After 14 levels in Event #5 Closer $300 + $30 NL Hold’em tournament, the players are bagging chips for Day 2. This is the first of 4 Day 1s and unlimited re-entries were permitted until the beginning of level 9. Due to the huge turnout for the Main Event Day 1A, which was running simultaneously with the Closer Day 1A, the field was limited to 240 players plus 60 alternates.

In the end 214 entries were logged for this flight, including 47 re-entries. Of all those entries, only 35 players were able to hold on to their chips long enough to bag them for Day 2.

With more than a little help from the huge pot, won with pocket aces a few minutes earlier, Gary Farrell bags the most chips of the day: 470,000. Rejean Bourgogne is the closest behind Gary with 355,500. The two players are the only ones to have bagged more than 200,000 chips. The complete list of players and chip counts will be made available shortly.

Players will return on Day 2 which is scheduled for Monday, September 3rd at 12:00PM.

There are three more Day 1s for a chance to get in on the action:
Day 1B: Saturday September 1st at 6:00PM
Day 1C: Sunday September 2nd at 12:00PM
Day 1D: Sunday September 2nd at 6:00PM

Here are a few more photos of the players in the last minutes of level 14. Players were happy to smile for the camera, and everyone seemed to be having a good time.

We came up on a hand just a few minutes before the end of Day 1A in the Tournament Tent.

This game-changing hand was between three players on table 77: Gary Farrell, Rene Morin and Joao Fernandes. By the time we got to the table all hands were out:

Gary Farrell:

Rene Morin:

Joao Fernandes:

The board:

This hand spelled the end for Fernandes and Morin just a few minutes from bagging their chips. So Gary Farrell ships home the pot with pocket aces. It took Gary quite some time to pick up all the chips, but in the end it seemed like a 400,000+ stack in front of him.

We’ll see how much he bags at the end of the level.

Things are quieting down as the players bag their chips and exit the Tournament Tent.

The 43 players remaining in the Closer tournament have taken a short break between levels 12 and 13. This will be their last break.

Rejean Bourgogne is the chip leader with 252,600 chips. Players have until the end of level 14 before they can bag their chips for Day 2.

Things are running smoothly in the Closer Day 1A. The boards are showing 214 entries (including 47 re-entries) and 83 players remaining.

Here are a few pictures of the players taken in level 9.

We are halfway through level 5 here in the Tournament Tent for the $300 + $30 Closer. So far we have 180 entries, including 24 re-entries, for Day 1A. This is Event #5 of the 2018 WSOP-C Playground series. As announced earlier, this Day 1 will be limited to 240 players plus 60 alternates. This adjustment was made due to the large turnout in the Main Event Day 1D, that started at noon.

This is the first of the 4 Day 1s and unlimited re-entries are permitted until the beginning of level 9 on each Day 1.
Play will continue for 14 30-minute levels, at which time the remaining players will bag up their chips to return to play on Day 2. Day 2 is on Monday, September 3rd at 12:00PM, and this tournament has a $300,000 guaranteed prize pool.

We currently have 134 players still in and the entries are still coming through the door. A very quick round of the tables allowed us to spot some of the bigger stacks. Timothy Deering seems to be doing very well and his chips seem to hover around the 100,000 mark. We also noticed Joseph Desveaux and Andre Noce, their stacks seem to have more or less 85,000 chips. We will have a leader board up when the break comes around 10:00pm.

While the Main Event Day 1D continues to draw more and more entries, there’s another important tournament in the 2018 WSOP-C Playground starting now: the Closer! It’s a $300 + $30 NL Hold’em tournament with 4 Day 1s and unlimited re-entries permitted until the beginning of level 9 on each Day 1. Each Day 1 will play through 14 30-minute levels, at which time the remaining players will bag up their chips to return to play on Day 2.

Due to the huge turnout for the Main Event, Day 1A in the Closer will be limited to 240 players plus 60 alternates. So far there are 88 entries part-way through level 2 and no re-entries yet.

Good luck to everyone playing the Closer!