Valley Center, CA -- The third of four World Series of Poker Circuit Regional Championships began on Sunday, with the $10,000 (+300) buy-in No-Limit Hold'em tournament.
Registration for the four-day nationally-televised tournament at Harrah's Rincon remains open until Monday at 1 pm PST.
This means poker players may still come to beautiful San Diego and register to play for what is expected to be close to $1 million in prize money. This tournament is particularly attractive to poker players hoping to qualify for a coveted seat in the $10,000 buy-in WSOP Circuit National Championship, coming up in May. The top nine finishers from this Western Regional Championship at Harrah's Rincon will automatically earn pre-paid seats into the season-ending national championship, taking place at Caesars Palace Las Vegas. That will be a WSOP gold bracelet event.
The Harrah's Rincon Resort-Casino is located about 45-minutes from Downtown San Diego. It is surrounded by green hills and a climate many describe as paradise.
The first day of the tournament ended with the following poker players still in contention:
Note: Players are listed by NAME, HOMETOWN, CHIP COUNT, TABLE/SEAT (DAY TWO)
Allen "Chainsaw" Kessler Las Vegas, NV 20,500 7 1
Joe Parker Livonia, MI 32,775 7 2
Mike Heshmati Morgan Hill, CA 21,350 7 3
Dana Kellstrom Stevenson Ranch, CA 70,550 7 4
Conrad Monica Hemet, CA 33,725 7 5
Sam Stein Henderson, NV 56,050 7 6
Pejman Primo Niyati Dallas, TX 28,500 7 7
Jesse Martin Northboro, MA 11,525 7 8
Justin "Choctaw" Kruger Denison, TX 18,550 7 9
David Peters Rancho Sante Fe, CA 60,825 8 1
Victor Ramdin Bronx, NY 28,275 8 2
Dwyte Pilgrim Brooklyn, NY 34,000 8 3
Alex Rocha Setauket, NY 10,600 8 4
Cary Katz Las Vegas, NV 116,500 8 5
Edward Sabat Los Angeles, CA 14,750 8 6
Ali Eslami Los Angeles, CA 128,550 8 7
Romik Vartear Los Angeles, CA 54,765 8 8
Pat Walsh St. Charles, MO 35,075 8 9
Erhart Edquist San Diego, CA 9,525 9 1
David Baker Katy, TX 21,950 9 2
Joshua Field Villa Park, CA 29,650 9 3
Grant T. Lang Brookfield, CT 64,000 9 4
Scott Montgomery Ottawa, ON (Canada) 54,550 9 5
Alexandru Masek San Diego, CA 38,925 9 6
Mike Baxter Pacific Palisades, CA 89,575 9 7
Todd Terry Hoboken, NJ 31,500 9 8
Kyle Bowker Walton, NY 121,500 9 9
Carlos Mortensen Las Vegas, NV 87,600 10 1
Tim Murphy Rancho Sante Fe, CA 114,375 10 2
Harold Wasson Corona, CA 67,050 10 3
Jonathan Little Pensacola, FL 41,925 10 4
Tim West Los Altos, CA 83,725 10 5
Louis Werman Agoura Hills, CA 29,375 10 6
Phil Hellmuth Palo Alto, CA 23,575 10 7
D.J. Blanchard Las Vegas, NV 29,650 10 8
Steve Sanders Tulsa, OK 32,050 11 1
David Miscikawski San Diego, CA 102,800 11 2
Saul Frank Escondido, CA 31,450 11 3
Alejandro Javier Garcia Mexicali, Mexico 28,400 11 4
Jordan Morgan Tulsa, OK 18,025 11 5
David Williams Las Vegas, NV 20,450 11 6
Denise Molloy La Jolla, CA 41,200 11 7
Kevin Jonna San Diego, CA 68,050 11 8
Kwinsee Khoa Tran Orange County, CA 71,525 12 1
Gregory Brooks Wycklett, NJ 45,125 12 2
Roland Israelashvili New York, NY 17,000 12 3
Benjamin C. Hamnett Pittsburgh, PA 21,325 12 4
Brian Green Chico, TX 28,325 12 5
Dylan Wilkerson San Francisco, CA 30,800 12 6
Travis Petty San Diego, CA 19,450 12 7
Miller Dao Maricopa, AZ 39,650 12 8
John Farrell San Diego, CA 45,200 13 1
Richard Woodall Orlando, FL 61,850 13 2
Steve Brecher Reno, NV 44,375 13 3
Dmitriy Shilmikov Katy, TX 43,025 13 4
Adam Geyer Austin, TX 65,450 13 5
Shannon Shorr Birmingham, AL 41,100 13 6
Stven Burkholder Largo, FL 63,125 13 7
Adam Levy Los Angeles, CA 43,875 13 8
Play resumes Monday at noon. Blinds are 300-600 with a 75 ante.