For the past week and a half, the World Series of Poker Circuit has been at Harrah’s New Orleans for the last stop of the 2010-2011 season. Currently, the PokerNews Live Reporting Team is just off Bourbon Street reporting on the $1,600 Main Event. Of course, the winner of that tournament will win an automatic seat in the National Championship coming up in just a couple of weeks. Furthermore, that event will be followed by the $10,000 Regional Championship, which awards seats to the National Championship to everyone who make the final table.
Each WSOP Circuit stop hosts ten gold-ring events. Players can earn National Leaderboard points, based upon their performance in those events, and hopefully accumulate enough to qualify for the National Championship. In addition, the player who earns the most points at each stop (the "Casino Champion") automatically qualifies for that event. Right now in New Orleans, that player looks to be Brian Walsingham. He has racked up 100 points by taking down two of the ring events (Event #4 $355 No-Limit Hold’em & Event #8 $1,085 No-Limit Hold’em), earning $105,405 in the process.
Perhaps the biggest story to come out of Harrah’s New Orleans was Event #7 $355 No-Limit Hold’em, which drew 646 players. That meant it was the biggest turnout for any poker tournament held in New Orleans since May 20, 2005. With a prize pool of $186,048 at stake, it was a familiar face in “Captain Tom” Franklin who emerged victorious and collected the $38,139 first-place prize. Franklin, a well-known professional, claimed his first WSOP-C ring, which will no doubt complement his 1999 WSOP bracelet.
There is still one ring event scheduled to be held after the Main Event, Event #10 $355 No-Limit Hold’em, but right now all eyes are on the Main Event. As always, you can catch our coverage of the Main Event by visiting our Live Reporting page. We’ll also be bringing you live updates from the $10,000 Regional Championship beginning on Thursday, May 19, 2011. In the meantime, you can find a summary of the ring events leading up to the Harrah’s New Orleans Main Event below.
WSOP Circuit Harrah’s New Orleans Event #1 No-Limit Hold’em
| Buy-in | Entrants | Prize Pool |
|---|---|---|
| $300+$55 | 473 | $136,224 |
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | John Campbell | Baton Rouge, LA | $28,288 |
| 2 | Adam Lippert | Brooklyn, NY | $18,108 |
| 3 | Andrew Phillips | Palm Coast, FL | $13,228 |
| 4 | Brett Tortorich | New Orleans, LA | $9,806 |
| 5 | Kyle Cartwright | Bartlett, TN | $7,375 |
| 6 | Doug Cox | Northport, AL | $5,626 |
| 7 | Samuel Ansley | Southlake, TX | $4,352 |
| 8 | Clint Schafer | Baton Rouge, LA | $3,415 |
| 9 | Paul Vo | Austin, TX | $2,717 |
WSOP Circuit Harrah’s New Orleans Ring Event #2 Mixed Pot Limit Omaha/Hold’em
| Buy-in | Entrants | Prize Pool |
|---|---|---|
| $300+$55 | 96 | $27,648 |
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | John Holley | Destin, FL | $8,380 |
| 2 | Dustin Wertz | New Orleans, LA | $5,179 |
| 3 | David Nicholson | Perkinston, MS | $3,688 |
| 4 | Michael Schneider | Covington, GA | $2,679 |
| 5 | Doug Carli | Alliance, OH | $1,984 |
| 6 | Jeff Winget | Belleville, IL | $1,498 |
| 7 | Phillip Hui | San Antonio, TX | $1,152 |
| 8 | Thomas Ryan Hopkins | San Antonio, TX | $902 |
| 9 | David Clark | Dallas, TX | $719 |
WSOP Circuit Harrah’s New Orleans Ring Event #3 No-Limit Hold’em Six-Handed
| Buy-in | Entrants | Prize Pool |
|---|---|---|
| $300+$55 | 312 | $89,856 |
