The players in Event #1 are now in the money as the bubble burst just seconds ago on table 58. This leaves 11 players at the tables, each of whom will earn at least $240 today – and possibly much more!

The fateful hand began with a raise to 20,000 from Brent McCue in early position, which was followed up by Justin Colicchio’s all-in for less than that from the dealer button. Raphael Tran Dinh called from the bb and they were three way to the flop with about 55K in the main pot and a small side pot – but a side pot that could grow.

The flop was and Raphael started with a check to the raiser – who chose to add 20K to the side pot. It’s not clear if it was fortunate or unfortunate for Brent, but with the action back to Raphael he shoved all-in, sending Brent into the tank with a decision to make. It wasn’t long, though, before he made the fold and Raphael exposed his hole cards: for flopped two pairs – well ahead of Justin’s – and the turn foreclosed on any chance that Justin could catch up.

Bubble player: Justin Colicchio

There are just 17 players remaining in the tournament – one away from the final two tables – and the action remains quick even as the bubble approaches. Here is an up-to-date listing of the top stacks.

Here are a few more photos of the players still participating in Event #1 in the June Power Weekend.

The players in Event #1 are on break following 8 levels of play so far, and with half of the starting field eliminated, there are a few players starting to build up “interesting” stacks – stacks that can potentially launch these players for a very deep run.

The chip leader – though only by about 2,000 chips – is Jahkeem Polydore, aka “Jack Rose”, who is playing a stack of well over double the chip average – with Mina Tawadros right behind. They are the only two players with over 100K in chips at the moment, though there are two more players who have surpassed the 90K mark.

There’s still a long way to go today and nothing has yet been decided!

Today’s Event #1 in the June Playground Power Weekend attracted a total of 88 entries, contributing to a prize pool of $8,536, clearly surpassing the $5,000 guarantee that had been set for the tournament. Playground tournaments pay out 1 out of every 8 players, meaning that 11 players will be in the money in this event, staring at $240 for a min-cash, and all the way up to $2,756 for the eventual winner!

Here’s the full payout table:

The Tournament Hall is busy with players looking to make a splash in the June Power Weekend – at least it’s busy by “beautiful Wednesday afternoon” standards. With the end of late registration just about 10 minutes away, there are 857 players seated around the 8-Max tables. The prize pool has not been finalized yet, but it looks like first place will be over $2,500!

Here are a few photos of the early going today.