After six days of play that began with three starting flights (none of which had to be cancelled due to the government shutdown), the 738 players who entered PokerStars NAPT $5,300 Main Event at Resorts World Las Vegas were down to six.
With a total prize pool of over $3.5 million and $653,050 set aside for the eventual champion, several players were positioned for the best results of their careers.
At the start of play, the chip counts were as follows:
- Thomas Boivin – 12,545,000
- Jen Shahade – 3,015,000
- Ekrum Bozkurt – 2,570,000
- Gal Yifrach – 2,280,000
- Michael Berk – 985,000
- Peter Mugar – 715,000
The blinds and antes were 100K/100K/50K with levels lasting 90 minutes, also known as three trips to the men’s room.