Wednesday, March 20, 2019

Brian Altman Leads 27 Day 2 Survivors with 1,420,000



Day 2 at the Bay 101 Shooting Star $5,200 no-limit hold'em Main Event has come to a close with 27 players advancing to Day 3 on Thursday from 186 players that returned at the start of play. There are five Shooting Star bounties among the group of survivors.

The chip leader at the end of play is Brian Altman with 1,420,000. Other top stacks were bagged up by Loni Harwood (1,191,000), John Andress (1,152,000), Michael Dyer (1,111,000), and David Stewart (1,014,000). Altman and Dyer were the first two players to become millionaires in the chip standings earlier today, and they both finished the evening strong.

The money bubble burst today without the need for hand-for-hand play when Taek Kim hit the rail as the bubble boy before the final break of the day. The field then charged all the way down to redraw at the final six, six-handed tables when 36 remained before a few more players were lost before the end of play. Here are the remaining payouts:

1st Place: $408,000
2nd Place: $282,900
3rd Place: $200,055
4th Place: $142,440
5th Place: $103,710
6th Place: $76,850
7th-8th Place: $57,980
9th-10th Place: $44,555
11th-12th Place: $34,875
13th-14th Place: $27,825
15th-16th Place: $22,635
17th-18th Place: $18,775
19th-24th Place: $15,895
25th-27th Place: $13,865

Here is a look at chip counts and seating assignments for Day 3, as well as players that cashed today:



Day 3 will resume at 11:00 am on Thursday, and that is when the field will return to continue their march down to the final table. Tune back in tomorrow for live updates, chip counts, and photos from the Bay 101 Casino in San Jose, California.

YouTube Video: Brian Altman chip leader interview

Darren Rabinowitz doubles up


Level 19
Blinds: 5,000-10,000 with a 10,000 bb ante
Remaining: 32/440


Sitting on around 10 big blinds, Darren Rabinowitz moves all in and is called by the big blind. Darren's [Jd][Tc] will need to improve against his opponent's [Kc][Qh]. The [3s][Qc][8c] flop gives Darren a gutshot, and the [7s] turn changes nothing. But the [9c] river is the card Darren needs, and he survives on the last level of the night.

Roungeris the Masked Bounty Hunter


Level 19
Blinds: 5000-10000 with a 10000 bb ante
Remaining: 33/440

Twice today, Antonio Roungeris has sent a Shooting Star to the rail, collecting bounty medals, t-shirts and $4,000 cash.

Roungeris eliminated Dylan Wilkerson J-T > A-9 about three hours ago, then knocked out Joe Stapleton in 38th place, 9-7 > 9-8, just before the redraw to 6-max tables.

I don't know of anyone else in the field who collected two Shooting Star bounties.

I also don't know if Roungeris is trying to hide his new Bounty Hunter status.

Redraw for the Final Six Tables

Level 19
Blinds: 5000-10000 with a 10000 bb ante
Remaining: 36/440

There are now 36 players remaining on Day 2 and the clock has been paused with 34:55 remaining in Level 19. The players are drawing for new seats at the final six, six-handed tables. Here are the recent eliminations:

37th Place: Steve Dempsey ($10,555)
38th Place: Joe Stapleton ($10,555)
39th Place: Konstantin Beylin ($10,555)
40th Place: Ajay Gnanasambanthan ($10,555)
41st Place: Andrew Moreno ($10,555)
42nd Place: Toko Luu ($10,555)
43rd Place: KK ($10,555)
44th Place: Lee Pham ($10,555)
45th Place: Yue Du ($10,555)

Shooting Star Dan Shak Doubles Up


Level 19
Blinds: 5000-10000 with a 10000 bb ante
Remaining: 38/440

The board reads [9c][4d][3c][9s][8c] when Shooting Star Dan Shak (pictured) moves all in from the small blind. The big blind calls to cover him so they flip over their cards. The big blind holds [9h][6h], but Shak has [8s][8d] for a full house.

Dan Shak - 720,000 (72 bb)

Shooting Star Joe Stapleton has been eliminated


On a [Jx][Tx][8x] flop, Joe Stapleton is all in holding [9x][8x] for a pair and an open ended straight draw. Unfortunately for him, his opponent holds [9x][7x] for a flopped straight. Joe can only chop the pot, but the [4x] turn and [9x] river fail to bring the card he needs. Joe will exit this tournament in 38th place, good for $10,555.

