Jaime Haletky Leads WSOPC Thunder Valley Main Event Final Table
Day 2 of the World Series of Poker Circuit $1,700 Main Event saw 100 players from a 487-entry field return to action, but by the time action came to a halt just nine remained. Leading the final table with a nearly a one-million chip lead over his next closest competition is Jaime Haletky.
Haletky is no stranger to success in Thunder Valley with his two biggest scores coming here in Lincoln. Back in 2016, he finished runner-up in the Ante Up Poker Tour $1,650 World Championship for $87,636, and in October 2017 won the Ante Up Norcal Classic Event #8: $1,100 Main Event for $49,865. He is seeking his first career gold ring.
Meanwhile Scott Stewart, who sits second in chips, is looking for his sixth gold ring and is the only other player with a robust stack. Meanwhile, Marko Pantelic, Dapo Ajayi, and Peter Pap are the only other players with seven figures, while Marcus Laffen, Dan Turner, Bryan Piccioli and Bin Duan all face an uphill battle with shorter stacks.
| Seat | Name | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marko Pantelic | United States | 1,675,000 |
| 2 | Marcus Laffen | United States | 985,000 |
| 3 | Dann Turner | United States | 550,000 |
| 4 | Scott Stewart | United States | 3,105,000 |
| 5 | Bryan Piccioli | United States | 315,000 |
| 6 | Jaime Haletky | United States | 4,030,000 |
| 7 | Dapo Ajayi | United States | 1,840,000 |
| 8 | Peter Pap | United States | 1,825,000 |
| 9 | Bin Duan | United States | 290,000 |
Day 2 start with a quarter of the field needing to fall before the money was made. Among those to leave empty handed were Alex Greenblatt, Andrew Ostapchenko, Jasthi Kumar, and bubble boy Mario Lopez, who ran ace-queen smack dab into Ubaid Habib’s pocket queens.
Once the bubble burst, the in-the-money finishers mounted and included Matt Livingston (70th - $2,572), Bicycle Casino poker manager Mo Fathipour (56th - $2,656), Jarod Minghini (50th - $2,789), Andreas Kniep (36th - $3,232), WSOP bracelet winner Scott Bohlman (24th - $5,252), Paul Richardson (20th - $6,162), Lester Lenart (13th - $8,866), and Amador Igarta (10th - $10,870).
The third and final day of the WSOP Circuit Thunder Valley $1,700 Main Event will get underway at Noon local time on Monday and play down to a winner. The remaining nine players are guaranteed $13,516 in prize money, while the eventual winner will walk away with the $147,706 first-place prize, a shiny gold ring, and a seat into the 2020 Global Casino Championship.