Presley Surges to Big Day 1a Lead; Five RunGood Pros Advance
Terry Presley rode a late heater to a big chip lead on Day 1a of RunGoodGear.com Hard Rock Tulsa $100,000 Guaranteed Main Event. He finished with 319,800, a massive stack with blinds at 1,000/2,000/400, when the tournament was forced to a stop with 18 players left — 15 percent of the 127-player field.
Joining Presley on Day 2 will be five RunGood-sponsored pros: Ben Reason (172,900), Dan "Wretchy" Martin (156,600), Michael Sanders (82,100), Ross Bybee (77,600), and AP Phahurat (32,200). Others punching tickets to Sunday's Day 2 included Sam Panzica (186,600), Rodney Spriggs (121,500), Lynn Samples (121,000), John Martin (115,600), and Brady Bullard (106,800).
Presley's surge began when he grabbed the chip lead about an hour before the day came to a close. He added to that lead when he checked on the turn in a pot where the board read 
, and Johnny McDonald checked behind him. On the 
river, Presley fired out 25,000 and was quickly called. He flipped the 
for trip eights, and he had gotten lucky indeed as McDonald showed the 
for aces up.
A few minutes later, after a flop of 
, Spriggs bet 16,200 from under the gun. Presley made it 35,000 from his left, and Ruth Hall called off her stack of about 22,000 from the blinds.
"If you can't raise, you should fold," Spriggs declared after a couple of minutes of thought, mucking what he said was two kings. "Set or two pair?" he asked Presley.
His read was on, as Presley held the 
for a set. Hall had the 
, and she was seeking an eight for a set or a seven for a straight. The 
arrived on the turn, but what Hall wasn't seeking was two sevens, and that's what she got on the 
river. Presley dragged the massive pot with his boat, leaving Hall busted.
Some players who will have to run it back on Day 1b after busting today included bracelet winners Bryan Campanello and Jordan Morgan, Jeff Bryan, Rob Salaburu, Justin Gardenhire, Jamie Kerstetter, Jonathan Gaviao, and Bernard Lee.
Well-known pro Lee met his end at the hands of Hall, when Lee bet 6,800 on a board of 
after one player checked, and Hall called from the button. The third player folded, and Lee checked the river. Hall shoved all in, and Lee snap-called.
"Whoa," he said, surprised to see Hall's 
. Lee flicked 
up in disappointment and sent his last 21,500 across the felt.
Day 1b will be another chance for Lee and the rest of the vanquished, and it begins at noon local time on Saturday. Come back to PokerNews then for more coverage.