Congratulations to Chris Demaci, Winner of the $100,000 Guaranteed Event

Heads up play didn't last too long, as Chris Demaci limped in from the small blind, then called a shove from Aung Thu. Demaci held [Ah][7d], and was leading the [Jc][8h] of Aung Thu. The hand was all but over after the flop came down [As][9s][3c]. A king on the turn ended things, and Demaci clenched both his fists in victory before shaking Thu's hand.

Thu will take home $23,645, but the night belongs to Demaci, who will take home the $38,215, and his first WSOP Circuit Ring. Amazingly, despite his stellar poker resume, this is only Demaci's second live victory. Well it was a sweet one of the local regular, who takes the early lead in the Player of the Series race.

Congratulations to Chris Demaci on his big win, and thank you to everyone who came out and made this first event so massive. Be sure to join us tomorrow for the $250,000 Guaranteed Monster Stack event!

Sirous Baghchehsaraie Eliminated in 3rd Place ($17,275)

Sirous Baghchehsaraie was jostling with Chris Demaci for the chip lead for most of the final table, but in a matter of just a few hands, he was eliminated by the aforementioned Demaci. On the final hand, Baghchehsaraie and Demaci got the chips in preflop, with Demaci holding [8h][8s], and Baghchehsaraie having [As][Qc].

Demaci has been on the right side of most of these coin flips at the final table, and this was no exception, as the flop of [Jd][8d][7d] all but locked up the hand for Demaci. The [Qd] turn meant a fifth diamond who chop it, but the [7c] came instead to give Demaci a full house.

This gets us heads up, with Demaci holding a dominant lead. He has 14,500,000 to the 1,600,000 of Aung Thu.

Thu Doubles Through Baghchehsaraie

Aung Thu moved all in with his short stack in the small blind, and Sirous Baghchehsaraie called in the big blind.

Thu: [Ac][4c]
Baghchehsaraie: [Ad][5d]

It looked likely that they would chop the pot, but after the flop of [Kc][8c][6s], Thu was loving his situation. He didn't get a club on the turn, but the [4s] did give him the lead with a pair of fours. Another four came on the river to improve his hand, and Thu doubled up to nearly two million, while Baghchehsaraie fell to 3.1 million.

Martin Edwards Eliminated in 4th Place ($12,805)

Chris Demaci moved all in from the small blind, easily having Martin Edwards covered in the big blind. Edwards, who lost a good chunk of his stack on the previous hand, called with [Jc][9s], and Demaci was happy to see he was in front with [Qc][3s]. The flop of [Ac][4h][2c] kept Demaci in the lead, and the [5s] on the turn gave hime an unbeatable straight.

No chop came on the river, and Edwards hit the rail in fourth.

Aaron Motoyama Eliminated in 5th Place ($9,630)

Aaron Motoyama moved all in from under the gun, and as soon as Sirous Baghchehsaraie looked at his hand in the big blind, he made the call.

Baghchehsaraie: [Js][Jh]
Motoyama: [Ah][7c]

The jacks would hold for Baghchehsaraie on the [9h][5c][3c][7s][3s] board, and Motoyama would hit the rail in fifth. Baghchehsaraie is starting to challenge Chris Demaci for the chip lead as we start four handed play.

Edwards Doubles Through Motoyama

Martin Edwards has been riding the short stack for some time now, and he just got it in preflop holding [Qc][Jd]. He was behind the [Ad][Kc] of Aaron Motoyama, but Edwards shot out to the lead on the flop of [Jh][10d][9c]. A deuce came on the turn, and while the [Ks] on the river looked to help Motoyama at first, it also gave Edwards a straight, giving him the win, and the double up.

Fresh Counts From the Final Five

There is a bit of a delay in the restart, as there was a dispute with the color up done on break. While they work to sort out those details, here is how the final five stack up at the moment.

