Last year’s champ, Blake Battaglia, eyes a back-to-back title

Main Event action unfolded on Friday at Horseshoe Hammond where the current WSOP Circuit stop is taking place. The first of two starting flights was completed yesterday at the host casino and the names of the first players who secured a seat into Day 2 of the $1,700 buy-in tournament are now clear.

Michael Perrone, a player from Fairport, New York, finished Day 1A as the chip leader, putting 450,000 into his bag. The player is vying for his first-ever title from the series. He scored his best finish in a WSOP Circuit event early this year when he came in 6th in a $365 No-Limit Hold’em at the Choctaw Durant stop of the series. The player collected $27,156 for his run in that event.

One-time gold ring winner Ralph Massey was the player to finish the closest to the chip leader last night. He had 355,000 in chips at the end of Day 1A play. Jeffrey Fielder, a proud owner of two gold rings from the series, grabbed the third largest stack of the night, good for 320,000.

The first flight of the Main Event drew 460 entrants to the tables of Horseshoe Hammond. Of them, just 96 survived through all 15 levels scheduled to secure their spots into Day 2. They will be joined by the Day 1B survivors. The second starting flight of the tournament will start today at noon local time.

The tournament, with its guaranteed prize pool of $1 million, attracted a number of WSOP Circuit regulars and other notables. WSOP gold bracelet winners Tom Koral and David Pham as well as gold ring winners Robert Hankins, Ryan Phan, and Ralph Massey were among those to make it through the end of the day.

Last year’s Horseshoe Hammond Main Event champion, Blake Battaglia, was, too, among the Day 1A survivors of the 2018 edition of the tournament. Battaglia outlasted 1,247 entries last fall to win the Main Event title, a gold ring, and a first-place prize of $332,020. The player will enter Day 2 of action with 96,500 for a shot at a back-to-back win.

WSOP Circuit notables such as Maurice Hawkins, Kevin Eyster, Aaron Massey, and Mukul Pahuja were among the players to register into the Main Event though Day 1A, but to fail to make it through all 15 levels.

As mentioned earlier, the tournament will feature one more starting flight that is scheduled to be played today from noon local time at the host casino. It will feature 15 levels of play and registration will remain open until the end of Level 13. The Day 1B survivors will combine with the ones who survived Day 1A on Sunday when Day 2 of the tournament will be played.

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter to stay up to date on the day’s top casino news stories.

The post Michael Perrone Leads WSOP Circuit Horseshoe Hammond Main Event Day 1A Survivors appeared first on Casino News Daily.