Main Event
Day 1 Completed
2011-12 World Series of Poker Circuit Event - Harrah's New Orleans
Main Event
Day: 1
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
2011-12 World Series of Poker Circuit Event - Harrah's New Orleans
Buy-in
$1,600
Prize Pool
$998,770
Entries
694
Level
32
Blinds
50,000 / 100,000
Ante
10,000
Level 9
: 400/800, 100 ante
The final stop of the 2011/2012 World Series of Poker Circuit kicked off on Friday at Harrah’s New Orleans with Day 1 of the $1,600 Main Event. The field was massive as players flocked to the Big Easy for their last shot at points toward this year’s National Championship. Combined, Days 1a and 1b brought in an impressive 640 entrants, which was 260 players more than last year’s field of 380.
Day 1a started at Noon with 434 runners, including all-time ring winner Mark “Pegasus” Smith and WSOP Circuit regular Seneca Easley. Each of these men met their demise early on, but both opted to use their re-entry option right away. It proved a wise decision for Smith, who survived to Day 2, but not Easley, who was eliminated for a second time.
Throughout the day, other players hit the rail including Becky Makar, Kenny Milam, John Land, David Clark, A.J. Jejelowo and Huy Nguyen, just to name a few; meanwhile, others like Aaron Massey, John Dolan, Matthew Chang, Tripp Kirk, Sam Barnhart, Darvin Moon, Kurt Jewell, Ryan Tepen and Matthew Hankins managed to finish among the 210 players who survived Day 1a.
While it’s good to survive Day 1a, it’s even better to thrive as chip leader Jay “queen10off” Kaplan found out when he bagged up a healthy 148,400. Other big stacks include Johnny Landreth (125,700), Bobby Toye (124,800), Shane Matthews (116,000) and Terry Kim (115,400).
On Day 1b, many of the eliminated players, including all of those listed above, returned for another shot at glory. They were joined by some new players including Kai Landry, Gene Dudek, Beverly Chaney and Will “Monkey” Souther, creating a Day 1b field of 230 players. The re-entry proved a wise choice for half those mentioned above as Land, Milam and Nguyen managed to make Day 2 with their second bullet. Likewise, all of the aforementioned Day 1b newbies made it through.
Here’s a look at some of the more notable stacks among the approximately 338 players who advanced to Day 2:
Various Day 1 Chip Counts*
| Player | Count |
|---|---|
| Jay “queen10off” Kaplan | 148,400 |
| Johnny Landreth | 125,700 |
| Bobby Toye | 124,800 |
| Shane Matthews | 116,000 |
| Terry Kim | 115,400 |
| Jonathan Job | 114,600 |
| Chris Adams | 112,000 |
| Conrad Monica | 111,800 |
| “Cowboy” John Land | 110,000 |
| James Arruebarrena | 101,300 |
Registration is open until the start of Day 2, which kicks off at 2 p.m. on Saturday, so the final number of players, prize pool and first-place prize won’t be known until then. Of course the PokerNews Live Reporting Team will be providing coverage from the Harrah’s New Orleans, so be sure to follow all the action in our live blog.
Level 9
: 400/800, 100 ante
The tournament staff has just announced that only five more hands will be played before calling it a night. The remaining players will return at 2 p.m. Saturday for Day 2. We're going out to get chips counts and what not, but be sure to stay tuned for our recap.
Level 9
: 400/800, 100 ante
Blake “blakeb0921” Barousse raised to 1,600 from the under-the-gun position only to have a player in middle position put in a three-bet. Action folded back around to Barousse and he made the call. The 
flop saw Barousse check-fold to a bet of 4,000, and that was the end of that. Not very exciting, but a good excuse to tell you he's sitting on a stack of 29,000 as the night winds down.
Level 9
: 400/800, 100 ante
With the clock striking 10 minutes left in the level the field will play five more hands at each table.
Level 9
: 400/800, 100 ante
For the last time tonight, we turn to the WSOP's Nolan Dalla to give you the lowdown on one of Harrah's New Orleans preliminary events, that being Event #8 $1,080 NLHE:
The winner was Jacob Naguin, a local poker player and business owner from New Orleans. He collected one of the bigger cash prizes awarded at this series, so far – totaling $56,260. Naquin pretty much demolished everyone at the final table, winning the top prize in a lightning-fast three hours – much shorter than many observers were predicting, given the strong quality of competition that routinely competes in bigger buy-in events.
Indeed, the cards went Naguin’s way during much of the second day. He shed the disappointment of four previous final table appearances without a win. Naquin has now cashed seven times on the WSOP Circuit, along with four cashes at the WSOP in Las Vegas. He made a final table last year, finishing fourth in one of the $1,500 buy-in tournaments. Naguin also scored big in one of the last major online poker tournaments before the effects of “Black Friday.” He has more than six-figures wrapped up at one site, which prompted an admission that this $56K in winnings came at a great time – just prior to the start of the WSOP (in two weeks)
Naquin owns two convenience stores in the New Orleans area. The name of the stores is “Cheap Smokes.” Alas, Naguin is the one who smoked everyone in this tournament.
WSOP Circuit Harrah’s New Orleans Event #8 No-Limit Hold’em
| Buy-in | Entrants | Prize Pool |
|---|---|---|
| $1,000+$80 | 232 | $232,000 |
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jacob Naquin | Destin, FL | $56,260 |
| 2 | Ryan Tosoc | Chicago, IL | $34,773 |
| 3 | Nicolas Gellepis | Tallahassee, FL | $25,308 |
| 4 | Huy Nguyen | Oklahoma City, OK | $18,716 |
| 5 | Dominic Gabaldon | Iowa City, IA | $14,058 |
| 6 | Daniel Weinman | Atlanta, GA | $10,723 |
| 7 | Brett Schwertley | Omaha, NE | $8,303 |
| 8 | Chris Conrad | Tampa, FL | $6,526 |
| 9 | Leroy Spires | Las Cruces, NM | $5,205 |
Level 9
: 400/800, 100 ante
We're not sure of all the details, but we do know that Jonathan Job was the beneficiary of a monster three-way hand despite not winning the main pot. You see, a short-stacked Mike Wolf was all in with 
while Job, who held 
, and an unknown player, who had 
, created a massive side pot of around 100K.
The board ran out with three hearts to give Wolf the triple, but it didn't bother Job who was more than happy to lose the small pot and rake in the big. With that, he is the clear Day 1b chip leader with 137K and less than 30 minutes to go.
Level: 9
Blinds: 400/800
Ante: 100
Level 9
: 400/800, 100 ante
With 11,000 in the pot and a board reading 
, Mike Holm and his opponent both checked, leading to the 
river. Once again Holm checked,but this time his opponent fired out 6,000. Holm thought for the briefest of moments before making the call, only to muck when his foe revealed 
for a flopped full house.
"You actually had a better pair than me the whole time," Holm said with a smile. He' still sitting pretty with 67,000.
