Main Event
Day 1b Completed
Main Event
Day 1b Completed
Another exciting day of poker here at the Harrah's Cherokee Event Center has come to a close. The second of two Day 1 flights for the first ever WSOP Circuit Main Event at Cherokee played out on Saturday, and after 15 levels of poker Rick Hensley ended the night with the most chips of Day 1b players — and everyone from both Day 1 flights — finishing with an eye-popping stack of 401,400.
A total of 502 players entered today's flight, well over the 354 who played yesterday. The total of 856 entries marks the fourth-largest WSOP-C Main Event field in the 2012-13 season, and of course the $1,284,000 prize pool represents a milestone not just here in North Carolina but throughout the region. The top 90 finishers will be cashing, with more than a quarter million dollars due the winner.
Those coming out today included a number of players taking a second shot after busting on Day 1a, with Josh Arieh, Christopher Kirkland, Kirk Shelmerdine, Yuval Bronshtein, and Ryan Riess among the unfortunate ones failing to survive either of the two days. Carter Phillips likewise busted a second time today, albeit in a memorable hand in which he correctly called an opponent's turn shove holding just king-high, but his opponent completed a draw to bust the Charlottean.
Meanwhile WSOP bracelet holder and North Carolinian Ken Aldridge also busted yesterday and came back today, but he fared much better to end the night with an above average stack of 137,900. Jeff "yellowsub86" Williams and Chris Bell also did better with their second entries to make it to tomorrow's Day 2.
Early in the day Jonathan Moseley and Darryl Harvey took turns battling for the early chip lead, then George Zinaty pushed past everyone to be the first player to 200,000. Joe Stark, Nilesh Choudhary, Chun Law, and Sean Small also moved up to take up spots at the top of the Day 1b leaderboard as the evening came to a close.
But it was Hensley who had the most profitable time of anyone post-dinner break, his momentum being ignited after winning a decent-sized pot against Kirk Shelmerdine to get him up over 100,000. He'd switch tables right after that hand, and the rest of the night enjoyed a huge rush of cards to move past 200k, then 300k, then finally bag that leading stack of 401,400.
A total of 118 entrants survived Day 1b altogether. They'll join the 83 who made it through Friday, meaning 201 players are still in the hunt for the first ever WSOP Circuit Harrah's Cherokee Main Event title.
Play resumes at noon local time tomorrow. Thanks for following our coverage thus far here on PokerNews, and be sure to come back on Sunday as we continue to find out together who will be the next WSOP-C Main Event champion.
Rick Hensley's late push moved him up over 400,000 chips before the night concluded, with only Joe Stark and George Zinaty ending with more than 300,000 and Jeremy Menard with more than 200,000.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
|
401,400
11,400
|
11,400 |
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313,000
7,000
|
7,000 |
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312,300
97,300
|
97,300 |
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219,200
69,200
|
69,200 |
|
||
|
199,600
199,600
|
199,600 |
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192,000
192,000
|
192,000 |
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191,500
191,500
|
191,500 |
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176,000
26,000
|
26,000 |
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175,500
40,500
|
40,500 |
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170,000
170,000
|
170,000 |
|
154,100
154,100
|
154,100 |
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147,900
57,900
|
57,900 |
|
||
|
143,500
143,500
|
143,500 |
![]() |
142,500
142,500
|
142,500 |
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141,500
141,500
|
141,500 |
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139,800
139,800
|
139,800 |
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138,900
138,900
|
138,900 |
|
137,600
137,600
|
137,600 |
|
136,100
136,100
|
136,100 |
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132,800
50,800
|
50,800 |
|
132,000
132,000
|
132,000 |
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131,500
131,500
|
131,500 |
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127,800
127,800
|
127,800 |
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127,200
127,200
|
127,200 |
|
123,700
123,700
|
123,700 |
We're only just now getting the prize pool and payouts information, and so wanted to pass it along before the night concludes.
With 856 total entrants, the total prize pool added up to a whopping $1,284,000. The top 90 finishers will be splitting those riches, with a cool $250,380 awaiting the winner. The first-place finisher also earns a spot in the WSOP National Championship in New Orleans in May, plus a seat in the 2013 WSOP Main Event in Las Vegas (a special bonus here at Cherokee).
Here's how places 1-90 will be paying out:
Place | Prize |
---|---|
1 | $250,380 |
2 | $154,722 |
3 | $113,968 |
4 | $85,052 |
5 | $64,303 |
6 | $49,241 |
7 | $38,186 |
8 | $29,981 |
9 | $23,831 |
10-12 | $19,170 |
13-15 | $15,601 |
16-18 | $12,853 |
19-21 | $10,709 |
22-24 | $9,027 |
25-27 | $7,961 |
28-30 | $6,625 |
31-33 | $5,778 |
34-36 | $5,097 |
37-45 | $4,545 |
46-54 | $4,096 |
55-63 | $3,724 |
64-72 | $3,428 |
73-81 | $3,159 |
82-90 | $2,902 |
The clock has been paused with 10 minutes remaining, and each table will play four more hands before bagging and tagging for the evening.
A player limped in from early position, Joe Stark raised to 7,500 from middle position, and a player on his left moved all in for 40,000 or so. The action folded back to Stark, who called.
Stark:
Opponent:
The board ran out , and the player was eliminated. Stark now sits with over 300,000 chips.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
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320,000
85,000
|
85,000 |
When we reached the table, the board read , and there was about 50,000 in the middle. A player checked, and Joe Stark fired 30,000. His opponent went deep into the tank, capping, uncapping, and then re-capping his cards before finally folding.
Stark revealed the for a bluff.
"I f***in' knew it!" the player blurted.
Stark simply grinned, and raked in the pot to push his stack above 200,000 chips.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
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235,000 |
A player opened to 4,300 in early position, and four players called, including Rick Hensley on his direct left.
The flop fell , and the action checked to Hensley. He immediately fired out a grey T5,000 chip, prompting all four of his opponents to fold.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
|
270,000
70,000
|
70,000 |
Jeff Williams opened to 3,600 from middle position, and thinking the action folded to him, a player in the small blind completed. When he realized Williams had raised, he tossed out the extra 2,000 chips. The player in the big blind folded.
The dealer fanned , and the player in the small blind checked. Williams continued for 5,000, and the player called.
The turn was the , the player checked again, and Williams plopped 12,700 in front of him. The player in the small blind quickly folded, and Williams raked in the pot.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
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125,000
79,000
|
79,000 |
Level: 15
Blinds: 1,000/2,000
Ante: 300