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Well, that didn’t take long … or, any time at all. Before play even began on Day 1b, the $1 million guarantee had been surpassed in the $5,000 buy-in World Poker Tour (WPT) bestbet Scramble.

One player who competed in the Day 1b session is ClubWPT qualifier John Thompson. The Northern California retiree is no stranger to competing in major events despite being a recreational players. That’s because last year he won another ClubWPT qualifying tournament for a spot in the WPT Thunder Valley. Unfortunately, for the former accountant, he busted just before the second break of the 1b flight.

Entering the second and final starting flight on Saturday at bestbet Jacksonville, the tournament was just 55 entries shy of reaching the seven-figure guaranteed prize pool. When shuffle up and deal was announced at noon local time in Northern Florida, 85 players were seated, and that number has since grown and will continue to do so up until registration officially closes at the start of Level 10. There were 165 entrants on Day 1a.

ClubWPT Qualifier in Action

At the dinner break when this article was published, six hour-long levels into the day, over 180 players had signed up for the session. With the prize pool now nearing $1.6 million, it’s anyone’s guess just how high it will go.

There’s a solid mix of pros and recreational players chasing their poker dreams in the field. Take, for example, Thompson, a qualifier who won his seat into the tournament on ClubWPT. To tell you how impressive it is that he’s won multiple qualifiers into Main Tour events, it appears he’s the only one ever to do so.

Through the first two levels, leading into the first break, Thompson didn’t have any good fortune on his side, but also wasn’t running into it. But the next couple levels were unkind the the ClubWPT qualifier and he was eliminated before the dinner break.

Registration will remain open through Level 9. We’ll have a full recap of Day 1b later tonight.

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