World Series of Poker (WSOP) Circuit gold ring winner Jordan “iMsoLucky0” Morgan owns the top stack in the PokerStars North American Poker Tour (NAPT) Mohegan Sun Main Event entering Day 3 on Friday.
Morgan leads the way by a wide margin, as his mountain of 705,100 chips is nearly 150,000 more than his next closest competitor, Firas Massouh. Besides Morgan, other players making waves on Thursday in the NAPT Mohegan Sun Main Event included Full Tilt Poker front man Phil Ivey. On a flop of 9-6-6, Ivey check-called a bet of 6,500 from Victory Poker pro Paul Wasicka and the turn was a jack. The action went check-check to a three on the river. Ivey bet 15,000 and Wasicka called. Ivey flipped up Q-9 for two pair and Wasicka mucked, pushing Ivey to over 350,000 in chips. He ended the day at 356,600, good for the 13th largest tally.
Vanessa Rousso doubled up several times down the stretch to stay in the hunt for the $750,000 top prize. First, the GoDaddy Girl was all-in pre-flop with A-7 of clubs against K-10. Rousso flopped a seven to stay out in front and never looked back, doubling to 75,000. Then, she was on the brink of elimination after committing her chips with Q-10 on a board of A-Q-7-J. Her opponent held A-9 for top pair, but a king on the river saved the day and Rousso doubled to 120,000. She owns the 56th largest stack out of the 125 remaining players at 145,300.
Among those hitting the rails on Thursday was Team PokerStars Pro member Jason Mercier. The WSOP bracelet winner was all-in before the flop with K-Q against the A-9 of clubs of Stephen Reynolds. The flop of A-10-4 gave Reynolds top pair and a running 8-10 served as the proverbial nail in the coffin for Mercier. Reynolds moved to 350,000 chips as a result, but failed to survive Day 2. Also getting his chips in behind was Bill Chen, whose K-J could not catch up to Betfair pro Sorel “Imper1um” Mizzi’s A-10. Mizzi made two pair by the river and sits with the ninth largest stack entering Friday’s play.
Daniel Negreanu was all-in pre-flop with pocket jacks and in prime position to double up against Aaron Lerner’s wired pair of sevens. However, Lerner spiked a seven on the river to bust Negreanu from the PokerStars-sponsored event. Lerner owns the 43rd largest stack in the room after Day 2 as a result at 179,900. Also hitting the exit yesterday was Kathy Liebert, whose A-Q could not draw out on an opponent’s wired pair of fives.
Who’s left in the NAPT Mohegan Sun Main Event, you ask? Here’s how the top 10 in the leaderboard look after two days of play:
1. Jordan “iMsoLucky0” Morgan – 705,100
2. Firas Massouh – 571,000
3. Vanessa Selbst – 542,600
4. Alistar Melville – 513,000
5. Brandon “AreTheseUtz” Hall – 491,500
6. James Akenhead – 463,700
7. Ryan “g0lfa” D’Angelo – 450,800
8. Lars Bonding – 443,100
9. Sorel “Imper1um” Mizzi – 442,500
10. Travis Klein – 417,400
The frontrunners represent a talented crop of players. Selbst won a $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha event for her first WSOP bracelet in 2008. Hall is the reigning champion of the UB.com Aruba Poker Classic, although the event will not run in 2010. Akenhead made the final table of the 2009 WSOP Main Event in Las Vegas, while D’Angelo finished fifth in the 2010 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event for $700,000. Mizzi is fresh off a third place showing in the Aussie Millions Main Event.
Other notable names remaining include:
13. Phil Ivey – 356,600
16. Cliff “JohnnyBax” Josephy – 337,200
17. Todd Terry – 316,300
25. Eric “EFro” Froehlich – 232,700
36. David Williams – 213,000
56. Vanessa Rousso – 145,300
69. Dennis Phillips – 114,500
71. McLean Karr – 112,000
80. Justin “looshle” Pechie – 100,300
81. Thomas “kingofcards” Marchese – 100,100
86. Jonathan “FatalError” Aguiar – 96,300
87. Darren Elias – 95,900
88. Paul Wasicka – 95,200
94. Jeff Madsen – 89,800
110. Brian “SNo0oWMAN” Hawkins – 60,700
114. Maria Ho – 51,500
117. Quinn Do – 48,000
121. Scott Seiver – 40,400
When play wrapped up on Thursday, the blinds were 1,500-3,000 with an ante of 300. Today’s action will see the money bubble burst, as the top 104 players will walk away with a minimum payout of $7,500 from the $5,000 buy-in tournament.
