With the blinds at 1,000/2,000, David Bolduc Hamel opened the action to 4,600. Nicolas Pensa then moved all-in for nearly 30,000 before the action came to Ramesh Arya, in the big blind. Arya was playing the largest stack at the table and re-raised all-in to isolate. This brought the action back to Bolduc, who had a tough decision to make with nearly 60,000 in chips left behind. After some contemplation, Bolduc called off his stack, and hands were tabled.

Bolduc Hamel:

Pensa:

Arya:

Board:

And just like that Arya added nearly 100,000 in chips to his stack and collected two more bounties.

The huge field in the 50/50 Bounty is down by more than half of the original entries, with 80 players left in contention.

There is lots of excitement in the tournament hall, and the players have been raucous at times, as the players hunt for those $100 bounty chips with enthusiasm.

Here’s a look at tonight’s field:

As everyone expected, the action has been fast and loose throughout the early levels of the 50/50 Bounty. The bounty chips are flying, and the players are taking every opportunity to capture them; there have been 80 bust outs in the first 8 levels.

There is a widening gap between the big and short stacks; the loose action has helped some players build their stacks quickly and many in the field now have more than double the current chip average.

Here are the current chip leaders:

The late registration period has just closed on Event #9, the $100 + $20 + $100 NL Hold’em 6-Max Bounty, but there was enough time for 171 entries to get in on the action, and 145 players remain in contention.

The bounty chips have been put to use early and often so far this evening, a trend that should continue until the very late stages of the tournament.

At this point in level 5, Hadi Ghattas is the overwhelming chip leader with a stack of more than triple the current chip average.

Tonight is Event #9 in the May Power Weekend here at Playground Poker Club, and it should be a great one! The tournament is a $100 + $20 + $100 NL Hold’em 6-Max 50/50 Bounty. That means – in order – that it’s a No Limit Hold’em tournament and a maximum of 6 players per table, and that 50% of each player’s buy-in is represented by a bounty chip worth $100, and the other 50% is added to the “traditional” prize pool. Both 6-Max and Bounty tournaments are very popular at the Club, so this mix of the two formats should be an out-of-the-park home run!

There’s a $15,000 guarantee on the prize pool (the guarantee includes both the traditional prizes and the bounties), and players start with 25,000 in tournament chips. Blinds will be 20 minutes long the entire way, and players have until the beginning of level 5 to join in the fun.

Good luck to everyone tonight! Play is just now underway with 75 players already at the tables.

Event #9: $100 + $20 + $100 NL Hold’em 6-Max 50/50 Bounty

Monday May 21st at 7:00pm

$15,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool