Event 1 (Day 1B)

Level 17 (2,500/5,000/500)
Total Day 1A & 1B Entrants: 913
Total Day 1A & 1B Survivors: 156

While there are still two days and four starting flights before Friday’s Day 2 session, there are already over 150 players that have their tickets punched to that restart. In total, 913 players played yesterday’s Day 1A and 1B flights and when it was all said and done, around 2:30 AM, Ryan Eriquezzo was pacing both flights into Day 2.

The former WSOP bracelet winner bagged up 369,000 and, heading into today’s two starting flights, that number is good for the clubhouse lead. Kareem Marshall was right behind Eriquezzo, as he finished with 362,000 and Matthew Wantman, who broke through for his first BPO title during last year’s Winter Poker Open, bagged 326,000, good for third overall.

Day 1A chip leader Chinmay Patel and Brian Allen were the only other players over the 300,000 chip mark and they round out the top-five. A complete list of the surviving 156 players from Day 1A & 1B is provided below:

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Ryan Eriquezzo (Danbury, CT)

End of Level 16:  Blinds 2,000/4,000/400 ante
Flight B Entries: 320
Filght B Players Remaining:  67
Average Stack:  119,403

Ryan Eriquezzo did indeed maintain his Flight B chiplead through the last level and three additional hands of play, bagging 369,000, but not by a lot, as Kareem Marshall at the same table is in third place with 326,000. It’s quite a top-heavy table.

Other stacks over 225,000:

Matthew Wantman 326,500
Joseph Curcio 298,000
Mark Kaganovsky 254,500
Bart Dowling 253,000
Robert Boyko 247,000
Krystov “BPIG” Stybarievic 231,000
Jared Mulaney 231,000

A full list of players with official chip counts will be posted when available. A redraw will take place before Day 2 begins at 12 noon Friday, and the seating assignments will be posted in the blog and in the Event Center.

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Ryan Eriquezzo (Danbury, CT)

Level 16:
Blinds 2,000/4,000/400 ante
Total Event 1B Entries: 320

Ryan Eriquezzo is far and away the chip leader among the final six tables of the B flight in Event 1. He’s sitting on a sick stack of 370,000. His Superman shirt is quite appropriate and opponents will need to find their Kryptonite to take him down in Day 2.

Ryan is best known for his bracelet for the 2012 WSOP $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em National Championship event — not to be confused with the Main Event — worth $416,051. He has career earnings of more than $1.3 million.

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Bart Dowling (New York, NY)

Level 15:
Blinds 1,500/3,000/400 ante
Total Event 1B Entries: 320

New Yorker Bart Dowling, already with a big stack, called his opponent’s last 25,000 pre-flop and flipped over Big Slick suited: {Kh}{Ah}. His opponent had {7c}{7d}.

The board went {As}{7h}{4h}{6c}…

And the river hit {5h} to give Bart flush over set and bust his opponent. Bart now has 190,000.

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Level 14:
Blinds 1,200/2,400/300 ante
Total Event 1B Entries: 320

Matt Stout (Las Vegas, NV)

Matt Stout, sitting on about 45,500 in chips, is wearing a patch to promote his Charity Series of Poker event, a $200+$30 plus $100 charity donation and $100 re-entry no-limit Hold’em event on Saturday, Jan 30 at 5 p.m. The CSOP is a non-profit organization that raises money through poker events, for worthy causes like Habitat for Humanity and Community Food Bank of New Jersey. Legendary film critic Richard Roeper will be a celebrity guest playing in this event. With all that, why wouldn’t you play in the event?

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Al Borges (Taunton, MA)

Level 13:
Blinds 1,000/2,000/300 ante
Total Event 1B Entries: 320

Al Borges, from Taunton, MA, (Not Tauntaun, that’s a Star Wars creature) is at the same table as Mr. Skullcrusher, Bruce Kramer. On a turn of {6h}{5c}{7d}{8h}, Al goes all in for 78,900 and two opponents call. (Bruce folded on a flop bet.)

Al turns over {9c}{10c}

Opponent: {9h}{9d}

We didn’t quite catch the other opponent’s hand.

The river runs out {Qd} and Al more than triples up to 354,600, putting him close to this flight’s chip lead.

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Aristides Santana (Yonkers, NY)

Level 12:
Blinds 800/1600/200 ante
Total Event 1B Entries: 320

Aristides Santana is quite a familar face on the East Coast poker circuit. He’s final tabled, and made the final two tables, of Borgata events as far back as 2008 and as recently as 2014, and has total live earnings of nearly $200,000.

On a board of {10h}{Jh}{3c}{Ah}, Santana throws out 2,100 and his opponent calls. The river is a {Kc} and he puts in 28,000 — a big chunk of his stack. His opponent instantly folds, and Santana is up to a respectable 62,000.

The players are now on a 15-minute break.

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Chris Tryba (Las Vegas)

Level 11:
Blinds 600/1200/200 ante
Total Event 1B Entries: 320

Bob Johnson from Colorado, really Chris Tryba from Vegas, from had the bright idea to order a whole bunch of pizzas from one of the quality Atlantic City pizza establishments. While slinging slices all over the room, and eating pizza himself, he managed to bust a player between chews. One player (at another table)’s price for a pizza slice? “Tell me what you had,” referring to a hand earlier in the night.

“A set,” says the opponent begrudgingly.

“A set of threes? Really?!” says “Bob” as he offers him a slice of mushroom. “Bob” continues to call this player “Set of Threes” from the next table over throughout the rest of the level.

“Bob” is sitting on a healthy slice of chips: 122,000, to be exact.

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Bruce Kramer (California)

Level 10:
Blinds 500/1,000/100 ante
Total Event 1B Entries: 320

Bruce Kramer is a Californian with a glittering skull as a card capper. “It’s a Skullcrusher,” says Kramer. “I only wear skulls.”

He certainly looked prepared to crush some skulls after going all in on a flop of {3h}{10h}{2h}. Everyone folded and he picked up a good pot, bringing him up to 30,400. Bruce flashed the {Ah} as he dragged in his chips.

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Level 9:
Blinds 400/800/75 ante
Total Event 1B Entries: 317

Matt Stout (Las Vegas, NV)

Matt Stout is still alive and is sitting on 37,300 in chips. “It’s my third bullet,” he says. Two in flight A, one in flight B? “Other way around,” he says.

Players have just gone on a 15 minute break heading into Level 10.

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