Chris Demaci - 5,850,000
Sirous Baghchehsaraie - 3,800,000
Aaron Motoyama - 2,900,000
Aung Thu - 2,600,000
Martin Edwards - 1,020,000

Julie Dang Eliminated in 6th Place ($7,345)

Sirous Baghchehsaraie and Julie Dang were heads up on a scary looking [Ah][Kd][Qd] flop when the chips flew into the middle. Dang held [Kh][Qs] for bottom two pair, but she was well behind the [Jh][10h] of Baghchehsaraie. Dang would need to fill up to beat Baghchehsaraie's straight, but the turn and river both brought tens, keeping Baghchehsaraie in the lead.

The final five are going on a break shortly. We will get updated chip counts from them then. 

Albert Bragg Eliminated in 7th Place ($5,685)

Albert Bragg shoved under the gun for 615,000, and chip leader Chris Demaci made the call with [7d][7c]. He was flipping against the [Ad][Qd] of Bragg, and the flop brought plenty of action, coming down [9h][8d][4d]. This gave Bragg a flush draw with his two overs, though the [7s] on the turn got rid of those as outs. Bragg could only win with a diamond now, but the [Ks] came instead, getting us down to the final six.

Chris Demaci is in a commanding position right now, as he has about a third of the chips in play six handed.

Erhart David Edquist Eliminated in 8th Place ($4,460)

Erhart David Edquist moved all in from early position with [Kd][Qc], and a few seats over, Aung Thu put him at risk with a dominating [As][Kc]. The board ran down [Js][6h][3s][Ac][Qs], and Thu's top pair held to give him the knockout.

Lawrence Engerman Eiminated in 9th Place ($3,550)

Lawrence Engerman shoved all in a few times preflop but was never called, but this time, his luck ran out, as his pocket jacks ran into the pocket aces of Aung Thu. The board ran down [Qh][6s][3s][6d][7c], and the aces held for Thu, who barely had Engerman covered.

With that, we are down to just eight players!

Hermilo Vargas Eliminated in 10th Place ($2,860)

Hermilo Vargas moved all in for about 800,000, and in the small blind, Sirious Baghchehsaraie called to put him at risk. His [Ad][10d] was dominating the [Jh][10c] of Vargas, and the hand was all but over after the flop came down [As][8h][3s]. A deuce on the turn ended things, and Vargas hit the rail in tenth place.

It's a solid start to the series for Vargas, who will be looking to win the Monster Stack Event for an unprecedented third time in a row starting tomorrow.

Baghchehsaraie Doubles Through Demaci

Action has been slow at this fairly deep final table, with the average stack still at just under 30 big blinds. Sirous Baghchehsaraie  was nearly out the door when he got all in with [Ah][Kc], racing against the [10c][10s] of chip leader Chris Demaci. The flop of [6d][3d][2h] was safe for Demaci, as was the [3s] turn. However, the [Ks] hit the river, giving Baghchehsaraie  a winning pair of kings.

He doubles up to over 1.2 million, while Demaci takes a small hit to his big stack.

Thu Doubles Through Edquist

On the second hand of the final table, Aung Thu found himself all in and in trouble, holding [Ah][Qd] to the [Kh][Kd] of Erhart David Edquist. However, the flop of [Ad][5d][4c] quickly flipped the script, giving Thu the big lead now.

The board finished out [10h] and [Js], and the Ace-Queen came through for Thu, who doubled up to over 1.2 million.

Final Table Photos and Updated Counts

Seat 1: Sirous Baghchehsaraie - 985,000

Seat 2: Aaron Motoyama - 2,840,000

Seat 3: Lawrence Engerman - 730,000

Seat 4: Julie Dang - 1,375,000

Seat 5: Albert Bragg - 2,200,000

Seat 6: Erhart David Edquist - 1,200,000

Seat 7: Chris Demaci - 4,000,000

Seat 8: Hermilo "Taxi" Vargas - 890,000

Seat 9: Martin Edwards - 1,400,000

Seat 10: Aung Thu - 585,000

Updated Counts From the Final Two Tables

Blinds: 15,000-30,000 Average: 900,000

Chris Demaci - 2,700,000
Albert Bragg - 1,500,000
Julie Dang - 1,400,000
Siroud Baghchehsaraie - 1,150,000
Marcus Norman - 1,100,000
Paul Chauderson - 620,000
Hermilo Vargas - 560,000
Kathrine Brandt - 280,000

