2015 WinStar River Poker Series

Main Event
Day: 1a
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Event Info

2015 WinStar River Poker Series

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
j♠4♦
Prize
$775,000
Event Info
Buy-in
$2,400
Prize Pool
$2,793,600
Entries
1,164
Level Info
Level
31
Blinds
250,000 / 500,000
Ante
50,000

Ho, Busquet, and Baker Among the 27 Players to Advance from Day 1a

donpeters
donpeters
Level 18 : 3,000/6,000, 1,000 ante

Day 1a of the 2015 River Poker Series $2,500 Main Event from the beautiful WinStar World Casino came to a close in the early hours of Saturday morning. For us in the poker community, that's still Friday night, but whatever you want to make of it, the surviving 27 players from a 262-entry starting field have advanced to Monday's Day 2. Topping the pack was Maury Solano with 511,500 in chips, and he's trailed closely by Keith Carter and his stack of 500,000.

Solano was active all day, and especially when he got hold of a big stack. He was constantly putting the pressure on his opponents and used his chips to his advantage. In one hand that he played, Solano three-bet to 8,100 after an opponent opened to 4,500 during Level 13 with the blinds at 1,000/2,000/300. The original raiser then reraised all in for just under 26,000, and Solano called with the {A-Clubs}{Q-Hearts}. He was dominating his opponent's {A-Spades}{J-Diamonds} and held from there.

Along with Solano and Carter, other notables who advanced to Day 2 were WinStar poker ambassador Maria Ho, Olivier Busquet, Zo Karim, Joe Kuether, Clint Tolbert, David "ODB" Baker, and Allen Carter.

On the other side of the fence were many eliminated players, including Dwyte Pilgrim, Kevin Eyster, Wade Townsend, John Dolan, Ari Engel, Matt Stout, Shawn Rice, Allen Kessler, and Aaron Massy, just to name a handful. But, as this event features a reentry format, they'll all be able to return for another chance at glory and a big payday here in Thackerville.

Saturday will see Day 1b kick off at 12 p.m. local time, and you can find continued coverage right here on PokerNews.com.

Tags: Allen KesslerAri EngelClint TolbertDavid "ODB" BakerDavid BakerDwyte PilgrimJoe KuetherJohn DolanKevin EysterMaria HoMatthew StoutMaury SolanoOlivier BusquetWade TownsendZo Karim

$2.5 Million Guaranteed River Poker Series Main Event Starts Today!

donpeters
donpeters

Just over an hour north of Dallas and a few hundred feet into the State of Oklahoma lies WinStar World Casino and Resort in Thackerville, home of the River Poker Series.

First opened in 2004, WinStar World Casino quickly became the largest casino in the Sooner State. Then, following an expansion in 2013, it became the largest casino in the U.S. Currently, the property boasts nearly 1,500 rooms and over 500,000 square feet of total gaming space.

This year, the River Poker Series began on August 27. Today, at 12 p.m. local time, the venue will play host to the 2015 River Poker Series $2,500 Main Event. The Main Event boasts a big $2.5 million prize pool. The tournament will feature three starting flights, guarantee $1 million to the winner, and allow players to reenter.

Day 1a will kick off today at 12 p.m. local time, with Day 1b taking place on Saturday and Day 1c on Sunday. For $2,500, players will begin with 25,000 in tournament chips and the levels on the first day will last 40 minutes. On Day 2 and Day 3, level time will be increased to 60 minutes.

First taking place in 2008, the River Poker Series Main Event featured a $3 million prize pool and attracted 1,450 entries. Jim Carroll took the title that year for $700,000 after he defeated Young Cho in heads-up play. In 2009, Bobby Hempkins won $710,000 after topping a field of 1,500 entries, and in 2010, Khoueng Souvoravong beat a field of 1,436 to win $646,690.

Another big field came out in 2011, and Bronson Tucker won $640,400 for topping a field of 1,355 entries. In 2012, it was Aaron Massey taking the title and $651,559 in prize money when he finished first in a field of 1,394 entries.

In 2013, the buy-in was upped to $2,500 after previously being $2,100. Khaophone Inthavong emerged from the field of 1,108 entries that year to earn the $473,900 top prize, and then in 2014 it was Jason Helder winning the event for a cool $1 million thanks to the first-place guarantee. Helder topped a field of 1,323 entries.

Since its inception, the River Poker Series Main Event has attracted an average of 1,367 entries and awarded tens of millions of dollars in prize money. Another field of 1,300-plus is anticipated this year, and with the guarantee you will see the winner awarded $1 million.

Of those expected to be in the field are Maria Ho, Allen Kessler, Chris Tryba, David "ODB" Baker, Ray Henson, and TJ Cloutier. The cards will be in the air at 12 p.m. Be sure to stay tuned to PokerNews for live coverage from this event.