Bill Haner Leads After Day 1a of HPO St. Louis Regional Main Event
Day 1a of the Hollywood Poker Open St. Louis Regional Main Event wrapped up Friday night, and it was Bill Haner leading the way with 243,500 in chips. Ten players booked their ticket to Day 2, which will begin on Sunday at 12:15 p.m. local time.
Haner boasts $82,841 in live tournament earnings entering this event, with the largest score of his career being a third-place finish worth $61,021 in the 2015 Heartland Poker Tour St. Charles $1,650 Main Event. Of his six live cashes to date, Haner holds no victory, but he's in prime position to change that here in St. Louis.
Of the 74 Day 1a entrants, Haner had one of the biggest stacks all day, if not the biggest, and rode the wave all the way to the end. He won several hands against Cory Bogert, who finished on 203,500, including calling one hand with kings and thinking he was up against aces. He won that hand and a large pot, then seemed to always have the best of it when it came to Bogert.
The day could have ended with HPO ambassador and former World Series of Poker Main Event champion Chris Moneymaker leading the way, but after getting aces cracked in the final few hands against Peter Brooks, it wasn't meant to be. Brooks finished the day slightly ahead of Moneymaker's 125,000 in chips with 131,000.
Ryan Tepen was short stacked earlier in the day, but doubled up a couple times in quick succession and then was able to put pressure on people and work his stack up to 131,500 where he finished.
Zal Irani finished the day third in chips with 189,000, and he'll prove a formidable competitor going forward. He too doubled up late in the day, with aces versus the pocket nines of the chip leader, Haner. Irani has a long list of live tournament cashes to his name and over $750,000 in earnings.
With Day 1a in the bag, stay tuned for Day 1b on Saturday at 11:15 a.m. local time. PokerNews will be on hand once again for coverage, and this time we'll see who makes it through from Day 1b to join these 10 players on Day 2.