Ross Bybee, winner of Event #2. Picture courtesy of WSOP.
For the past week, the 2012/2013 World Series of Poker Circuit presented by Southern Comfort 100 Proof has been taking place at the Choctaw Casino Resort in Durant, Oklahoma. The stop, which is in its third year, features 12 ring events, many of which are in the books, and will culminate this weekend with the $1,675 Main Event. There are sure to be some interesting storylines that emerge out of that tournament, and we thought we’d set the stage by taking a look at some of the Choctaw Durant winners thus far.
The stop kicked off with a $580 No-Limit Hold’em Re-Entry tournament that featured four startign days. That meant players had the option of re-entering up to four times! The tournament had a $500,000 guaranteed prizepool, which was smashed as 2,209 players turned out and created a $1,104,500 prize pool—the fourth largest turnout in WSOP Circuit history.
Flight 1A drew an impressive 576 entrants, and later that night another 354 players took to the felt for Flight 1B, which began at 5 p.m. On Saturday, Flight 1C attracted a massive 745 players, while Flight 1D later that night drew 534 players. That brought the total to the aforementioned 2,209, 225 of which would earn a payday and position themselves for a run at the $168,433.
The field was so large that an extra day had to be added to the schedule, but after more than 30 hours of tournament play, 37-year-old poker pro Ross Bybee of McKinney, Texas emerged victorious after defeating Michael Downing in heads-up play.
“[It feels] amazing; spectacular; wonderful. Everything you can think of and then some,” Bybee told WSOP officials after the win. “I have no trophies. I’ve won a lot of events and I’ve gotten little tokens, but this is my first real trophy. For it to be a ring means a lot.”
“Poker is what I’ve wanted to do for a long time and anything to get my name out there makes it all the better,” Bybee concluded.
WSOP Circuit Choctaw Durant Ring Event #2 No-Limit Hold’em Re-Entry
Jordan "scarface_79" Smith has been spotted in the field today. If you don't know Smith's name, or are currently suffering from Tip of the Tongue Syndrome after reading that sentence, then here are some facts about the Texan.
Smith has over $2.2 million in career online tournament winnings. He has over $1.9 million in career live tournaments. He won a World Series of Poker bracelet in 2009, besting a 1,695-player field in a $2,000 no-limit hold'em event. After winning his bracelet, he then bubbled the Main Event final table when Darvin Moon - the eventual runner-up - cracked his aces with a set of eights.
Smith is a bit quiet at the tables, and it's easy to overlook him for just another grinder, but he has one of the most impressive poker résumés in the room today.
Berry Johnston playing the 2012/2013 WSOP Circuit Choctaw Main Event.
We don’t get many poker legends on the World Series of Poker Circuit, and even less former Main Event champions. That isn’t the case here in Choctaw as Berry Johnston meets both those benchmarks. That’s right, the five-time WSOP bracelet winner is in action today and looking for his second WSOP Circuit cash and first gold ring.
Seeing Johnston isn’t too much of a surprise considering he resides in Bethany, Oklahoma, but even so, it’s pretty cool to see a living legend in action. For those who don’t know, Johnston won the WSOP Main Event back in 1986 for $570,000. He defeated a field of 141 players including a final table that featured Bill Smith, Jesse Alto and Gary Berland.
Johnston’s other bracelets have come in 1983 Event #8 $2,500 No-Limit Hold’em Heads-Up for $40,000; 1990 Event #12 $2,500 Limit Hold’em for $254,000; 1995 Event #3 $1,500 Limit Omaha for $91,200; and 2001 Event #13 $1,500 Limit Razz for $83,810. All told, Johnston has 62 WSOP cashes—7th on the all-time list—and $2,094,697 in earnings.
As we make the rounds on the tournament floor, new faces are constantly being spotted. Here are some of the faces that stood out to us on our last pass.
Allen Kessler is sitting on 45,000 chips - more than twice the starting stack - and pulled us aside to tell us how he doubled.
According to Chainsaw, he opened for a raise preflop with two sixes and received four callers. The flop was , Kessler put out a continuation bet, and two players called.
The turn was a , Kessler fired 1,250, and a player "who was bragging about playing $20/$50" raised to 4,800. Kessler called, and the two were heads up going to the river.
The river card was a blank, and the player moved all in for 16,000. Kessler called, saying that it was "too weird for him to have a straight," and the player showed down .
Kessler's set of sixes were good, and he's off to a fast start.
Last night we stumbled upon an intriguing Facebook post by Will "Monkey" Souther. Here's what he wrote:
"I have returned from my room with repeat-ring winner David Nicholson aka Lurky...and Chris Conrad...and an incredible Fake Waffle House experience. I have spent 12 minutes preparing my goatee for tomorrow's Main Event...and I'm not going to lie...this might be the Greatest Goatee of all time that I'm about to unleash on Choctaw tomorrow!!!!"
We can confirm that Will "Monkey" Souther is in the field today and sporting a fine goatee. "You can see photos of the amazing, precision-crafted goatee, if I play well enough to get either deep, or a monster stack," Souther added. "In which case I'm sure [they'll] see fit to post my pic on PokerNews."
Matt Lawrence, who we just told you about at tough Table 37, opened for 350 from the hijack and received calls from the players on the button and in the big blind. A check from the latter opened the door for Lawrence to continue for 500, but he was met with a raise to 1,500 by the button.
The big blind folded, Lawrence called, and then both players checked the turn. When the peeled off on the river, Lawrence retook control with a bet of 3,225, and it was enough to get the job done as the button folded his hand.
button in Safari
, Kessler put out a continuation bet, and two players called.
, Kessler fired 1,250, and a player "who was bragging about playing $20/$50" raised to 4,800. Kessler called, and the two were heads up going to the river.
turn. When the 
peeled off on the river, Lawrence retook control with a bet of 3,225, and it was enough to get the job done as the button folded his hand.
