On Sunday, the World Series of Poker Circuit Harrah’s New Orleans Main Event continued with advancing players from the two starting flights combining for Day 2 action. By the end of the day it was none other than WSOP bracelet winner and two-time Circuit ring winner Bryan Campanello who led the unofficial final table of ten. Campanello bagged up 3.77 million in chips for a massive chip lead against his nine competitors.Campanello returned for Day 2 with a top-15 chip stack and quickly found his spot among the leaders. After sitting as the chip lead for a solid portion of the day, he hit his true surge during the last level of the day. The Texas-native found a full double after getting it in before the flop with pocket kings against Agustin Berumen’s ace-queen. Shortly thereafter, Campanello’s pocket queens held against Joe Hall’s king-eight after a preflop all in. The bracelet winner then finished his tour de force by catching a larger two pair than Benjamin Thomas on the turn to send the Louisiana-native home.Also making waves throughout the day was recently crowned Circuit Main Event champion Eric Blair. Just two weeks ago Blair overcame a 311-entry field at The Lodge Casino to win his first Circuit ring and $116,325 in first-place prize money. Blair fought hard throughout the day, sporting both a short stack and a big stack at different points. Now, he has the opportunity to become the first-ever back-to-back Circuit Main Event winner. Blair bagged up exactly 1 million in chips, which is good for fourth overall heading into the final day.Day 2 began with 111 players returning to the felt with the immediate goal of being among the top 63 players and making the money. The field was packed full of familiar faces heading into the day, several of which hit the rail before the money was reached. Caufman Talley, Nancy Birnbaum, and Everett Carlton were just a few of those to leave the tournament room empty handed. Aaron Overton played the role of bubble boy and with his elimination each remaining player was guaranteed a payday of at least $2,732.Notable players to fall once the money was reached include Maurice Hawkins (63rd), Juan Mendoza (62nd), Joseph Morneau (58th), Andrew Spears (57th), Seneca Easley (56th), Abraham Araya (44th), Rex Clinkscales (40th), Joshua Williams (36th), Charles “Woody” Moore (24th), Ting Ho (22nd), Ashly Butler (21st), and Joe Hebda (20th).Also making headlines were those who locked up enough points with a cash to earn an at-large seat in this week’s National Championship at Bally’s Atlantic City. Circuit regular Jamie Kersetter was one such player. Her deep run and eventual 11th place finish not only locked her up $13,101 in prize money, but also one of the 51 available seats. Tim West also made a deep run where he eventually finished in 16th place. His finish secured him the title of Casino Champion, which means that he will also be taking a seat at the tables in New Jersey.The final table of the final Circuit Main Event of the season kicks off at 12 pm on Monday in the theatre of Harrah’s New Orleans. Be sure to tune back into our live updates page for coverage on the conclusion of this exciting event!
Here's a look at the chip counts heading into the final day:
| RANK |
PLAYER |
CITY / STATE / COUNTRY |
CHIP COUNT |
SEAT |
| 1 |
Bryan Campanello |
Southlake, TX, US |
3,770,000 |
3 |
| 2 |
Gary Friedlander |
HOUSTON, TX, US |
1,945,000 |
9 |
| 3 |
Daniel Doucet |
OPELOUSAS, LA, US |
1,210,000 |
2 |
| 4 |
Eric Blair |
Las Vegas, NV, US |
1,000,000 |
6 |
| 5 |
Agustin Berumen |
San Antonio, TX, US |
845,000 |
4 |
| 6 |
John Kloch |
Rochester, NY, US |
700,000 |
1 |
| 7 |
Alan Ramkhalawan |
CLEARWATER, FL, US |
650,000 |
8 |
| 8 |
James Henson |
LAKE JACKSON, TX, US |
625,000 |
10 |
| 9 |
John Parten |
Demopolis, AL, US |
205,000 |
7 |
| 10 |
Fadi Massaad |
Austin, TX, US |
155,000 |
5 |