The World Poker Tour Parx Open Poker Classic resumed Saturday with Day 1b of the $3,500 Main Event. After 274 players participated on Day 1a, another 226 hit the felts on Day 1b to create a field of 500 entrants. The winner of the first-ever WPT event at the Parx Casino will take home $416,127.
Many of the game’s top pros entered the inaugural event on Saturday, including Andy Frankenberger, Joseph Cheong, Jason Somerville, John Racener, Olivier Busquet, and Matt Glantz, who serves as the ambassador for the Parx Poker Room. Glantz busted on Day 1a of the event but re-entered on Day 1b and enjoyed much more success. He was among the 103 players who survived the day after bagging 140,100, well above the starting stack of 30,000.
Also competing on Saturday was recent World Poker Tour Cyprus winner Marvin Rettenmaier. The German pro was eyeing his third consecutive WPT title (he also won the $25,000 WPT Championship in May), but his chance at history fell short as he was eliminated during Level 7.
After 10 hours of play on Saturday, Henry Lu emerged as the overall leader heading into Day 2. Lu ended the day with 302,500 chips, well above Day 1a leader Cornel Cimpan’s stack of 242,800. Lu recently won his first World Series of Poker Bracelet in June, taking down a $1,500 no-limit hold’em event for more than $654,000. The 22-year-old has never cashed in a WPT event and is well on his way toward accomplishing just that.
Others building big stacks on Day 1b were Andy Philachak (267,000), Jon Turner (222,200), David Eldridge (167,200), Tony Gregg (135,100) and Bernard Lee (132,600). Turner, known as "PearlJammer" online, was the chip leader for much of Day 1b after busting early on Day 1a.
Among those who weren’t able to survive on Day 1b were the aforementioned Cheong, Racener, Somerville, and Busquet, as well as Dan Shak, Will Failla, Kathy Liebert, Dan O’Brien, Ryan D’Angelo, Scott Montgomery, Chris Bell, Matt Stout, and WPT Raw Deal host Tony Dunst.
Here’s a look at the unofficial top 10 chip counts at the end of Day 1b, according to the WPT Live Updates page:
2012 WPT Parx Open Poker Classic Day 1b Top 10 Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Henry Lu | 302,500 |
| 2 | Andy Philachak | 267,000 |
| 3 | Jon Turner | 222,200 |
| 4 | David Eldridge | 167,200 |
| 5 | Matt Glantz | 140,100 |
| 6 | Tony Gregg | 135,100 |
| 7 | Bernard Lee | 132,600 |
| 8 | Jamie Kerstetter | 126,000 |
| 9 | Scott Blackman | 116,000 |
| 10 | Brent Roberts | 104,500 |
Day 2 will commence at 1200 ET on Sunday, and the remaining 196 players will attempt to survive seven 90-minute levels and work their way toward the money bubble. Be sure to check in for the full recap of Day 2 right here at PokerNews.com.
*Hands and data courtesy of the WPT Live Reporting Blog.
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