Cards in the Air: $400 Turbo Event

Normally the one day Turbo ring event is at the end of the series, but we are changing things up this time and throwing it on this opening Sunday of the series. This ring event has 20 minute levels throughout, and it will finish tonight, so come on down and earn some hardware!

Registration is open tonight until 8:20 PM tonight. Good luck all!

By the Numbers: Event #2 $50,000 Guaranteed

We smashed another guarantee in Event #2, as a total of 458 players came out. That created a prizepool of $91,600, money that will be given out to the final 54 players. A min cash will earn $350, and first place will take home the ring, as well as $19,640. Stay tuned to find out who takes down this massive one day event!

1. $19,675
2. $12,175
3. $8,895
4. $6,595
5. $4,960
6. $3,785
7. $2,925
8. $2,295
9. $1,825
10-12. $1,475
13-15. $1,205
16-18. $1,000
19-21. $840
22-24. $715
25-27. $615
28-30. $535
31-33.  $475
34-36. $425
37-45. $385
46-54. $350

Updated Counts From the Final 27

Blinds: 12,000-24,000 Average: 620,000

Chris Demaci - 2,100,000
Albert Bragg - 1,700,000
Marcus Norman - 1,350,000
Sirous Baghchehsaraie - 1,050,000
Kathrine Brandt - 730,000
Paul Chauderson - 520,000
Hermilo Vargas - 520,000
Gladys Landegger - 280,000

Some Fresh Counts From The Final Four Tables

Blinds: 10,000-20,000 Average: 437,000 Players Left: 36

Kathrine Brandt - 1,450,000
Adam Weinraub  - 1,200,000
Albert Bragg - 955,000
Chris Demaci - 870,000
Sean Jazayeri - 435,000
Sohale Khalili - 355,000
Hermilo Vargas - 290,000
Gladys Landegger - 270,000
Paul Chauderson - 210,000

Nearly 400 Players in the Second Event

While most of our attention is on the big Day 2 finals today, we did want to let you guys know that we are smashing another guarantee in the second event of the day. With a guarantee of $50,000, we are easily past that, with $76,000 already in the middle.

Registration for that event is still open until 4:30 PM today, so you can come join us and win some big money!

The Top Five Stacks to Start the Day 2 Finals

The main feature of the day has just started here at the Bicycle Casino, as the Day 2 finals for the $100,000 Guaranteed Event are now underway! Below you will see the top five stacks to start the day. We will be here today until the end of this event, so be sure to stay tuned to find out who takes home the first piece of hardware of the series!

Katherine Brandt - 1,040,000

Adam Weinraub - 1,016,000

Robert Salmone - 871,000

Albert Bragg - 717,000

Marcus Norman - 694,000

50 Players Returning For Day 2 of the Opening Event

Yesterday saw 50 players move on from our massive Event #1, which created a prizepool of over $175,000! Local players Katherine Brandt and Adam Weinraub were the only players to bag over one million chips, with other Bicycle Casino regulars Albert Bragg, Hermilo Vargas, Sean Jazayeri, Gladys Landegger, and Chris Demaci all bagging tons of chips for today's finals. Click here for a full list of survivors today.

The action will pick up once again at 1 PM, and we will be here to bring you guys all of the updates, so don't go anywhere.

Cards in the Air: $50,000 Guaranteed One Day Event

We start the action today with the first of two one day ring events here at the Bicycle Casino. The first one is a $250 buy-in with a guarantee of $50,000, and that event has just started up here in the tournament ballroom!

Registration for this event will be open today until 2:30 PM, with our $400 buy-in Turbo Ring Event starting up at 4 PM. Good luck all!