Shooting Star Moshin Charania Triples Up


Level 19
Blinds: 5000-10000 with a 10000 bb ante
Remaining: 38/440

There's an open to 25,000, an all-in from Steve 'Chainsaw' Dempsey for 268,000, then an undershove from Shooting Star Moshin Charania for 163,000. Action folds back around to the original raiser who finds a call to put both players at risk.

Charania - [Jd][Js]
Chainsaw - [As][Kh]
Challenger - [Ah][Qh]

The board runs out [2d][7d][5h][4s][Tc], Charania tripling up to 499,000, Chainsaw takes the sidepot, sliding back to 210,000 and the challenger drops to 385,000.

Nelson Resendiz Doubles Thru Darren Rabinowitz

Level 19
Blinds: 5000-10000 with a 10000 bb ante
Remaining: 38/440

Nelson Resendiz is all in preflop for about 100,000 from the big blind, and Darren Rabinowitz has him covered on the cutoff. Here is a look at their cards.

Resendiz: [Jd][Jh]
Rabinowitz: [As][8c]

Board: [Qs][5d][3d][2h][3s]

Resendiz doubles up to survive with 205,000, and Rabinowitz is down to 135,000 after the hand.

Nelson Resendiz - 205,000 (20 bb)
Darren Rabinowitz - 135,000 (13 bb)

Level 19 Begins (38 Players Remain)

The blinds increase to 5,000-10,000 with a 10,000 big blind ante for the start of Level 19 on Day 2 at the Bay 101 Shooting Star Main Event. There are currently 38 players remaining in the hunt to advance to Day 3 on Thursday.

Six Shooting Stars Remain


Level 19
Blinds: 5000-10000 with a 10000 bb ante
Remaining: 38/440

Six Shooting Stars remain as today's final hour-long level of play begins.

  • Loni Harwood - 720,000
  • Dan Shak - 340,000
  • Joe Stapleton - 225,000
  • Moshin Charania - 200,000
  • Joe Nguyen - 195,000
  • Eddy Sabat - 190,000

Recent eliminations: 46th-55th Place

46th Place: Omri Shaked ($9,600)
The following players have been recently eliminated, all earning a mincash of $9,600:

46th Place: Omri Shaked
47th Place: Steven Mourmann
48th Place: Alex Greenblatt
49th Place: Ari Engel
50th Place: Jeremy Brown
51th Place: Ari Shin
52th Place: George Wolff
53th Place: Anthony Wise
54th Place: David Elisofon
55th Place: John Golzales

Amir Turkzadeh Doubles Thru Shooting Star Joe Stapleton



Level 18
Blinds: 4000-8000 with an 8000 bb ante
Remaining: 43/440

Amir Turkzadeh moves all in preflop for 110,000 from the hijack, and Shooting Star Joe Stapleton (pictured) calls to cover him on the cutoff. The two players then flip over their cards.

Turkzadeh: [Jh][Jc]
Stapleton: [As][Qd]

Board: [Jd][6h][2c][6d][10c]

Turkzadeh doubles up to survive with 240,000, and Stapleton is down to 235,000 after the hand.

Amir Turkzadeh - 240,000 (30 bb)
Joe Stapleton - 235,000 (29 bb)

Paul Nguyen Eliminates Shooting Star Alex Greenblatt


Level 18
Blinds: 4000-8000 with an 8000 bb ante
Remaining: 47/440

Paul Nguyen and Shooting Star Alex Greenblatt get all the chips in the middle on the [8s][4h][9d] flop, Greenblatt at risk.

Greenblatt - [Ad][Kh]
Nguyen (pictured) - [Qs][Qd]

[6s] on the turn has Nguyen asking the dealer to pair the board. he gets one better with the [Qc] river for a set, locking up the $2,000 bounty.

Greenblatt finishes in 48th place a $9,600 cash.
Nguyen moves to 780,000

Anthony Wise Eliminated in 53rd Place by Shooting Star Alexander Greenblatt



Level 18
Blinds: 4000-8000 with a 8000 bb ante
Remaining: 52/440

Anthony Wise moves all in preflop for 92,000 under the gun, and Shooting Star Alex Greenblatt reraises all in over the top of him. Everyone else folds so the two remaining players reveal their cards.

