On Sunday, the World Poker Tour Jacksonville BestBet Open resumed with Day 2 action featuring the remaining 160 survivors of a 320-player field. A $1,504,000 prize pool was on the line, but only the top 36 were slated to be paid. Everyone had their eyes set on the $400,600 first-place prize, though the players didn’t reach the money because approximately 55 players remained at the end of the night.
Darren Elias entered the day as chip leader, and though he finished in second place on Day 2, it was Farid Jattin who topped the chip counts after five levels of play. Jattin built his stack through Amine Chabane, who had finished Day 1b as chip leader. It happened when Jattin made trip queens against Chabane’s 
, giving the former 400,000 and the chip lead. Chabane made his exit in Level 12.
According to the WPT Live Reporting Team, former World Series of Poker November Niners Matt Giannetti and John Racener got their stacks in the middle on a 
board with the former holding 
, which crushed the latter’s 
. The river was of no consequence, and Racener was sent packing while Giannetti chipped up to 204,000.
In another hand, Richard Grant was under the gun and opened for 4,200. The next player to act three-bet to 8,400, both Brian Hastings and Grant called, and the flop fell 
. Action checked to Hastings who promptly bet 11,500. Grant responded with a check-raise to 35,000, the other player folded, and Hastings made the call. Even before the 
was put out on the turn, Grant announced he was all in for approximately 174,000, which Hastings called.
Showdown
| Hastings |  |
| Grant |   |
It was a brutal set-over-set situation with Hastings on top. The 
river changed nothing, and Hastings was shipped the 400,000-chip pot while Grant was sent packing.
Other players who hit the rail throughout Day 2 included Keith Ferrera, Mike Sexton, Shannon Shorr, Gloria Joseph, Jeff Vertes, Ted Lawson, Jonathan Little, Joe Serock, Brandon Barnes and Tom Nguyen.
While many fell, some other notables managed to survive including Justin Zaki (45,000), James Calderaro (70,000) Andy Frankenberger (90,000), Taylor von Kriegenbergh (94,500), Allen Kessler (123,000), Matt Marafioti (163,000), Tony Dunst (169,000), Darryll Fish (183,500) and Fred Goldberg (222,500).
Here’s a look at the chip leaders after Day 2 of the WPT Jacksonville BestBet Open:
| Place | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Farid Jattin | 718,000 |
| 2 | Darren Elias | 636,000 |
| 3 | Shawn Cunix | 411,000 |
| 4 | James Dempsey | 404,500 |
| 5 | David Tuthill | 381,000 |
| 6 | Peter Campo | 341,500 |
| 7 | Will Failla | 335,000 |
| 8 | Byron Kaverman | 292,000 |
| 9 | Barry Hutter | 275,000 |
| 10 | Matt Giannetti | 274,500 |
Day 3 action will kick off on Sunday at 1400 EDT (1900 BST) and the remaining 55 players or so will break through the money bubble on their way to the final table. Stay tuned to PokerNews.com for daily updates from the World Poker Tour.
*Hands referenced from the WPT Live Updates Team.
*Photo courtesy of BJ Nemeth at WorldPokerTour.com
Get all the latest PokerNews updates on your social media outlets. Follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook today!
