Main Event
Day 1a Started
2012-13 World Series of Poker Circuit Event - Harrah's Tunica
Main Event
Day: 1a
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
2012-13 World Series of Poker Circuit Event - Harrah's Tunica
Buy-in
$1,675
Prize Pool
$999,000
Entries
666
Level
35
Blinds
70,000 / 140,000
Ante
20,000
WSOPC Harrah's Main Event About to Begin
Welcome to our coverage of the 2012-13 World Series of Poker Circuit presented by Southern Comfort 100 Proof! We're mere minutes away from cards flying for our Main Event here in the theater of Harrah's Tunica. Today will mark the first of the two starting flights available to players. Those that are eliminated during play today have the option to re-enter the tournament tomorrow. As per the WSOPC structure sheet, players will play fifteen 40-minute levels and two 60-minute levels before bagging and tagging for the evening.
Last year's champion Kurt Jewell will be returning to the felt in an attempt to take back-to-back titles. Jewell overcame a field of 647 players last year to take home the gold ring, the $192,984 in first-place prize money, and the seat to the National Championship. We caught up with Jewell early in the morning to discover that he and fellow circuit regular Aaron Massey made a harrowing all-night journey from Atlantic City to participate in today's play.
Here's a look at the payouts from last year:
2011-12 Harrah’s Tunica Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Kurt Jewell | $192,984 |
| 2nd | Chris Thompson | $119,415 |
| 3rd | Dan Blakeman | $87,586 |
| 4th | Jacob Bazeley | $65,134 |
| 5th | Dustin Gardner | $49,093 |
| 6th | Steve McClusky | $37,495 |
| 7th | Michael “Great MJ” Cooper | $29,013 |
| 8th | Todd Chew | $22,744 |
| 9th | Ray Weaver | $18,056 |
Action kicks off promptly at 12:00 p.m. CST for our Day 1a flight. Be sure to stay tuned to all of our coverage here on PokerNews!
Shuffle Up and Deal!
Cards are officially in the air here in the Harrah's Tunica theater!
Level: 1
Blinds: 25/50
Ante: 0
Familiar Faces
Level 1
: 25/50, 0 ante
Here are some of the familiar faces we found on an initial pass through the room.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
20,000 | |
|
20,000 | |
|
20,000 | |
|
20,000 | |
|
20,000 | |
|
20,000 |
Lee Delivers Early Killing Blow
Level 1
: 25/50, 0 ante
We caught up to find a short-stacked player all in and at risk before the flop. From what we gathered, this player had just come off of losing a large pot early on for a majority of his chips. When we came upon the table, he was all in and at risk with 
against the 
of Bernard Lee.
Lee was in the lead with his ladies, but after the flop brought 
, he had fallen behind to his opponent's pair of kings. The 
on the turn brought two pair for Lee's opponent, but it also gave Lee the Broadway straight. The 
finished the board and Lee was able to put the nail in his opponent's coffin a mere twenty-minutes into play. Lee is now sporting a stack of about 24,000.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
24,000 | 4,000 |
Level: 2
Blinds: 50/100
Ante: 0
More Faces
Level 2
: 50/100, 0 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
20,000 | |
|
20,000 | |
|
20,000 | |
|
20,000 | |
|
20,000 |
Engel Loses Small One
Level 2
: 50/100, 0 ante
Ari Engel and two other players took a flopped that was filled with diamonds. The first player checked when he saw 
fall and Engel announced a bet of 400. The third player folded and the first player to act flat called.
The board paired on the turn when the 
hit and it was once again checked to Engel. He checked behind and the 
completed the board. Two checks again prompted the first player to roll over 
for queens and fives. Engel mucked his hand and his opponent took in the pot. Engel is sitting with around 16,000 in chips.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
16,000 | -4,000 |
More To The Felt
Level 2
: 50/100, 0 ante
Here are some more familiar faces taking to the felt for today's flight.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
20,000 | |
|
20,000 | |
|
20,000 |