Greenblatt: [Ah][Jh]
Wise: [Qd][Jc]

Board: [Kh][Js][5s][7h][10c]

Wise is eliminated in 53rd place, good for $9,600, and Greenblatt stacks up 369,000 after collecting the pot.

Anthony Wise - 369,000 (46 bb)
Alex Greenblatt - Eliminated in 53rd Place ($9,600)

Shooting Star Ari Engel has been eliminated


Ari Engel was all in holding [As][9s] against the [Ts][Td] of Casey McCarrel. The [4d][7s][Qh] brought no help for Ari, but the [Qs] on the turn gave him some hope with a flush draw. It was not to be, as the [7h] hit the river to send Ari to the rail with a mincash.

Shooting Star Doubles Up Shooting Star


Level 18

Blinds: 4000-8000 with a 8000 bb ante
Remaining: 51/440

Shooting Stars Joe Stapleton and Ari Engel are side-by-side at Table 26, locked up in a hand.

There's 46,000 in the pot preflop, Stapleton leading for 25,000 - one-half of Engels' remaining stack - on the [7h][Jh][Kh] flop. Engel puts his stack in and Stapleton calls.

Stapleton - [Ah][6s] for a flush draw
Engel - [Jd][9d] for middle pair.

The board runs out [5c][2c] and Engel doubles to 146,000, Stapleton to 360,000

Level 18 Begins (53 Players Remain)

The blinds increase to 4,000-8,000 with a 8,000 big blind ante for the start of Level 18 on Day 2 at the Bay 101 Shooting Star Main Event. There are currently 53 players remaining in the hunt to advance to Day 3 on Thursday.

Dyer, Altman Reach a Milly


Level 18
Blinds: 4000-8000 with an 8000 bb ante
Remaining: 55/440

Brian Altman (above) and Michael Dyer (below) are the two chipleaders as the Shooting Star moves in to the money. Altman and Dyer are the only two players to top 1,000,000 in chips at this stage of the tournament. 

Altman is at 1,070,000 and Dyer has the lead at 1,150,000.



Players are in the money

Taek Kim is the bubble boy
As the tables were being told to hold up for hand-for-hand play, a hand was playing on table 29. On a two spade flop, Taek Kim was all in with a flush draw vs. Jimmy Zeledon's pair. A spade failed to materialize and Taek is the unfortunate bubble boy. All remaining 55 players are now in the money with a guaranteed $9,600.

Shooting Star Ari Engel Can't Call Off His Stack


Level 17
Blinds: 3000-6000 with a 6000 bb ante
Remaining: 57/440

Three eliminations from being in the money and Casey McCarrel puts Ari Engel to the test near the bubble.

McCarrel moves all in on the [Kh][Jh][9c][Ks] board, Engel going deep in to the tank.

Engel talks quite a bit, getting no reaction from McCarrel - who has been on quite a run lately with his 16th at WPT LAPC and 15th at WPT Thunder Valley six days later.

Engel finds a fold, opting to look for another spot. There's an elimination at another table and the field is now two from the money with 20 minutes left before break.

Shooting Star Joe Nguyen Triples Up


Level 17
Blinds: 3000-6000 with a 6000 bb ante
Remaining: 59/440

Shooting Star Joe Nguyen (pictured) is all in preflop for 103,000 on the big blind, and both Francis Pezzullo (under the gun) and Ari Shin (UTG+1) have him covered. Pezzullo is all against Shin in the side pot so all three players flip over their cards.

Nguyen: [As][Qc]
Shin: [Kh][Ks]
Francis Pezzullo: [Kd][Js]

Board: [9s][9c][2d][Qh][Ac]

Nguyen triples up to survive with 324,000, and Pezzullo is eliminated on the hand. Shin is at 390,000 after taking the side pot.

Jon Nguyen - 324,000 (54 bb)
Ari Shin - 390,000 (65 bb)
Francis Pezzullo - Eliminated

Five From the Money


Level 17
Blinds: 3000-6000 with a 6000 bb ante
Remaining: 60/440

Play has slowed considerably in the past 45 minutes as the money bubble approaches. 60 players remain, 55 are going to cash, the mincash $9,600 and $408,000 FTW on Friday.

There's a break in 35 minutes, so we are pretty much right on where we thought we'd be today, the money bubble anticipated late in Level 17 or early Level 18.

