Day 1B of the $1,100 buy-in, $3.5 million guarantee MSPT Venetian Main Event attracted 750 runners, which along with 1A’s 477 brought the total field up to 1,227 with two flights remaining.

After 15 levels of player in Hall G of the Sands Expo Center, the field was whittled down to 105 players with Ireland’s Gavin O’Rourke and his stack of 530,000 leading the way. A little ways behind with 448,500 is Soo Jung Kim (pictured). Both are ahead of Day 1A chip leader David McConachie, who made it through with 426,000.

Thus far, 168 players (63 from 1A, 105 1B) have punched their ticket to Thursday’s Day 2. Others to bag big stacks were Matthew Hunt (415,500), Ryan Hohner (368,000), and Goran Mandic (362,500), who round out the top five.

They were joined by partypoker MILLIONS Germany runner-up Pavel Plesuv (211,000), WPT champ Aaron Mermelstein (181,500), 2010 PCA winner Harrison Gimbel (151,500), MSPT regular Ron McMillen (134,000), Wisconsin’s Joe Kuether (104,000), Andrew Brokos (95,000), Chicago’s Gary Herstein (94,000), Brian Altman (70,000), Antoine Saout (53,500), and Shannon Shorr (28,500).

Of course, not everyone was fortunate enough to find a bag. Among those to hit the rail on 1B were MSPT Pro Blake Bohn, 2008 WSOP Player of the Year Erick Lindgren, 2006 WSOP Main Event champ Jamie Gold, MSPT Season 7 Venetian champ Thomas Boivin, and former MSPT champs Andy Rubinberg, Ahmed Taleb, Joel Klipping, Paul Cross, Kou Vang, and Nick Jivkov.

Two starting flights remain at Noon local time on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively. Be sure to join us tomorrow as we bring you all the action straight from the tournament floor of the 1C flight.