At the end of April, Tripp Kirk punched his ticket to the National Championship after taking down the Harrah's St. Louis Main Event for $190,961 and his second gold ring. Kirk is in action today and holding his own. Most recently, Kirk eliminated a short-stacked opponent after the latter's failed to overcome Kirk's on a flop. Kirk isn't flush with chips, but he is holding steady with around 24,000.
Want to know more about this WSOP Circuit star? Check out PokerNews' interview with Kirk. The full interview can be viewed here, but we'll hook you with a little excerpt:
I am very fortunate to have an amazing wife who understands how much I love poker. Obviously, she enjoys the big scores like this, but she also had to suffer through the throwing of laptops on Sundays for a few years. Being that I do work full time, any free time I usually have, I try to squeeze in as much poker as possible, and without her support and understanding.
My entire family has been ridiculously supportive of my poker playing. My mom was skeptical at first, but she now understands what a passion I have for it now. Her and my dad have always been so supportive of everything I’ve done and poker is no different. I can’t express how amazing it felt to get text messages from my in-laws, cousins, sister and all my other friends within 10 minutes of winning the tournament. So happy I gave my mom a 10-minute lesson on how to get to PokerNews Live Reporting section on Monday morning before we started Day 3.
Seneca Easley, who if you recall used his option to re-enter this event after busting earlier in Day 1a, has just been eliminated for a second time. He swung by our desk and informed us his failed to hold against his opponent's . With his re-entry options exhausted, Easley's Main Event is officially over.
Meanwhile, Huy Nguyen has disappeared from his seat. With no chips there, we deduce he has been eliminated from the tournament.
Loni Harwood, winner of Event #4. Picture Courtesy of WSOP.com.
Once again, we'll defer to one of Nolan Dalla's excellent recaps to give you the 411 on preliminary Event #4 $345 NLHE:
Loni Harwood is emerging as one of the breakout stars of the 2011-2012 World Series of Poker Circuit season. The 22-year-old New Yorker just won her second gold ring, with the most recent prize coming at Harrah’s New Orleans.
Remarkably, Harwood has only attended two WSOP Circuit stops this season – and has triumphed at both. That makes her two for two. Harwood’s first victory took place at the Palm Beach Kennel Club (West Palm Beach, FL) in February. That $30,000 tournament win was historic, namely for the fact that for the first time in history, three women took each of the top three spots in a major poker tournament. At the time, one wondered whether Harwood would return to the tour sometime later and potentially match her previous victory.
Three months went by – with no sign of Harwood. Then, here at Harrah’s New Orleans she appeared from nowhere, entered the opening event, and managed to cash in 37th place – out of 945 entrants. Two days later, Harwood blitzed through a tough field stacked with WSOP Circuit regulars, many of whom are in New Orleans making one last drive to get points to qualify for seats in the National Championship. Displaying an attitude that made it seem victory was pre-destined Harwood took care of business, ultimately earning $23,090 for her success.
Last year, Harwood graduated from State University of New York-Albany with a degree in finance. She is uncertain about her future plans, but certainly plans to play more poker. She also plans to attend this year’s WSOP in Las Vegas. Harwood confided that she expects to get a “real” job at some point. But at least for now, she appears to be enjoying life and doing well quite in poker, particularly given her limited investment of time and money.
WSOP Circuit Harrah’s New Orleans Event #4 No-Limit Hold’em
With a board reading , Abraham Araya and La Sengphet each got 11,000 in the middle, leading to the river. Araya quickly checked and Sengphet thought for a solid minute before checking behind.
"Two pairs," Araya said aloud as he tabled . A disappointed look shot across Sengphet's face, not because she lost, but because she didn't bet her . Nonetheless, the pot put Sengphet up to 62,000 while Araya dropped to 100,000.
We're not sure how it happened, but it appears David Clark has been eliminated from the tournament. As usual, we tried to catch Clark in a hand all day, but we were unable to do so.
The tournament staff just announced that the remaining players, of which there are approximately 243, will play five more hands before bagging and tagging.
Day 1a has come to an end here at Harrah;s New Orleans. Approximately 243 players of the 434-player field survived, with Jay Kaplan finishing as our chip leader with 148,400. Joining him toward the top of the chip counts are Johnny Landreth (125,700), Bobby Toye (124,800), Terry Kim (115,400) and James Arruebarrena (101,300), just to name a few.
For a more in-depth look, be sure to click on the "Chip Counts" tab above.
Day 1b will kick off in about 40 minutes, so join us then for even more action from the Big Easy.
failed to overcome Kirk's 
on a 
flop. Kirk isn't flush with chips, but he is holding steady with around 24,000.
. With his re-entry options exhausted, Easley's Main Event is officially over.
, Abraham Araya and La Sengphet each got 11,000 in the middle, leading to the 
river. Araya quickly checked and Sengphet thought for a solid minute before checking behind.
. A disappointed look shot across Sengphet's face, not because she lost, but because she didn't bet her 
. Nonetheless, the pot put Sengphet up to 62,000 while Araya dropped to 100,000.
