It was another big day at Resorts World Las Vegas as PokerStars’ NAPT Super High Roller played down to a champion, and two more starting flights of the NAPT Main Event attracted over 300 entries, including some big names.
Following three days of exciting high-stakes action, two-time WSOP bracelet winner Jesse Lonis walked away with the Super High Roller trophy as he turned the tables on chip leader David Stamm and ground his way to victory.
On the sidelines, the Senior’s Event also crowned a champion, while the $5300 Pot-Limit Omaha tournament gave the high rollers another chance to compete at the Great Game.
Today will see the final two starting flights of the Main Event play out as the organizers attempt to shatter the $1,500,000 guarantee. At the same time, the PLO event will also crown its champion, making it another day to look forward to for all the poker fans.
But, before all that, let us find out who came on top among yesterday’s survivors in the Main Event and how two more NAPT champions battled their way to their trophies.
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Big Names Among Main Event Day 1C Survivors
NAPT Main Event Day 1C, which started at noon yesterday, saw the highest number of entries of all the starting flights thus far, with 273 players hitting the tables and creating the kind of playing field characteristic of PokerStars events.
Among those who entered Day 1C was the 17-time WSOP bracelet holder and the most-decorated tournament poker player of all time, Phil Hellmuth, who was surely excited at the opportunity to play for another prestigious trophy without having to venture outside of Las Vegas.
Hellmuth was not the only notable name in the field, as Jared Jaffee, Shannon Shorr, Faraz Jaka, Chris Moorman, David “ODB” Baker, and many other well-known players showed up for Day 1C action.
Phil shared his Day 1 table with the eventual chip leader, Lily Lofty, and the most recent NAPT Women’s Event champion, Kyna England, with both players progressing to Day 2 with more chips than “Poker Brat.”
However, Hellmuth was among those who made it to Day 2, alongside PokerStars Ambassador Maria Konikova and 60 others.
Tuesday evening saw Day 1D action unfold at Resorts World Poker Room, with 47 players joining the action for that one and 12 of those progressing to Day 2. Among those was Martin Zamani, famous in the poker community for his involvement in the Brynn Kenney scandal and several other notables.
Despite Tuesday’s flights attracting significantly more players than the previous day, none could accumulate more chips than the previous chip leader, with Lily Lofty amassing 420,500, still fewer than 435,500 of Day 1A chip leader Dongwoo Ko.
Here are the combined top 10 from the four Day 1 flights:
| Position | Player | Country | Chips |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dongwoo Ko | Canada | 435,000 |
| 2 | Lily Lofty | USA | 420,500 |
| 3 | Boen Bachman | USA | 363,000 |
| 4 | Kyna England | USA | 316,000 |
| 5 | Joseph Tehan | USA | 311,000 |
| 6 | Landon Tice | USA | 300,500 |
| 7 | Theodore Curan | USA | 295,500 |
| 8 | Ira Friedman | USA | 246,000 |
| 9 | Ping Liu | USA | 245,000 |
| 10 | Cody Wiegmann | USA | 242,000 |
Jesse Lonis Crowned Super High Roller Champion
The $10,300 NAPT Super High Roller entered its final day yesterday, with just six players returning to close the official final table action.
Despite coming into the final table as fourth in chips and with just 25 big blinds, the New York native turned the tables on an experienced group that included the likes of Sam Soverel, Sergio Aido, and chip leader David Stamm.
Stamm retained his chip lead for most of the final table action and even entered the heads-up match as a 2 to 1 chip leader after eliminating Sergio Aido in third place.
Yet, the experienced high roller was able to diminish Stamm’s chip lead pretty fast and would then play a long three-hour heads-up match that eventually went his way.
With this win, Lonis added to his impressive resume. They moved past $6 million in tournament winnings after taking down two significant titles at PSPC and the WSOP earlier this year.
Lonis was awarded a PokerStars trophy and $174,550 for his victory, with the runner-up David Stamm taking home $114,460 for his notable result.
At other tables, the $550 Senior’s Event also played down to the winner, as Soren Lundgren beat a field of 87 to be crowned the official champion. However, Lundgren made a three-way deal with Mimi Roeder and Jack Sloan that saw each player win approximately $8256 with no money left to play for.
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Big Numbers Expected for Final Main Event Flights
The NAPT Las Vegas Main Event attracted 533 entries over the first four Day 1 flights, 118 of whom survived Day 1 action and will return to play on Thursday.
This means that the event still falls quite short of the $1,500,000 guarantee and that the final two Day 1 flights will need to see nearly 500 players sign up to play if the guaranteed prize pool is to be shattered.
However, it is typical for final Day 1s to be the most attended, and Day 1F, which plays with a turbo structure, will likely see quite a few last-minute registrations from pros looking to get into Day 2 at any cost.
Today is the last day you can buy in to play in the first NAPT Main Event in 12 years, so if you are already in Las Vegas, make sure to head down to Resorts World and get into the mix while registration is still open.
