Shawn McCrory

Play has just entered level 11 on Day 1B. The gulf between the big and small stacks is wider than ever, and only 39 players remain in contention.

In an unusual turn of events, a series of table breaks has brought together the three biggest stacks in the field in neighbouring seats on the same table. Led by David Bonneau, followed by Van nghiem Nguy and Roberto Parent, each of these players has a stack of more than double the current chip average.

Although there are some other big stacks throughout the field, this table has, by far, the most chips in play. For the shorter stacks at the table, this lineup could either present an opportunity or an obstacle to collecting more chips, depending on their perspective. But one thing is clear, being so far ahead of the blinds is a good feeling at any stage of a tournament, one that these players are currently enjoying in spades.

The late registration and re-entry period has ended on Day 1B, however, a few more players managed to make their way in to the field before the buzzer sounded to bring the number of entries up to 76 for this flight. With 3.8 million in chips in play, there will likely be some big stacks moving on to Day 2.

As the players returned to their seats following the latest break, Roberto Parent had a healthy lead on his competitors with a stack of over 130 big blinds. But with six levels left to play today, there is still time for lots of chips to change hands.

Diana Shamshoum just made a thin call on the river in a big pot that gave the players at table 24 something to talk about.

The action was started by Pierre Olivier Guay who raised the 1.2K big blind to 2.5K from early position. This raise drew a quick call from Shamshoum, Guay’s neighbour, before the action came around to Thanh Hung Pham in the small blind.  Pham put in a raise to 5.5K, which forced Guay to make a reluctant fold, however, Shamshoum made the call and the two players watched the flop hit the felt. Pham made a small c-bet of 5K, which Shamshoum quickly called. The turn brought the , and both players checked. The river was the , and Pham led out with a bet of 18K. The big bet gave Shamshoum something to think about, as that amount represented a large portion of her remaining stack. She eventually made the call, and Pham sheepishly tabled his for a pair of fives. Shamshoum rolled over and took down the big pot with her brave call (and ace kicker!).

Driven by fourteen re-entries, the field on Day 1B continues to grow. This flight has reached 73 entries, enough to surpass Day 1A, and there is still an hour left in the late registration and re-entry period, time for plenty more (re-)entries to join the crowd.

For anyone who won’t be able to make it to Playground within the next hour, there are plenty of options on tap for tonight. The third of four starting flights in the Playground 500, Day 1C, kicks off at 7pm and promises to be the biggest flight yet. Shortly after, Event #3, the $150 + $20 + $50 PLO Bounty Re-entry, will get rolling at 8pm and offers a great format for fans of four-card poker. At the same time, 8pm, there will be a $80 + $10 MILLIONS Main Event Satellite Turbo Re-entry – STEP 1 beginning, and this satellite guarantees at least 10 STEP 2 seats so there will be a number of players advancing on their journey to the premier event of the year, the MILLIONS North America.

This Power Weekend has a little something for everyone; this is one you don’t want to miss!

Day 1B of the Playground 500 has just reached the 60 entry mark, enough to put more than 3 million in chips in play. Most players who made early exits from this flight opted to re-enter, with five re-entries so far, 53 players remain in contention.

Here’s an updated look at the field:

The players have just returned from their first break of the day. There are still 51 players in contention out of 55 entries, including two re-entries.

In general, the players approached the first four levels cautiously, as the big pots were the result of big hands colliding and not players getting out of line. But there is still plenty of time for that to change. As the gap widens between the rich and poor in the field and the timer winds down on the re-entry period, expect the action to take on different character altogether.

Here are the current chip leaders: