As to be expected, there are lots of North Carolina-based players here for this first ever WSOP Circuit Main Event in the state. A couple are seated side-by-side over at Table 55 — James Bishop of Liberty and 2004 WSOP Main Event winner Greg Raymer of Raleigh.
Just now the table neighbors were involved in a family pot that saw a couple of players limp, including Raymer from the button, Bishop call from the small blind, and the big blind check his option.
The flop came , and all four checked. The turn then brought the and a bet of 200 from Bishop, and only Raymer stuck around.
The river brought the , and after some small talk and a chuckle between the pair, Bishop decided he'd better check. Raymer then tossed out five black (100) chips for a bet of 500, and after a short think Bishop called.
"Ace," said Raymer, tabling , and Bishop mucked his hand.
When we arrived at Table 14, a player opened to 125 from under the gun. Four players called, including Nelson Robinson, who finished runner-up in Event #44 of the 2012 World Series of Poker, and 33rd in the 2011 WSOP Main Event.
The dealer fanned , and the action checked to the original raiser, who tossed out 525. Only Robinson called.
The turn was a repeat nine - the - and Robinson opted to lead out for 1,125. The player painstakingly called.
The man with the ax () completed the board, and Robinson fired another 2,600. His opponent lurched back into his chair, throwing his hands on his head. He eventually made a crying call, splashing the chips forward.
Robinson laughed.
"What do you have?" he asked him. "Kings?"
"I called you," the player responded.
Grinning, Robinson flicked his cards into the muck. His opponent proudly showed for a king-high straight, and raked in the pot.
Seats are filling here as we move past the halfway mark of Level 1, with the big board showing nearly 350 players having sat down behind starting stacks of 20,000 thus far.
Among those taking hands is Ryan Riess of East Lansing, Michigan. Riess made his splash onto the poker scene with a big score at the 2012-13 WSOP Circuit Main Event at Horseshoe Hammond back in October 2012. There Riess finished runner-up to Josh Williams, earning a cool $239,063 for his finish.
After that initial cash, Riess has added about a dozen more smaller ones at other WSOP Circuit events and the L.A. Poker Classic over the last few months, and is looking to add another here today.
"Welcome to the fantastic Harrah's Cherokee," said WSOP Media Director Nolan Dalla just now while addressing the players. He went on to thank them for coming out and helping make this first ever WSOP Circuit stop in North Carolina a resounding success thus far.
Explanations of today's schedule followed. Players today will be playing nine 40-minute levels, going for a one-hour dinner break (at approximately 6:30 p.m.), then returning for six more 40-minute levels before play will conclude.
Then the mic was turned over to WSOP bracelet holder and North Carolinian Ken "Teach" Aldridge, here today in his usual bright yellow garb, who like Dalla expressed appreciation of the players while noting how popular poker is in this region. Aldridge then instructed the dealers to "shuffle up and deal," and the first hands of the day are now being dealt.
Welcome to the picturesque mountains of western North Carolina for the 17th stop of the 2012-13 World Series of Poker Circuit's ongoing coast-to-coast tour. This weekend we find ourselves at Harrah's Cherokee for a first ever visit of the WSOP-C, and indeed the first major poker tournaments ever to take place within the Tar Heel state.
Turnouts this week have been tremendous at Cherokee, exceeding expectations and foreshadowing what is now expected to be one of the largest Main Events on the WSOP-C this year. And rings have been won here already, too, adding further to the excitement this week.
Here's a look at the eight events that have completed, showing those big turnouts and the winners thus far:
Event
Buy-in/Game
Entries
Winner
Prize
1
$365 No-Limit Hold'em
872
Nicolas Vaca-Rondon
$51,005
2
$365 No-Limit Hold'em
949
Chanthou Chau
$54,093
3
$365 Pot-Limit Omaha
265
Alan Neubauer
$19,477
4
$365 No-Limit Hold'em Re-Entry
1,315
John Horsley
$70,023
5
$365 No-Limit Hold'em
542
Christopher Kirkland
$27,216
6
$365 No-Limit Hold'em
434
Robert Russell
$28,638
7
$365 No-Limit Hold'em Six-Handed
378
David Moersdorf
$27,216
8
$365 No-Limit Hold'em
518
Christie Hightower
$33,412
Event #9, a $580 buy-in no-limit hold'em affair, began yesterday and drew 324 entries, with 23 survivors returning today and Jacob Bazeley enjoying the chip lead heading into the final day. The main focus today, however, will be on Event #10, the $1,675 buy-in Main Event, coverage of which we'll be bringing you here starting today and continuing all of the way through to the final hand on Monday.
Today the first of two Day 1 flights will be playing out, with cards going in the air at noon ET. Be sure to come back then for our start-to-finish coverage of the Main Event from Harrah's Cherokee!
, and all four checked. The turn then brought the 
and a bet of 200 from Bishop, and only Raymer stuck around.
, and after some small talk and a chuckle between the pair, Bishop decided he'd better check. Raymer then tossed out five black (100) chips for a bet of 500, and after a short think Bishop called.
, and Bishop mucked his hand.
![[user101598]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
, and the action checked to the original raiser, who tossed out 525. Only Robinson called.
- and Robinson opted to lead out for 1,125. The player painstakingly called.
) completed the board, and Robinson fired another 2,600. His opponent lurched back into his chair, throwing his hands on his head. He eventually made a crying call, splashing the chips forward.
for a king-high straight, and raked in the pot.