Brian Altman Eliminates Paul Richardson

Level 17
Blinds: 3000-6000 with a 6000 bb ante
Remaining: 60/440

Brian Altman opens to 12,000 and Paul Richardson pauses to the point of having clock called preflop. He uses the full 30 seconds, then calls, leaving himself 12BB behind. Action folds to the 9 seat with 6BB who takes nearly a minute to fold. Everyone else steps aside and off to the flop.

[Qc][5d][Kh]

15,000 from Altman, a call from Richardson, with both players checking the [8h] turn.

Altman puts out all his 25k chips on the [4h] river, more than enough to cover Richardson, who looks in anguish. More than two minutes pass, the dealer over and over again flipping the all in button in Altman's direction, then taking it back, before eventually leaving it on the felt.

Two more minutes pass and a player calls clock. Richardson hears the count reach 3 before putting his chips in the middle.

King-Queen for Altman for TopTwo.
Richardson shows Ace-Queen and is eliminated six from the money.

Brian Altman - 875,000


Shooting Star Pat Lyons Crippled, Then Eliminated


After a Pat Lyons open, a player 3-bet and Pat made the call. The [2d][9c][5s] flop saw a check from Pat, and the raiser moved all in. Pat made the call, and it was a cooler situation with Pat's [Ks][Kh] running into [Ad][Ac]. The [6d] turn and [3s] river meant Pat would ship most of his stack across the table.

An orbit or so later, Pat got the rest of his chips in against three players. One of those players bet on the [Ks][5c][2c][4h] board forcing folds from the other two, and the hands were revealed:

Pat [6d][5d]
Opponent [Kh][Ts]

Pat had a pair and a straight draw so he had many outs to survive, but the [9c] wasn't one of them. Pat jokingly moved the river card aside and asked the dealer to keep going before graciously signing his bounty shirt for his opponent.




Jimmy Zeledon to 500k


The preflop action was intense between Jimmy Zeledon and his challenger, with 310,000 in the pot before the [9c][4h][Kh] flop comes out.

Zeledon moves in for 210,000 and the action comes to a pause for close to two minutes before there's a fold.

"Want to see what I had?" asks Zeledon, he gets a positive response, and up go two Aces.

Zimmy Zeledon - 520,000

Level 17 Begins (63 Players Remain)

The blinds increase to 3,000-6,000 with a 6,000 big blind ante for the start of Level 17 on Day 2 at the Bay 101 Shooting Star Main Event. There are currently 63 players remaining in the hunt to make the money (top 55 will cash).

Michael Dyer Takes One Out

Level 15
Blinds: 3,000-5,000 with a 5,000 bb ante
Remaining: 64/440


UTG is all in preflop with [Ac][As] in the hole, and Michael Dyer has him covered on the cutoff holding [Qd][Qc]. The board runs out [Qs][10h][8d][4d][Kd], and UTG is eliminated. Dyer stacks up 980,000 after collecting the pot, and he is now among the chip leaders in the tournament.

Michael Dyer - 980,000 (196 bb)

Shooting Star Dylan Wilkerson Eliminated


Shooting Star Dylan Wilkerson is at risk holding [As][9s] against the [Jh][Th] of Antonio Roungeris. Dylan is in the lead before the [Qd][Jd][Kc] falls, and now he will need a ten for a straight. The turn [Ah] means Dylan can only chop with a ten, and it's a near miss when the river falls [9c]. Dylan is eliminated and the field is trimmed to 64 players.

Shooting Star Chris Moorman Eliminated by Brian Altman

Level 15
Blinds: 3,000-5,000 with a 5,000 bb ante
Remaining: 70/440


Shooting Star Chris Moorman is all in with [Qd][6d] in the hole, and Brian Altman has him covered holding [Qc][5c] on a final board reading [9s][9d][5d][3s][7c]. Moorman is eliminated on the hand, and Altman stacks up 527,000 after the hand.

Brian Altman - 527,000 (105 bb)
Chris Moorman - Eliminated

Shooting Star Moshin Charania Doubles Again


We had just finished blogging about Mohsin Charania doubling up twice when Mohsin was again all in. This time, Mohsin had the best of it with his [As][Kh] against his opponent's [Ah][7d]. The [Ad][Jd][8h] flop kept Mohsin's king kicker in the lead, and that did not change through the [2c] river and [Qh] river. For a third time, Mohsin has doubled up, this time to 242,000.

