Harrah's St. Louis Ring Event #1
Throughout the day we'll be recapping a few of the ring events that have occurred throughout the past week. Here is a look at the first:
The first ring event of the WSOP-Circuit in St. Louis got off to a bang with 843 players registering and subsequently setting the record for the largest poker tournament ever held in Missouri (beating last year’s first ring event that drew 675 players). Fittingly, St. Louis native and 2008 WSOP Main Event third-place finish, Dennis Phillips, was on hand to kick things off with the ceremonial “Shuffle up and deal!”
It took two days for the field to narrow down to the final table, with two-time WSOP-Circuit ring winner Eric Crain leading the way. Unfortunately, a bad run of cards ensured that he wouldn’t be adding a third, and he was eliminated in seventh place. In the end, Mark Pearse of Taylorville, Illinois, took down the title and $47,096 first-place prize. Pearse, a 41-year-old corrections officer and father of four, said simply, “This is unbelievable.”
His victory came on the first hand of heads-up play when he and Charlie Dawson were practically even in chips. The two got it in with Pearse holding 
against the 
of Dawson. The board ran out 
and Pearse took the title and an early lead in the WSOP-Circuit St. Louis Casino Championship Leaderboard with 50 points.
WSOP-Circuit St. Louis Ring Event #1
| Buy-in | Entrants | Prize Pool |
|---|---|---|
| $300+$45 | 843 | $241,510 |
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mark Pearse | Taylorville, IL | $47,096 |
| 2 | Charlie Dawson | Owensboro, KY | $29,102 |
| 3 | Hugh Drummond | Vancouver, BC, Canada | $21,436 |
| 4 | Phil Stelzer | Columbia, MO | $15,998 |
| 5 | George Cahill | Saint Peters, MO | $12,095 |
| 6 | Frank Austin | DeForest, WI | $9,262 |
| 7 | Eric Crain | Murphysboro, IL | $7,183 |
| 8 | Bryan Testin | Hawthorn Woods, GB | $5,639 |
| 9 | Wyatt Denis | Fenton, MO | $4,482 |