that momentum until the end of the night, where he bagged a top ten stack with 538,000.
Others to advance from today's starting flight include Fabio Peluso (306,500), Nikolay Fal (267,500), Timur Margolin (235,000), Aylar Lie (178,000), and Felipe Ketzer (137,000). Notables to play day 1b but fall short of making the end of the night include Giorgiy Skhulukhiya, Dean Hutchison and Halil Tasyurek.
Two starting flights remain for this event. Day 1c is already underway, while a turbo Day 1d is scheduled at 10:00 a.m. local time tomorrow, November 21st. The final flight begins just a couple hours before the fields combine for Day 2 at 12:30 p.m. local time the same day. Unlimited reentries and late registration will remain open until the end of Level 12, midway through Day 2.
Stay tuned to PokerNews as we bring you all the action for this event until a winner is crowned on the fourth and final day, taking place November 23.
