Maryland State Poker Championship $600 Kickoff Event Continues with Day 1f

Nick Becker

The final flight of the $600 Kickoff Event is underway here at the Maryland State Poker Championship hosted by Live! Casino & Hotel Maryland. The PokerStars sponsored tournament features a $300,000 guaranteed prize pool, with five flights already having been completed. Players who advance from each flight will combine and return for Day 2 on Sunday, August 4, where a champion will be named.

Last year's edition of the event attracted 1,016 runners, and through five starting flights so far, 603 entrants have ponied up the $600 buy-in this year. Only 78 of those competitors will be advancing to Day 2, all of whom have already made the money.

Overall Top 10 Chip Counts

Place	Player	Country	Chip Count
1	Justin Arnwine	United States	707,000
2	Tim Faro	United States	679,000
3	Nick Kocman	United States	646,000
4	Lara Eisenberg	United States	537,000
5	Andrew Chang	United States	512,000
6	Yaser Al-Keliddar	United States	503,000
7	Sean Gomez	United States	475,000
8	Glenn Segal	United States	462,000
9	Sean Magness	United States	450,000
10	Rishi Tangri	United States	422,000

Also up for grabs is a Gold Pass to the NAPT Las Vegas Main Event in November. PokerStars will be awarding the last online qualifier standing the Gold Pass package, which includes travel, accommodation, and the $5,300 tournament buy-in. After the first five flights, three qualifiers have advanced to Day 2, Michael Lavin (302,000), Rahul Agarwal (62,000), and Joseph Weaver (59,000).

Players begin each starting flight with 30,000 in chips and blinds will start at 100/100 with a 100 big blind ante. Blinds will increase every 30 minutes on Day 1 and every 40 minutes on Day 2. Play for Day 1 flights will conclude once 12.5% of the field remains, and those who bag will be in the money for Day 2.

Late registration and re-entries are permitted through level 8, with 15-minute breaks taking place every four levels. Unlimited re-entries are allowed and players who have played previous flights may play the final flight in an attempt to increase their chip counts. Should a player choose to play multiple Day 1 flights, only the highest qualifying stack will be permitted to continue to Day 2.