Main Event Day 1b | 2019 World Series of Poker Circuit Choctaw Durant

07-28-2019 02:49 UTC-4

Thomas Johnson Bags Chip Lead on Day 1b of Choctaw Casino Resort $1,700 Main Event

Anthony Thompson

Level 16 : 2,000/4,000, 4,000 ante

After 12 plus hours of play,16 levels are complete and all chips have been bagged for Day 1b of Choctaw Casino Resorts $1,700 Main Event. After Day 1a drew 354 entries, today’s flight saw an additional 622 join the fun with 108 players remaining when play concluded.

Thomas Johnson ended the day with a whopping 543,000 to finish as the clear chip leader after continually stacking chips throughout the day.

Second in chips is Billy Bailey, who also led a charge at the end of the evening, building his stack from around 200,000 to its finishing point in the last two levels of the evening. Bailey bagged a stack of 516,000 which is above Day 1a chip leader Russ Floyd’s 481,000. Another player to end the night with a bigger stack than Day 1a's chip leader was Rodolfo Marez who bagged 496,500. Other players to finish in the top include Trung Tran (468,000), Daniel Lowery (460,000), and Lee Abramson (430,000).

Saturday’s Day 1b flight saw a ton of recognizable faces make it up the mountain at their final shot at advancing to Day 2. Some players to advance in this flight include Aaron Massey (142,000), Jean "Prince" Gaspard (136,000), TJ Cloutier (135,500), Chris Tryba (101,000), Paul Sokoloff (70,000), and reigning champion Dave Alfa (38,500).

A few players who were not fortunate enough to advance including Bart Bogard, Lexy Gavin, Jared Jaffee, Todd Dreyer, John Richards and Gil George.

Day 2 will Sunday, July 28th, with a local start time of noon. Play will resume at the beginning of Level 17, with blinds of 2,500/5,000 and a 5,000 big-blind ante. Levels will last 60- minutes throughout the day with 15-minute breaks coming after every two levels.

There will be 167 players returning for Day 2 action and 147 of the making it into the money. Those who earn the first-level payout will receive $2,547 and payouts will climb from there to the eventual first-place prize of $255,535.

Stay tuned here as the PokerNews live reporting team will be here to bring you all of the action as the day unfolds.

Tags: Aaron Massey Bart Bogard Chris Tryba Daniel Lowery Dave Alfa Gil George Jared Jaffee John Richards Lee Abramson Lexy Gavin Paul Sokoloff Todd Dreyer Trung Tran

07-27-2019 22:13 UTC-4

David Larson Wins Two Circuit Rings in 24 Hours; Four in Calendar Year

Anthony Thompson

Level 12 : 800/1,600, 1,600 ante

The World Series of Poker Circuit Choctaw Durant $1,700 Main Event is just one of a dozen gold ring events at the stop. One man, 48-year-old poker pro David Larson from Appleton, Wisconsin, managed to claim two titles back-to-back within a 24-hour period.

Larson was making the trek to Harrah’s Cherokee in North Carolina for the Global Casino Championship – which he qualified for by finishing as Casino Champ at the WSOPC Horseshoe Hammond last October – when he decided to stop at Choctaw and play Event #7: $400 No-Limit Hold’em, a tournament that attracted 123 entries and created a $40,590 prize pool. Larson bagged the Day 1 chip lead, which he took into the final table before winning it all for $11,057 and his third career ring.

With the first win, the former software engineer became the 132nd player to win three or more WSOP Circuit rings.

Event #7: $400 NLH Final Table Results

Place	Player	Hometown	Prize
1	David Larson	Appleton, WI	$11,057
2	Larry Green	Houston, Texas	$6,834
3	Khoi Lang	McKinney, Texas	$4,754
4	Lauren Bunch	Tulsa, Oklahoma	$3,390
5	Trent Trinidad	Big Spring, Texas	$2,480
6	Lisa Schuessler	Durant, Oklahoma	$1,862
7	Gary Harbison	Addison, Texas	$1,435
8	Bernard Morrow	Grand Island, Nebraska	$1,138
9	Lisa Smith	Spring, Texas	$928

He didn’t stop there as the next day he fired Event #9: $250 NLH and bested a 180-entry field to win it for $9,137.

“Today I felt more pressure because I won yesterday but also people were afraid of me because I won yesterday,” he told WSOP officials. “People definitely played a little more conservative today so it was harder for them to give-up their chips and yesterday people were a lot more splashy.”

Larson became the 55th player to win four or more rings, though his have all come in the last calendar year.

“This is definitely the most fun I’ve had,” he said. “I’ve won a lot more money playing poker but this is for sure the most fun I’ve ever had.”

The back-to-back wins also gave Larson 100 points on the WSOPC Choctaw leaderboard, which puts him out front and in a good position to win a seat into next year’s Global Casino Championship.

