WSOP Turning Stone

Joseph Rusinko

The first of three starting flights in the WSOPC Turning Stone $1,700 Main Event saw 223 entries contribute $337,845 towards the prize pool, keeping the Main Event well on track to surpass its $1,000,000 guarantee. After just over 16 levels, 23 players managed to put chips in a bag and advance to Day 2.

Leading the field is Joseph Rusinko, who initially took the chip lead just before the close of late registration after picking off a bluff with pocket aces to eliminate Brian Altman, who had missed his open ender. From there, Rusinko rapidly pulled away from the rest of the field, surpassing 1,000,000 in chips while no other player had 500,000. Rusinko fell a bit from his peak at the very end of the night but still ended Day 1a with the chip lead at 1,160,000.

Cindy Spier

Several notable players managed to bag big from the opening starting flight, including Cindy Spier, Christian Roberts, and Terrance Reid (506,000). Notably, Spier made back-to-back final tables in this event a couple of years ago, finishing third in both 2023 and 2024. 

Full end-of-night chip counts can be found here and in chip counts tab above. Here’s a look at the top ten stacks from Day 1a. 

1. Joseph Rusinko - 1,160,000
2. Anthony Serino - 883,000
3. Robert Liguori - 633,000
4. Cindy Spier - 544,000
5. Christian Roberts - 512,000
6. Terrance Reid - 506,000
7. Fred Bartlett - 470,000
8. Ramakrishna Jammula - 443,000
9. Lucian Dublea - 408,000
10. Noam Freedman - 408,000

Join us tomorrow, May 20 for Day 1b, kicking off at 11:00 a.m.

Following the elimination of James Kozanitis, the remaining 23 players have bagged their chips and advanced to Day 2.

Stay tuned for full end-of-night chip counts, and a recap of the night's action,

Jameson Kauch

Level 16: 4,000/8,000 (8,000) - 26 remaining

Jameson Kauch opened to 18,000 from the cutoff, Christian Roberts three-bet to 65,000 from the small blind, and Kauch called.

Both players checked the flop, leading to the turn. Roberts bet 50,000, and Kauch called. On the river, Roberts shoved, covering Kauch, who had around 225,000 left. 

Kauch went deep into the tank for a couple of minutes, clearly pained by the decision in front of him with the tournament being two eliminations away from bagging for the night. Finally Kauch released his hand into the muck, and Roberts took the pot uncontested.

• Christian Roberts - 570,000
• Jameson Kauch - 225,000

Brett Apter

Omar Sader

Level 15: 3,000/6,000 (6,000) - 35 remaining

Brett Apter shoved from the cutoff with a short stack, and Blake Napierala called from the big blind to put him at risk. 

Brett Apter:
Blake Napierala:

Apter found no help with jacks against Napierala's kings on the runout, and he was eliminated on the stone bubble.

The remaining 34 players are each guaranteed a $3,419 min-cash. The day will conclude when 23 players remain, at which point all surviving players will advance to Day 2.

• Blake Napierala - 380,000
• Brett Apter - eliminated