February 25 2012, Chad Holloway
The World Series of Poker Circuit has returned to West Palm Beach, Florida, for one of the biggest stops of the year. The 12-event series kicked off on February 16 and will culminate in a $1,600 Main Event on Saturday, Feb. 25. Of course the PokerNews Live Reporting Team will be providing coverage of the Main Event, but we thought we’d set the stage with a look back at the preliminary events.
Without a doubt, the most notable preliminary tournament was Event #1: $555 No-Limit Hold’em, which drew an astounding 2,607 players, the second-largest turnout in WSOP Circuit history, and created a prize pool of $1,250,345, the largest-ever outside of Main Events.
Caesars Interactive Entertainment Media Director, Nolan Dalla described the scene during Event #1: “There were unavoidable lines. There were scalpers – yes, selling places in line to get a seat in the tournament. There was a near riot during one of the opening days. There was also a calm and cozy peace that prevailed over the sprawling tournament area once cards finally flew into the air and competition began, with poker tables terraced along the atrium-like windows facing out towards circling greyhounds and throngs of horseplayers screaming for their favorite ponies, appearing on simulcast.”
It took five days of play, including three separate starting days, for the tournament to finish, but before that happened, the final 30 players had to play down to a winner. One man who was looking for his first piece of WSOP gold was Harrison Gimbel, whom you may recall won the 2010 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure. Unfortunately, Gimbel’s run came up a bit short in seventh place, for which he earned $32,214, and his first WSOP Circuit cash.
When all was said and done, a 50-year-old nail technician by the name of Anh Lu emerged victorious to capture the $182,750 first-place prize, which was the biggest payout for a WSOP Circuit prelim event. In what would be the final hand of the tournament, Lu held a 2:1 chip lead over Charles Flett in heads-up play, which lasted just 10 minutes. Flett was all-in with 
, but was behind the 
of Lu. The 
flop gave Lu a set, and it held as neither the 
turn nor 
river completed Flett’s open-ended straight draw.
Here’s a look at the WSOP Circuit Palm Beach Kennel Club events completed thus far:
With several events yet to be determined, the race for the WSOP Circuit Palm Beach Kennel Club Casino Champion is undecided. Whoever captures that title, along with the eventual winner of the Main Event, will automatically qualify for the Second Annual $1 Million National Championship. That event is limited to 100 players, and so far only a handful of players have qualified:
National Championship Qualifiers
| Kurt Jewell | Harrah’s Tunica Main Event Winner |
In addition to the qualifiers, players who earn enough points on the National Leaderboard will be able to buy in to the National Championship:
WSOPC National Leaderboard Top Ten*
| David Clark | 165 | 1 | 7 | $56,209 |
| Russell Ivy | 130 | 0 | 7 | $72,703 |
| Benjamin Kramer | 130 | 1 | 8 | $58,600 |
| Daniel Lowery | 122.5 | 0 | 6 | $240,522 |
| Matthew Chang | 122.5 | 1 | 7 | $25,468 |
| Alexandru Masek | 117.5 | 1 | 5 | $125,015 |
| Jeremy Burleson | 117.5 | 2 | 3 | $48,474 |
| Jeremy Drewery | 117.5 | 0 | 6 | $47,275 |
| Oran Haynes | 115 | 0 | 5 | $56,220 |
| Robert Newman | 115 | 1 | 4 | $45,619 |
*Leading up to the WSOP Circuit Palm Beach Kennel Club stop.
Don’t miss your chance to qualify for the National Championship. There are still plenty of opportunities to play, including any of the remaining stops on the WSOP Circuit schedule.
Remaining 2011-2012 WSOPC Schedule
| Circuit Event | Caesars Atlantic City | March 1 – 12, 2012 |
| Circuit Event | Harrah’s Rincon | March 15 – 26, 2012 |
| Circuit Event | Horseshoe Council Bluffs | March 29 – April 9, 2012 |
| Circuit Event | Harrah’s St. Louis | April 12 – 23, 2012 |
| Circuit Event | Harrah’s Chester | April 26 – May 7, 2012 |
| Circuit Event | Harrah’s New Orleans | May 10 – 21, 2012 |
Get all the latest PokerNews updates on your social media outlets. Follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook today! In the meantime, see who qualifies for the National Championship this week by following our Live Reporting Team’s coverage from the Palm Beach Kennel Club.
*Photos courtesy of Eric Harkins and ImageMasters.
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February 22 2012, PokerNews Staff
Are you compiling you poker tournament bucket list? Don’t fill it with [insert casino name here] 7 p.m. nightly. Yes, those are fun, but come on, you should have the best of the best on your list. The PokerNews Team has come up with its top 10 can’t miss poker tournaments. And yes, there are even online tournaments in the mix. Check out this list, and start building your bankroll – playing these doesn’t come cheap.
1. World Series of Poker Main Event
Without a doubt, this is the most prestigious poker tournament in the world. Amateurs and pros turn out in full force to compete with one another for millions of dollars. It doesn’t get much better than that. If you’re a poker player, playing the WSOP is certainly on your bucket list.
2. PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event
Busting out on Day 1 might be optimal because you’re literally on Paradise Island. Winning the tournament and taking home a few mill would be OK, too.
3. Aussie Millions Main Event
It’s the biggest and most prestigious poker tournament in the Southern Hemisphere. That should be enough to get you Down Under.
4. World Poker Tour World Championship
Yes, the buy-in is $25,000, but this is one of the sickest fields in all of poker. All you need is money to play with the absolute best of the best, which is why poker is so amazing. If you’ve got the money, why not go play with all the legends?
5. PokerStars Sunday Million
If you’ve got a spot to grind from, this is the one to play online. The Sunday Million regularly pays out around a quarter-million dollars to the winner, and that’s not too shabby for a $215 investment. What’s better? You can satellite into the Sunday Million for pocket change, and the chance to parlay that into a couple hundred thousand bucks every single week makes it too tempting to pass up.
6. World Series of Poker Europe Main Event
While this event series has yet to come close to WSOP numbers, this past year was its most attended Main Event. Players will follow the gold bracelet wherever it is up for grabs.
7. PokerStars European Poker Tour Grand Final
The EPT is Europe’s richest poker tour, and the EPT Grand Final is the coup de grâce of the EPT. The field is huge and the $10K buy-in makes for a sizable prize pool. PokerStars tends to keep the location of this event a secret until the last minute every year, creating anticipation in the poker community. No matter where it is, the location is always classy, cultural and impressive.
8. World Poker Tour LA Poker Classic
Huge field of crazy, gambling people from LA in a tournament that provides the chance to get on a WPT televised final table and win loads of cash. Sounds like a good idea to us.
9. PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker
You can become a millionaire by sitting in your pajamas for two days. Enough said.
10. PokerStars Latin American Poker Tour Grand Final
This year, the LAPT Grand Final took place during Carnival, which is known as one the biggest party festivals in the world. If you’re thinking about going to South America, this is a perfect tournament for both poker and pleasure.
Do you have your own list? Let us know in the comments section below, and as always, follow PokerNews on Twitter for up-to-the-minute news.
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