Day 1A Player of the Day: Dwyte Pilgrim

Level 10: 500-1,000, 100 ante

WPT Parx Open Poker Classic, Day 1A Recap

Level 10: 500-1,000, 100 ante

By BJ Nemeth


The first televised WPT event of Season XI is a new stop for the World Poker Tour -- the Parx Casino in Bensalem, Pennsylvania, about 20 miles outside of Philadelphia.

Here's a look back at some of the highlights from Day 1A:



WPT Commentator Mike Sexton kicks off Season XI of the TV show with the traditional "Shuffle Up and Deal," joined by his fellow commentator Vince Van Patten, Raw Deal Analyst Tony Dunst, and Royal Flush Girl Ivy Teves.

Day 1A attracted 234 players, but as a re-entry event, anyone who busted had the option of paying another $3,500 to buy in again on Day 1B. The total field size should approach 500 players, but we won't know for sure until Day 1B registration closes around 4:30 pm ET.



During the first level of play, Mike Sexton chats with Matt Glantz, the recently announced as the Poker Ambassador for the Parx Casino. Glantz is a Philadelphia native, and hosts high-stakes game here and helps promote the casino.



Royal Flush Girls Tugba Ercan (left) and Ivy Teves stop by to see how Allen Kessler is doing on Day 1A. Kessler told the two RFGs that they were his favorite two, but then put his foot in his mouth as he said that one was #1 and the other #2.

When Ercan and Teves asked who was #1, Kessler wisely deferred the question.



ClubWPT.com qualifier Erick Steinbergen talks with WPT reporter Diana Cox during one of the breaks on Day 1A. Steinbergen earned his seat into this event by playing a mega satellite on the ClubWPT.com subscription poker site.



Table 63 was called a "featured table" by some people, as the random draw put a fun and interesting group of players together. This was the lineup:

Seat 1.  Bryan Piccioli
Seat 2.  Jack Hirschman
Seat 3.  Christian Harder
Seat 4.  Will Failla
Seat 5.  Peter Ippolito
Seat 6.  Dwyte Pilgrim
Seat 7.  Chris McCormack
Seat 8.  Victor Ramdin
Seat 9.  Scott Blackman

Will Failla was leading the table in a game of "Lodden Thinks," as they pondered questions like "How many flatscreen TVs are in the Borgata Casino?" And "How many sexual partners has Hugh Hefner had in his lifetime?" And "How many hot dogs are sold during a single baseball game at Yankee Stadium?"

Blackman gave an answer to that last question that Harder called "the worst answer in the history of Lodden thinks." He guessed that Yankee Stadium sold 117 hot dogs during a game. (According to an article in the New York Times, the actual answer is about 30,000 hot dogs.)

After the table teased Blackman for a few minutes, he admitted that he mistook the question, and he was guessing how many hot dogs a single vendor sells during a baseball game. (According to that same New York Times article, the actual answer is about 150 hot dogs per vendor.)



WPT Champions Club member Steve Brecher (left) finds himself seated next to Xuan Liu on Day 1A.

Liu has been selected as part of the WPT's "Ones to Watch" this season -- a group of young, up-and-coming players that the TV audience may not be as familiar with. Liu and the others in this group will be highlighted on the WPT TV show as they try to win their first WPT title.



After the dinner break, Shaun Deeb had a solid grasp on the chip lead, and looked like he would finish the day at the top of the leaderboard. But in the final half hour, he lost a big pot to William Brindise that knocked him down to a below average stack.



William Brindise catapulted to the top of the leaderboard after winning a big pot against Shaun Deeb, though he ultimately finished the day in third place with 208,300. Why? Deeb caught a lucky river card to double up in one of the last hands of the day. (See below.)



After a flop of 887, Shaun Deeb moved all in with 1010, but William Brindise called with a dominating QQ. Deeb began gathering his things to leave, and the turn card was the 8.

But Deeb caught his two-outer on the river when the 10 fell, doubling Deeb up to an above-average chip stack (118,900), and saving him the $3,500 he would have inevitably spent to re-enter on Day 1B.



The overall chipleader at the end of Day 1A was two-time WPT champion Cornel Cimpan, attempting to become the third player in history to win three WPT titles. Cimpan will have Saturday off before starting Day 2 with 242,800 in chips.



