Last year, we were at the old familiar Grand Casino. The Championship Event in 2008 required a buyin of $7,500, and it was Bart Tichelman who bested the 179 other entrants to claim the top prize worth more than $400,000. Those 180 players represented a sharp decline from the 377 who entered the year prior, when the buyin was a little bit kinder to the pocketbook, at $5,150.
The building is the same, but that's about it. All of the "Grand Casino" signs have been painted over this time around though, replaced by that colorfully familiar Harrah's shooting star logo. The action has been relocated from the second floor tournament room to the cavernous theater complex on the far end of the casino. Looking to return this Circuit Event to the pinnacle of the mid-season poker series, the Harrah's tournament staff has again lowered the buyin back to that same $5,150, hoping to spark a resurgence in the turnout. While they are optimistic, they remain realistic and are planning for a field of right around 200 runners.
Action hits the felt at high noon CST on Monday, and we hope you'll join us then for every flop and turn here on the shores of the big river.
, and there are already 550 chips in the middle of the table. Action is on the cowboy, and he opens with a bet of 300. Junglen pauses to consider for a moment before putting out a raise to 850. "How much is it? I call it," came the response from the other end of the table.
, and this time, both men deliberately check.
. The cowboy musters his gumption and fires out a single 1,000 chip. That's enough for Junglen as he surrenders his hand, having been bumped down to 18,075.
