Jody Van Wyk Tops Day 1a; Jarred Solomon and Shannon Elizabeth Among 16 Survivors in Pretoria
The first of four starting days of the SunBet Poker Tour Time Square ZAR15,000 Main Event has concluded and 16 players punched their entry for Day 2, all with a decent shot at a big portion of the ZAR5,000,000 (~$263,400) guaranteed prize pool. It is one of the newest and most exciting live poker series in South Africa, established two years ago thanks to the partnership between the Monster Jam Poker Tour (MJPT) and Sun International Group, the leading South African gaming and hospitality company.
One of Sun International's newest luxury properties is the Time Square casino, hotel, sports and entertainment complex on the outskirts of the country's administrative capital Pretoria and poker enthusiasts from all over the country have been heading to the 12-day series since February 28, 2024. Crown jewel on the schedule is the ZAR15,000 Main Event (~$790) and 105 entries were recorded on Day 1a. In the final scheduled level of the night, the field was reduced to the top 15% and that concluded the action for the night with 32 minutes left on the clock.
The final elimination was scored by Jody Van Wyk, who also jumped into the top spot with 478,000 in chips as a result, surpassing Gavin Sardini (448,000) and Anand Kumar (420,000) on the home stretch. Fourth in chips is none other than Jarred Solomon with 344,000, who sits in second place of the all-time money list of South Africa according to The HendonMob database.
Top 10 Chip Counts Day 1a
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | BB Day 1a |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jody Van Wyk | South Africa | 478,000 | 80 |
| 2 | Gavin Sardini | South Africa | 448,000 | 75 |
| 3 | Anand Kumar | South Africa | 420,000 | 70 |
| 4 | Jarred Solomon | South Africa | 344,000 | 57 |
| 5 | Gary Citron | South Africa | 302,000 | 50 |
| 6 | Joshua Liebenthal | South Africa | 263,000 | 44 |
| 7 | Ricky Toker | South Africa | 256,000 | 43 |
| 8 | Marvin Torres | South Africa | 246,000 | 41 |
| 9 | Chad Khoury | South Africa | 243,000 | 41 |
| 10 | Brett Toker | South Africa | 233,000 | 39 |
Ricky Toker (256,000) and Brett Toker (233,000) both advanced as well with the son surpassing his father by a couple of big blinds in his very first live poker tournament.
All but one of the sixteen Day 1a survivors represent South Africa and the one exception is American actress, model and poker player Shannon Elizabeth, who is married to a South African and resides in the country. She made it through with 114,000 but may perhaps appear again in one of the remaining three starting days as the bigger stack across all flights will be carried over.
Among the plentiful of Day 1a casualties was also South Africa's all-time money leader, the 2007 WSOP Main Event third-place finisher Raymond Rahme. He was joined on the rail by mostly local poker players such as Mystery Bounty Event champion Marko Nortje, Adam Woolf, Danny Dayani, Alvin Pillay, Sugen Singh, Banks Solomons, and Eben Lottering to name all but a few familiar faces of the local live poker circuit.
Another three starting flights remain in the following two days with Day 1b and 1c featuring a level duration of 50 minutes throughout. The fourth and final turbo heat provides 30-minute levels during the registration period and 15-minute levels thereafter.
PokerNews will be providing live updates until the conclusion of the 2024 Sunbet Poker Time Square Main Event on March 10, 2024, and there will also be a live stream with cards-up and commentary available on all days of the series on the Monster Jam Poker Twitch and YouTube channels as well