After finishing the Epic Poker League Pro/Am in 8^th place, Michael DiVita was one of the nine players who were able to secure a seat in the $20,000 buy-in Epic Poker League Main Event. However, when DiVita attempted to register for the Main Event he was promptly told that he was not welcome to participate in Epic Poker League tournaments and was escorted off of the Palms Casino property. DiVita’s $1,500 buy-in from the Pro/Am tournament was refunded by the EPL.

After an Internet search it seems DiVita has a number of criminal convictions and is a registered sex offender. The decision to disqualify DiVita (who has some serious convictions) came in a much swifter manner than the Epic Poker League’s decision to place their first winner, Chino Rheem, on probation for a failure to repay debts in the poker community. However, after the amount of attention Chino Rheem’s EPL win received, the last thing the EPL would want is a registered sex offender to win their second title.

DiVita’s spot in the Epic Poker league Main Event was awarded to the bubble boy from the Pro/Am Jamie Kaplan. Kaplan made the most of his opportunity in the Main Event, ending the day as the chip-leader, with Chino Rheem right in the hunt sitting in 6^th place on the leader-board heading into Day 2.

A total of 97 players registered for the Main event, far fewer than the first go-round which exceeded everyone’s expectations when over 130playersenteredthe tournament. However, with the poker world currently in Europe to play in a number of EPT and WPT tournaments coming up on the tournament schedule the drop off was anticipated, and the 97 entrants is actually right around EPL expectations.

Here is a look at the Top 10 chip counts heading into Day 2 of the tournament:

1. Jaime Kaplan — 324,600
2. Daniel O´Brien — 321,400
3. Alec Torelli — 231,500
4. Mike McDonald — 199,600
5. Nam Thien Le — 176,300
6. Chino Rheem — 173,300
7. Sean Getzwiller — 165,400
8. Andrew Robl — 149,700
9. Adam Levy — 145,400
10. Marco Johnson — 145,200

With 97 entrants the total prize-pool reached $2.3 million. In all, 12 players will make the money, with the winner of the second EPL Main Event set to receive a hefty $782,410 payday. Not quite the $1 million awarded to Rheem, but still a very respectable score.

Tags: Alec Torelli, Bubble Boy, Criminal Convictions, Divita, Dq, Epl, EPT, Internet Search, Kaplan Kaplan, Leader Board, main event, Mike McDonald, O Brien, Palms Casino, Poker World, Probation, Registered Sex Offender, Rheem, Th Place, WPT

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