Jesse McKenzie Sets Up the ANZPT Perth Chip Lead
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The third stop on Season 5 of the Australia New Zealand Poker Tour continued on Thursday, with Day 1b of the ANZPT Perth Main Event being the last chance for players to secure a Day 2 appearance. By the time it was all over, Jesse McKenzie had bagged up the most chips.
After an evening start on Day 1a, the second of two Day 1 flights was scheduled to begin at 12.30pm local time, but after a few technical difficulties, the start was delayed for half an hour. Eventually the cards were flying as a total of 151 players sat at the tables with the hopes of surviving and thriving.
Combined with the 67 players from Day 1a, and one no show, the total field size for the 2013 ANZPT Perth Main Event came in at 219, with the prize pool coming in at $438,000. Of that amount, $114,000 is reserved for the eventual champion. Check out the prize pool and payout page for a full rundown of the cash situation.
With such a large field on Day 1b, there was no surprise to see dozens of the most well-known players from around the local poker scene. Some of the notable players who tried their hand at becoming the next ANZPT Perth champion, but fell short throughout Day 1b include Ashley Warner, Paul Hockin, Didier Guerin, Anthony Aston and Raj Ramakrishnan.
While the above players may have hit the rail, many managed to survive and thrive. Included in the "thrive" category were the likes of Tam Truong (119,150), Brad Douglas (91,500), Tristan Bain (72,750), Melanie Weisner (69,700) and James Broom (50,350).
One player who did better than all others on Day 1b was Jesse McKenzie. A huge later half of the night saw McKenzie hit two sets to send two players home and see his stack rise to the astronomical height of 162,825 in chips. That amount will see McKenzie Begin Day 2 as the chip leader by a huge margin.
In the end it was 70 players who survived Day 1b and they will join the 38 survivors from Day 1a at the felt on Day 2. Be sure to check back soon for the full end-of-day 1b chip count list, but until then, goodnight from Crown Perth in Western Australia! Be sure to join us for more action from 12.30pm tomorrow.