Life Outside Poker is a new podcast for PokerNews hosted by Connor Richards that seeks to pull back the curtain on poker players and allow viewers and listeners to get to know them on a personal level.
In the 14th episode, Connor speaks with Brazilian poker vlogger and WPT Global ambassador Romulo Dorea, aka "Poker Profit," who talked about coming to the US to play college soccer, studying economics, discovering poker and making content in both English and Portuguese.
Romulo also shared his six principles for success in poker and talked about his life-changing trip on the WPT Voyage.
Day 1b of the $2,200 Main Event Event is underway here at the Maryland State Poker Championship hosted by Live! Casino & Hotel Maryland. The PokerStars sponsored tournament features a $500,000 guaranteed prize pool, with the first of two starting flights having been completed yesterday.
Players who advance from each flight will combine and return for Day 2 on Sunday, August 11, where action will play down to the final six players. The remaining competitors will return for the third and final day on Monday, August 12, where a winner will be crowned.
Last year's installment of the event attracted 172 runners, and the first flight saw 100 entrants pony up the $2,200 buy-in this year. Only 13 of those competitors will be advancing to Day 2, all of whom have already made the money.
Day 1a Chip Counts
Place
Player
Country
Chip Count
1
Michael Bills
United States
844,000
2
Nicholas Banyas
United States
583,000
3
John Kostelac
United States
440,000
4
Brandon Mueller
United States
422,000
5
Derek Sudell
United States
306,000
6
Xiaoqiong Liu
United States
296,000
7
Joseph Crowley
United States
274,000
8
Tim Faro
United States
252,000
9
Carlos Chadha Villamarin
United States
194,000
10
Charles Furey
United States
189,000
11
Daniel Lim
United States
90,000
12
Matthew Zambanini
United States
88,000
13
David Olshan
United States
21,000
Michael Bills
Players begin each starting flight with 40,000 in chips and blinds will start at 100/100 with a 100 big blind ante. Blinds will increase every 30 minutes on Day 1 and every 40 minutes on Day 2. Play for Day 1 flights will conclude once 12.5% of the field remains, and those who bag will be in the money for Day 2.
Late registration and reentries are permitted through level 12, with 15-minute breaks taking place every three levels. A one hour dinner break will take place after Level 9 at approximately 5:45 p.m. local time.
Unlimited re-entries are allowed, and players may play both Day 1 flights in an attempt to increase their chip counts. Should a player choose to play multiple Day 1 flights, only the highest qualifying stack will be permitted to continue to Day 2, and they will receive a min-cash for their other qualifying stack.
Remaining Schedule
Day
Date
Time
Day 1b
August 10
11:15 a.m.
Day 2
August 11
12:15 p.m.
Day 3
August 12
2:15 p.m.
Also up for grabs for the first place winner is a Gold Pass to the NAPT Las Vegas Main Event in November. PokerStars will be awarding the last player standing the Gold Pass package, which includes a seven-night stay at Resorts World Las Vegas, $1,800 for travel expenses, and the $5,300 tournament buy-in.
Be sure to follow PokerNews throughout the entirety of the $2,200 Main Event here at the Maryland State Poker Championship.
