This hand started with an under-the-gun raise to 2,100 from Mathieu Fournier Gamelin. Vincent Tremblay, from the small blind, made it 7,000 to go, and Roger Lamia pushed 22,800 forward, rather quickly. Mathieu folded, and Vincent was sent to the tank, where he stayed for quite a while.

He was counting and re-counting his chips, looking at the skies for answers. He finally went all-in for about 30K more, at the very end of the eventual clock rundown, and Roger made the call.

Roger Lamia:
Vincent Tremblay:

Ha! Both players were visibly relieved, as their tournament life was allowed to endure. Here are some shots taken during the hand:

After 4 levels of play, 10 players have managed breach the 100K mark. Those 10 players are all between 100K and 150K which makes for an interesting race.

Here they are:

When Dave Pelletier-Bremmer bet 2,200 into 4,750 on a board, René Bourbeau made it 25K to go. Dave was quite surprised by the size of that raise, and took a while before releasing the hand. With blinds at 250/500/250, he thought it was too early to commit that many chips.

No hole cards were shown, and Dave was left panting. René’s photo was taken while Dave was thinking on the river, and Dave’s photo was taken seconds after the fold.

Two levels have passed, and the field is now 136-player strong, with 6 more levels of late registration ahead.

Here is an early look at the field:

After just 1 level of play, Day 1B has seen over 100 entries already. Today is shaping up to be a huge Saturday at Playground Poker Club, with 2 packed PG500 starting flights and cash games flying all the way to the tournament hall. Keep in mind that anyone wishing to enter or re-enter the Event may do so until 3h30pm, at which point registration will be closed for Day 1B.

Tonight’s last starting flight takes off at 7pm.

This afternoon’s tournament is the 2nd of 3 Live starting flights in the $250,000 guaranteed Playground 500. After the Online Day 1 plus the first Live Day 1 there are already 40 players qualified for Day 2 in the event – and today’s final two Day 1s should add considerably to that total.

There was a dusting of snow last night (well, maybe a little more than that), making today a perfect day to pass the time around the poker table. The serving staff are ready to bring you a tasty breakfast you can enjoy table side while you play your way into Day 2.

Players will begin today with 50,000 in tournament chips and play will continue through 14 30-minute levels on Day 1. Registration is available until the end of the break following level 8 – and any player eliminated early may re-enter during that time as well.

Good luck to everyone playing today!

Day 1A chip leaders Denis Cyr and Thomas Lefort