The 2012/2013 WSOP Circuit Choctaw Main Event has drawn 1,140 over two starting days, which has created a prize pool of $1,710,000. That will be distributed to the top 117 players, with the minimum payout being $2,804 and $312,080 going to the eventual winner.
It's not often you see three big pocket pairs run into each other in the same hand, let alone the first hand of the day, but that's exactly what's happened here on Day 2.
Tim Nimitz opened for 10,000 under the gun and cleared the field all the way around to Brian Jordan in the small blind. Jordan proceeded to three-bet to 55,000, and then suddenly Fred Perez moved all in from the big blind for a little more. Nimitz moved all in over the top and Jordan called.
Jordan:
Perez:
Nimitz:
It was a bit of a cooler for Nimitz and Jordan on the very first hand of Day 2. The flop kept Perez in the lead for the main pot, while Nimitz was ahead in the side. Neither the turn nor river had an impact on the hand and Perez tripled, Nimitz lost a little overall by winning the side, and Jordan lost about a third of his chips.
Robert Shuptrine was all in preflop holding only to run into the of Eugene Caudill. Shuptrine looked extremely disappointed, and he made a hasty exit from the tournament floor after the board ran out an uneventful .
The two starting flights of the World Series of Poker Circuit Choctaw Durant Main Event are in the books, and the record field of 1,140 players—the third largest on WSOP Circuit history, has been whittled down to 163 (64 from Day 1a and 99 from Day 1b). The top 117 players are guaranteed a payday of at least $2,804, and the man best positioned to make the money is WSOP Circuit regular and Day 1a chip leader Drazen Ilich, who bagged up 650,000.
Of course Ilich isn’t the only one with his sights set of capturing a piece of the $1,710,000 prize pool. Granted, 46 players must hit the rail until the money is reached, but players like Poker Hall of Famer T.J. Cloutier (276,500); online icon Mario “Pwnasaurus” Silvestri (154,500); six-time WSOP bracelet winner Layne Flack (136,000); and current WSOP Circuit National Leaderboard leader Rex Clinkscales (107,500) are going to do their best not to be among them.
Likewise, players like the ever-entertaining “Cowboy” John Land (482,000); Day 1b chip leader Jonathan Bakhshian (460,000); and three-time WSOP Circuit ring winner David Nicholson (293,000) are among today’s big stacks and are primed to make a run at the $312,080 first-place prize, not to mention the WSOP Circuit gold ring and a seat in the Southern Comfort 100 Proof National Championship.
Here’s a look at the top ten chip stacks at the start of Day 2:
Place
Player
Count
1
Drazen Ilich
650,000
2
“Cowboy” John Land
482,000
3
Jonathan Bakhshian
460,000
4
Mike Davis
371,500
5
Bobby Layne
331,000
6
Andy Philachack
325,000
7
Andrew Watson
315,500
8
David Nicholson
293,000
9
Hien Nguyen
290,000
10
Brian Jordan
279,900
Day 2 of the Choctaw Durant Main Event will begin at 12:00 p.m. CST, which is about 30 minutes from now. Join the PokerNews Live Reporting Team then as they bring you all the action and eliminations from the WSOP Circuit Choctaw Durant Main Event.