Event #4: $400 NLH Mini Main Event ($330 + $70)
| Date: | Day 1a: Oct 2, 4 PM Day 1b: Oct 3, 11 AM Day 1c: Oct 3, 4 PM Day 1d: Oct 4, 11 AM Day 2: Oct 5, 1 PM |
| Blinds: | 30 Minutes |
| Starting Stack: | 30k |
| Late Entry: | 12 Levels (~6:15 PM) |
| Day 1 Ends: | 22 Levels or 5% of the Starting Field (~11:30 PM) |
| Entries: | 52/1,005 |
| Prizes: | $331,650 ($255,939 moving forward to Day 2) |
The final flight to the Mini Main Event starts boarding at 11 AM on Sunday, and players can get on board until the start of Level 13. That should mean the last chance to buy into this one will be at about 6:15 PM on Saturday.
There are already 52 players waiting for the final day, and the field size is ahead of the 4-Flight numbers from January, though not by as much as I expected. After the opening two flights, it looked like this game could be truly massive, setting attendance records for the region.
However, a somewhat underwhelming field for Day 1c has tempered the expectations a bit. After 3 flights in January, Event #4 had 1,002 entries, while this one has 1,005. January got 563 entries on the final flight to put the final field at 1,565, and I still think that’s a very likely number to beat. However, where it looked like the game might hit 1,800 entries or more when 1b finished entries, that number is now looking a little out of reach outside of an 800+ field for 1d. At this point, it seems like a field of 1,500-1,600 for this one is very reasonable, but poker can always surprise you.
The top five stacks through three days all have 1 million or more in a bag. Day 1a leader Josh O’Neill-Trotta has the biggest with almost 1.85 million.
Best Stacks so Far
| Joshua O’Neill-Trotta | 1,846,000 |
| Nicholas Lee | 1,267,000 |
| Benny Sarnelli | 1,231,000 |
| Peter Amic | 1,208,000 |
| Antonio Ma | 1,156,000 |
1d is a morning flight, so levels will be 30 minutes long, and players will get a 45-minute dinner break at 5:30 PM at the end of Level 12, with entries closing after dinner. They’ll play to 5% of the starting field, or until the end of Level 22, whichever comes first. So far, all flights have ended early, but (perhaps ironically) the earliest end came in Day 1b, which is also the biggest flight so far. Day 1b ended with 16:23 remaining in Level 20, and so far, that’s when Day 2 looks to start.
This game should be my main focus for the day until it bags, which will be 11:30 PM at the latest.