Event #9: $250 NLH Final Table Results

Place	Player	Hometown	Prize
1	David Larson	Appleton, WI	$9,137
2	Benjamin Thompson	Lake Elm, Texas	$5,644
3	Glen Goldsmith	Palestine, Texas	$3,946
4	Thomas Neville	Carrollton, Texas	$2,820
5	Marcus Villarreal	Pleasanton, Texas	$2,060
6	Carson Wieland	Montgomery, Texas	$1,540
7	Suzan Samuels	Bellaire, Texas	$1,178
8	Vincent Moscati	Verplanck, New York	$922
9	Phillip Teel	Broken Arrow, Oklahoma	$740

To see who all has captured gold rings at the Choctaw Durant stop, click here.

Tags: David Larson

07-27-2019 20:34 UTC-4

Clarence Prevost Wins Event #10; Paul Sokoloff w/ Another Deep Run

Anthony Thompson

Level 10 : 500/1,000, 1,000 ante

The World Series of Poker Circuit Choctaw Durant $1,700 Main Event is just one of a dozen gold ring events at the stop.

For more than a week, a slew of side events has been playing out including Event #10: $400 NLH 8-Handed One-Day, a tournament that drew 216 entries and created a $17,132 prize pool.

The last player standing was 36-year-old Clarence Prevost, who claimed a $17,132 top prize and his first WSOPC gold ring.

“I’m happy, I feel so blessed,” he said after the win. “I really really wanted to win one. I really thought I wouldn’t make it this far.”

Prevost came into the final table eighth in chips but hung tough before spinning it up.

“I never gave-up, I felt like it was my time,” he explained. “I picked the right spots and didn’t bluff-off my stack like I liked to do. I just waited my turn. I believed in the cards when they came to me.”

The father of two added: “I have to give a shoutout to my rail and give a specific shoutout to my boy Kurt Haiss, he is the guy I run with and he’s always backed for me. The entire rail was cool.”

Interestingly, Paul Sokoloff, who had finished runner-up in a tournament the night before, had another deep run finishing in third place for $7,483.

Event #10 Final Table Results

Place	Player	Hometown	Prize
1	Clarence Prevost	Tulsa, Oklahoma	$17,132
2	Robert Irby	Hudson, Florida	$10,588
3	Paul Sokoloff	London, England	$7,483
4	Henry Horn	Irving, Texas	$5,392
5	Michael Lo	Houston, Texas	$3,964
6	Quinterol Mallette	Dallas, Texas	$2,974
7	Jim Carroll	Frisco, Texas	$2,278
8	Mykel Comroe	Dallas, Texas	$1,783
9	Davis Dennis	Norman, Oklahoma	$1,425

To see who all has captured gold rings at the Choctaw Durant stop, click here.

Tags: Clarence Prevost

07-27-2019 17:44 UTC-4

Imran Sabzali Wins Gold Ring One Year After Learning to Play Poker

Anthony Thompson

Level 7 : 300/500, 500 ante

The World Series of Poker Circuit Choctaw Durant $1,700 Main Event is just one of a dozen gold ring events at the stop.

For more than a week, a slew of side events has been playing out including Event #8: $400 NLH 8-Handed One-Day, a tournament that attracted 167 runners and created a $55,110 prize pool. Just one year after learning to play poker, 38-year-old cell phone repairman Imran Sabzali, originally from Pakistan but now residing in Karalhi, Texas, captured a gold ring and $14,129 top prize.

“I was looking for a way to make easy money,” Sabzali said after the win. Not only did he emerge victorious, he had to go through two-time ring winner Paul Sokoloff to do it. Sabzali had a 2:1 Chip lead and wasn’t afraid to move in preflop.

Eventually Sabzali shoved with king-three and Sokoloff woke up with pocket queens. Sabzali rivered three of a king and just like that Sokoloff was denied his third piece of WSOP Circuit hardware.

Event #8 Final Table Results

Place	Player	Hometown	Prize
1	Imran Sabzali	Carrollton, Texas	$14,129
2	Paul Sokoloff	London, England	$8,733
3	Shane Mullens	Austin, Texas	$6,083
4	Michael Delavergne	Runaway Bay, Texas	$4,333
5	James Stewart	Round Rock, Texas	$3,159
6	Darren Martin	Lexington, North Carolina	$2,358
7	Daniel Parshall	North Richland Hills, Texas	$1,803
8	James Price	Oklahoma City, Oklahoma	$1,414
9	Kevin Vrba	Waco, Texas	$1,137

To see who all has captured gold rings at the Choctaw Durant stop, click here.

Tags: Imran Sabzali

07-27-2019 16:10 UTC-4

Ron Robinson Overcomes 3:1 Chip Deficit to Win Event #6: $400 NLH 8-Handed One-Day

Anthony Thompson

Level 5 : 200/300, 300 ante

The World Series of Poker Circuit Choctaw Durant $1,700 Main Event is just one of a dozen gold ring events at the stop.

