Previewing the 2012-2013 World Series of Poker Circuit Horseshoe Hammond

The Venue at Horseshoe Hammond

The fourth stop of the 2012-2013 World Series of Poker Circuit presented by Southern Comfort 100 Proof has been taking place all week at the Horseshoe Hammond, which is situated just outside of Chicago. The stop, which will feature 12 rings events, culminates this weekend with a $1,675 buy-in main event.

The stop, which tends to be the biggest on the schedule every year, kicked off in a big way with Event #1: $365 No-Limit Hold’em Re-Entry. It saw an astounding 2,498 players take to the felt over two starting days, creating a prize pool of $749,000, a first-place prize of $110,535, and made it the third largest Circuit event ever.

In that tournament, 310 players advanced to Day 2, of which 58 still needed to go before the money was reached at 252. Once the money bubble burst, a steady stream of eliminations flowed out the door, and by the end of the night, 15 players remained. When the final table of nine was reached, 32-year-old Milwaukee cash-game pro Tom Rogers had captured the chip lead and never looked back.

One by one, Rogers’ opponents hit the rail until he was heads-up with David Backstrom. The pair battled for a solid 90 minutes before Rogers seized victory in his first WSOP Circuit cash. “I just want to say hi and that I love my girlfriend Kyle and my son Ethan,” a gracious Rogers told WSOP officials after the win.

Here’s a look the final hand of Event #1:

Here's a look at the WSOP Circuit Horseshoe Hammond events completed thus far:

Previewing the 2012-2013 World Series of Poker Circuit Horseshoe Hammond 101
Thomas Rogers, winner of Event #1.

WSOP Circuit Horseshoe Hammond Ring Event #1: No-Limit Hold’em Re-Entry

Buy-inEntrantsPrize Pool
$300+$652,498$749,400
PlacePlayerHometownPrize
1Thomas RogersMilwaukee, WI$110,535
2David BackstromCrestwood, IL$69,544
3Paul MorashGreer, SC$52,151
4Brett SchwertleyOmaha, NE$40,160
5Cristian CiorteaChicago, IL$31,198
6Zal IraniChicago, IL$24,356
7Gary LindesmithLowell, IN$19,185
8David KappelDowners Grove, IL$15,288
9Stephen HarrisonChicago, IL$12,388

Previewing the 2012-2013 World Series of Poker Circuit Horseshoe Hammond 102
Millard Hale, winner of Event #2.

WSOP Circuit Horseshoe Hammond Ring Event #2: No-Limit Hold’em

Buy-inEntrantsPrize Pool
$500+$80678$339,000
PlacePlayerHometownPrize
1Millard HalePortage, MI$69,505
2Michael FrazinDeerfield, IL$43,002
3Steven SkowronskiHammond, IN$31,541
4Heath MuzslayKalamazoo, MI$23,455
5John CastilloOrland Park, IL$17,679
6Eric GuthWaukesha, WI$13,502
7Stephan JohnsonMadison, WI$10,448
8Kristofer SensChicago, IL$8,190
9Junior MontalvoChicago, IL$6,502

Previewing the 2012-2013 World Series of Poker Circuit Horseshoe Hammond 103
Eddie Ochana, winner of Event #3.

WSOP Circuit Horseshoe Hammond Ring Event #3: No-Limit Hold’em

Buy-inEntrantsPrize Pool
$1,000+$125164$164,000
PlacePlayerHometownPrize
1Eddie OchanaElgin, IL$44,281
2James LenaghanMobile, AL$27,365
3Corey CutrellSeattle, WA$19,698
4Jon FerraroMenomonee Falls, WI$14,437
5Haresh JethaniHouston, TX$10,768
6Claudia CrawfordBrookhaven, MS$8,172
7Mandeep NarangHoover, AL$6,307
8Jospeh RussoElk Grove Village, IL$4,948
9Michael MeyersShelby Township, MI$3,946

Previewing the 2012-2013 World Series of Poker Circuit Horseshoe Hammond 104
Donald Walsh, winner of Event #4.

WSOP Circuit Horseshoe Hammond Ring Event #4: Pot-Limit Omaha w/ $100 Rebuys

Buy-inEntrantsPrize Pool
$300+$65166$49,800
PlacePlayerHometownPrize
1Donald WalshPark Ridge, IL$38,046
2Peter DaherChicago, IL$23,511
3Mike LeahLas Vegas, NV$16,923
4Jeffrey McgeeBowie, MD$12,403
5Oleg BadmayevHoffman Estates, IL$9,251
6Ngoc NguyenWichita, KS$7,021
7Michael ValloneHilliard, OH$5,419
8Yossi AzulayChicago, IL$4,251
9Scott BohlmanGlenview, IL$3,390

Previewing the 2012-2013 World Series of Poker Circuit Horseshoe Hammond 105
Blake Barousse, winner of Event #5.

WSOP Circuit Horseshoe Hammond Ring Event #5: No-Limit Hold’em

Buy-inEntrantsPrize Pool
$300+$65730$219,000
PlacePlayerHometownPrize
1Blake BarousseLafayette, LA$43,805
2Kenneth FeltenIsland Lake, IL$27,003
3John HolleyDestin, FL$19,907
4Mike LeahLas Vegas, NV$14,837
5Carter MyersBreckenridge, MI$11,206
6Imran SajwaniChicago, IL$8,574
7William LucianoLombard, IL$6,642
8Pavlin KarakikovHarwood Heights, IL$5,210
9William RobbinsPlainwell, MI$4,137

Previewing the 2012-2013 World Series of Poker Circuit Horseshoe Hammond 106
Stanislav Barshak, winner of Event #6.

