The buzzer has sounded to signal the start of Day 1D of the $250 Frenzy. The early turnout bodes well for this flight, with 56 players registered when the first hand was dealt, making for over 1,000,000 chips in play.
Late registration is open until 9:15pm, leaving you lots of time to make it to Playground to join the Frenzy!
The $250 Frenzy is in full swing as play has just finished for Day 1C and the players are arriving for Day 1D. This flight will be the fourth of six for the $250 Frenzy, and we expect this evening’s crowd to surpass the afternoon turnout of 138.
This event is on pace for a prize pool overlay, offering great added value for everyone in the field. For anyone who is still considering playing the Frenzy, there’s still plenty of time to make it down to Playground, with late registration open until 9:15pm.
As the last couple hands of Day 1C are getting played, Tony To managed to double his stack just in time to bag a good amount.
Vi Thanh Tony To: 
Martin Nguyen: 
Board: 
Martin Nguyen, who not long ago was looking at a healthy Day 2 qualification, is now crippled. Tony To shoots up to almost 200K.
A full list of Day 2 qualifiers will be published shortly, available in the Results section under Combined Day 1 Results.
Here are some last level big stack shots:
Shailesh Patel raised to 4,200 from an early position. His bet was called once before sending Jérémy Bertrand to the tank. He stayed there long enough for someone to call time on him. Midway through the hourglass, he decided to go all-in for about 60K, a slightly under average stack.
When the action came back undisturbed to Patel, he casually threw a chip in. They went heads-up to a very uneven showdown:
Shailesh Patel: 
Jérémy Bertrand: 
Board: 
With this pot, Patel’s stack grew over 200K, joining Matthew Durand in the big boy section.
Matthew Durand has been in the game for many years. We missed his ascent to the top of the leaderboard, but heard the echoes of a surreal pot, too big for this blind level. We can expect Durand to be very active with this new army, and to have no pity for his opponents.
Here is our actual top ten, with 3 levels to play before qualification:
| First Name | Last Name | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|
| Matthew | Durand | 212,700 |
| Adam | Hamaoui | 141,100 |
| Michel | Leblond | 130,100 |
| Pascal | Grégoire | 126,600 |
| Sébastien | Dion | 122,700 |
| Shailesh | Patel | 121,800 |
| Vi Thanh | Tony To | 102,000 |
| Aaron | Roy Parsons | 99,000 |
| Tam | Ho | 98,600 |
| Martin | Nguyen | 95,400 |
If you’ve been on the fence about playing in The $250 Frenzy, you should add this to your calculations – it’s starting to look like there’s a decent chance of an overlay in the event!
Through the first half of the starting flights, there have been 351 entries, and even when considering that the Friday flights are not as busy that the Saturday/Sunday flights, that number is below the mark needed to have confidence about surpassing the guarantee.
In any case there’s no reason NOT to make your way out to Playground Poker Club tonight! The weather is mild, the roads are clear, and we have all of the food and beverages on hand to make for a great night! And who doesn’t enjoy a table side massage therapy session?
Action in Day 1D gets going at 7:00pm tonight!
