$125 + $20 + $20 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Level 13 (8 min remaining): Blinds 1k/2k/300 ante
29 players remaining, 71k avg (35.5 bb)

R. Topping, Chip Leader

R. Topping (Orlando, FL) gets the last knockout of the day for the chip lead as play is stopped with 29 players remaining.  Topping’s AJ eliminates a short stack’s KJ for an extra 20k to finish with 167k.

“I had a great last five hands,” says the COO, who jumped up from 90k after a big hand while holding 5-2. “He didn’t raise me enough to get me off my small blind,” says Topping who flopped two pairs and turned a full house.

Topping got an extra 20k with a value bet on the river to take a 100k pot after his opponent mucked. “I’m really happy with it,” says Topping about his play and is thrilled to be moving on to Day 2.

In Event 1, Topping says he busted with three hands left of Day 1 when his opponent went runner-runner flush, so today is retribution.

“I played well,” says Topping of today’s event, “only lost one flip.”

Players return 2 pm Wednesday for Day 2.