Araya Leads Choctaw's Final 30
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After a massive day where it appeared he could do no wrong, Abraham Araya has grabbed the chip lead in the 2011/2012 World Series of Poker Circuit Choctaw Main Event heading into the final 30 Monday.
Araya is no stranger to winning at Choctaw, having claimed the main event title at the $1,500 T.J. Cloutier Choctaw Poker Challenge right here this past October.
However, he`ll have some stiff competition when play resumes at 12 p.m. Monday with players like Mark Burford and Larry Grayson above the one-million chip mark as well and Steven Gurney-Goldman, Will Nguyen, Michael Sanders and Daniel Lowery all within striking distance.
476 players began the second day in Durant, OK with Chris Tiller and three-time WSOPC ring winner La Sengphet at the top of the counts.
However, these two spent the day proving the fact Day 1 leaders in just about any poker tournament often have very little impact on the results.
In fact, both busted before the 99-player money bubble popped.
They did find some good company on the early rail, with well-known pros like Scotty Nguyen, T.J. Cloutier, Tommy Vedes, Berry Johnston, Men "The Master" Nguyen, Chad Brown, and Tom McEvoy all meeting them there.
Six-time WSOP bracelet winner Layne Flack also hit the exit before the payouts started after a terrible beat that saw him get it in with a set only to see his opponent go runner-runner to make quads.
Prizepool information was released by the tournament staff part way through the day and with a final total of 978 players getting in on the action here in Oklahoma, a $1.4 million prizepool was created with plans to pay the final 99.
That number was reached shortly after the dinner break when two players busted during the same orbit and both went home with half of a minimum cash.
Six-figure paydays await the top three here at Choctaw, including a sizable $270,380 first-place prize, so things should be exciting Monday as we play down from 30 to a champion, so we suggest you take the time to follow all the WSOPC action live right here on Pokernews.com.
Top Ten Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Abraham Araya | 1,822,000 |
| 2 | Larry Grayson | 1,608,000 |
| 3 | Mark Burford | 1,156,000 |
| 4 | Will Nguyen | 994,000 |
| 5 | Steven Gurney-Goldman | 968,000 |
| 6 | Michael Sanders | 939,000 |
| 7 | Daniel Lowery | 926,000 |
| 8 | Derek Browning | 926,000 |
| 9 | Hugo Perez | 842,000 |
| 10 | Drew Dumanski | 836,000 |