Welcome Back to Council Bluffs

Good morning once again from the quaint suburb of Council Bluffs, Iowa for PokerNews' continuing coverage of the WSOP Circuit Championship Event. We're back in the Whiskey Roadhouse inside the Horseshoe Casino, where 30 players will soon take their places to fight their way towards the final table.

Sixty-seven runners began play at this time yesterday, and one by one, they were slowly ground out of the field as the night wore on. Just fewer than half of them earned their tickets to Day 2, and just nine of those 30 will reserve a seat at tomorrow's final table.

Jeff Banghart chipped his way up the board steadily yesterday, and he bagged up the most checks when the clock struck zero last night. Banghart is a force to be reckoned with, and he'll be the handicapping favorite today. Still, a number of notables are still in contention, including Ari Engel, Va Shon Watkins, Mark Eddleman, Wilbur Futhey, and Poker Battle Warrior Eric Stiglets.

Play picks up in a little more than a half hour -- at 12:00 noon local time -- so join us back here then for all of the Day 2 action!