New Grand Casino Circuit Structure
Gets Raves as Howard Reid Wins #1
More Chips, More Rounds Gives Players Much More Play,
Along With 100k Best All-Around and Other Features
Tunica, MS. - "If you build it they will come" is the memorable line from the film, Field of Dreams. Well, they built an outstanding tournament for the WSOP Circuit at Grand Casino Tunica, and they did come, in droves: an impressive 781 players for the opening event, $300 no-limit hold'em.
The winner, collecting $58,500, was Howard Reid, a 46-year-old businessman/real estate investor from Kansas City, Missouri. Reid, who's been playing 10 years, has been around poker for a very long time because his father was a friend of Benny and Jack Binion. He's married, learned the game watching TV, and his prior poker highlight was a win of about $30,000 for finishing sixth in a $500 tournament here in 2006. Reid, whose motto is "tight is right," had high praise for what he called a "class" event.
That was the intention. This year, Jimmy Sommerfeld was brought in as tournament director, and he, along with Robert McGovern, the tournament coordinator and Midsouth regional poker room manager; and Sherri Pucci, assistant general manager for Harrah's, revamped, upgraded and added many new features.
1. A guaranteed $100,000 best all-around prize pool was added ($5 per player taken from the tournament prize pools).
2. For the first time at any WSOP Circuit, the bar was raised for the championship event with a $7,500 buy-in and a length of four days.
3. The structure was hugely improved. Players in each event start with 10,000 in deep-stack chips (20,000 for the main event). Sommerfeld also added many levels and slowed the tournament down "to a crawl" in the middle and late stages.
"Many players think that just doubling the chips makes a great tournament," Sommerfeld explained. "But when the blinds catch up to the amount of chips in play, there are too many players left and it becomes a shoot-out. To combat this, I added eight levels to the later rounds and lowered antes for six levels." It's expected that each tournament will last about 20-24 hours, with about 27 players returning on day 2. "Two long days of play is what the players asked for," Sommerfeld said.
4. More games have been added to the mix, including two $700 events and a short-handed tournament.
5. Hotel rates have been dropped to $49 a night, perhaps the lowest for any major tournament in the country.
They played down to 26 on day 1, with the survivors returning at 2 p.m. the next day. Nearly five hours later the final 10 assembled, playing with blinds of 20,000-40,000 and 5,000 antes, a full 40 minutes on the clock. Bobby Byram and James "Rapper" Rapp were virtually tied for the lead with about 1.5 million each.
Here were the starting chip counts:
Seat 1. Bobby Byram 1,570,000
Seat 2. William Graveline 1,295,000
Seat 3. Randy Rothwell 915,000
Seat 4. John Andrews 600,000
Seat 5. "Chip" Dye 225,000
Seat 6. Will Turner 190,000
Seat 7. Howard Reid 465,000
Seat 8. James Rapp 1,495,000
Seat 9 Todd Cashion 675,000
Seat 10 David Rylander 435,000
It might strange to say that Will Turner was short-chipped with 190,000, but with 7.8 million on the table, he was. On the third hand he moved in with J-10. William Graveline had him covered in chips and cards with Q-J, and Turner left in 10th place when he couldn't help. Tenth paid $2,457.
Turner, 22, is from Augusta, Georgia, learned poker in college three years ago, and played in the 2007 WSOP main event. This is his first Circuit. He enjoys travel, sports, reading and languages.
Seven hands later David Rylander opened for 150,000 with the same J-10 and Byram put him in with A-K. An ace flopped, a king turned, and Rylander took home $4,467 for ninth.
Rylander, married with three children, is from Collierville, Tennessee. He said his wife taught him to play four years ago and still teaches him. This is his 20th Circuit.
The 21st deal was a TV hand. Todd Cashion re-raised all in with A-K against John Andrus' pocket jacks. Cashion took the lead when two aces flopped, Andrus filled when a jack turned, but Cashion made a bigger filly with a river king,
Andrus busted out on hand 20 when he moved in for 160,000 with pocket 6s, losing when Reid called with Q-10 and flopped a 10. Eighth paid $6,510.
Andrus is a 73-year-old welder from Daytona Beach, Florida who learned poker 20 years ago by playing. He's married, likes woodworking, and has a 12th in a WPT event in Los Angeles.
As the round neared an end, Byram picked up chips when he check-raised and Graveline folded after betting 350,000 into a board of Q-Q-8-7.
Right after blinds inched up to 25,000-50,000, Carroll "Chip" Dye, also nicknamed "Grey Rider," pushed in his last 80,000 with pocket 10s. Byram called with Jd-4d and left Dye in seventh place when the board came K-J-3-6-8.
Dye, who earned $8,677 for seventh, is a 48-year-old branch manager from Johnson City, Tennessee. He's married, learned poker in bars 20 years ago, and this is his 10th Circuit.
At this point, Byram led with about 3 million chips. A few hands later, with a pot of 500,000, Randy "Lucky" Rothwell went in for 400,000 more with pocket 4s, losing when Graveline called and flopped a queen to his Q-K. Sixth paid $10,843.
Rothwell, 22, is a self-taught poker player from Dayton, Tennessee, with six years experience. This is his first Circuit.
Right after blinds crept up to 30,000-60,000, Rapp went out. Graveline opened for 100,000, Rapp re-raised to 300,000, and Graveline put him in. Rapp was in bad shape with A-10 versus A-Q, and couldn't help. Fifth paid $13,010. Rapp is 45, single, and from Miamiburg, Ohio.
On hand 90, Reid gambled and it paid off. He raised to 220,000 with A-5, Cashion moved in with pocket jacks, and Reid decided to call. He flopped an ace, doubled through and suddenly was challenging for the lead.
Eleven hands later the lead was not in doubt. After Byram moved in with A-9, Reid called with a dominant A-K. The board came 8-7-4-4-2, Byram bowed out fourth, worth $15,177, and suddenly Reid owned 3.9 million of the 8.7 million chips in play. Byram is 39 and a franchise owner from Osceola, Arkansas. He's married with two children and taught himself poker with books five years ago. His hobby is baseball and his poker highlight is a win in a local 88-person tournament.
At the dinner break, Reid now had about 4.2 million chips compared to 2.4 million for Graveline and 1.2 million for Cashion. Play resumed with blinds of 50,000-100,000 and 10,000 antes. Three hands into the new level, Reid opened for 520,000 with pocket jacks and Cashion moved in with A-10. A flop of J-6-5 left Cashion dead to an unlikely runner-runner straight, and he earned $17,343 for third.
Cashion, 48, is a plastics engineer from Lewisburg, Tennessee. He is married with one child, has been playing 35 years, and this is his first Circuit. His poker highlight is meeting new people.
Heads-up, Reid had about 5.6 million chips to 2.2 for Graveline. For the next 20 or so hands, they played cautiously, taking turns raising and folding. Finally, on hand 141, Reid raised to 500,00 and Graveline moved in. He had As-7d, Reid had 10h-10c. The board came Q-J-9-K with three clubs. An ace hit the river, but it was a club, and Graveline settled for $30,668 for second. Graveline, 35, is a construction worker from Batesville, Arkansas who has been playing his "whole life." He has two children and likes to hunt and fish. This is his first Circuit.
-- by Max Shapiro |
