Published first of PokerNews.Com
The 2013 World Poker Tour bestbet Open resumed Saturday with Day 1b from Jacksonville, Florida. After 146 players put up the $3,500 buy-in on Day 1a, another 205 participated on Day 1b, creating a total prize pool of $1,123,204. The eventual winner on Tuesday will take home the top prize of $321,521, which includes a $25,000 seat to the WPT Championship at Bellagio next month.
The leader at the end of Day 1b was Chad Deberry, a local player from Jacksonville. Deberry bagged 209,400 in chips at the end of play and will enter Day 2 third overall in chips, trailing Day 1a leaders Raj Vohra (224,800) and Talesh Patel (213,200). Among the notables joining Deberry near the top of the Day 1b leaderboard were Michael Linster, Brian Hawkins, Bolivar Palacios, Ebony Kenney, Chris Klodnicki and Anthony Spinella.
Day 1b Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chad Deberry | 209,400 |
| 2 | Aaron Lucas Sr | 170,700 |
| 3 | Michael Linster | 158,500 |
| 4 | Brian Hawkins | 149,000 |
| 5 | Bolivar Palacios | 148,900 |
| 6 | Ebony Kenney | 146,700 |
| 7 | Chris Klodnicki | 138,700 |
| 8 | Anthony Spinella | 137,700 |
| 9 | Joey Couden | 133,800 |
| 10 | Farid Jattin | 133,200 |
Former WPT Ones To Watch member Ebony Kenney went on a huge rush toward the end of the day to land among the leaders. Sitting on just 30,000 in Level 7, she doubled up and then scored two eliminations to increase her stack to around 160,000 before the day came to a close.
In her last big win of the night, Kenney and an opponent saw a flop of 
. According to the WPT Live Updates team, each put 6,025 into the pot on the flop, and Kenney fired 10,100 when the 
hit the turn. Her opponent called, leaving just 4,000 behind, and the river was the 
. After her opponent checked, Kenney put him all, and he called. Kenney tabled 
for a pair of queens, and she had the other player’s 
trumped to send him to the rail.
It took Chris Klodkicki three bullets ($10,500) to finally get something going in Jacksonville, but he’ll take one of the bigger stacks into Day 2 on Sunday. In his biggest pot of the day, Klodnicki and another player got into a preflop raising war before seeing a flop of 
. Both players checked, and upon seeing the 
hit the turn, Klodnicki fired 23,000 into a pot of 35,000. His opponent moved all in and Klodicki called with 
for a set of tens, leaving the other player’s 
drawing dead. The 
fell on the river, and Klodnicki doubled to around 165,000.
After eight levels on Day 1b, 90 players advanced to Day 2 where they will join the 44 survivors from Day 1a. Among the top pros returning on Sunday will be Matt Waxman (114,300), Shannon Shorr (109,000), John Dolan (68,900), Justin Zaki (63,000), Harrison Gimbel (60,600), and Will Failla (48,800),
Several notables busted on Saturday, including Jason Mercier, Darryll Fish, Andy Frankenberger, Carter Phillips, David Baker, Marsha Wolak, Roland Israelashvili, Kurt Jewell, Andy Hwang, and defending champion Shawn Cunix.
The action will resume at 12 p.m. ET on Sunday. Stay tuned to PokerNews as we bring you daily recaps at the conclusion of each day in Jacksonville.
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