The 70 players remaining in Day 1a have begun their final 30-minute level of the day, at which time the remaining players will count and bag up their chips, ready to come back and play on Day 2, Sunday. Of course a player who bags a short stack may try to do better in an additional Day 1 – probably not tonight (due to fatigue) but tommorrow’s Day 1c or 1d would be possible.
Last level of Day 1a
2014/05/16 4:29pm by
Some leaders…
2014/05/16 3:30pm by
There are still a couple of levels left before the end of Day 1a but a few players have built stacks that set them apart from the field. At least four players have 100K or more in chips, with several others right on their heels.
Here are the players with stacks over 100K:
- Maurice Simard
- Miguel Goncalo
- Michael Pitcher
- Said Michailidis
Update: Since gathering these counts, Said Michailidis has won a lot more chips, making him the clear chip leader at this point in the flight.
It’s not magic!
2014/05/16 3:05pm by
One of the most frequent things players comment on when describing their trip to Playground – after their bad beat stories and tourney recaps – is how clean and well-maintained everything is here.
Obviously this doesn’t happen by magic – but people would be surprised to learn of the effort that goes into keeping things ready for players to have great poker playing experiences.
Every single time a table closes, without exception, one of the first things that happens it that it gets prepped for the next time it will be used.
A little-known poker fact? In most poker rooms, the desk where floor managers work and assign players to tables is usually called the “Brush Desk”. It got this name for a very simple reason – it’s where (traditionally) they actually stored the brushes used to clean the felt.
First, all of the chairs are pulled away from the table and wiped down, and the floor under the table gets a once-over with a mop.
Next, staff brushes and refreshes the felt.
Then staff wipes and disinfects the rail.
And finally the chair bases are all cleaned with a mop.
Second break of Day 1a
2014/05/16 2:20pm by
Players have left their seats to go on their second 15-minute break of the day. While the players take their well-deserved break, tournament staff is colouring up and racing off the green T25 chips.
A few notable players
2014/05/16 1:19pm by
There are some notable players in the field considering the $150 total buy-in. In the Main Event next week we’re expecting many “name” pros, but for a side event there are quite a few players who have had significant poker achievements in the past.
- Carla Sabini – Carla plays here at Playground often, but is most well known for her amazing parlay of a 30th place finish in the EPT London Main Event into a 4th place result in the High Roller a few days later!
- Phil Plouffe – Phil is a member of the Playground Players Club and has had a lot of success both live and online, including a final table appearance at the PCA Main Event in 2011.
- Ami Alibay – Ami is an accomplished player and local nightclub owner who’s best known in the poker world for a deep run in the WSOP Main Event last summer as well as a final table at the EPT Deauville in 2012. He also bubbled the final table of a WSOP 6-Max event last summer.
- Ricky Tang – Ricky hails from Toronto and is a regular Playground visitor when big events come around. He’s had immense success here in the past as well, counting a 2nd place finish in a $1.1K event and a 3rd place finish in a $150 event (similar to this event)
In addition to these players are others like Josh Kimmel, Jennifer Brooks, Yifan Dong, Travis Robertson, Said Michailidis, Cole Skye, Jean-Guy Boyer, and Mark Fitzpatrick who can do a lot of damage.
Entering level 5
2014/05/16 12:25pm by
Players have returned from their first break of the day and with the end of the break came the end of the late registration period.
The final number of entries for Day 1a is a very healthy 237 players which gets the event off to a great start towards meeting (and likely far exceeding) the $100,000 guarantee!
Players who bust out of any starting flight may re-enter in any or all of the following flights, and any player who manages to qualify twice for Day 2 will simply forfeit her or his smaller stack and move forward with the larger one.
Event 1 Day 1a photos
2014/05/16 11:31am by
They keep on coming…
2014/05/16 11:20am by
Players have completed two-and-a-half of the 13 levels that are scheduled to be played for Day 1a and already there are 215 entries with another level and a half available for late registration.
Photos and other fun material coming soon!
Shuffle up and Deal!
2014/05/16 10:04am by
The TD has made the famous announcement – Shuffle up and Deal – and play has begun on Day 1a of Event 1! There are already 142 players at the tables with 4 full levels of late registration still to come for today’s flight, so that number is certain to go up considerably.
Ready? Ready!
2014/05/16 9:49am by
The preparation is complete! In just a few short minutes the PokerStars Canada Cup will get underway with the start of Day 1a of Event 1. The Club looks fantastic with its PokerStars livery everywhere, the Tournament Hall tables have all been re-felted, and now the players have arrived to kick off the event with a bang!
Event 1 is the traditional kick-off event for large-scale poker series’ here at Playground Poker Club – it’s a $135 + $15 No Limit Hold’em Re-entry with 4 starting flights, two today and two tomorrow (Saturday May 17th).
Good luck to all of the players in all of the events in this year’s PokerStars Canada Cup!
