Uruguay’s Gonzalez Bags Big on Day 1a of partypoker MILLIONS South America
Day 1a of the partypoker MILLIONS South America Main Event is in the books, and it’s Uruguay’s own Fabrizio Gonzalez headlining. Over the eight one-hour levels played, he turned his one million starting stack into well over 5.5 million.
German high roller Robert Heidorn (5,475,000), Tommie Janssen (4,315,000,) Kenny Hallaert (3,615,000,) and Kevin MacPhee (3,125,000) also bagged big.
Play got underway in Punta del Este’s premier resort Enjoy Punta del Este with several tables in play. Players entered en masse throughout the day, with the clock eventually displaying 155 entries. Of those 155, 81 remained after Day 1a was done.
Roberto Romanello, who cashed with his two brothers in last month’s partypoker MILLIONS UK, started strong but eventually fell way before the day was over. In his final hand, he couldn’t out flop, turn, or river kings with ace-jack.
His partypoker colleagues Joao Simao and Ludovic Geilich didn’t do much better, entering and exiting without much fanfare. Geilich was one of the first players out, running ace-king into queens with the latter rivering a straight.
Gonzalez performed best on Day 1a and was the life of the party. He chatted it up with just about everyone at his table and was involved in the majority of the hands played. While that might not sound like a recipe for success, Gonzalez’s talent made up for the sometimes inferior starting hands he played. He busted players left and right, bet, raised, and shoved throughout the day, and ended up with the lead.
Robert Heidorn vied for the lead with Gonzalez throughout the day, ultimately ending in second place. Heidorn already had a strong day when he squeezed with aces and flopped top set. His opponent flopped bottom set of fours and had to leave all of his chips to Heidorn.
On Wednesday, another starting day awaits, with eight levels scheduled for Day 1b. Players having busted Day 1a can reenter if they so please, and even players surviving the day can give it another try as it’s best-stack forward that goes here in Punta del Este. Check back tomorrow for more partypoker MILLIONS Main Event live updates!
Assorted End-of-Day Chip Counts
| Player | Chips | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Fabrizio Gonzalez | 5,535,000 |
235,000  |
| Robert Heidorn | 5,475,000 |
-425,000  |
| Tommie Janssen | 4,135,000 |
835,000 |
| Kenny Hallaert | 3,615,000 |
895,000 |
| Kevin MacPhee | 3,125,000 |
825,000 |
| Lander Lijo | 2,340,000 |
790,000 |
| Marvin Rettenmaier | 2,265,000 |
-235,000 |
| Ezequiel Waigel | 2,100,000 |
600,000 |
| Leo Fernandez | 1,885,000 |
-515,000 |
| Jose Ignacio Barbero | 1,860,000 |
460,000 |
| Francisco Benitez | 1,600,000 |
400,000 |
| Leandro Bustillo | 1,320,000 |
320,000
|
| Ryan Riess | 1,310,000 |
510,000 |
| Andrey Shatilov | 1,050,000 |
50,000
|
| Jack Sinclair | 615,000 |
-935,000 |
| Freek Scholten | 600,000 |
-800,000 |
| Darya Krashennikova | 485,000 |
35,000 |
Three More Hands
The clock is paused and the tournament director announced there will be three more hands played today. Check back soon for assorted end-of-day chip counts and a recap of today’s action.
Antonio’s Twist Busts Oliver
Antonio Martinac opened the cutoff for 80,000 and Oliver Price in the small blind shoved for 615,000. The big blind folded but Martinac called.
Antonio Martinac: [Th2h]
Oliver Price: [As7c]
The flop of [3c9cJs] was of no use to either, but the [Tc] paired Martinac while Price picked up a flush draw. The [4s] on the river was a blank and Price exited right before the end of Day 1a.
| Player | Chips | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Antonio Martinac | 1,800,000 |
800,000
|
| Oliver Price | Busted |
-600,000 |
Another Round of Counts
| Player | Chips | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Fabrizio Gonzalez | 5,300,000 |
-100,000 |
| Kenny Hallaert | 2,720,000 |
1,720,000 |
| Leo Fernandez | 2,400,000 |
400,000 |
| Kevin MacPhee | 2,300,000 |
900,000 |
| Jose Ignacio Barbero | 1,400,000 |
100,000 |
| Francisco Benitez | 1,200,000 |
-100,000 |
| Ryan Riess | 800,000 |
315,000 |
| Sergio Iralasky | 800,000 |
-500,000 |
| Darya Krashennikova | 450,000 |
-1,250,000 |
Roberto Romanello Eliminated
The player under the gun opened for 55,000 and the hijack called before Roberto Romanello shoved all in from the cutoff for 795,000. The initial raiser thought about it for a bit and eventually reshoved. The hijack folded.
Initial raiser: [KsKc]
Roberto Romanello: [AsJc]
The flop of [9dKh2c] wasn’t particularly good for Romanello and he already got up from his chair a bit. The [Qh] on the turn brought him some outs but the [3h] on the river wasn’t one of the cards he was looking for. Exit for partypoker’s Romanello.
Janssen With the Flush
When we got to the table, Tommie Janssen was seen betting 660,000 on a board of [AcJc6c] [Tc] [4h]. His opponent didn’t waste too much time calling, but mucked right away upon being shown [4c3c] by Janssen.
| Player | Chips | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Tommie Janssen | 3,300,000 |
1,100,000
|
Heidorn Nearing Six Million
Robert Heidorn was leaning back in his chair a bit, far enough for us to clearly see his stack of almost six million.
We asked the details of the hand that had gotten him into that position. He explained how he had squeezed with aces and flopped top set on [AxTx4x]. His opponent, in the end, turned out to have bottom set which ended up costing him.
| Player | Chips | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Robert Heidorn | 5,900,000 |
3,000,000 |
Riess Getting Short
When we arrived, Ryan Riess was seen checking on a flop of [10d2cJs] from the small blind. The big blind checked as well and the player under the gun bet 80,000. Riess called, the big blind folded.
Riess check-called another 180,000 on the [8c] turn before they both checked the [2s] on the river. Riess showed [AdQh] but saw his hand land in the muck as his opponent tabled [AcKh].
| Player | Chips | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Ryan Riess | 485,000 |
-245,000 |
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