Event #3: $580 No-Limit Hold'em

David Jackson is having himself quite a month. Three weeks after the birth of his second child, Jackson was back on the tournament grind at Harrah’s Cherokee, and it appears that he’s running good in both life and poker. The new dad took down the $580 WSOP Circuit event, winning his first gold ring and the top prize of $39,938.

Jackson, 30, is a professional poker player from Jacksonville, Florida. He’s only been playing the game full time for about five years, and he’s already racked up seven figures in earnings.

“I used to play online,” he said of his background in the game. “I did well, but I went broke like four times straight. I’d make a little bit of money, quit my job, and then lose it. Then I’d go back to work and make a little more money.”

Jackson finally got one of his shots to stick, and he hasn’t looked back since. This most recent result moves him over $1.2 million in career earnings, including a six-figure score at the 2014 WSOP.

He was a few days late arriving in Cherokee, but Jackson got right to work in Event #3. He ended Day 1 in 18th place with 32 players left, and he was nursing a short stack by the time the final 10 players combined around one table. Things turned around quickly from there, though, and he went on to defeat Michael Cooper in the heads-up match to secure the win.

Although the poker accolades were well worth discussing, Jackson spent most of the winner’s interview talking about his family. “Make sure you give my wife, Gloria, a shoutout,” he said. “Without her, I wouldn’t be here.”

He also gives partial credit to his infant child for the way things ended up. “Baby run-good,” he laughed.

Final table results:

1st: David Jackson - $39,938
2nd: Michael Cooper - $24,675
3rd: Christopher Churchwell - $18,030
4th: Juan Mendoza - $13,387
5th: Regina Hampton - $10,095
6th: Kindah Sakkal - $7,726
7th: Khang Luu - $6,000
8th: Jeremy Pappano - $4,726
9th: Jonathan Henry - $3,775

Click here for the full results.

Level 18 comes to a close, and that signals the end of Day 1. From a starting field of 363 entries, just 32 players remain.

The top of the leaderboard is littered with Circuit winners and other standouts. Two-time ring winner Carlos Loving (pictured) turned his starting stack into 369,000 chips by night's end, good for the overall lead. Blake Battaglia won the Main Event at Horseshoe Hammond last month, and he's right behind Loving with 330,000 chips.

Here's the top of the overnight leaderboard:

1. Carlos Loving - 369,000
2. Blake Battaglia - 330,000
3. Khang Luu - 283,000
4. Regina Hampton - 263,000
5. Chris Churchwell - 214,000

Click here for the full list of chip counts.

Other familiar faces who advanced to Day 2 include Trey Walton (208,000), Juan Mendoza (186,000), Ronnie Sewell (143,000), David Jackson (90,000), and blast from the past Carter Phillips (66,000), a two-time WSOP bracelet winner.

The 32 survivors will return to action on Monday to play down to one. Everyone left is guaranteed to earn at least a thousand bucks, with a ring and $39,938 reserved for the winner. Blinds will be 3,000/6,000 with a 1,000 ante, putting the average stack at a slender 23 big blinds.

Day 2 begins at 2 p.m.

Today's ring event is the lone $580-buy-in event on the schedule for this stop at Harrah's Cherokee.

Last season, Robert Reed outlasted a field of 382 entries to win his first ring and the top prize of $42,019. Reed defeated former Harrah's Cherokee Main Event winner John Bowman in the final heads-up duel.

The format has been broadened to unlimited re-entry rather than single this time around, so there's a chance this one could be even larger than the last.

Here are the vitals:

• This is a two-day event 
• Players begin with 12,000 chips
• Levels 1-18 are 30 minutes apiece
• Remaining levels are 45 minutes apiece
• Late registration and unlimited re-entries are available until the start of Level 9
• Day 1 ends after Level 18

Cards go in the air at 3 p.m.