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Day 1 of WSOPC Choctaw Sets New Bar, Chris Tiller Leads
Two starting flights and over fourteen hours of action Day 1 of the World Series of Poker Circuit Main Event at the Choctaw Casino and Resort saw nearly 1,000 players take to the felt. Day 1a drew 647 players and Day 1b pulled in 300 entrants for a total of 947 players. Just 318 players survived the first flight and 180 players moved on from the evening flight. Standing above them all is Chris Tiller with 167,500.
La Sengphet (144,000) is the only player within shouting distance of Tiller with Ray Jennings (90,000) and Rob Salaburu (87,000) chasing. Also moving on to Day 2 are James Van Alstyne, Drazen Ilich, Raja Kattamuri, Men “The Master” Nguyen, Layne Flack, Tommy Vedes, Chad Brown, T.J. Cloutier, Tom McEvoy, Roland Israel, Scotty Nguyen and Dennis Phillips.
Not all notables were able to survive the day. Those finding the rail early include Gavin Smith, Todd Brunson and Ylon Schwartz.
In the meantime, Kattamuri has all but punched his ticket to the National Championship by claiming the title of Casino Champion. He’s been on the biggest heater Choctaw may have seen. Through nine events Kattamuri won two gold rings, Event #3 $555 No Limit Hold’em and Event #8 $555 Heads Up No Limit Hold’em, and turned in two other final table appearances – a second place finish in Event 6 $345 Six Max No Limit Hold’em and a sixth place finish in Event #9 $345 Pot Limit Omaha.
Also returning tomorrow will be Huy Nguyen, last year’s Main Event Champion. Nguyen got a late start in the evening flight due to the fact he was busy winning third WSOPC gold ring. He shipped Event #10 $345 No Limit Hold’em Turbo, grabbed a bite to eat and went right back to the felt to defend his title.
Day 2 will return nearly 500 players with play scheduled for 14 levels or a final table – whichever comes first. Cards will be in the air promptly at 12:00 p.m. CST and be sure to follow all the WSOPC action live on Pokernews.com
Top Ten Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chris Tiller | 167,500 |
| 2 | La Sengphet | 144,000 |
| 3 | Ray Jennings | 90,000 |
| 4 | Rob Salaburu | 87,000 |
| 5 | Darrell Roberts | 75,500 |
| 6 | Cynthia Tran | 71,000 |
| 7 | Andrew Nguyen | 68,000 |
| 8 | Jim Bullard | 65,000 |
| 9 | Drazen Ilich | 60,000 |
| 10 | James Van Alstyne | 60,000 |