Day 1 Done Here in Indiana
Just a little under 13 hours ago, the World Series of Poker Circuit Main Event here are Horseshoe Southern Indiana began. After registration closed four levels into play, the final tally stood at 289 entrants and a hefty first-place prize of $99,878 was announced. After grinding through 16 levels of play on Day 1, 66 players remain and will be returning to action on Monday for Day 2.
Despite having such an impressive turnout, there weren't too many big names in the field. Dwyte Pilgrim was here, but failed to make it through the day and continue his amazing record in WSOP Circuit events. TJ Cloutier was also here, but vanished after only a few levels of play. Lee Childs, Mark Kroon and Maurice Hawkins also hit the rail before play ceased for the day.
Who's left you might ask? Well, we've got Circuit gold ring holder Kyle Knecht towards the top of the pack and WSOP gold bracelet holder Robert Cheung is also alive. Ari Engel and Drazen Ilich will be moving on to the second day of action as well, but the big story is Shiva Dudani.
Dudani is the overall points leader for the National Championship race and has already secured himself 125 points. That's a good bit more than the 87.5 points the next closest non-qualified player has and a deep run and final table in this event could really put Dudani worlds ahead of his opponents. Dudani came second to Blair Hinkle at the Circuit event in Council Bluffs, Iowa -- the first one of this season -- and went on to win a gold ring at this series. He was able to build a nice, plump stack throughout the day and will surely be a force to be reckoned with.
Taking the chip lead into Day 2 will be Jorge Solozamo with a whopping 294,700 in chips. Hot on his heels is Miguel Borrero with 261,000 in chips.
Play resumes tomorrow (or today depending on when you're reading this) at 12:00 p.m. The plan is to play all the way down to a final table of nine has been reached and the action should get fast and furious in here. Be sure to come right back here to PokerNews for all the action straight from the river boat floor!