Shooting Stars survive


Over on table 26, Dylan Wilkerson is all in on a three way pot with the board reading [8s][Qc][8h][8d][3d]. Joe Stapleton tables [Ts][9c] and the third opponent tables [Jh][Tc]. Dylan proudly whips over [As][5s] to triple up his short stack.

Across the room, Joe Nguyen is all in with [Ad][6d] against Ari Shin's[8s][8d] and the board reads [Kc][Qc][3c]. The [Ah] hits the turn to put Joe in the lead, and the [7s] river means Joe has survived as well, doubling his 36,000 stack.

Shooting Star Moshin Charania Doubles Twice


Level 16
Blinds: 3000-5000 with a 5000 bb ante
Remaining: 76/440

All in with Queens against the Kings of Casey McCarrel, Shooting Star Moshin Charania is going to need help to remain in the tournament.

[9d][Jh][Ts] adds an open-ended straight draw that fills on the [Kd] turn. The river blank gives Charania a full double on one of the last hands before break.

Back in again a few hands after returning from break, Charania has [Ah][9s] against his challenger's [As][Qs]

[3c][5h][8d][5c] changes nothing at all, but the [9s] river is another double.

Moshin Charania - 170,000

Shooting Star Dylan Wilkerson Doubles Up


Level 15
Blinds: 2,000-4,000 with a 4,000 bb ante
Remaining: 77/440

Dylan Wilkerson is all in holding [3s][3d] and is racing against his opponent's [As][5d]. The board runs out clean and Dylan doubles up to just over 50,000.

Break Time

The players are taking another 15-minute break.

Omri Shaked Doubles Up

Level 15
Blinds: 2,000-4,000 with a 4,000 bb ante
Remaining: 78/440


Omri Shaked reraises all in preflop for 125,500 on the button, and the hijack calls to cover him after opening the pot with a raise. Here is a look at their cards.

Shaked: [Ad][Ks]
Hijack: [Jh][Jc]

Board: [9h][7d][2d][8c][Ah]

Shaked doubles up thanks to an ace on the river, and he stacks up 261,000 after the hand.

Omri Shaked - 261,000 (65 bb)

Level 15 Chip Counts



Level 15
Blinds: 2000-4000 with a 4000 bb ante
Remaining: 78/440

Francis Pezzullo continues to lead here on Day 2 of the Shooting Star, 250,000 clear of the field - or >60BB clear.

Here's a look at estimated chip counts for about one-half of the remaining players.

FrancisPezzullo960,000
MichaelDyer610,000
LoniHarwood600,000
BrianAltman420,000
AlexGreenblatt370,000
YotamShmuelov335,000
PhuocNguyen315,000
DanShak310,000
JoeStapleton300,000
AjayGnanasambanthan290,000
AnthonyMoreno270,000
TurboNguyen265,000
EddySabat260,000
CaseyMcCarrel250,000
StuartTuvey240,000
YankiKoppel220,000
JimmyZeledon215,000
PatLyons205,000
PaulRichardson175,000
NickPupillo165,000
AmirTurkzadeh160,000
SriniGodavarthy155,000
AriEngel140,000
JamesCarroll140,000
JoeNguyen130,000
ChrisMoorman125,000
AdamDuong125,000
DarrenRabinowitz115,000
TokoLuu110,000
AnthonySpinelli105,000
DylanWilkerson100,000
HiroikiHarada100,000
JonTurner95,000
MoshinCharania80,000
GaryTighe80,000
CyWilliams75,000
FrankStepuchin65,000

Bobby Suer Doubles Thru Paul Nguyen


Level 15
Blinds: 2,000-4,000 with a 4,000 bb ante
Remaining: 83/440


Bobby Suer moves all in preflop for 54,000 under the gun. Jon Turner calls from the hijack after he initially raised to 9,000 when he didn't realize that Suer had shoved. Paul Nguyen then reraises all in for 327,500 total. Turner tanks for a minute before folding, and then the two remaining players reveal their cards.

Suer: [Ah][Kc]
Nguyen: [Ac][Qh]

Board: [10d][7d][5c][7h][Jc]

Suer doubles up to survive with 118,000, and Nguyen is down to 273,500 after the hand.

