Sycuan Casino Resort

Molnar Finishes Strong, Jungleman And Vibes Advance

Play in the first flight of the Sycuan MSPT $1,110 main event came to a close with 31:15 left in level 15. The starting field of 143 entrants was whittled down to just 17, who all put their names on their bags and went off to rest up for a few days. They will return on Sunday the 16th at 11 o'clock in the morning.

Leading the way was California resident Sandor Molnar who ended the day personally by knocking out Darryl Geris in the final hand of the night when his pocket kings held against Geris’ suited ace-five in a 200,000 chip pot. That pot pushed his stack to 583,000 and he holds a significant chip lead over the rest of the field. Molnar has played tournaments for well over a decade, and boasts a career total of $121,172 in lifetime earnings. He looks to chase his first MSPT title with this large leg up on the field.

Three other players in the flight bagged over 300,000. Rudy Cervantes(375,000), Chris Smith (345,000), and Ryan Stiner (342,000) each finished the day with massive chip stacks. A pair of colorful characters that advanced to the second day were well known poker vlogger Johnnie “Vibes” Moreno (162,000) and the two-time Poker Players Championship winner, Dan “Jungleman” Cates. Cates for the entirety of the day was dressed as a new colorful persona, Dan Diego, complete with surfer outfit and sunscreen on the face. They join eleven other players in making the second day of the main event.

Not all were as fortunate though. Players like Adam Friedman, Rich Alsup, Angela Jordison, Camille Brown, and defending champion Ken Baime all found themselves on the wrong end of the chip counts. They will all have ample opportunity Friday and Saturday for the following two flights to make a deep run in this event, and join others expected to play this event. Tomorrow’s flight begins at 3 pm and is expected to be a bigger turnout.

Be sure to check back in with us tomorrow at MSPT.com to see the following two flights.

End Of Day Chip Counts

Player Name	Chip Count	Previous	Progress
Sandor Molinar	583,000	583,000
Rudy Cervantes (CA)	375,000	325,500
Chris Smith	345,000	142,000
Ryan Stiner	342,000	157,000
Tim Acker	277,000	132,000
Dan Cates	258,000	214,500
Kenny Gabbara	214,000	214,000
Steve Westberg	207,000	131,000
Jordan Lowery	164,000	164,000
Mark Cincotta	162,000	156,000
Johnnie Moreno	162,000	107,000
Igli Pirgv	162,000	162,000
Kevin Meyers	146,000	104,000
Richard Furfaro	78,000	78,000
Hal Marcus	59,000	59,000
Alonso Llerenas	51,000	108,000
Jorge Quadros	49,000	49,000

Vibes Takes One Out

A player moved all in from the button for 65,000 and in the big blind, Johnnie “Vibes” Moreno called to nearly put himself at risk.

Button:

Johnnie “Vibes” Moreno:

The board ran out and Moreno’s hand held up as best while the field came closer to the end of play.

Gabbara Coolers Leese

Kenny Gabbara raised to 12,000 in the small blind, and in the big blind Mark Leese raised to 34,000. Gabbara moved all in and Leese quickly called.

Mark Leese:

Kenny Gabbara:

The board ran out and Gabbara’s aces held up as the best hand sending Leese out short of bagging.

Llernas Doubles With Ladies

A player raised to 11,000 from the cutoff and in the small blind, Alonso Llernas raised to 22,000 with action folding back to the initial raiser who decided to move all in for 49,000 effective and Llernas called.

Alonso Llernas:

Opponent:

The board ran out which kept the queens in front and Llernas found himself the recipient of a late night double up.

Cincotta Wins A Flip

Mark Cincotta raised to 7,000 in first position and from one seat over, another player moved all in for 54,000. All action folded back to Cincotta who called and the cards were tabled.

Opponent:

Mark Cincotta:

The board ran out and the pocket jacks held for Cincotta to eliminate a player and bring the field one player closer to finishing.

Mier Can't Get There Against Cervantes

Rudy Cervantes raised to 7,000 from under the gun which saw two players call including Robby Mier in the big blind.

The flop came out and action checked over to Cervantes who bet 10,000 which only Mier called.

The turn of saw Mier move all in for 18,000 which Cervantes quickly called.

Robby Mier:

Rudy Cervantes:

The river did not complete Mier’s draws and he exited the tournament and Cervantes added once more to his growing stack.

Smith Fades Too Many Outs

A player raised to 7,000 from middle position which saw Chris Smith call in the hijack. Action folded around to Derek Paytas in the big blind who moved all in for 54,000 which saw only Smith call.

Derek Paytas:

Chris Smith:

The board ran out and despite Paytas picking up a flush draw and straight draw on the turn, the board pairing river saw Smith fill up to eights full and eliminate Paytas.

Acker Fills Up

A player moved all in for 45,000 in early position and action folded to Tim Acker in the hijack who moved all in for more, with all action folding behind.

Opponent:

Tim Acker:

The board ran out which gave the pocket sixes some backdoor possibilities. All hope vanished on the turn as the rolled off giving Acker tens full, making the river meaningless as Acker scooped in the pot.

Alsup Falls To Paytas

Rich Alsup moved all in for his final 11,500 which saw Nathan Paytas call to put him at risk.

Rich Alsup:

Nathan Paytas:

The board ran out which gave no help to the MSPT champion and Paytas took down the pot with a pair of aces.