Nick Petrangelo Surges Ahead to Lead 12 Players From Day 1 of Super High Roller Bowl VIII

The prestigious Super High Roller Bowl VIII kicks off at Aria Resort & Casino on Thursday and Nick Petrangelo is the leader of a field of 12 players that will return to the PokerGO Studio on Friday for Day 2.

The outsized buy-in attracted a field of 20 players, with $2,760,000 set aside for first place from a prize pool of $6,000,000. The top-four finishers will pay out and each of them are guaranteed to double their bet with a min-cash of $600,000. The runner up will make out with $1,680,000 and third place receives $960,000.

Petrangelo leads Super High Roller Bowl VIII and Andrew Lichtenberger trails in second place, while Isaac Haxton bagged the third-highest stack after holding the lead throughout the early levels. Jason Koon and Cary Katz round out the top five.

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Haxton Rises Early, Jaffe Exits

Haxton and Jonathan Jaffe were among those that chipped up early — Jaffe in a clash with Alex Foxen. Jaffe and Foxen traded bets and time extensions on a board of 2♦Q♣K♦J♥A♣ before Jaffe turned over pocket tens for a straight to take a big pot and an early chip lead.

Before long, Jaffe’s early ascension was cut off by Haxton in a clash that gave the former a mid-day chip lead. Haxton flopped a set of fives after he three-bet from the small blind and he improved to a full house when the board paired on the turn. Jaffe called each of his bets from the small blind — including one for 210,000 on the river. Jaffe mucked the losing hand and nursed his dwindling stack before Dan Smith finally knocked him out with a flopped straight.

Koon Gets Traction, Negreanu Busts Kisacikoglu

Jason Koon methodically added big blinds to his 300,000 starting stack before he broke through and neared the 600,000 mark when he got a shove through Kristen Foxen. Foxen stayed steady outside of the small setback, but she couldn't pick up any ground on Day 1 and she finished with 251,000.

Other early movers were Paul Jager and Lichtenberger, who had an opening clash with Alex Foxen. Jager bounced back after losing early pots against Justin Bonomo and Daniel Negreanu, with whom he shared time on the featured table. Lichtenberger, who is coming off a win at the Poker Masters on his 36th birthday, picked up a large chunk of his chips in a hand with Alex Foxen. Foxen fired a big river bet and Lichtenberger called with a pair of aces to move near the top of the leaderboard.

Daniel Negreanu, who broke his cold streak with a win in the SHRB in 2022, returns for Day 2 with 420,000 after an afternoon of ups and downs. Negreanu fell below the starting stack early, but he found his way back to even with the elimination of Orpen Kisacikoglu in the early evening. Kisacikoglu got it in on the turn with aces and tens, but Negreanu had a Broadway straight to make the Turkish player the second elimination of the day.

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Brewer and Petrangelo Move Up in the Late Levels

Chris Brewer, champion of the $250,000 Super High Roller at the 2023 WSOP, had an unchanged chip stack throughout the early part of the day and into the late afternoon before a late run sent him above Haxton for the chip lead in the sixth level. Brewer’s run was capped off by the elimination of Adrian Mateos, the third person of the day to hit the rail in a hand where Brewer coasted comfortably to a straight. Also at Brewer’s table as the night closed in was the ever-dangerous Koon, while Bryn Kenney, Talal Shakerchi, and Kristen Foxen all held steady below the starting stack.

Petrangelo had a taste of the top of the leaderboard for just a moment near the end of Level 5 after he picked up two pair on the flop for a large pot against Dan Smith, but he gave some back right away when Bill Klein doubled with pocket aces. As Level 6 got underway, Petrangelo still led a table that included Lichtenberger, Negreanu, Klein, Alex Foxen, and Smith.

While Brewer and Petrangelo made moves to the top of their respective tables, Haxton remained steady with the chip lead on the feature table when Level 6 began. The late-night short stacks in Haxton’s orbit included Chidwick and Seth Davies, while Bonomo held steady with Cary Katz and Jager in the middle of the pack.

Petrangelo Takes Control on the Home Stretch

Lichtenberger chipped up again in Level 6 with the elimination of Alex Foxen and Petrangelo joined him at the top of the counts after the double knockout of Klein and Smith. Davies also hit the rail in a flurry of action that saw the tournament reduced to 13 players, with Petrangelo and Lichtenberger in the lead on the outer table and Haxton holding steady at the top of the feature table lineup.

Ultimately it would be Petrangelo who would emerge with the biggest bag of the night, while Lichtenberger and Haxton lurked close behind. Katz finished with the fifth-highest stack after a late run and Koon settled into the fourth spot on the leaderboard going into Day 2.

Be sure to keep it tuned to PokerNews for updates from each day of Super High Roller Bowl VIII at the PokerGO Studio at Aria, and tune into PokerGO for live coverage of the action throughout the rest of the week.

_{*Images courtesy of PokerGO / Antonio Abrego}