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Daniel Doucet | Opelousas, LA | $21,116 |
| 2 | Daniel Galindo | San Antonio, TX | $13,056 |
| 3 | Mark Utterback | San Antonio, TX | $9,482 |
| 4 | David Jackson | Jonesboro, GA | $7,004 |
| 5 | Randy Gordon | N/A | $5,258 |
| 6 | Kyle Caslin | Saint Charles, MO | $4,010 |
| 7 | Richard Keranen | Denham Springs, LA | $3,106 |
| 8 | Lance Reine | N/A | $2,442 |
| 9 | Lance Honeycutt | N/A | $1,948 |
WSOP Circuit Harrah’s New Orleans Ring Event #4 No Limit Hold’em
| Buy-in | Entrants | Prize Pool |
|---|---|---|
| $300+$55 | 423 | $121,824 |
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brian Walsingham | Winston, GA | $26,801 |
| 2 | Lyle Walker | Denham Springs, LA | $16,561 |
| 3 | William Putmeyer | Hampton Cove, AL | $12,102 |
| 4 | Nhu Nguyen | Houston, TX | $8,985 |
| 5 | Charlie Cibula | River Forest, IL | $6,775 |
| 6 | Eric Witmer | Gonzales, LA | $5,186 |
| 7 | Nicholas Ceci | Peachtree City, GA | $4,027 |
| 8 | Jeremy Swanson | St. Amant, LA | $3,172 |
| 9 | Kenny Milam | Laplace, LA | $2,533 |
WSOP Circuit Harrah’s New Orleans Ring Event #5 No-Limit Hold’em
| Buy-in | Entrants | Prize Pool |
|---|---|---|
| $500+$65 | 293 | $140,640 |
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zhen Cai | Lakeworth, FL | $33,753 |
| 2 | AP Phahurat | Tulsa, OK | $20,859 |
| 3 | Kennii Nguyen | Chicago, IL | $15,135 |
| 4 | Dennis Crowley | Pearland, TX | $11,166 |
| 5 | Mario Silvestri | Colleyville, TX | $8,375 |
| 6 | Ly Do | San Antonio, TX | $6,382 |
| 7 | Richard Read | Picayune, MS | $4,939 |
| 8 | John Ross | Niagara, Falls, NY | $3,881 |
| 9 | Alex Maturi | Oak Park, IL | $4,939 |
WSOP Circuit Harrah’s New Orleans Ring Event #6 Pot Limit Omaha
| Buy-in | Entrants | Prize Pool |
|---|---|---|
| $500+$65 | 101 | $48,480 |
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Walter Wright | Las Vegas, NV | $14,544 |
| 2 | Cory Wood | Murfreesboro, TN | $8,989 |
| 3 | Mark Thoennes | Greenville, SC | $6,400 |
| 4 | Trey Brabham | Austin, TX | $4,649 |
| 5 | Nick Jivkov | Des Plaines, IL | $3,444 |
| 6 | Daniel Galindo | San Antonio, TX | $2,599 |
| 7 | James Lee | Yukon, OK | $1,999 |
| 8 | Phil Ngo | Oklahoma City, OK | $1,566 |
| 9 | Gregory Douglas | Tulsa, OK | $1,248 |
WSOP Circuit Harrah’s New Orleans Ring Event #7 No-Limit Hold’em
| Buy-in | Entrants | Prize Pool |
|---|---|---|
| $300+$55 | 646 | $186,048 |
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | “Captian” Tom Franklin | Gulfport, MS | $38,139 |
| 2 | Lawrence Wayne | Houston, TX | $23,600 |
| 3 | Joel Merwick | Lincoln, NE | $17,309 |
| 4 | Johnathan Westra | Gainesville, FL | $12,872 |
| 5 | Ryan Bradley Freeman | Katy, TX | $9,702 |
| 6 | George Menia | Baton Rouge, LA | $7,410 |
| 7 | Trent Temples | Bogalusa, LA | $5,734 |
| 8 | Mark Lindley | Katy, TX | $4,494 |
| 9 | Abel Hinojosa | Houston, TX | $3,568 |
WSOP Circuit Harrah’s New Orleans Ring Event #8 No-Limit Hold’em
| Buy-in | Entrants | Prize Pool |
|---|---|---|
| $1,000+$85 | 356 | $341,760 |
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brian Walsingham | Winston, GA | $78,604 |
| 2 | Lawrence Wayne | Houston, TX | $48,594 |
| 3 | Allie Prescott | Las Vegas, NV | $35,450 |
| 4 | Anthony Prusac | Houston, TX | $26,295 |
| 5 | Paul Odum | Canton, GA | $19,808 |
| 6 | Dan Schmiech | Houston, TX | $15,150 |
| 7 | Loc Van Nguyen | Houston, TX | $11,758 |
| 8 | Eli Loewenthal | Carmel, IN | $7,759 |
| 9 | Yong An | Las Vegas, NV | $6,005 |
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