Bobby Suer - 118,000 (29 bb)
Paul Nguyen - 273,500 (68 bb)

Michael Dyer Cracks Jim Collopy's Aces


Level 15
Blinds: 2000-4000 with a 4000 bb ante
Remaining: 85/440

A series of preflop raises ends with Jim Collopy getting his entire stack in the middle and Michael Dyer placing Collopy (pictured) at risk 30 from the money here on Day 2.

Aces for Collopy
Fours for Dyer

The K-4-Q flop gives Dyer a set, nothing to help Collopy on the turn or river and Dyer moves to 650,000, one of the room's top stacks.

Level 15 Begins (87 Players Remaining)

The blinds increase to 2,000-4,000 with a 4,000 big blind ante for the start of Level 15 on Day 2 at the Bay 101 Shooting Star Main Event. There are currently 87 players remaining in the hunt to make the money (top 55 will cash).

Mike Jen Doubles Up

Level 13
Blinds: 1,500-3,000 with a 3,000 bb ante
Remaining: 90/440


Mike Jen is all in with [As][10s] in the hole UTG+1, and the small blind has him covered holding [Ks][Kd]. The final board reads [Ac][Kc][Qs][6s][Jd] and Jen doubles up to survive with 124,000 after collecting the pot.

Mike Jen - 124,000 (41 bb)


Shooting Star Shannon Shorr Eliminated


Shannon Shorr is all in on the button and both blinds call. Pat Lyons bets into a dry side pot on the [4c][4h][4d][Jh] turn, and the small blinds folds.

Shannon [8s][8c]
Pat [Ks][Js]

Shannon will need an eight on the river to survive, but the [2d] falls instead to eliminate Shannon. After the hand, Pat is up to over 270,000.

Shooting Star Pat Lyons Doubles Up


Level 14
Blinds: 1500-3000 with a 3000 bb ante
Remaining: 94/440

There's an open to 11,000, then Shooting Star Pay Lyons moves in for his last 98,500. Action folds around to the original raiser who pauses, and Lyons goes in to his traditional non-stop banter.

"I really need a call. Go ahead and take your time. Bay Area's best player here," and more from Lyons as about 90 seconds tick off before the call comes from the challenger.

Lyons - [Ah][Qh]
Challenger - [Ts][Th]

The all-diamonds [3d][Td][Jd] flop gives the challenger a set, and neither player has a diamond draw.

Lyons calls for "King of Diamonds," on the turn.

[Kd] is the turn.

[8h] river and Lyons doubles to 200,000.

Shooting Star Chris Moorman doubles a shorty


Level 14
Blinds: 1,500-3,000 with a 3,000 bb ante
Remaining: 95/440


Action folded to Chris Moorman in the small blind, and he slamed a stack of 5,000 chips down to put his opponent in the big blind all in. His big blind made the call holding [9d][9c] and was ahead of Chris's [Ad][8d]. The [2h][7h][4s][Qs][Ks] did not produce an Ace, and Chris shipped 63,500 to his left. After the hand, Chris was knocked down to 160,000.

Shooting Star Mike Matusow Eliminated


Level 14
Blinds: 1500-3000 with a 3000 bb ante
Remaining: 108/440

Two doubles already today for Mike Matusow, going for a third to try and reach 50BB as he is all in preflop against Darren Rabinowitz.

Matusow [Jc][Js]
Rabinowitz [Ad][Ks]

[5h][2h][Ks] goes the flop, Rabinowitz to the lead. The board runs out [2s][3h] and Matusow is eliminated.

Darren Rabinowitz - 185,000

Turbo Nguyen Flops Quads


The flop reads [7c][7s][Jd] and Shooting Star Pat Lyons checks-calls a 7,000 bet from Turbo Nguyen. The [Qh] hits the turn and Pat checks again. When Turbo reaches for chips, Pat pleads, "Keep it small!" Turbo bets 15,000 and Pat beats him in the pot with three pink chips. The river is the [Kh] and Pat checks one last time. In less than one second, Turbo announces 35,000, Pat announces call, and Turbo rolls over [7h][7d] for flopped quads. Pat can only say, "Nice hand, nice hand" to his opponent.

Turbo Nguyen Takes One Out



Level 13
Blinds: 1,500-3,000 with a 3,000 bb ante
Remaining: 108/440


The flop reads [Kd][3h][2c] when the big blind gets all in with K-6 in the hole, and Turbo Nguyen has him covered holding [2s][2h] under the gun. The turn and river run out [Kc][Jd], and the big blind is eliminated. Nguyen stacks up 153,000 after the hand thanks to a full house.

