The World Series of Poker Circuit, presented by Southern Comfort 100 Proof, continued on Friday with Day 1a of the $1,675 Main Event from the Choctaw Casino in Durant, Oklahoma. The stop, which is on the Circuit schedule for its third year, has developed a reputation as boasting some of the largest fields, and Day 1a was no exception as 466 players took to the felt. After 17 levels of play, that field was whittled down to just 64, with Drazen Ilich and his stack of 650,000 leading the way.
Day 1a Top 10 Chip Counts
Place | Name | Count |
---|---|---|
1 | Drazen Ilich | 650,000 |
2 | "Cowboy" John Land | 482,000 |
3 | Andrew Watson | 315,500 |
4 | Brian Jordan | 279,000 |
5 | Brant Hale | 278,000 |
6 | TJ Cloutier | 276,500 |
7 | Doug Ashmore | 272,500 |
8 | Jeff Fielder | 263,000 |
9 | Richard Booker | 256,000 |
10 | Geoff Gafford | 250,500 |
Ilich did a good job chipping up throughout the day, but a big pot in the last hand of the night helped secure him the chip lead. It happened with the blinds at 1,500/3,000/500 in Level 17 when Ilich checked a flop of
Ilich:
Opponent:
The turn was the
Likewise, "Cowboy" John Land got many of his chips in the last level of the night. Land and two opponents saw a flop of
Land:
Opponent:
The turn was the
As if that wasn’t enough, on the very next hand, Land limped in from early position, and a player on the button moved all in. The action folded back to Land, who called and had the player dominated.
Land:
Opponent:
The board ran out
There were also quite a few entertaining hands throughout the day. In addition to Andrew Watson doubling with a rare straight flush, which you can read about by clicking here, we also saw Jim Parker spike a one-outer to keep his tournament hopes alive.
It happened in Level 13 when a short-stacked Parker moved all in for 11,500 from the hijack with the
Unfortunately, not everyone was as lucky as Parker. The vast majority of players failed to make it to the end of the night. Among the notables eliminated were 2011 Choctaw champ Huy Nguyen; David Nicholson, who won a ring on Friday night in Event #9 $365 Pot-Limit Omaha; last year’s WSOP Circuit Choctaw Casino Champ Raja Kattamuri; four-time ring winner Ari Engel; 1986 WSOP Main Event champ Berry Johnston; Doug “Rico” Carli, who holds the all-time WSOP Circuit record for most cashes (70); and the defending champ Abraham Araya, who won $270,380 for last year’s victory. Fortunately, all these players have the option of re-entering in Day 1b.
Likewise, young up-and-comer AP Phahurat found himself on the rail late in the day. It happened in Level 12 with the blinds at 600/1,200/200 on a board reading
When the
Few notables managed to punch their tickets to Day 2. They include Poker Hall of Famer T.J. Cloutier; six-time WSOP bracelet winner Layne Flack; Circuit regular Jeff Fielder; 2006 WSOP final table member Richard Lee; Mid-States Poker Tour superstar Matt Kirby; and Lee Abramson, who was involved in a late-night slow-roll controversy.
Day 1b, which is set to kick off at 12:00 CST on Saturday, is expected to draw a massive crowd, and it’s very much within the realm of possibility that last year’s field of 978 entrants could be surpassed. Be sure to join the PokerNews Live Reporting Team on Saturday as we bring you all the action from Day 1b of the WSOP Circuit Choctaw Casino Main Event.
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