First in Flight: Day 1a Awaits at Harrah's Cherokee
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!