$5,000 Circuit Championship Event Day 1 | 2008 WSOP Circuit Event - Caesars Las Vegas

04-29-2008 09:01 UTC-7

2008 WSOP Circuit - Caesars Palace, Las Vegas

[user38449]

An annual precursor to the big show at the Rio, the World Series of Poker Circuit returns to sunny Las Vegas, Nevada this afternoon for another $5,000 buy-in no limit hold'em extravaganza at the world famous Caesars Palace Hotel and Casino.

Canadian Cory Carroll took down last year's event and $515,176 in prize money after besting a field of 336 players and captaining a tough final table featuring fellow tournament pros David "The Dragon" Pham and "Downtown" Chad Brown.

Another large turnout is expected for this year's version of the event, scheduled to kick off at 12:00 noon local time (PST) this afternoon. PokerNews' Live Coverage Team will be on hand for the duration of the event, bringing you videos, live updates, chip counts, photos and more direct from Caesars' poker room floor.

Sweat the action from school, at work or at home in your skivvies, but whatever the case, be sure to keep your browser locked in right here at PokerNews.com. We'll see you at noon!

Tags: WSOP

04-29-2008 12:03 UTC-7

A Slight Delay

[user65508]

It is a few minutes past noon and an announcement has just been made that the start of the tournament will be delayed slightly to accommodate the long lines of waiting entrants. Stay tuned; we expect to be underway momentarily.

04-29-2008 12:13 UTC-7

Getting Started

[user22113]

Players are taking their seats here in the tournament section of the Caesars Palace poker room. Of note, we've spotted Men "The Master" Nguyen sizing up the competition and sipping coffee while J.C. Alvarado, Phil Gordon, Erick Lindgren, Mike Mizrachi, and Kathy Liebert are meandering around the room, waiting for the tournament to start.

Tags: Erick Lindgren Phil Gordon

Level: 1

Blinds: 25/50

Ante: 0

04-29-2008 12:22 UTC-7

Shuffle Up and Deal

[user38449]

Most of the pre-tournament conversations have been squelched by the tournament director's "Shuffle up and deal" announcement and we're officially underway. The sound of shuffling chips now dominates the air, though we can still hear the voice of one very eccentric Men "The Master" Nguyen above the clatter.

Tags: Men Nguyen

04-29-2008 12:31 UTC-7

Table of Death

[user65508]

Arguably the toughest table to start the day sees 2007 World Series of Poker bracelet winner Steve Billirakis sitting with Sabyl Cohen, Roy Winston, Robert Mizrachi, and Gavin Smith among others. This grouping should make for some exciting early action.

04-29-2008 12:38 UTC-7

Gavin Smith On Ropes Early

[user22113]

After somehow managing to work his starting stack of 10,000 down to 250, Gavin Smith opened the pot by moving all in with {Q-Clubs}

. Action was folded back around to the small blind who called the additional 200 with {7-Spades}

. The big blind mucked as the seat remains unoccupied.

The board came {Q-Diamonds}

giving Gavin top pair, extending his tournament life for at least a little while longer.

Tags: Gavin Smith

04-29-2008 13:02 UTC-7

Late Arrivals

[user65508]

The last few players are trickling in and among the late arrivals is David Singer, who promptly picked up a small pot seconds after sitting down. Also at his table is Irishman Alan Smurfit.

04-29-2008 13:12 UTC-7

Anna Takes a Hit Early

[user65508]

With a board of {8-Spades}

showing, Anna Wroblewski raised a player in the three seat who had led out with a 500 bet. The cutoff called and the river came {Q-Clubs}

. Anna fired with a bet of 4,500 and the player called and showed {J-Spades}

to take the pot as Anna mucked commenting, "nice hand."

Tags: Anna Wroblewski

04-29-2008 13:16 UTC-7

More Big Names

[user38449]

Chris "Jesus" Ferguson, Mark Seif, Layne Flack, Steve Billirakis, Sorel Mizzi, Roy Winston, Robert Mizrachi, Shane "shaniac" Schleger, Chad "lilholdem954" Batista, Jimmy Fricke, Alex Kravchenko, Michael Tomeny, Doug Lee, David Benyamine, Allen Cunningham and Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier are all here, making this one of the toughest fields in WSOP Circuit history.

Tags: Chris Ferguson Sorel Mizzi