Hammond, IN (October 20,
2011)—The Main Event is fast approaching and preliminary events at Horseshoe
Hammond have set the bar high with enormous turnouts and stacked final tables.
“The success of our event so
far has been a real testament to the players,” said tournament director Charles Ciresci. “We appreciate their continued support of our efforts here in
Hammond and we strive to exceed their expectations year after year.”
Event #1 kicked off the WSOP
Circuit at Horseshoe Hammond in record-breaking fashion. 3,001 players turned
out for the $350 No-Limit Hold’em Re-Entry tournament making it the largest
WSOPC event ever and breaking the old attendance record by almost 1,400
entrants!
The almost $900,000 prizepool
created a first place prize of $124,438 that found its way into the pocket of
25-year-old Wisconsin native, Aaron Bieck.
Event #3 followed suit with
a final table that boasted the likes of Kyle Cartwright, Michael Souza and
Scott Schwalich. Those three players alone account for an amazing seven WSOP
rings, more than 45 WSOP and WSOPC cashes and over $1.2 million in career WSOP
earnings.
Valentin Vornicu, a
28-year-old math tutor originally from Romania, came out the victor earning $51,000 for his first place finish.
All WSOPC Horseshoe Hammond
champions, as well as all players at each final table, have
received pre-paid seats into the Main Event that were added into the
prizepool by Horseshoe Hammond.
“The seats we give away to
the Main Event add immeasurable value to our entire series,” Horseshoe poker room manager, Jason Newman, said.. “We do everything we can to give the players the best
return on their investment.”
"With a $1.5 million
guaranteed prizepool and a $1,600 price tag it is sure to provide the
star-studded field and thrilling final tables we are accustom to seeing here."
Beginning Friday, October 21
at 12 p.m. CST, the Main Event will bring electricity to the property that no other
tournament does.
It will follow a re-entry
format, meaning players eliminated in Day 1A can re-enter Day 1B which begins the following day. Day 1A will begin at 12 p.m. Friday, October 21 and 1B will begin at 12 p.m.
Saturday, October 22. This means players get two chances at calling themselves a Main
Event Champion and winning a seat to the $1 Million National Championship where
they will play for a WSOP gold bracelet.
Two seats to the National
Championship will be awarded from this stop. One seat will go to the winner of
the Main Event and a second seat will be given to the individual who earns the
most WSOPC ranking points.
The race to Las Vegas is
heating up as we have a seven-way tie at the top of the leaderboard. All seven of those players have their pre-paid
Main Event seats, so things are sure to get interesting as the series draws to a
close in Hammond.
Tournament play takes place
in The Venue, a 3,400 seat concert hall on the second floor of the casino. For
the past week and until the conclusion of the Main Event, The Venue is
transformed to the poker Mecca of the Midwest. Almost 100 tables fill the vast
tournament space and almost 50 extra tables in the first-floor poker room
accommodate overflow players.
Stay glued to WSOP.com for
live tournament updates.
Each final table throughout
the 2011/2012 Circuit tour will be streamed live at WSOP.com
Follow us on Twitter @WSOP
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