The ClubWPT.com Player of the Day was Dwyte Pilgrim, who was interviewed by WPT reporter Diana Cox at the end of the day. Pilgrim was at the unofficial featured table, having a good time as he built up a stack of 120,000 in chips.

The WPT Champions Club member hopes to join the elite group of players with two WPT titles, and Pilgrim has committed himself to starting Season XI strong. So far, so good.



Day 1A came to an end with 93 players. Here's a look at the top five chip counts:

1.  Cornel Cimpan  -  242,800  (202 bb)
2.  Gregory Shwartz  -  220,000  (183 bb)
3.  William Brindise  -  208,300  (173 bb)
4.  Anthony Maio  -  191,200  (159 bb)
5.  Ravi Raghavan  -  166,500  (138 bb)

Day 1B begins today at 12:00 noon ET. Stay tuned to WPT.com for live coverage and chip counts throughout the day.

Day 1A Ends

Level 10: 500-1,000, 100 ante

The players have bagged and tagged their chips and 93 players made it through Day 1A. The total size of the field is now 324 with the players that are pre-registered for Day 1B tomorrow. Players can register through the start of Level 5.

The chip leader at the end of Day 1A is Cornel Cimpan with 242,800. The 2009 World Poker Finals champion has taken a big first step in his charge to a possible third WPT title. Gregory Shwartz (220,000) and William Brandise (208,300) are also above 200,000. The full official chip count list will be available later tonight, as will a full photo blog recap of the day's events.

Notables that made it through with healthy stacks include Ravi Raghavan, Dwyte Pilgrim, Shaun Deeb, and Victor Ramdin. ClubWPT Qualifier Erick Steinbergen also survived the day and he will return for Day 2 on Sunday. 

Check back in at Noon ET on Saturday for 10 more levels of poker action from Parx Casino in Philadelphia.

Four More Hands

Level 10: 500-1,000, 100 ante

The tournament clock has been stopped and the field was informed that they will play four more hands. There are 96 players that have survived according to the tournament clock and with the pre-registered players for tomorrow the field size is 321.

Stay tuned as we will be collecting chip count information from the bag and tag and catching the final hands of the night, which will be posted soon.  

Jason Koon Gets Low

Level 10: 500-1,000, 100 ante

Jason Koon raises to 2,800 preflop from middle position and the small blind three-bets all in for 14,800. Koon makes the call and the two players reveal their cards:

Koon: QQ
Small Blind: AK

Board: K73410

The small blind doubles up and Koon saw his stack fall to 23,300.

Paul Volpe Doubles Up an Opponent

Level 10: 500-1,000, 100 ante

The big blind moves all in preflop for 10,800 and Paul Volpe makes the call from the small blind. Their cards:

Volpe: K4
Big Blind: 88

Board: A97810

Volpe takes a small hit in the hand but he is still strong with over 100,000.

Leo Wolpert Eliminated

Level 10: 500-1,000, 100 ante

Leo Wolpert has busted out of the tournament during the last level of the night.

Matt Brady Eliminated

Level 10: 500-1,000, 100 ante

Matt Brady moves all in preflop with QQ, and he finds himself racing against AK. The board comes J73K6, and Brady loses to a pair of kings to be crippled down to just a handful of 100 chips.

A few minutes later, Brady was all in with 9-6 against pocket sevens, and his opponent won the hand with a full house.

Brady was eliminated, but will return to his home casino tomorrow to try again on Day 1B.

Pretty awesome to have @worldpokertour at my home casino @parxpokerroom...$3500 buy in main event today..gl us

— matt brady (@mattbrady_) August 10, 2012

Daniel Buzgon Eliminated

Level 10: 500-1,000, 100 ante

Daniel Buzgon moves all in preflop, and another player moves all in over the top behind him.

Everyone else folds, and Buzgon shows A-Q. But he's dominated by his opponent's Q-Q.

The case queen hits the flop, and Buzgon loses to a set of queens as he is eliminated from Day 1A. (He has the option of re-entering tomorrow on Day 1B.)

Daniel Buzgon  -  Eliminated

Diana Cox Interviews ClubWPT.com Qualifier Erick Steinbergen

Level 10: 500-1,000, 100 ante