The record-shattering World Series of Poker Circuit Main Event in Chicago has reached the final table of nine players.
The $1,500 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em Championship began two days ago at the Horseshoe Casino with the largest tournament field in WSOP Circuit history. A whopping 872 players entered the three-day competition, which more than doubled the previous record set two years ago. By day’s end, only 162 players remained.
Day Two began with James Kasputis, from Rockford, IL as the chip leader. He went on to finish in 27th place.
Day Three resumed play with 16 players. Kurt Jewel was chip leader after two days, and 24 combined hours of play. He also had the biggest stack when play reached the final table, which occurred late on Sunday afternoon.
Among those who is also still alive is Bryan Devonshire, from Henderson, NV. He is shooting for his second WSOP Circuit Main Event title. Devonshire won the Main Event held earlier this year at Harrah’s Rincon.
The nine finalists and their starting chip counts are as follows:
SEAT 1: Bryan Devonshire (Henderson, NV) – 520,000
SEAT 2: Nick Jivkov (Des Plaines, IL) – 2,165,000
SEAT 3: Williams Reynolds (Sioux City, IA) -- 2,400,000
SEAT 4: Jared Kenworthy (Independence, MO) – 1,650,000
SEAT 5: Kurt Jewell (Frankfort, KY) – 3,275,000
SEAT 6: Daniel Cohen (Wilmette, IL) – 1,290,000
SEAT 7: Will “the Monkey” Souther (Biloxi, MS) – 1,700,000
SEAT 8: Edwin Choi (Bolingbrook, IL) – 2,400,000
SEAT 9: Casey Hayes (Merrillville, IN) – 1,300,000
Play will continue tonight and will play down to the winner. The champion will collect $242,909 in prize money. The winner also receives the coveted Gold Ring, presented to all WSOP Circuit champions. He will also play with a pre-paid seat into the first $10,000 WSOP Circuit Regional Championship, which begins on Monday.
This is the eighth of 11 Gold Ring events taking place this year at the Horsehose Casino and is the third year it has hosted a WSOP Circuit stop. All tournament events take place inside the special events arena called “The Venue.” Horseshoe Hammond is conveniently located just a short distance from the Illinois-Indiana border, and is about 20 minutes away from Downtown Chicago.
See the complete HORSESHOE HAMMOND poker tournament schedule here. This year’s events take place from October 15-28. The full WSOP CIRCUIT SCHEDULE for the 2010-2011 season, including all upcoming stops and dates is also listed.
Horseshoe Casino (Hammond)
777 Casino Center Drive
Hammond, IN 46312
Telephone: (219) 473-6065
Toll-Free: 1 (866) 711-SHOE
www.chicagohorseshoe.com