Welcome to Day 1!
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Good morning, and welcome to sunny Florida for Day 1 of the 2012-13 World Series of Poker Circuit Palm Beach Kennel Club Main Event. The PokerNews Live Reporting Team will be bringing you exclusive, up-to-the-minute updates from both starting flights today, with Day 1a starting at 11 a.m. EST. Day 1b, the second flight, will begin at 7 p.m. EST.
Jim Harnden won this event last year, earning $226,395, the gold ring and a seat in the WSOP Circuit National Championship. Harnden topped a field of 778 runners, eventually besting Rob Williamson heads up. Williamson earned $139,574 for his runner-up finish.
Joining Williamson and Harnden at the final table were notables Roman Valerstein and Drazen Illich. Illich bowed out in sixth place, while Valerstein took fourth. Brian Hastings, one of the toughest heads-up cash game players in the world, bubbled the final table, busting in 11th place.
If the preliminary events are any indication of what's to come in this event, the field size should be huge and the prize pool bursting.
The opening event attracted the largest field of the 2012-13 WSOP Circuit season thus far. The $580 buy-in re-entry event had 2,539 entrants, making it the second largest major poker tournament ever held in Florida, and Lou Cheffy, a financial planner from Naples, Florida, bested the large field to collect $183,983 in prize money along with his first WSOP Circuit gold ring. The final table included David Nicholson, who has four WSOP Circuit rings, and John Holley, who has two.
The cards will be in the air shortly, so stay tuned right here for the live coverage straight from the floor to your screen.