The tournament clocks say 197 players are registered thus far for Day 1a, and there are quite a few notables sprinkled throughout the room. Here are some we found on our first pass through the tournament area.
The tournament officials have just made their announcements and cards are in the air here at the WSOP Circuit Horseshoe Council Bluffs. We're headed out to the field to see who's here.
The 2012-2013 World Series of Poker Circuit presented by Southern Comfort 100 Proof continues has been in Council Bluffs, Iowa all week for the third-to-last stop of the season. A mix of locals and amateurs have been locking horns with circuit grinders, with the latter contingent focused on chasing points toward the National Championship.
Today, the capstone $1,675 Main Event kicks off inside the Whiskey Roadhouse, a cleared out concert venue that houses the 32-table tournament area.
"Usually we have concerts here on the weekends, but it’s nice that we can steal it for two weeks," Horseshoe Council Bluffs poker room manager Andy Brock told PokerNews. "Last year, we heard some complaints that it was a little too cramped, so we actually removed five tables. We kind of gambled with some of our sizes and satellites, but we thought removing some tables would be better for the players."
Speaking of the players, we've already seen plenty of notables wandering about including Larry Ormson, Mark "P0ker H0" Kroon, Mitch Schock, Bernard Lee, Doug "Rico" Carli, Drazen Ilich, Rex Clinkscales, Tripp Kirk, David Nicholson, Allen Kessler and the all-time WSOP Circuit ring winner Alex Masek, who rarely ventures from the West Coast.
While the Main Event is the big attraction, ten preliminary ring events are already in the books. We'll be bringing you recaps of those events throughout the day, but in the meantime here's a look at those players who've managed to capture gold here in Council Bluffs.
Gold Ring Winners from Horseshoe Council Bluffs
Tournament
Winner
Entries
Prize
EVENT #1 $365 NLH
Nick Jivkov
260
$19,110
EVENT #2 $365 NLH Turbo
Jovan Sudar
148
$12,434
EVENT #3 $365 NLH Re-Entry
Zach Smith
562
$35,397
EVENT #4 $365 NLH
Jason Mayfield
186
$14,505
EVENT #5 $365 NLH
Ryan Krauss
186
$14,505
EVENT #6 $365 Limit Omaha Hi/Lo
Mark Bonsack
134
$11,254
EVENT #7 $365 NLH Six-Handed
Matthew Weber
184
$15,179
EVENT #8 $365 NLH
Jonathan Hilton
221
$16,576
EVENT #9 $580 NLH
Nathan Bjerno
203
$26,390
EVENT #10 $365 NLH Turbo
Mark Fink
203
$15,835
Today will feature both the Day 1a and 1b flights, with the former starting at noon CST and the latter 5 p.m. CST. There will be some overlap, but each flight will play 12 40-minute levels with a 15-minute break after every third level. There will be no dinner break, which means it's going to be a long day chalk full of action. Stay tuned!
