WSOP-C New Orleans, Day 2: Timothy Miles Heads Final

May 21 2008, John Hartness

69 players returned to Harrah's New Orleans for Day 2 of the World Series of Poker Circuit Main Event, with 2007 winner Lou Esposito sharing the chip lead with David Fox as Day 2 kicked off. Also in the field were Circuit regulars Philip Sparta, Jimmy Tran and Doug "Rico" Carli, who was going for a record 35th cash in a WSOP Circuit event. At the end of the day, the final table was set at nine players, and Esposito was within striking distance of back-to-back championships in New Orleans.

The early afternoon hours were anything but easy in the Big Easy, as 30 players went to the rail in the first two hours. Among the early eliminations on Day 2 were Tran and Carli. Carli busted after moving all in over the top of John Ryan with Q-J to Ryan's K-10. The board came down K-A-A-2-3, and Carli will have to wait until the next season of Circuit events to add to his record of 34 Circuit cashes.

With such a fast pace of play, the bubble approached rapidly. After a few false alarms with short stacks getting all their chips in and doubling up, Jack Schanbacher finally became the bubble boy, busting in 28th place. Schanbacher moved all in pre-flop with , and Marc Fratter made the call with . The board ran out , and Schanbacher was busted in 28th.

With the bubble burst, the typical flurry of eliminations ensued, and play was quickly down to two tables, where Jonathan Little fell to the rail in 18th place ($9,573). Little moved all in pre-flop with , and was called by Lou Esposito with . The flop brought no help to Little as it came down , and the turn and river sealed the deal as they came down . Esposito, who had been riding a short stack most of the early evening, moved into more comfortable position for his run at the final table.

Darryll Fish busted next in 17th ($9,573) when he put his short stack in the middle with and found a caller in Ed Jatho, holding . Nothing unexpected occurred, and Fish was eliminated on a board of . A short-stacked Suju Abraham was next to fall as he busted in 16th ($9,573) when he ran into Gabe Costner's pocket queens. Costner's hand held up to send Abraham to the rail.

The final-table bubble neared quickly as Cory Albertson and Blake Purvis busted in 15th and 14th place, respectively. Albertson and Purvis each picked up $11,967 for their tournament. Matthew "All In At 420" Stout pushed all in from the button on a steal with and ran into Ed Jatho's to bust in 13th place ($11,967), and then Mike Browne took a wicked beat to depart in 12th place ($14,360). Browne pushed all in pre-flop with and was called by Fatolla Shahen, with . The flop was harmless enough, coming down , but the on the turn gave the pot to Shahen and sent Browne to the rail.

Ed Jatho claimed another victim when he made a tough call against Jason Brice to bust Brice in 11th place ($14,360). Brice raised preflop with , and Jatho made the call. Brice led out on the flop, and Jatho again made the call. When the landed on the turn, Brice put the rest of his chips in the middle, and Jatho went into the tank. After thinking for several minutes, Jatho made the call with , and the on the river sent Brice to the rail.

Fatolla Shahen went from penthouse to outhouse, and then out the door, in the span of just a few hands. In the biggest pot of the tournament, Shahen raised pre-flop with , finding one caller in Timothy Miles, another big stack. The flop came down , and Shahen fired again. Miles made the call, and the turn brought the . Shahen led out once again, and this time Miles moved all in over the top. Shahen called, only to see Miles table top two pair with . The irrelevant came on the river, and Shahen was left the short stack. Miles finished Shahen off two hands later when Shahen moved all in pre-flop with and Miles called with . The flop brought excitement in the form of the , and Miles' trips held up to send Shahen to the rail in 10th place ($14,360) and the set the final table.

The final table looked like this as the remaining nine players bagged their chips:

Seat 1: Floyd Vanderford - 65,000
Seat 2: Chuck Kelley - 142,000
Seat 3: Lou Esposito - 116,000
Seat 4: Timothy "TK" Miles - 687,000
Seat 5: Jeff Tims - 345,000
Seat 6: Ed Jatho - 406,000
Seat 7: Marc Fratter - 321,000
Seat 8: Gabe Costner - 166,000
Seat 9: Nick Ceci - 256,000

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