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Down around 7,000, Kyle Bowker got the last of his chips into the middle preflop with 
. The look on his face said he didn't love the spot, but he seemed content to flip for a double up when his opponent turned up 
.
It would be nothing, though, for Bowker. The flop brought a third jack for the would-be eliminator, though the 
turn gave Bowker four outs to Broadway to stay alive. The river was a blank, though, and he has been eliminated.
From middle position, Kevin Calenzo raised to 1,175. The hijack seat reraised to 2,725 and Calenzo made the call. The flop came down 
and Calenzo check-folded to a bet of 3,200 and dropped back a few thousand chips.
Calenzo has final tabled BOTH the WSOP Circuit events this season, taking second to Charles "Woody" Moore last time around in Southern Indiana. Moore has also final tabled both events and won one of them. Let's see if these two can do it again. The feat is going to be much greater given the field size in this one though.
Dan O'Brien and Eric Seigel have both been eliminated from the tournament. Next time, boys.
From the hijack seat, Darryll Fish raised to 1,300 and was called by the player on the button. The flop came down 
and Fish checked. His opponent checked behind.
The turn brought the 
and Fish fired 1,500. The button made the call.
The river completed the board with the 
and Fish fired 5,000. His opponent folded and Fish won the pot to move to 17,000 in chips.
After the button raised to 1,100, Mike Leah called from the big blind. The two of them checked the board to the river as it ran out 
. Leah fired the river for 1,500 and his opponent folded, giving Leah the pot and moving him to 19,000 in chips.
Even with registration long closed down, there's still a good deal of chatter going on about the staggering turnout this event garnered.
As the players filed into the room this morning, a few members of the staff told us they hoped for 700 runners. Piece of cake. This Main Event has attracted a whopping 872 players, the largest field for a championship event in the history of the WSOP-C. In fact, the previous record was a paltry 538, set in 2008 at Caesars in Las Vegas. This record-setting field has generated a prize pool of more than $1.2 million, with almost a quarter-million of that going to the winner. Where else besides the WSOP can you pick up a check that big for an investment as small as $1,500?
This Main Event record comes just one week after the crushing of another impressive WSOPC record. Event #1 drew a monumental field of 1,611 players, making it the largest tournament in WSOP-C history. That event was nearly 200 runners larger than the previous record, and it really solidifies the greater Chicago area's place as one of the premier poker markets in the country.
It's still awfully early to make a huge story out of this, but there's no doubt that the WSOP-C is reaping some fruitage from the seeds it has been sowing for six months or so. Each of the first two events this season (Council Bluffs and Southern Indiana) experienced noteworthy growth this year, but nothing like the boom we've seen here in Hammond. The move to implement a point system and a leaderboard make this feel like a true extension of the WSOP, and the promise of national television coverage (for the first time since 2006) seems to be bringing out some of the pros who might otherwise skip events like this.
Level: 9
Blinds: 300/600
Ante: 75
We're just getting into Level 9 here, the last before the dinner break. When this level ends at about 7:10 p.m., the players will be sent off for a 75-minute visit to the buffet downstairs. When they return, there are another 7 levels on the schedule for tonight, bringing us to a total of 16 levels for Day 1.
The staff figures we'll have about 120 players left when the bags come out around 1:40 a.m., but we think that's a bit optimistic. Odds are we'll have close to 200 players left, though the structure does speed up a bit as we progress through the evening.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
75,000
30,000
|
30,000 |
|
||
|
64,000
33,000
|
33,000 |
|
|
||
|
62,000
4,500
|
4,500 |
|
||
|
62,000
46,500
|
46,500 |
|
60,000
-20,000
|
-20,000 |
|
||
|
58,000
11,000
|
11,000 |
|
53,000 | |
|
45,000
8,000
|
8,000 |
|
45,000 | |
|
|
40,000
-4,000
|
-4,000 |
|
31,000 | |
|
31,000
19,000
|
19,000 |
|
28,000
18,000
|
18,000 |
|
28,000
2,000
|
2,000 |
|
|
||
|
23,000 | |
|
||
|
23,000
-4,000
|
-4,000 |
|
21,500
8,500
|
8,500 |
|
21,200
-15,800
|
-15,800 |
|
|
||
|
14,500
-2,500
|
-2,500 |
|
12,000
-4,000
|
-4,000 |
|
||
|
11,000
-1,000
|
-1,000 |
|
7,700
-12,300
|
-12,300 |
|
||
|
6,200
-25,800
|
-25,800 |
