Main Event
Day 1b Started
2012-13 World Series of Poker Circuit Event - Harrah's Cherokee
Main Event
Day: 1b
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
2012-13 World Series of Poker Circuit Event - Harrah's Cherokee
Prize Pool
$1,284,000
Entries
856
Level
33
Blinds
50,000 / 100,000
Ante
10,000
Day 1 (Remix)
![[user101598]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
Day 1b of the 2012-13 World Series of Poker Circuit Harrah's Cherokee Main Event is on the horizon, and the staff here anticipates a very large field of both new players and reentrants. Day 1a attracted 354 players, and there is a slim chance we could double that number today.
Among the reentrants we expect today are WSOP bracelet winners Josh Arieh, Ken "Teach" Aldridge, and Chris Bell. All three players busted on Day 1a, with Bell busting in the last level of the night. Both Bell and Aldridge are North Carolina natives, and Aldridge announced the ceremonial "shuffle up and deal" yesterday.
There will also be plethora of new players, including dozens of super satellite winners. The staff here has been running satellites all weeks, and there are still hopefuls grinding away for a seat in the Main Event as we type this.
All of the players who enter today will be looking up to Day 1a chip leader David Nicholson. He and five-time ring winner Kyle Cartwright bagged over 200,000 chips, setting a very strong pace for the rest of the field.
The cards will be in the air in 50 minutes or so. We will be playing 15 40-minute levels, with an hour dinner break after Level 9. Be sure to check back for all of your exclusive, up-to-the-minute updates from the tournament floor.
Level: 1
Blinds: 25/50
Ante: 0
Shuffle and Play!
Level 1
: 25/50, 0 ante
The announcements have been made, and the cards are in the air. Day 1b of the Cherokee Main Event is underway!
The Comeback Kids
Level 1
: 25/50, 0 ante
It's a relatively quiet scene here in the Harrah's Cherokee Event Center as Day 1b gets underway. That said, we're looking at a lot more poker players taking hands here on an early Saturday afternoon in the North Carolina mountains. Unlike yesterday when tables being used by the Main Event only took up about half the room, today Main Event players are seated from one end to the other as the turnout is most certainly greater for this second Day 1 flight.
Among those seated are some returnees we recognize from yesterday's Day 1a, players who busted the first flight but have exercised their option to re-enter today. Christopher Kirkland, Ryan Riess, Yuval Bronshtein, and Ken Aldridge are among the familiar faces we've initially noticed from those coming back for another shot today.
Incidentally, an announcement was just made to remind everyone that there are no more chances to re-enter after busting today, so everyone currently playing is on their final bullet.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
20,000 | 20,000 |
|
20,000 | 20,000 |
|
20,000 | 20,000 |
|
20,000 | 20,000 |
Queen Saves Green
Level 1
: 25/50, 0 ante
Stephen Nussrallah of Alpharetta, Georgia and Laura Green of Marietta, Georgia were just involved in a preflop raising war that saw Green ultimately make a five-bet and Nussrallah call, thus building a pot of about 5,000. The flop then came eight-high — 
— and when Nussrallah led for 2,200, Green hesitated just a moment before saying she was all in.
Nusrallah exhaled, then said he was calling. "Do you have aces?" he asked, turning over his 
. She answered by tabling her hand — 
.
Relief spread over Nusrallah's face as the turn brought the 
. That expression quickly turned into a wince, however, as the sight of fifth street... the 
.
A set and survival for Green, as Nusrallah followed a good start by taking an early tumble. And unfortunately for him, he'd soon lose the rest of his stack thereafter to become a Level 1 elimination.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
28,500 | 15,500 |
|
Busted |
Cranfill Looking for Success in Cherokee
Level 1
: 25/50, 0 ante
At 14 months old, Josh Cranfill was diagnosed with Werdnig-Hoffman Disease, a form of Spinal Muscular Atrophy. It's a degenerative muscle disease that weakens the muscles in the body until they eventually die. Poker is unquestionably Cranfill's favorite hobby, and he's here in Cherokee with his father Shorty to compete for a World Series of Poker Circuit ring.
Since Black Friday, grinding his become increasingly more difficult for the wheelchair-stricken North Carolinian. Online poker allowed Cranfill to fire up a game and play whenever he wanted too, but when he plays live poker, he has to rely on his father for travel, and not every home game in the state is wheelchair accessible.
In 2009, Cranfill traveled to Las Vegas to compete in the World Series of Poker. In 2012, he finished seventh in a WSOP-C side event at the Palm Beach Kennel Club.
When he's not grinding, the Elon University graduate is fulfilling his duties as the vice president of the North Carolina Electric Wheelchair Hockey Association, a non-profit organization that offers the sport of hockey to those who have physical disabilities and are confined to an electric wheelchair.
We'll keep an eye on Cranfill as he tries to amass a stack here on Day 1b.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
20,000 | 20,000 |
Level: 2
Blinds: 50/100
Ante: 0
Doubting Thomas
Level 2
: 50/100, 0 ante
"Tommy Christopher… I got 80,000."
So Christopher told us as we passed by the table. We stopped to get a better look at his chips.
"Making my move early here," he added.
We squinted to see a little less than 80,000 sitting before him. In fact, he was just a few chips below the starting stack, and he grinned in response to our closer investigation.
It was the first of many bluffs we expect to see today.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
18,500 | -1,500 |
More Reentrants
Level 2
: 50/100, 0 ante
A few more players who busted on Day 1a have reentered here on Day 1b. Chris Underwood, DJ MacKinnon, Nelson Robinson, and Andrew Rothfolk have all fired a second bullet, and are looking to top their performances from yesterday.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
20,000 | 20,000 |
|
20,000 | 20,000 |
|
20,000 | 20,000 |
|
20,000 | 20,000 |