Day 2 of the fourth-largest World Series of Poker Circuit Main Event
has officially come to a close. A total of 26 levels are in the books
thus far, and by the end of the evening only 16 players remained in
contention for the $369,503 first-place prize, the gold Circuit ring,
and the seat to the National Championship. Leading the field heading
into Day 3 is Jeffrey Gibralter who bagged up the biggest stack of chips
with 3.7 million.
Gibralter may not be a household name, but he's no stranger to success
on the Circuit. During the 2012/13 season, Gibralter bested a field of
405 runners to win his first gold ring in the Bossier City Main Event.
Gibralter pocketed $133,648 for that run and is hoping to repeat himself
with a victory in Durant.
Gibralter is at the top of the chip counts, meaning that he is the
closest in the field to achieving the top prize and a six-figure score.
It should be noted that the top four finishers in this event receive
six-figure paydays with second place being worth $229,194, third place
worth $167,954, and fourth place taking home $127,685.
The day began with 294 players returning to the felt to vie for WSOP
Circuit glory. In the end, only 153 of those runners would make the
money. Several notable names including Bryan Campanello, Eric Baldwin,
La Sengphet, Ben Reason, and David "ODB" Baker fell from play before
the money was reached. Also eliminated before the pay period was
defending champion Jeff Fielder. Fielder came into Day 2 with a solid
amount of chips, but after a few unfortunate circumstances he was
eliminated just 30 minutes into play.
During round-for-round play, the field played one round before the
money bubble burst. Daniel Blakeman and Michael Eakin were both
eliminated during that round and the two chopped 153rd place, taking
home $1,435 respectively.
After the money bubble burst, players began dropping at a rapid rate.
Among those to fall in the money were Grant Hinkle (138th), Matt Kirby
(101st), Ting Ho (68th), Daniel Lowery (67th), Ray Henson (63rd), TJ
Cloutier (58th), Aaron Massey (53rd), Kevin Eyster (40th), Darren
Rabinowitz (35th), Zal Irani (32nd), and Joe Kuether (27th).
Here's a look at the chip counts heading into Day 3:
1st: Jeff Gibralter - 3,700,000
2nd: Preston Harwell - 3,210,000
3rd: Michael Sanders - 2,900,000
4th: Shelby Penka - 2,785,000
5th: Joshua Evans - 2,515,000
6th: Tyler Morris - 2,275,000
7th: Julie Walker - 1,745,000
8th: Nathanael Kogel - 1,625,000
9th: Jesse Capps - 1,500,000
10th: Robert Ortiz - 1,400,060
11th: Clyde Walters - 1,150,000
12th: Jonathan Graviao - 1,040,000
13th: Allan Hedin - 1,010,000
14th: Greg Jennings - 650,000
15th: Sal Dicarlo - 495,000
16th: Scott Griffiths - 495,000
Play resumes at 12 p.m. local time on Monday where Circuit Main Event will reach its exciting conclusion. Chip counts are available by table and seat at WSOP.com.