The Dominican Republic is one of the most exciting spots for relaxation and vacationing in the world. And right now it is also the gathering place for all poker pros and enthusiasts who want to take part in partypoker’s Caribbean Poker Party festival.
The Meliá Caribe Tropical resort in Punta Cana is the host venue to the exciting poker event and hundreds of players have already flocked to it to try their luck and skills in a bid to boost their bankrolls and hopefully scoop a title or two.
One of the highlight tournaments on the festival’s schedule, the $10,300 High Roller with a guaranteed prize pool of $1 million, is already underway. The event kicked off on Friday at the host venue and attracted a total of 67 entries over the eight levels played throughout the day. And unsurprisingly, it drew some of the world’s best high rollers, including a cluster of favorite German elites.
Of all participants who joined the field on Day 1, there were 43 to bag and tag for the night. The survivors will return for Day 2 of action today at noon local time. They are scheduled to play eight more levels, and registration will remain open halfway through the day, so the original field will probably be increased, and hopefully, the $1 million guarantee will be passed. It is also important to note that the event features unlimited re-entries, so all those who are unfortunate enough to bust will be able to re-enter action.
Who Leads the Field of Survivors?
Day 2 of the tournament will begin with Canada’s Francois Billard as the chip leader. The player accumulated a stack of 3.899 million on Friday. He ran quite well throughout the day, but it was towards the end of Day 1 action when he won a massive pot from Sam Trickett to eventually gain momentum and outpace his opponents.
Billard currently has more than $1.5 million in live tournament earnings. The player scooped his largest payout back in 2014 when he finished third in the EPT Prague €10,300 High Roller for approximately $505,000. Earlier in 2017, the Canadian finished runner-up to Goran Mandic in the PokerStars Championship Barcelona €10,300 No-Limit Hold’em, good for €253,600. The player also locked a third-place finish in the PokerStars Championship Panama $10,300 High Roller for a payout of $123,780.
Billard’s fellow countrymen Daniel Dvoress and Mike Watson were the other two players who round out the top three of the temporary chip counts chart of the ongoing Caribbean Poker Party High Roller. The players accumulated a total of 3.496 million and 3.076 million on Day 1, respectively. And they were actually the only three players to pass the three-million chip mark.
Notables like 2013 WSOP Main Event Champion Ryan Riess, Italy’s Mustapha Kanit, and Spain’s Sergio Aido were also among the players to make it to the end of the day. And it is important to note that a good number of Germans will also return for Day 2 action, with some of those being Rainer Kempe, Manig Loeser, Steffen Sontheimer, Koray Aldemir, and Stefan Schillhabel.
