On a board reading 
and about 4,500 in the pot, an unknown opponent in the small blind bet 2,400 and Kenny Milam made the call. The small blind rolled over 
for a straight, prompting Milam to muck his hand.
"I've been rivered three times already," Milam said as he dropped to 14,000.
Last year's defending champ, Jonathan Poche, is not in today's field. We checked with the tournament director who confirmed that he is not currently registered for Day 1a. There's still plenty of time to register, plus another starting flight later this evening, so we haven't given up hope of a title defense yet.
It's quite a hike to the outer tables, which are located away from the tournament area by the poker room; nonetheless, we ventured out to see how those half a dozen tables are faring. While there, we saw a pot develop that had 5,500 in the middle and a board reading 
. The big blind had checked to a player in middle position and he had bet 2,000.
Action was on Matthew Chang and he took his time before tossing in a call, which prompted the big blind to get out of the way. The MP player then rolled over 
for top pair with top kicker. Chang just shook his head and tossed his cards to the muck, dropping to 15,000 in the process.
Andrew Nguyen opened for 275 in late position and got the blinds to come along. The flop came 
, the blinds checked, Nguyen bet 575 and only the big blind called. The turn came , the big blind checked and Nguyen bet 975. The big blind called after thinking it over for a short moment. The river came and the big blind took action for the first time and bet 2,600.
Nguyen stacked out a call and shuffled some chips to think, he decided to call and tabled pocket nines for a rivered set. But the third spade gave his opponent a flush holding 
and nearly a straight flush.
Nguyen is still comfortable though with about 25,000.
Level: 3
Blinds: 75/150
Ante: 0
Earlier in the week, 320 players ponied up $565 in Event #2 NLHE, creating a prize pool of $160,000. After two days of play, John Fagg of Terre Haute, Indiana emerged victorious to claim the $36,472 first-place prize.
As the WSOP's Nolan Dalla wrote:
With a WSOP Circuit gold ring at stake and two very determined players involved in a dogfight, aspiring poker pro John Fagg flopped a straight against Dr. Vafa Kamali’s three-of a kind. The two monster hands had everyone on the rail at attention – with half of the gallery screaming for the board to pair while the remainder shouted for two blanks. In the end, Fagg’s straight held up, dragging the final pot of an exciting two-day event, and ultimately ending with the crowing of a new poker champion who more than earned his place in the winner’s circle.
Before arriving at this finale, Fagg had previously made four WSOP Circuit final table appearances this season alone – making him one of the most prolific high finishers of this record-breaking tour cycle. However in the past, each and every time Fagg got within a few hands of victory, he either took a bad beat or suffered a cold run of cards that resulted in disappointment. Indeed – third, fourth, sixth, and seventh-place finishes are all quite impressive – especially within a single season. But there is no substitute for victory.
Fagg’s moment of triumph finally came at the final WSOP Circuit stop of the season, here in New Orleans. He defeated a larger-than-expected field of 320 players and pocketed $36,472 in prize money for the win. Fagg also raced way ahead of the finish line in the points race to qualify for a seat in the National Championship, to be played at season’s end. Alas, this was a personal and professional trifecta for Fagg – earning significant prize money, his first gold ring, and a coveted seat to play in a million-dollar nationally-televised gold bracelet event in Las Vegas. Not bad for two days “work.”
Fagg is a 29-year-old recent-turned-poker pro from Terre Haute, IN. He previously worked as a carpenter. However, Fagg’s tournament success this season has motivated him to play more on the WSOP Circuit, which seems to be working out nicely, so far. To his credit, Fagg also finished second in the Indiana State Poker Championship, held earlier this year.
| Buy-in | Entrants | Prize Pool |
|---|---|---|
| $500+$65 | 320 | $160,000 |
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | John Fagg | Terre Haute, IN | $36,472 |
| 2 | Vafa Kamali | Purvis, MS | $22,550 |
| 3 | Frank Alpandinar | Baton Rouge, LA | $16,378 |
| 4 | Brent Ronquille | Lafitte, LA | $12,097 |
| 5 | Clifford Fisher | Addison, TX | $9,082 |
| 6 | Robert Alvarado | San Antonio, TX | $6,926 |
| 7 | Clyde Duet | Cut Off, LA | $5,326 |
| 8 | Rufus Yates | New Iberia, LA | $4,218 |
| 9 | Gary Lambert | Quincy, IL | $3,366 |
We stumbled by Matthew Colvin's table and noticed he was sitting with a big stack of 49,000 and that A.J. Jejelowo was missing from his seat. A quick check with Colvin confirmed that he busted last year's WSOP Circuit Harrah's New Orleans Regional Champion.
According to Colvin, Jejelowo opened for 300 and he three-bet to 800. Jejelowo then four-bet 2,500, Colvin called and the flop came down queen high with two diamonds. Jejelowo led out for 2,700, Colvin raised to 6,000 and Jejelowo shoved. Colvin made the call with 
for top set and was ahead of the pair and flush draw of Jejelowo. The turn and river both blanked and Colvin took down the big pot while eliminating a tough competitor.
On a flop of 
, a player in early position checked and allowed Seneca Easley to bet 700. A late-position player made the call, and then the EP player check-raised to 2,350. Not to be outdone, Easley made it 5,000 to go, which pushed the LP player out of the hand.
The EP player then moved all in for around 19,500 and Easley wasted little time in calling off his remaining 12,000.
Showdown
| Easley |   |
| EP | |
Last year's WSOP Circuit Rincon Main Event champion was ahead with pocket rockets and looking to avoid a diamond, which turned out to be easier said than done as the 
spiked to give his opponent the nuts. The meaningless 
was put out on the river and Easley made his exit from the tournament.
Three levels are down, which means it is time for the first 15-minute break of the day.
