Here are some photos of the action taking place during level 8. We have a huge number of entries today. Currently there are 523 entries, and there is still 1 hour and 30 minutes before the end of late registration.
Aaron Motoyama raised 1,000 preflop from late position and Richard Drolet and Antony Pelletier both called. After the flop revealed 
, Richard raised 1,500, Antony folded, and Aaron called. After the turn 
both players checked. But on the river, when the 
was flipped Aaron immediately raised 5,500. After Richard peeked at his cards, he called.
When Aaron turned over his pair of queens revealing a straight, Richard shook his head and returned his cards to the dealer.
Edward Arnold bet 800 after the hole cards were dealt. Linda Huard, sitting to Edward’s left, called. Francis Milard was next to act and raised to 2,200. Both Linda and Edward called.
The flop revealed 
. Francis didn’t hesitate, wagering 2,600 chips. Linda called and Edward folded. When the was dealt Francis wagered 5,000 and once again Linda called. On the river the dealer turned a 
. Edward pushed another 5,000 into the pot. Linda, once again, called.
But when Francis turned a 
, Linda shook her head, pushing her cards back to the dealer, face down.
Bruno Fortin raised 700 preflop late during level 2. Seven of the remaining 8 players at the table folded except for Mark Alonzi. After Mark called, the dealer turned over the flop: 
. Both players checked. The turn revealed a 
. Mark pushed 2,200 chips into the pot and Bruno called. On the river, after the dealer flipped a 
, Mark wagered 3,000, and Bruno pondered for a moment before he called. When Mark turned over his 
, revealing his set of 7s, Bruno shook his head and pushed his cards, face down, back to the dealer.
After 16 levels of play lasting 8 hours, this evening’s flight has officially come to a close. 253 entries (including 46 total re-entries) started the flight at 6pm, and now only 50 remain.
These 50 players all have the opportunity to return for Day 2, coming up on Monday, October 29 at 3pm. Indeed, if they so choose, any of these players can return again tomorrow or Monday to start fresh with another Day 1 flight, possibly finishing with a larger stack to put them in a better starting position on Day 2. The three final Day 1 flights occur Sunday (at 12pm and 6pm) and Monday at 11am (which is a Turbo flight).
Today, two players (Fraddy Gonzolez and Gino Frenette) separated themselves from the rest, and currently sit atop the leaderboard with approximately 450,000 in chips. Day 1D also had another several players finish in the 250,000 chip range, putting them in solid a solid position to start Day 2.
View the full Combined Day 1 Results here.
See below for images of some of the competitors that ended the day with us here at Playground Poker Club, starting with many of the chip leaders, as well as some group shots taken in the heat of the action.
Halfway through level 14 players at table 82 saw an unusually rare hand. In it, a full house (kings full of tens) was busted by quad tens, and they were busted on the river no less. A nasty beat, to be sure. Steve Daraiche was the player on the receiving end of the bad luck, and Gino Frenette benefited from it.
Flop: 
Steve was utg, betting 12.5K. He was raised by Gino to 30K, and Steve called.
Turn: 
Steve got his money in when he wanted it, going all in. The poker gods had other ideas though. After Gino’s call, both players flipped over pocket pairs.
Gino: 
Steve: 
The situation looked dire for Gino – that is until the river was dealt! It was the only card in the deck that could help him, the fourth and final nail in the coffin for Steve: the .
The table gasped in amazement, but Steve took it like a pro as he packed up his things. He was heard saying that if faced with the same situation he would do the same thing, and all at the table agreed he had made the right play. Sometimes there is nothing you can do!