For more than a week, a slew of side events has been playing out including Event #6: $400 NLH 8-Handed One-Day, a tournament that drew 166 runners and offered up a $54,780 prize pool.

Ron Robinson, an insurance data analyst from Dallas, ended up the winner to claim the title and accompanying $14,190 first-place prize. In order to claim his first gold ring, Robinson had to overcome some challenges.

During three-handed play he was just looking to ladder up, which he did when Eric Ritter was bounced in third place. That allowed Robinson to make it to heads-up play against two-time ring winner Burt Bogard, albeit at a 3:1 chip disadvantage.

“I’m really surprised, the main reason is when I got to the pay jump when the gentleman got out and I was heads-up that I was at such disadvantage,” Robinson told WSOP officials. “I was just kind of grinding-it out. I believe as the night progressed he got tired. I think it was the moment that when I colored-up and got those blue 25,000 chips that he started to realize that I was coming back. Even though he had a 3-1 chip lead on me, I think he got a little disappointed about that. I realized when the chips were going down and when I started to go all-in at the end, it really started to hit home with him that, “oh, wow I could lose this thing. If I just got the pay jump, I would’ve been happy.”

Event #6 Final Table Results

Place	Player	Hometown	Prize
1	Ron Robinson	Dallas, Texas	$14,190
2	Anthony "Burt" Bogard	Wylie, Texas	$8,771
3	Eric Ritter	Richardson, Texas	$6,091
4	William Stanley OHagan	Conroe, Texas	$4,329
5	Shane Mullens	Austin, Texas	$3,151
6	Jon Bennett	Oklahoma City, Oklahoma	$2,350
7	Steven Arias	Denton, Texas	$1,798
8	Carson Wieland	Montgomery, Texas	$1,411
9	Dennis Brand	Sugar Land, Texas	$1,136

To see who all has captured gold rings at the Choctaw Durant stop, click here.

Tags: Ron Robinson

07-27-2019 15:20 UTC-4

Urim "Tim" Staraveci Wins Event #5: $400 NLH for First Gold Ring

Anthony Thompson

Level 4 : 100/200, 200 ante

The World Series of Poker Circuit Choctaw Durant $1,700 Main Event is just one of a dozen gold ring events at the stop.

For more than a week, a slew of side events has been playing out including Event #5: $400 No-Limit Hold’em, a tournament that drew 150 entries and created a $49,500 prize pool. Urim “Tim” Staraveci, a 40-year-old professional poker player from Plano, Texas, came out on top to capture a $13,125 first-place prize and his first gold ring.

On his way to victory, Staraveci had to contend with 2010 WSOP Player of the Year Frank Kassela at the final table, as well as his daughter Amanda. Fortunately for him, he was able to outlast them both.

Event #5 Final Table Results

Place	Player	Hometown	Prize
1	Urim Staraveci	Plano, Texas	$13,125
2	Zackary Walker	Atoka, Oklahoma	$8,109
3	Christopher Lawson	Livingston, Texas	$5,610
4	Amanda Kassela	Los Angeles, California	$3,976
5	William Mattingly	Garland, Texas	$2,888
6	Frank Kassela	Las Vegas, Nevada	$2,152
7	Dean Baranowski	Lewisville, Texas	$1,645
8	Bernard Morrow	Grand Island, Nebraska	$1,292
9	John Song	Fort Worth, Texas	$1,043

To see who all has captured gold rings at the Choctaw Durant stop, click here.

Tags: Urim Staraveci

07-27-2019 11:00 UTC-4

Welcome To Day 1b of the $1,700 Main Event at Choctaw Casino Resort

Anthony Thompson

Yesterday’s Day 1a flight drew 354 entries with 59 players advancing to Day 2. After over 12 hours inside the Choctaw's Casino Resort, it was Russ Floyd who bagged the chip lead with a stack of 481,000. Floyd has competition as Scott Hall 479,000 and Sayed "PJ" Jafari 478,000 are hot on his tail.

Day 1b will see cards in the air at noon local time. After the day is completed, the players will combine for Day 2 Sunday, July 28th and will play down to a winner on Day 3 Monday, July 29th.

Day 1b Players will receive 30,000 starting stacks and play will continue until the completion of Level 16. The first 15 levels are 40 minutes long with level 16 being 60-minutes. Players will get 15-minute breaks after every three levels. There will be a one-hour dinner break after Level 9. Players are allowed one re-buy with registration will remain open through the dinner break until the beginning of Level 13

Today is the second and last starting day of Choctaw's $1,700 Main Event. All players who do survive will advance to Day 2 on Sunday, July, 28th at noon.

Stay tuned here as the PokerNews live reporting team will be here to bring you all of the action as the day unfolds.