$1000 +$111 Little One for One Drop (Event #75)

Day 1b of the $1,111 Little One for One Drop attracted over 1,500 entries and the field dwindled to around 600 players by the time for bagging. While yesterday saw some of the prolific players build huge stacks early on, today was more steady.

Only the last two-levels brought a turn of events, particularly for Stefan Ivanov who dragged a gigantic 300-big blind pot in the last level, tank-calling a robust shove with pocket queens. Ivanov found himself ahead as his opponent held just a pair of sevens, and Ivanov's hand remained the best after the river.

Ivanov eventually added some more chunks to his stack and wrapped up the 10-levels with 613,000 chips.

One of his nearest contenders was David Lolis, who was the beneficiary of a brutal cooler. Lolis was on the better side of the aces-versus-kings setup, flopping quads while his opponent rivered kings full. Lolis got the maximum value from the dream spot, and the huge clash brought his stack to the reported 524,000.

PokerNews Podcast host Jeff Platt took his seat in the first level and he stayed there until the end of the day, slowly increasing his chip-stack. Platt spent the second half of the day above the virtual average line and he will be back for Day 2 with 230,400.

Notable players who advanced through Day 1b featured the likes of Pete Chen, Mike Sexton, Mike Dentale, Michael Mizrachi, Chris Ferguson, and Antoine Labat, among others.

One more starting day is scheduled for the Little One for One Drop Event, starting on Monday, July 8, at 11 a.m. PDT. Come back to PokerNews for more live updates from what is expected to be the biggest flight of the tournament.

The tournament staff just announced the remaining players will play five more hands before bagging and tagging for the night. Stay tuned for some chip counts and a recap of the action.

Chris Ferguson raised to 2,600 in the hijack and a player on his left three-bet to 8,000. Ferguson matched the bid.

The     flop was checked and Ferguson check-called 8,000 on the   turn.

The river fell   and Ferguson check-called another 12,000. The other player showed    and Ferguson couldn't beat that, showing he had   .

Chris Ferguson

85,000

5,000

We happened upon the table with Stefan Ivanov, who had 29,500 out in front of him, debating what to do as his opponent directly to his left was all in for 177,400. Ivanov, who back in 2015 won a Venetian Deep Stack event for a career-high $111,000, thought long and hard before tossing in a single chip to call.

Ivanov:   
Opponent:   

"How do you always have it?" the at-risk player asked. He then watched as a queen appeared in the window on the     flop. The   turn meant a jack on the river would result in a chop, but the fishhook wasn't in the cards as the   bricked instead.

Jake Powers was in the cutoff, acting first on a      turn. Powers placed in the minimum, betting 1,000 into the pot of around 15,000. His left-hand opponent raised to 12,000 and Powers quickly called.

Powers checked in the dark and the other player tapped the felt when the   appeared on the river. Powers rolled over    but he finished second to   .

Jake Powers

81,000

-29,000

An open raise to 2,500 came from a player in middle position, followed by a call, and then an all in for 26,900 from Graeme Wright. Action got back around to the original raiser who made the call. The other player folded and the two remaining players turned their cards face up.

Graeme Wright:   
Middle position:   

The board ran out       to secure the double up for Wright.

Graeme Wright

59,000

59,000

Players are on a 20-minute break. Play will then resume for two more levels before bagging.