Poker News

The World Poker Tour (WPT) Parx Open Poker Classic at the Parx Casino in Bensalem, Pennsylvania is moving right along, as after Day 2, the field has already been narrowed from 500 players down to just 47. 196 runners began Sunday’s Day 2, all at least eyeing the money, which would go to the top 54 finishers. The bubble almost didn’t burst yesterday, as it took until the final hour of play to get rid of the 55th place contestant. When the end of the day chip counts were tallied, it was Brent Roberts leading the way with 749,500 chips, followed by two others over 700,000, Shankar Pillai with 731,500 and Brock Parker with 726,500.

It is never fun to be eliminated from a tournament on the money bubble, but sometimes you just have to throw your hands up and say, “welp.” Not long after midnight, on just the second hand of bubble play, Michael Ruana had one of those moments. It was one of those times where there was just nothing he could do unless he was a live poker superuser. Well, not moving all-in for 100,000 chips with blinds and antes at 2,500/5,000/500 might have been an option, but hindsight can make anyone a genius.

Ruana held A-Q and must have felt his heart sink when he was called by both Pete Malkoun and another player, both of whom had him covered. When his opponents turned their cards over and Ruana saw he was up against A-A and K-K, he likely felt even worse.

Ruana got a little bit of a sweat when the flop came down Q-7-4, but it was just a tease. A 3 on the turn and a 5 on the river clinched the hand for Malkoun and his Aces and Michael Ruana bowed out of the tournament as the bubble boy in 55th place. Malkoun’s stack rose to 410,000; he is still in the tournament with 377,000, good for 14th place.

As for our chip leader, this will just be Brent Roberts’ second WPT cash in 20 attempts. His first (which is also his last recorded live tournament cash) came in April 2011 when he finished 21st in the Seminole Hard Rock Showdown Championship event for $31,176. He does have a World Series of Poker (WSOP) Circuit title, earned at Harrah’s Atlantic City back in 2008. For that win, Roberts took home just shy of $300,000. He has 11 other World Series of Poker (non-Circuit) cashes, though none since 2010. His best finish there occurred in 2006 when he won $151,570 for a 5th place finish in a $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em Event.

Day 3 of the WPT Parx Open Poker Classic will commence at noon ET on Monday as the remaining 47 continue to forge deeper into the payouts.

World Poker Tour Parx Open Poker Classic – End of Day 2 Chip Leaders

1.    Brent Roberts – 749,500
2.    Shankar Pillai – 731,500
3.    Brock Parker – 726,500
4.    Tony Gregg – 656,500
5.    Stephen Reynolds – 627,500
6.    Joseph Wertz – 607,500
7.    Joseph Couden – 486,500
8.    Rich Petticca – 470,000
9.    David Paredes – 440,500
10.    Allen Bari – 436,500

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