La Sengphet was sitting second in chips to start play here on Day 2, but she wasn't exactly sitting.
The three-time WSOPC ring winner was a little late in getting here and her chair sat empty for the first few hands.
She did show, however, and wasted little time getting in on the action, making it 2,300 under the gun in one of the first hands she had a chance to see.
Only the player in the big blind called, but he wilted under the pressure of a 3,800 chip C-bet from Sengphet, folding and paving the way to a solid Day 2 start for the WSOP Circuit star.
Tommy Vedes was down to less than half his starting stack in the late stages yesterday before making a massive turnaround in the final two levels.
The WPT title holder ended the day on more than 88k and before he was even fully unbagged and stacked up today, he started gambling again.
We caught him defending his big blind against a standard open from the button before folding to a C-bet on a king-high flop. Then, when the same player raised in the very next hand, making it 2,500 to see a flop, Vedes fired back, bumping it up to 5,800 total.
When his opponent shoved for an additional 35k, Vedes reluctantly mucked, but appears ready to mix it up early and often here on Day 2.
Ryan Ramos opened the pot with raise to 2,100 in middle position and T.J. Cloutier moved all in behind him. The blinds released and the hands were tabled.
Ramos:
Cloutier:
The board ran and Cloutier was eliminated. The craps tables have been notified of his elimination.
The WSOPC Main Events allow for re-entry not just on the two Day 1 flights, but also before the start of play here on Day 2.
And despite starting at a distinct disadvantage, considering there are more than 30 player already over 80k and eight sitting on 100k+ stacks, TD Bill Bruce told PokerNews a total of 24 players did so here in Durant.
These brave soles will start Day 2 with 20k in chips, a chair and a dream.
Day 2 of the World Series of Poker Circuit Main Event at the Choctaw Casino and Resort is set to begin with 476 returning players all with their eyes on the final table. Day 1 saw nearly 1,000 players take to the felt and leading the charge are Chris Tiller (167,500), La Sengphet (144,000) and Brian Green (132,200).
Joining them on the felt are notables Tommy Vedes (88,100), Roland Israel (83,000), James Van Alstyne (73,300), Raja Kattamuri (59,900), Layne Flack (59,700), Huy Nguyen (52,600), Berry Johnston (50,800), Men "The Master" Nguyen (49,400), Andy Philachack (49,000), Kyle Cartwright (46,300), Chad Brown (34,800), Drazen Ilich (31,600), Tom McEvoy (25,100), T.J. Cloutier (23,200) and Scotty Nguyen (22,800).
Play will resume on Level 10 and the field is scheduled to play through Level 23 or a final table - whichever comes first. Registration is still open until cards hit the air, so it's a safe bet the number of entrants will grow by a dozen or so. Follow all the WSOPC action live on Pokernews.com