Main Event
Day 1 Started
2012-13 World Series of Poker Circuit Event - Caesars Atlantic City
Main Event
Day: 1
Bets and Bluffs on the Boardwalk: Day 1 of WSOP-C Caesars Atlantic City Awaits
It's a chilly, overcast Saturday here on the New Jersey coast where the 2012-13 World Series of Poker Circuit has touched down at Caesars Atlantic City. It's the 14th stop (of 20) for the WSOP-C this season, with another $1,675 buy-in Main Event kicking off today.
Ryan Eriquezzo grabbed the gold in the Main Event here a year ago, topping a field of 635 on his way to a nifty $191,194 score. That victory earned the New Haven, Connecticut player a spot in the 2011-12 WSOP-C season-ending National Championship event which Eriquezzo also won to add another $416,051 to his bankroll.
There's been a lot of action already this week along the boardwalk at Caesars AC, with nine of the 12 rings having been awarded.
Chris Reslock earned his fifth career WSOP-C ring with a victory in the $580 No-Limit Hold'em Event No. 3. That victory put him in a four-way tie for second on the all-time gold ring list, just one behind Alexandru Masek who won his sixth WSOP-C event at the Bicycle Casino in January. Reslock, who also owns one WSOP bracelet, has picked up four of his five gold rings here in Atlantic City.
Other stories this week include Jeffrey Gurfinkel picking up his second career ring in Event No. 4 ($365 NLHE), Dave Fox grabbing his second ring in Event No. 5 ($580 NLHE), and Joseph Liberta winning his second WSOP-C tourney in Event No. 9 ($365 NLHE Turbo).
Meanwhile Christopher Leong has managed to win two rings himself this week alone, taking down both Event No. 2 ($365 NLHE Re-Entry) and Event No. 6 ($365 NLHE Six-Handed), the latter event also finding another of this week's ring winners, Cory Waaland, finishing third.
Here's a look at the winners so far at 2012-13 WSOP-C Caesars Atlantic City:
| Event | Buy-in/Game | Entries | Winner | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $365 No-Limit Hold'em | 495 | Cory Waaland | $31,928 |
| 2 | $365 No-Limit Hold'em Re-Entry | 809 | Christopher Leong | $48,540 |
| 3 | $580 No-Limit Hold'em | 196 | Chris Reslock | $25,480 |
| 4 | $365 No-Limit Hold'em | 390 | Jeffrey Gurfinkel | $25,740 |
| 5 | $580 No-Limit Hold'em | 195 | Dave Fox | $25,350 |
| 6 | $365 No-Limit Hold'em Six-Handed | 292 | Christopher Leong | $22,776 |
| 7 | $1,125 No-Limit Hold'em | 133 | Feming Chan | $37,240 |
| 8 | $365 Limit Omaha Eight-or-Better | 142 | Matthew Linton | $11,928 |
| 9 | $365 No-Limit Hold'em Turbo | 253 | Joseph Liberta | $18,596 |
Today's Main Event will see two Day 1 flights play out, the first beginning at 11:00 a.m. and the second at 7:00 p.m. We'll be here all day today and Sunday and Monday as well to bring you all of the action from Caesars Atlantic City as we discover together who the next WSOP-C Main Event champion will be.
Almost Underway
The players are taking their seats, and the standard pre-tournament announcements are being made by the tournament director. The cards will be in the air shortly.
Level: 1a
Blinds: 25/50
Ante: 0
Shuffle Up And Deal!
The cards are now in the air! As of right now, there are 160 entrants, though registration for this Day 1a will be open the entire day and even through until tomorrow morning.
Focusing on the Cards
Level 1
: 25/50, 0 ante
Chris Reslock is among the 180 or so players already in their seats to take the first hands of Day 1a. Reslock is looking to earn a record-tying sixth WSOP Circuit ring after having picked up his fifth earlier this week in Event No. 3 ($580 no-limit hold'em).
"How many are entered?" asked one of Reslock's opponents as the first hand was being dealt. Reslock shrugged.
"I don't really think of that stuff," he said. "Doesn't matter to me if there's 11 or 1,100," he added as he looked down to study his cards.
Early expectations are we'll see something approaching last year's total of 635 entries, but there's a long way to go before we find out for sure. And lots of other things to think about, too.
Who's Here?
Level 1
: 25/50, 0 ante
A first pass through the room reveals a few familiar faces...
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
20,000 | 20,000 |
|
20,000 | |
|
20,000 | 20,000 |
|
20,000 | 20,000 |
|
20,000 | 20,000 |
|
20,000 | 20,000 |
|
20,000 | 20,000 |
|
20,000 | 20,000 |
Rough Start for Roland
Level 1
: 25/50, 0 ante
Roland Israelashvili, who final tabled this event two years ago, is back looking to repeat that success, but he didn't get off to the best start. We didn't catch the hand, but as we got to the table, Israelashvili was collecting change for a 700 river bet. The pot got pushed to his opponent, and after that hand, Israelashvili is down to 17,000 from his original 20,000 starting stack.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
17,000 | -3,000 |
Raskin Rolls In
Level 1
: 25/50, 0 ante
Micah Raskin is here, hoping to continue a hot streak of late that has included final tables at the EPT San Remo Main Event (October), the Sands Bethlehem Deepstack Extravaganza (December), two more at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (January), a victory in the $5,000 (AUD) Aussie Millions Six-Max. Turbo (February), and another third-place finish in the $25K High Roller at the L.A. Poker Classic (February).
Just now a player to Raskin's left opened for 150 from under the gun, the cutoff called, and Raskin called as well from the big blind. All three then checked the 
flop. The turn then brought the 
and a bet of 250 from Raskin. The original raiser folded, but the player in the cutoff raised to 525, and after some thought Raskin called.
Both remaining players then checked the 
turn. Raskin tabled his 
for kings and sixes, and his opponent mucked, conceding the small pot.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
23,000 | 3,000 |
Level: 2a
Blinds: 50/100
Ante: 0