Play has finished on Day 1B of the Playground 200. This was the second of three live starting flights, and it drew 141 players, 41 of whom re-entered, making for a total of 182 entries. The players were competing for their share of the 4,600,000 chips in play, and by the end of level 14, 43 players remained to bag chips for Sunday’s Day 2.

This tournament offers extended late registration as well as unlimited re-entries, so it came as no surprise that the action was loose and aggressive during the early levels. After the end of the late registration and re-entry period, the players tightened up and the action slowed down. But that all changed once they made it to the last level of play. There was a flurry of action, mostly “flip” situations, that led to several bustouts in level 14. By the end, Melanie Ares emerged as the chip leader with 237,500 in chips ready for Day 2.

See the combined results for all Day 1s in the event here: Playground 200 Combined Day 1 Results

Here are the chip leaders from Day 1B:

First Name	Last Name	Chip Count
Melanie	Ares	237,500
Philippe	Richard	230,000
Nicholas	Soller	225,200
Eric	Davis	220,000
Andrew	D'amato	215,500

We have just entered the final level of play on Day 1B and 50 players remain. The field was (nearly) stagnant throughout levels 12 and 13, but the floodgates have opened since then and a number of players have hit the rail in short succession.

“Flipping time” is how one player described this level; few players are interested in bagging a short stack so the chips are going in more easily than at any other point since the end of the re-entry period. Middle pair up against two broadway cards has become a common sight as the pre-flop all ins become more and more frequent.

 

Play has resumed following the final break of the evening on Day 1B. Roughly a third of the starting field remains, with 64 players still at the tables.

The field was fairly static over the course of the last two levels; with deep stacks and the end of the flight in sight, everyone is looking forward to bagging chips. Expect the trend to continue as the players grind it out until the end of level 14.

Here are the current chip leaders:

First Name	Last Name	Chip Count
Bill	Kontaratos	245,000
Philippe	Richard	204,800
Nicholas	Soller	154,900
Bruno	Blanchette	137,900
Nicolas	Miron	137,000

The action continues here in level 10 of Day 1B. The field is now down to 71 players, with two having just hit the rail in a dramatic three-way all in before the flop.

With the blinds at 500/1K, the action was opened from early position by Michael Brandon Teitelbaum to 2.5K. The action folded around to the small blind, Melanie Ares, who made it 6K to go. Her neighbour in the big blind, Carl Woodbury, clearly had a difficult decision as he considered his option for roughly a minute before making the cold call. The action then came back to Teitelbaum who quickly moved all in. Before the dealer could place the all in card, Ares and Woodbury both moved all in, and, just like that, over 60 big blinds were up for grabs. The players rose from their seats as hands were tabled.

Ares:

Woodbury:

Teitelbaum:

It turned out to be a great spot for big slick! The board, , only confirmed the pre-flop situation, and Ares started stacking chips. As the players discussed the situation in the aftermath, one player was heard saying “Wow, the best hands wins. When does that ever happen?”

The players have just returned from their second break of the evening. There are 91 players remaining in the field, out of 182 entries.

In predictable fashion, the last two levels were characterized by relatively cautious play which normally follows the end of the re-entry period. Given the huge number of chips in play – over 4,600,000 – the players left in the field have lots of big blinds to play with. Given the deep play, the field should be more stable throughout the next few levels than it was in the early going.

Here are the current chip leaders:

First Name	Last Name	Chip Count
Andrew	Forest	168,000
Nicolas	Miron	154,700
Jo-anne	Beauchesne	139,700
Bill	Kontaratos	137,400
Philippe	Richard	116,500
Bruno	Blanchette	99,400

The late registration and re-entry period has just ended on Day 1B. Tonight’s flight drew a great turnout of 182 total entries, putting over 4.6 million chips in play.

For all those who weren’t able to make it to Playground tonight or simply want the chance to run up a bigger stack for Day 2, there’s still one more starting flight for the Playground 200. It runs tomorrow at 11:00am, and judging by the first two Day 1s it should draw a huge field.

This event offers some great value; it is on pace to surpass the $100,000.00 guarantee and partypoker has sweetened the deal with a freeroll for anyone who joins the Playground 200.

Play continues in level 7 with 118 players remaining.