The inaugural Card Player Poker Tour Isle Casino main event kicked off on Thursday, with 50 players putting up the $1,100 buy-in. After 13 levels of play, just 12 of those players remain, and they will return on Sunday to battle down to the final table.
Leading the field is Tom Gity, who rode a late surge in the final few levels of the evening to rise to the top of the counts. Gity made his first big move when his pocket queens took out another player with pocket nines.
Then, Gity took a huge chunk of chips from one of the more experienced players in the field in Ian O’Hara. After a series of preflop raises, Gity talked himself into going with pocket nines and found himself flipping against O’Hara’s A-K. Gity held, and he doubled through, ending the night with 223,000. O’Hara managed to hold on and bag 102,500.
Gity just narrowly edged out Rami Singh, who went from a starting stack to 219,000 in just two levels. Singh even managed to score a double knockout on one of the last hands of the night.
Rounding out the top three is Albert Destrade with 191,000, who is looking for his second CPPT final table appearance. Last May, Destrade finished fourth in the CPPT bestbet Jacksonville main event for $22,456.
The tournament resumes Friday, at 2 p.m. ET with day 1B. Players can enter and re-enter all day long, and even register before play begins on day 2, which is Sunday.
Here is a look at the complete overnight chip counts from day 1A.
Rank | Player | Chip Count |
1 | Tom Gity | 223,000 |
2 | Rami Singh | 219,000 |
3 | Albert Destrade | 191,000 |
4 | Noel Atherley | 179,500 |
5 | Paul Balzano | 117,500 |
6 | Donald Delancy | 110,000 |
7 | Ian O’Hara | 102,500 |
8 | Scott Zakheim | 102,500 |
9 | Andrew Blake | 98,000 |
10 | Steve Karp | 62,500 |
11 | Tony Utnage | 61,500 |
12 | Stephen Ibrahim | 33,500 |
On Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, the Isle Casino will host $250 buy-in main event qualifiers at 10 a.m. with additional qualifiers Thursday and Friday at 6 p.m.
Additionally, there are still two more events left on the schedule. On Saturday, Aug. 25, the Isle Casino poker room will host a $10,000 guaranteed, $150 buy-in no-limit hold’em tournament. On Sunday, Aug. 26, players can take part in a $360 buy-in no-limit hold’em tournament, with $100 bounties.
Source: www.cardplayer.com