Chad HollowayDefending Champ Sam Barnhart on Day 1b.
Sam Barnhart, who was the defending champion of this event, was spotted at the payout desk and informed us of the unfortunate news that he has been eliminated. It happened when he pushed his short stack all in preflop with only to run into the of his opponent. The board ran out dry and Barnhart was eliminated in 49th place.
His elimination marked the end of an incredible one-year journey that made waves in the poker world. After satelliting into last year's Harrah's Tunica Main Event, Barnhart went on to win the tournament, qualifying for the National Championship in the process. He then took down that event, winning $300,000, before going deep in the WSOP Main Event, where he finished in 17th place and brought his total winnings for a six-month period up over $800K.
While he was certainly hoping to repeat, Barnhart was gracious for a deep run and appreciative of the warm reception he's experienced here in Tunica. On to the next one, Sam!
Bronson Tucker, who was one of the bigger stacks not long ago, had a reversal of fortune and was down to just 52,000 when he moved all in with and was up against the of Kenny Milam. Bronson was in bad shape, and the flop was not much help.
The turn gave him an opened-ended straight draw, and wouldn't you know it, the river completed it. Tucker doubled on the hand while Milam lost about 20% of his chips.
Following the elimination of Kat Bowen, Kristen Deardorff is the last woman standing. She's from Murfreesboro, TN and has been playing poker for eight years. She used to live in Biloxi where she played in the local casinos. She travels the circuit some but not as much she could because of her job.
only to run into the 
of his opponent. The board ran out dry and Barnhart was eliminated in 49th place.
![[user196975]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
and was up against the 
of Kenny Milam. Bronson was in bad shape, and the 
flop was not much help.
river completed it. Tucker doubled on the hand while Milam lost about 20% of his chips.
