Bunch Takes Chip Lead Into Final Day of WinStar River Main Event

Name Surname
Live Reporter
2 min read
Bunch Takes Chip Lead Into Final Day of WinStar River Main Event

Day 2 of the 2019 WinStar Labor Day River Poker Series $1,500 Main Event saw 151 players from the field of 1,242 return to play under one roof for the first time after three initial Day 1 flights throughout the weekend. Play began with the entire field having made it into the money, already guaranteed a first-level payout of $2,645.

The day was scheduled to play to whichever came first between the conclusion of ten one-hour levels or the field reaching the official final table of nine players. It appeared as if the ten full hours would be a lock, though a slightly-shortened end did become a possibility as just ten players were still standing when the day came to an end.

When play finished, Eric Bunch (lead photo) found himself atop the chip counts after ending the day with 7.865 million in chips. A few of the other nine players looking up at him are Spencer Champlin (6.75 million), Eluterio Rodriguez (1.77 million), and Viet Vo (620,000).

2019 WinStar Labor Day River Poker Series Day 3 Seating Assignments

TableSeatPlayerChip CountBig Blinds
411Eric Bunch7,865,00098
414Chuck Barker125,0002
415Katherine Offutt2,460,00031
417Jeremy Liu3,075,00038
418Kris Burchfield3,040,00038
     
421Eluterio Rodriguez1,770,00022
422James Jewell4,300,00054
424Jim Harris850,00011
425Viet Vo620,0008
427Spencer Champlin6,750,00084

2019 WinStar Labor Day River Poker Series Day 2 Action

There was no bubble in play when the day began, and it didn��t take long for the rungs on the payout ladder to be climbed. Players such as Shawn Rice (138th, $2,645), Ray Henson (129th, $2,822), WinStar Ambassador Maria Ho (127th, $2,822) were all eliminated before the first break of the day, with plenty more joining them along the way.

Maria Ho
WinStar Ambassador Maria Ho finished 127th for $2,822

Will Berry (52nd, $5,644), defending champion Will Pengelly (40th, $6,525), and Kelly Minkin (31st, $8,465) were a few other well-known players to find themselves with no chips to play as the day progressed.

Family affairs were another theme on Day 2, with brothers Tim- (58th, $5,115) and Brandon Gilliam (37th, $6,525) both making it through several payout levels through the day. They were not the only pair of related genes in the field, as they were both outdone by the father and son duo of Keith Copp (21st, $13,580) and Kramer Copp (15th, $19,929).

Copp's elimination came during the final level of the night, shortly after Don Goodman was eliminated in 16th place, which also came in the last level. It set off a slew of bust-outs, with Copp, Joe Cho (14th, $19,929), Caibin Ai (13th, $19,929), James Mordue (12th, $24,338), and Craig Kinney (11th, $24,338) all seeing their visions of advancing to Day 3 crushed within the final hour of play on Day 2.

2019 WinStar Labor Day River Poker Series Remaining Payouts

PositionPrize
1$300,005
2$194,882
3$119,046
4$97,000
5$74,955
6$57,318
7$44,091
8$35,273
9$29,982
10$24,338

The final ten players will return on Tuesday to play down to a winner. Play will resume at noon local time, beginning with a full hour on the clock for the beginning of Level 26 (40,000/80,000/80,000). Come back to PokerNews to see who reigns supreme en route to a $300,005 first-place prize on the final day of the WinStar River Main Event.

Share this article
author
Live Reporter

More Stories

Other Stories