WSOP Circuit Horseshoe Hammond Ring Event #6: NLHE Six-Handed

Buy-inEntrantsPrize Pool
$500+$80313$156,500
PlacePlayerHometownPrize
1Stanislav BarshakBuffalo Grove, IL$39,123
2Gary LindesmithLowell, IN$24,176
3Lloyd MandelFort Myers, FL$16,778
4Matthew WolfeWindsor, ON$11,786
5Douglas MackinnonBuffalo, NY$8,377
6Jonathan TaylorPhil Campbell, AL$6,024
7Joel CasperChicago, IL$4,380
8Mark MaleticCanton, MI$4,380
9Boulos EstafanousDarien, IL$3,222

Previewing the 2012-2013 World Series of Poker Circuit Horseshoe Hammond 107
David Droeger, winner of Event #7.

WSOP Circuit Horseshoe Hammond Ring Event #7: H.O.R.S.E.

Buy-inEntrantsPrize Pool
$300+$65277$83,100
PlacePlayerHometownPrize
1David DroegerChicago, IL$20,725
2Yung HwangSugar Land, TX$12,844
3Adam ZimowskiRacine, WI$9,431
4Yuval BronshteinTel Aviv, Israel$6,992
5Frederic WinterLa Grange, IL$5,233
6Dan HeimillerLas Vegas, NV$3,953
7Richard BarryHinsdale, IL$3,014
8David NicholsonPerkinston, MS$2,320

Previewing the 2012-2013 World Series of Poker Circuit Horseshoe Hammond 108
Ari Engel, winner of Event #8.

WSOP Circuit Horseshoe Hammond Ring Event #8: No-Limit Hold’em

Buy-inEntrantsPrize Pool
$1,000+$125222$222,000
PlacePlayerHometownPrize
1Ari EngelLas Vegas, NV$55,503
2Darren RabinowitzMercer Island, WA$34,303
3Corey BurbickDavie, FL$24,966
4Jeffery WinchellJoliet, IL$18,464
5Gregory JenningsOverland Park, KS$13,868
6Matthew ColvinDallas, TX$10,578
7Joel CasperChicago, IL$8,192
8Ngoc NguyenWitchita, KS$6,438
9Corrie WunstelBaton Rouge, LA$5,135

With several events yet to be determined, the race for the WSOP Circuit Horseshoe Hammond Casino Champion is undetermined. Whoever captures that title, along with the eventual winner of the Main Event, will automatically qualify for the Second Annual $1 Million National Championship. Here's a look at the players who have qualified:

National Championship Qualifiers

PlayerQualified
Dan HeimillerHorseshoe Southern Indiana Main Event Winner
Jonathan TaylorHorseshoe Southern Indiana Casino Champion
Quan NguyenBossier City Casino Champion
Jeff GibralterBossier City Main Event Champion
Kyle CartwrightIP Biloxi Main Event Winner
Cory WoodIP Biloxi Casino Champion

In addition to the qualifiers, players who earn enough points on the National Leaderboard will be able to buy in to the National Championship:

WSOPC National Leaderboard Top Ten*

PlayerPointsRingsCashedEarnings
Rex Clinkscales11004$28,874
Caufman Talley107.524$79,544
Charles “Woody” Moore10506$30,275
Aaron Massey10514$24,300
John Dolan10014$63,916
Austin Buchanan05$40,964 
Ashly Butler87.512$21,534
Chris Conrad8503$16,077
Somphone Sengsouvanh77.503$13,042
Benjamin Reason72.512$17,214

*Leading up to the WSOP Circuit Horseshoe Hammond stop.

Here's a look at the remaining schedule for the 2012-13 WSOP Circuit:

DateEvent Location
Oct. 27 - Nov. 7, 2012River Rock (Vancouver, Canada)
Nov. 8-19, 2012Harveys Lake Tahoe
Nov. 29 - Dec. 10, 2012Harrah’s Atlantic City
Dec. 6-17, 2012Harrah’s Rincon
Jan. 3-14, 2013The Bicycle Casino (Los Angeles)
Jan. 10-21, 2013Choctaw Durant (Dallas/Oklahoma)
Jan. 24 - Feb. 4, 2013Harrah’s Tunica (Mississippi)
Feb. 7-18, 2013Caesars Palace (Las Vegas)
Feb. 14-25, 2013Palm Beach Kennel Club (Florida)
Feb. 28 - March 11, 2013Caesars Atlantic City
March 14-25, 2013Horseshoe Cleveland
March 27 - April 8, 2013Foxwoods (Connecticut)
April 4-15, 2012Harrah’s Cherokee (North Carolina)
April 11-April 22, 2013Horseshoe Council Bluffs (Iowa)
April 25 - May 6, 2013Harrah’s Philadelphia
May 9 - May 20, 2013Harrah’s New Orleans
May 21-23, 2013Harrah’s New Orleans (National Championship)

For more information on the 2012-13 WSOP Circuit season, visit WSOP.com.

*Photos courtesy of WSOP.com.

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Executive Editor U.S.

Executive Editor US, PokerNews Podcast co-host & 2013 WSOP Bracelet Winner.

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