Main Event
Day 1 Started
2012-13 World Series of Poker Circuit Event - Horseshoe Council Bluffs
Main Event
Day: 1
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
2012-13 World Series of Poker Circuit Event - Horseshoe Council Bluffs
Prize Pool
$550,800
Entries
367
Level
32
Blinds
40,000 / 80,000
Ante
10,000
Welcome to the 2012/2013 WSOP Circuit Horseshoe Council Bluffs
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!
Level: 1
Blinds: 25/50
Ante: 0
Shuffle Up and Deal!
Level 1
: 25/50, 0 ante
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.
Notables in The Field
Level 1
: 25/50, 0 ante
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.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
20,000 | 20,000 |
|
20,000 | 20,000 |
|
20,000 | 20,000 |
|
20,000 | 20,000 |
|
20,000 | 20,000 |
|
20,000 | 20,000 |
|
20,000 | 20,000 |
|
20,000 | 20,000 |
|
|
20,000 | 20,000 |
|
20,000 | 20,000 |
|
20,000 | 20,000 |
|
|
20,000 | 20,000 |
|
20,000 | 20,000 |
|
20,000 | 20,000 |
Blumenthal Loses a Small One; Kirk in the House
Level 1
: 25/50, 0 ante
Over at Table 20, action folded around to Eddie Blumenthal in the cutoff and he opened for 125. The button and both blinds called, the flop came down 
, and three checks put action on the button. He fired out 300, only Blumenthal called, and the dealer burned and turned the 
. Blumenthal checked and then ended up folding when the button bet 800.
It wasn't much of a hand, but what was of note was that two-time WSOP Circuit ring winner Tripp Kirk took his seat at the table shortly thereafter.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
20,000 | 20,000 |
|
|
19,000 | -1,000 |
Level: 2
Blinds: 50/100
Ante: 0
Some More Notables
Level 2
: 50/100, 0 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
20,000 | |
|
20,000 | |
|
20,000 | |
|
20,000 | |
|
20,000 |
Nick Jivkov Wins Ring No. 3 in Event #1 $365 No-Limit Hold'em
Level 2
: 50/100, 0 ante
The WSOP Circuit Horseshoe Council Bluffs kicked off on April 11 with Event #1 $365 No-Limit Hold’em, which drew 260 runners and created a $78,000 prize pool. While those numbers aren’t overly impressive, WSOP bracelet winner Nick Jivkov taking down the title was as it marked his third gold ring. Not only that, he earned $19,110 and 50 points toward the Casino Championship.
“I hold the rings and the bracelet in very high regard,” Jivkov told the WSOP after his win. “When I won my bracelet, to be honest with you, the $200,000 that it came with was the largest amount I had won up to that point and I didn’t even realize that until three days later. The overwhelming feeling of winning a WSOP bracelet was so big that the money didn’t even enter into my mind until two or three days later. To some aspect [the trophies] are even more important [than the money], because they validate what I’m doing.”
On his way to victory, Jivkov outlasted some stiff competition including Jose Serratos (27th), Zal Irani (12th), Drew Woodke (8th), Everett Carlton (4th), Jason Mayfield (3rd) and Patrick Dixon.
“I felt that this was destiny for me,” Jivkov said. “When we pulled in the parking lot [last night] my odometer read 33,333 miles and we walked in the hotel room at 3:33 a.m. I told my friend and my wife I thought it was some type of a sign because I was playing for my third ring.”
WSOP Circuit Horseshoe Council Bluffs Ring Event #1 No-Limit Hold’em
| Buy-in | Entrants | Prize Pool |
|---|---|---|
| $300+$65 | 260 | $78,000 |
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Nick Jivkov | Piovdiv, Bulgaria | $19,110 |
| 2nd | Patrick Dixon | Topeka, KS | $11,808 |
| 3rd | Jason Mayfield | Cabot, AR | $8,531 |
| 4th | Everett Carlton | St. Paul, MN | $6,278 |
| 5th | Fred Walker | Omaha, NE | $4,703 |
| 6th | Raymond Rife | Omaha, NE | $3,584 |
| 7th | Timothy Anstine | Omaha, NE | $2,777 |
| 8th | Drew Woodke | Omaha, NE | $2,186 |
| 9th | William Perpich | Mahtomedi, MN | $1,749 |
Ormson Crippled by Engel; Finished by Tebben
Level 2
: 50/100, 0 ante
After driving from Wisconsin late last night, Larry Ormson woke up early to play today's mega satellite. He was fortunate enough to win a seat into today's event, but his stay was short lived.
Ormson was crippled after he flopped two pair against Ari Engel, who happened to flop a straight. Not long after, Jeff Tebben opened for 250 from middle position and another player called. Engel then three-bet to 800 from the button, Ormson called from the big blind, and the original raiser called. The limper folded and it was three-way action to the 
flop.
Ormson wasted little time in getting his last 1,450 in the middle, both Tebben and Engel called, and the 
turned. Tebben proceeded to move all in and Engel folded. Ormson tabled the 
for a pair of sevens, but he was drawing dead to Tebben's 
. The 
river actually gave Tebben quads, and officially put an end to Ormson's Day 1a. We expect he'll be back later tonight.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
46,000 | 26,000 |
|
Busted |