Main Event
Day 1 Started
2012-13 World Series of Poker Circuit Event - The Bicycle Casino
Main Event
Day: 1
The WSOPC Is Back, Back, in Cali, Cali
Last year was the first time that there was a Circuit stop in the city of Los Angeles, and after the turnouts that the events got here at the Bicycle Casino, there was little doubt that they would be coming back this year. 537 people forked over $1,600 last year, and by the end of it, only one person was left standing. That player was the incomparable Freddy Deeb, who took the option to skip Day 1 all together and enter on Day 2 with 20 big blinds. Well he rode those 20 blinds into 11 million chips, while also securing 171,810, and that gold ring everyone was after!
As you would expect in a big poker destination like Los Angeles, there were a slew of big name pros that secured a pay day in last year’s event. This included Thor Hansen (46th), Alec Torelli (23rd), and local young pro Brian Yoon (13th). The final table also included WSOP bracelet winner David Singontiko (4th), and Alex Masek(2nd), who just set history last night by winning his record breaking 6th WSOP Circuit ring. Masek tied the record just last month in Rincon.
Today, we are playing two Day 1’s. Day 1a is set to get underway at 12 local time, and those players are scheduled to play 12 levels, or eight hours. If you get knocked out of the first flight, you may reenter into the second flight, which starts at five today. If you elect to just play one of these flights, or don’t play at all today, you can come in tomorrow morning, and hope to repeat Deeb’s performance from last year!
Well we are excited to get things underway here at the Bike! The cards will be in the air soon, and we here at Pokernews will be here all day to bring you the up to the minute action!
About to Start!
The players are filling the room and taking their seats, and the cards will be in the air shortly.
Level: 1a
Blinds: 25/50
Ante: 0
Shuffle Up And Deal!
Level 1
: 25/50, 0 ante
The announcement has been made. Dealers, put the cards in the air!
Baldwin Off To Good Start
We just started here with the blinds at 25-50, and Eric "Basebaldy" Baldwin is already getting heavily involved. We just got him in a big pot early that has him sitting on 25,000.
We caught the action on the river, with the board reading 
. Baldwin had already bet 1,250 when we got there, and his lone opponent in the hand had raised to 2,500. Baldwin didn't slow down though, as he only took about 10 seconds to raise to 8,675. His opponent sat back in his chair, let out a big sigh, and mucked his hand.
Baldwin has jumped up to 25,000 after that hand, and has taken the extremely early chip lead in the tournament.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
25,000 | 25,000 |
Familiar Faces in the Field
Several familiar faces are out today for the first flight of the World Series of Poker Circuit Bicycle Main Event. Among them are Matt Affleck, Robert Cheong, A.J. Jejelowo, Ben Yu, Sam Barnhart, Kathy Liebert, Trip Kirk, and even World Series of Poker photographer Jay "WhoJedi" Newnum.
Also in the field is Ari Engel who just lost prop bet and was forced to shave his head.
Details of the bet for those interested: Most money made over a 1 week period while @Thelandlordd was in Toronto. The loser had to shave..January 10 2013Follow
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
20,000 | 20,000 |
|
20,000 | 20,000 |
|
20,000 | 20,000 |
|
20,000 | 20,000 |
|
20,000 | 20,000 |
|
20,000 | 20,000 |
|
20,000 | 20,000 |
|
20,000 | 20,000 |
|
20,000 | 20,000 |
|
20,000 | 20,000 |
Late Arrivals
There is a line of at least 50 people at the cashier, so we will have plenty of late registrants. Here are just a few that we recognize.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
20,000 | |
|
20,000 | 20,000 |
|
20,000 | 20,000 |
|
20,000 | 20,000 |
|
20,000 | 20,000 |
|
20,000 | 20,000 |
|
20,000 | 20,000 |
|
|
20,000 | 20,000 |
Engel Winning the Small Ones Early
Ari Engel is off to a good start after taking a small pot from two opponents early today.
We caught the action with Engel in the big blind as he and the smalled blind both called a 150 raise from the player under the gun + 1.
The flop fell 
and all three players checked. The turn then came the 
and the small blind took the opportunity to bet 150. Engel made a small raise to 325 and the original raiser quickly folded.
The player in the small blind thought briefly before mucking this cards and with that Engel moved up to just about 20,500 in chips
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
20,500 | 500 |
Level: 2a
Blinds: 50/100
Ante: 0