2008 WSOP Circuit Event - Lake Tahoe

$5,150 Championship Main Event
Day: 1
123
Event Info

2008 WSOP Circuit Event - Lake Tahoe

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
q♥9♣
Prize
$181,379
Event Info
Buy-in
$5,000
Prize Pool
$640,200
Entries
132
Level Info
Level
22
Blinds
8,000 / 16,000
Ante
2,000
Sort

2008 World Series of Poker Circuit Event - Lake Tahoe: Day 1

[user38449]
[user38449]
Stateline, NV from up high
Stateline, NV from up high
PokerNews is on site here at Harvey's Hotel and Casino in picturesque South Lake Tahoe for another stop on the 2008 World Series of Poker Circuit. With the recent conclusion of the November Nine final table, poker is buzzing up in the mountains and the tournament staff anticipates a big turnout.

Last year's Tahoe Main Event was won by Chris 'Jesus' Ferguson, who bested a field of 142 players en route to claiming the $203,649 grand prize and a circuit championship gold ring -- Ferguson's third. Irishman Sylvester Geoghegan also made an appearance at last year's final table, posting a 4th place finish, as did future WSOP bracelet winner Michael Banducci, who finished 6th.

Coverage begins at 12:00 noon local time (GST -8). Join us then for live updates, chip counts and photos direct from the tournament floor!

We're live from Lake Tahoe in T-minus two hours...

Anticipation

[user65508]
[user65508]
The tournament staff has announced that they are running a few last minute satellites as we await the start of the day. Meanwhile, other players have begun to wander to their seat assignments. Former World Series of Poker Main Event Champions Johnny Chan and Jerry Yang are just two of the high profile names that will be playing today. Stay tuned for the start of action momentarily.

Tags: Jerry YangJohnny Chan

Shuffle Up and Deal

[user22113]
[user22113]
Jerry 'The Shadow' Yang
Jerry 'The Shadow' Yang
2007 WSOP Champ Jerry Yang has just stepped down from the mic after offering the opening remarks, and those famous words, "Shuffle up and deal!"

We're officially underway here in Tahoe!

Tags: Jerry Yang

Level: 1

Blinds: 25/50

Ante: 0

Ken Norman

[user65508]
[user65508]
Ken Norman
Ken Norman
Former NBA player Ken Norman is in the field today. Norman is proving to be a formidable adversary away for the hard court by making a name for himself on the felt. Norman is no stranger to the World Series of Poker Circuit, as he posted a deep run in a circuit championship event just last month. The former basketball pro placed 14th at the WSOP Circuit Event in Hammond, Indiana, taking home $15,765 in prize money.

Tags: Ken Norman

Faces in the Crowd

[user38449]
[user38449]
While the field currently appears a tad bit smaller than last year's, the number of big names in the field has not suffered.

Thus far, we've spotted the likes of WSOP Main Event Champs Jerry Yang and Johnny Chan, 2007 Tahoe final tablist Mark Bonsack, top female pros Kathy Liebert and Sabyl Cohen-Landrum, two-time WSOP bracelet winner Jeff Madsen, and the man they call "Chainsaw," Allen Kessler.

Joseph Down Early

[user38449]
[user38449]
Young pro Jeremy Joseph is off to a slow start after losing a large chunk of his stack to amateur Troy Willey. Joseph bluffed off about half his stack with queen-high but had run into Willey's full house. After the hand, Joseph was left with just 7,800 in chips while Willey now sits with over 23,000.

For those of you who followed our WSOP Main Event coverage this summer, you may remember Joseph as one of the tournaments chip leaders. Joseph held the overnight chip lead on both Day 3 and Day 4, and finished 11th in chips at the end of Day 5. He was eventually eliminated from the tournament on Day 6 in 57th place, earning a $115,800 payday for his efforts.

Tags: Jeremy Joseph

Late Arrivals

[user38449]
[user38449]
A few late arrivals have made their way to their assigned seats, including Scott Clements, Matt Brady, and Tim Vance. There looks to be approximately fourteen tables in play at the moment, with sporadic gaps at every table, indicating where players have yet to take their seats.

Micheal Binger Takes Early Lead

[user65508]
[user65508]
We picked up the action on the turn, where it was checked to Micheal Binger in late potion with a board showing {8-Diamonds} {10-Clubs} {J-Clubs} {10-Hearts}. Binger's bet of 2,600 was called and an early big pot began to build. The {8-Hearts} came on the river, and once again action was checked to Binger. Following a moment of deliberation, Binger lowered his sunglasses down and counted out a bet of 6,600. The call had Binger's opponent tabling {A-?} {J-?}, but it was not enough as Binger revealed his pocket jacks for a full boat. The early surge has Micheal Binger out in an early lead with around 26,500.

Tags: Micheal Binger

Aces v. Kings

[user65508]
[user65508]
The disgust of one player was heard across the room over the fact that he was just ousted from the tournament. With both players all-in, Rick Troendly was breathing a sigh of relief as the board filled out {8-Spades} {J-Diamonds} {5-Spades} {5-Hearts} {K-Spades} . Why was Troendly relieved? He held pocket kings, while his opponent held pocket aces! Troendly is up to 33,500 after the hand.
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