Suja Juice Co-Founder Eric Ethans Bags 2015 Run It Up Reno $565 Main Event Day 1a Lead
One of the players with the most gamble during Day 1a of Jason Somerville's 2015 Run It Up Reno was Eric Ethans, and he managed to bag up the lead with a huge stack of 180,200 in chips. Ethans, who is the co-founder of Suja Juice, openly said that he would not be able to play on Sunday due to plans with his girlfriend, but he might need to change his plans after finishing the first starting flight with a massive stack.
Alongside Annie Lawless, James Brennan, and Jeff Church, Ethans founded Suja Juice, and the company has now become one of the premier organic, cold-pressured juice companies in the U.S. According to a report from the Wall Street Journal, Coca-Cola Co. acquired a minority stake in Suja earlier this year.
"Coke is paying roughly $90 million for a nearly 30% stake in San Diego-based Suja, with an option to buy all of the company after three years, according to people familiar with the matter," the report stated. "The merchant banking arm of Goldman Sachs also agreed to pay about $60 million for a 20% stake, valuing the closely held company at about $300 million."
Day 1a Top 10 Chips
| Rank | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eric Ethans | 180,200 |
| 2 | Michael Trivett | 148,500 |
| 3 | Mick Langford | 144,700 |
| 4 | James Murray | 141,400 |
| 5 | Jason Kim | 135,200 |
| 6 | Marty Gorenc | 132,500 |
| 7 | Stephen Worland | 131,600 |
| 8 | Paul van der Heu | 128,200 |
| 9 | Michael Faulkner | 126,000 |
| 10 | Darrell Steed | 116,500 |
The day started with 140 players in their seats. As the time passed, that number only increased, with 239 entries eventually tallying up. At the end, 103 players managed to survive the day, including numerous Run It Up warriors, Barstool Nate (99,000), and both Survivor players that entered, Rob "Boston Rob" Mariano (65,900) and Tyson Apostol (40,300).
Mixed-game specialist Michael Trivett bagged up the second biggest stack with 148,500, while the lone Dutchman in the field, Paul van der Heu, also had a great day, bagging up 128,200. Veteran pro Dan O'Brien also had a good showing on Day 1a, as he finished on 104,100, but the same couldn't be said for Danielle "dmoongirl" Andersen. She got knocked out twice, the second of which was by the eventual chip leader, Ethans.
William Recker has managed to keep his quest for a fifth straight cash at Run It Up Reno alive, as he bagged up 54,300 in chips. It's not a lot, but it's a profitable stack on the day and Recker has proven throughout the series that he has what it takes to go deep. Recker made two final tables earlier this week and followed that up with two more cashes, going four-for-four altogether.
Day 1b will kick off Saturday at 8:30 a.m. with a turbo version of the Main Event. That's not a typo �� Day 1b kicks off bright and early at 8:30 a.m. local time. The turbo starting flight will have the same structure, but 15-minute levels instead of 40, and all surviving players from Day 1a and Day 1b will combine at 12 p.m. to continue the quest.
As you've come to expect, you can find all Run It Up Reno updates right here on PokerNews.
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