Turbo Nguyen - 153,000 (51 bb)


13 Shooting Stars Remain


Level 14
Blinds: 1500-3000 with a 3000 bb ante
Remaining: 108/440

There's 13 Shooting Stars remaining midway through Level 14, the other 95 aiming for the $2,000 bounty, the bounty medal and the "I busted (insert name here) T-shirt.
Loni Harwood not only tops the Shooting Stars leaderboard, she's the tournament chipleader, having gone nearly 20x in one hour.

Loni Harwood 600,000
Alex Greenblatt 190,000
Chris Moorman 185,000
Joe Stapleton 180,000
Dan Shak 175,000
Eddy Sabat 170,000
Pat Lyons 150,000
Moshin Charania 140,000
Dylan Wilkerson 105,000
Ari Engel 95,000
Shannon Shorr 90,000
Mike Matusow 70,000
Joe Nguyen 65,000

Shooting Star Ari Engel doubles up


Shooting Star Ari Engel is all in holding pocket nines and is racing against his opponent's ace-queen. The board falls 4-4-2-7-3 to keep the pocket pair in front, and Ari Engel has doubled up.

Shooting Star Todd Brunson Eliminated


Level 13
Blinds: 1,500-3,000 with a 3,000 bb ante
Remaining: 114/440


Todd Brunson is allin holding [Ac][Jc] and is in good shape to double up against his opponent's [Ah][2h]. The [4c][2s][8h] flop changes that, and now Todd will need a jack to survive. The [7h] turn and [5s] river fail to bring justice for Todd, and he is eliminated.

Level 14 Begins (117 Players Remain)

The blinds increase to 1,500-3,000 with a 3,000 big blind ante for the start of Level 14 on Day 2 at the Bay 101 Shooting Star Main Event. There are currently 117 players remaining in the hunt to make the money (top 55 will cash).

Shooting Star Loni Harwood Moves to 470,000



Level 13
Blinds: 1500-2500 with a 2500 bb ante
Remaining: 117/440

All in for her last 35,000 about 45 minutes ago, Loni Harwood has been on a heater ever since. There's about 115,000 already in the pot in action between Harwood and Andreas 'Rayo' Kniep when the dealer puts out the [Jc][8s][3s] flop.

Both players get their chips in the middle and the stacks appear to be very close.

Harwood has Kings for the overpair
Kneip has Jack for top set.

[Ah] turn changes nothing, but the river is [Ks] for set over set.

The dealer and a floor confirm the counts - 175,000 for Kniep, 179,000 for Harwood, she has Kniep covered by < 2BB and earns the elimination.

From 35,000 to 470,000 and a top-3 stack in the room in less than 45 minutes for Harwood.

Shooting Star Jesse Sylvia eliminated


Level 13
Blinds: 1,500-2,500 with a 2,500 bb ante
Remaining: 115/440


The board read [5c][Kc][7d] and Jesse Sylvia had moved all in for 14,000. Jon Turner moved all in over the top and the cutoff made the call.

Jesse [Ks][6h]
Jon [6d][4d]
Cutoff [Ac][8c]

Jesse had the best hand but his two opponents were chasing flush and straight draws. The [8s] hit the turn to complete Jon's flush draw, but Jesse could still chop with a four or a nine, while the cutoff could still win with a club.The river brought the [3s] which meant Jesse would be eliminated while Jon won a nearly 200,000 chip pot.

Break Time

The players are taking their first 15-minute break of the day.

Shooting Star David Tuchman and JC Tran Eliminated by Michael Dyer


Level 13
Blinds: 1500-2500 with a 2500 bb ante
Remaining: 117/440

Shooting Star David Tuchman (pictured - small blind) and JC Tran (big blind) are both all in, and Michael Dyer has them covered from middle position. Here is a look at their cards.

Dyer: [10s][10d]
Tuchman: [Ah][10c]
Tran: [Qh][Js]

Board: [10h][9s][3h][9h][Jd]

Tuchman and Tran are eliminated, and Dyer stacks up 227,000 after collecting the pot.

