WPT Parx Open Poker Classic, Day 1B Recap

By BJ Nemeth

Here’s a look back at some of the highlights from Day 1B:

WPT Champions Club member Will Failla, who made a strong run at WPT Player of the Year last season, sits down for an interview with WPT reporter Diana Cox during a break in the action on Day 1B. Unfortunately for Failla, he busted during the final level of the night.

WPT Commentator Mike Sexton welcomes the players to Day 1B, along with (from left to right) Royal Flush Girls Tugba Ercan, Brittany Bell, Ivy Teves, and Danielle Ruiz.

There were 231 players in the Day 1A field, and the big question was whether or not the total field size would reach 500 players. Day 1B would need to attract 269 players to reach that mark.

When registration closed, there were exactly 269 players on Day 1B.

The 500-player field created a prizepool worth $1,600,500, and a first place prize worth $416,127. The top 54 players will finish in the money, guaranteed at least $6,402 in this $3,500 buy-in event.

WPT reporter Jeanine Deeb interviews Marvin Rettenmaier, the Season X WPT World Champion who became the first player in history to win back-to-back WPT titles. After winning the final event of last season, Rettenmaier won the first WPT event of this season — WPT Merit Cyprus, which was held last week in Europe.

Unfortunately, Rettenmaier’s run at back-to-back-to-back WPT titles came to an end, as he failed to survive Day 1B.

The Royal Flush Girls went on a field trip on Day 1B, heading out to a Major League Soccer Game between the Philadelphia Union and the Real Madrid.

From left to right: Brittany Bell, Ivy Teves, Danielle Ruiz, and Tugba Ercan.

After the dinner break, Jon Turner emerged as the chipleader, and would remain near the top of the counts until the end of the day. Turner finished in third for the day with 222,200.

ClubWPT.com qualifier Freddy Peralta played in his first major tournament here at the WPT Parx Open Poker Classic, making it past the dinner break but failing to reach Day 2. Peralta admitted to having a lot of nerves, but said he had a lot of fun, learned a lot of things, and looks forward to trying to win another seat to a WPT event on ClubWPT.com.

Robert Pyne is sometimes known by another name, Santa Claus. His tournament registration slip actually listed both names, and the players at the table were calling him Santa. Pyne was also among the chipleaders in the middle of the day with nearly 200,000 in chips. But Pyne lost a big pot late in the day against Andy Philachack in a straight-over-straight situation, and finished with 121,900.

Andy Philachack went on a strong run late in the day, including a big hand against Robert Pyne (a.k.a. "Santa Claus") on a board of [Jh9s5c8s6d]. Philachack bet the river, Pyne moved all in, and Philachack quickly called.

Pyne showed 7-7 for a nine-high straight, but Philachack turned over [Qc10s] for a queen-high straight to win the pot. Philachack carried that momentum all the way to second place on the leaderboard with 267,000.

The end-of-day chipleader for Day 1B was Henry Lu, who finished with 302,500. Lu is also the overall chipleader heading into Day 2, eclipsing Day 1A chipleader Cornel Cimpan’s 242,800.

Day 1B came to an end with 103 players. Here’s a look at the top five chip counts:

1.  Henry Lu  –  302,500  (252 bb)
2.  Andy Philachack  –  267,000  (222 bb)
3.  Jon Turner  –  222,200  (185 bb)
4.  Dennis Frederick  –  172,000  (143 bb)
5.  Dave Eldridge  –  167,200  (139 bb)

Day 2 begins today at 12:00 noon ET with a combined field of 196 players. Stay tuned to WPT.com for live coverage and chip counts throughout the day.