Michael Dyer - 227,000 (90 bb)
David Tuchman - Eliminated
J.C. Tran - Eliminated

Shooting Star Eddy Sabat Doubles Up


Level 13
Blinds: 1,500-2,500 with a 2,500 bb ante
Remaining: 126/440

Shooting Star Eddy Sabat is all in for 74,000 from the hijack with the board reading [Kc][Jd][10h][8d]. Sabat holds [10c][10s], and Anthony Spinella has him covered with [Qd][9d] in the hole on the button. The river falls [Kh], and Sabat doubles up to survive with 154,500. Spinella holds 150,500 after the hand. Sabat fades the rare situation where making quad tens would have lost him the hand.

Eddy Sabat - 154,500 (61 bb)
Anthony Spinella - 150,500 (60 bb)

Shooting Star Loni Harwood triples up


Level 13
Blinds: 1,500-3,000 with a 2,500 bb ante
Remaining: 126/440

From UTG+1, Loni Harwood moves all in for 35,000 and Rayo Kniep was next to act and made the call. Action folds to Nick Pupillo in the big blind who moves all in over the top, forcing a fold from Rayo.

Loni [Ac][5c]
Nick [9s][9d]

Loni flops two pair and it holds through a [Ah][8d][5h][Jh][Kd] board, and she will triple up. After the hand, Rayo claimed to have folded queen-ten.

Shooting Star Eddy Sabat Sends One Home


Level 13
Blinds: 1500-2500 with a 2500 bb ante
Remaining: 126/440

A short-stack moves all in, action folding around to Shooting Star Eddy Sabat in the BB and he makes the call.

Sabat shows King-Queen and is looking for the elimination against his challenger's Ace-Deuce.

The K-9-K flop has the challenger push away from the table as the board runs out 6-A.

Eddy Sabat - 205,000

Shooting Star Kristy Arnett Eliminated, Aces Cracked


Level 13
Blinds: 1500-2500 with a 2500 bb ante
Remaining: 135/440

There's 46,500 in the pot and the board reading [7c][2s][Qs], Shooting Star Kristy Arnett all in and called by Sanjeev Bais.

Arnett [Ah][As]
Bais [Qh][5h]

Arnett is well in front, until the dealer flips out [5d] on the turn, and finishes off the hand with [4d] to eliminate Arnett.

Sanjeev Bais - 140,000

Level 13 Begins (144 Players Remain)

The blinds increase to 1,500-2,500 with a 2,500 big blind ante for the start of Level 13 on Day 2 at the Bay 101 Shooting Star Main Event. There are currently 144 players remaining in the hunt to make the money (top 55 will cash).

Shooting Star Joe Nguyen Doubles Through JC Tran


Level 12
Blinds: 1000-2000 with a 2000 bb ante
Remaining: 153/440

Down to 8BB, Shooting Star Joe Nguyen - runner-up in this event in 2013 - moves in from the hijack and is called by JC Tran in the SB.

Nguyen [Ah][7c]
Tran - [Jc][Js]

Nguyen grabs the lead with the [Ad] in the window, Tran finds no help on the [5s][3d][6h][7s] runout and Nguyen moves to 37,000, with Tran slipping to about the same stack.

Shooting Star Mohsin Charania doubles up


Mohsin Charania is all in holding [Ad][Kc] against his opponent's [Ac][Qd]. The board runs out [5d][6d][Tc][Jd][Kd] to give Mohsin the nut flush and a double-up. He now sits on just under 100,000 at 1,500/2,500 blinds.

Shooting Star Maria Ho Eliminated


Level 12
Blinds: 1000-2000 with a 2000 bb ante
Remaining: 153/440

All in with [8h][8d] against her challenger's [Qh][Jh] for her entire stack, Shooting Star Maria Ho falls behind on the [2h][Js][Qd] flop and gives up her bounty on the [Jd] turn, eliminated just before the end of the first hour-long levels today.

Shooting Star Kristy Arnett Doubles Up


Level 12
Blinds: 1000-2000 with a 2000 bb ante
Remaining: 162/440

The flop reads [Qc][7h][6s] when Shooting Star Kristy Arnett gets all in for the last of her chips with [Kd][Jc] in the hole under the gun, and Steve Kim has her covered holding [As][7s] from the button. The turn and river are dealt [8h][Jd], and Arnett doubles up to survive with 62,500. Kim holds 233,500 after the hand.

Kristy Arnett - 62,500 (31 bb)
Steve Kim - 233,500 (116 bb)