Home / Poker News November 2008 / WSOP Indiana circuit event Day 1 report
WSOP Indiana circuit event Day 1 report
Posted by: James Carter. - Sun, 2008-11-02 19:21
The
WSOP circuit returned to Indiana yet again this month. This time, the stop hit the Chicago area, taking place in the Horseshoe Hammond.
165 players bellied up to the green felt on Day 1, several of whom had played in the WSOP’s southern Indiana circuit event too.
Jamin Stokes, Derek Whelan, Dean Schultz and Jerry Martin were all there as the battle commenced. At the end of the day though, only one of them would retain a chance to go for a double: Jamin Stokes.
Other celebrities playing were Ken Norman (the NBA Veteran), Kevin Saul, Steve Billirakis and Dustin Woolf. 2008 WSOP Big Dance bubble boy, Dean Hamrick also played.
Kevin Saul had an extremely rough day, not managing to get anything going, and it wasn’t for the lack of trying. He chipped up nicely several times, but got pushed back into the rut over and over. He took a serious hit from an opponent who caught him on a semi bluff, as a result of which he found himself forced to shove all-in after a quick double-up.
His A,J was unlucky enough to run into Amid Fakhouri’s K,K, and failed to improve.
Dustin Woolf garnered a nice chip lead, tripling up on one occasion at the expense of Ilas Kellikidis and Young Phan. He failed to hold on to the lead though, as Steve Billirakis got busy late in the day winning a huge pot on a board of 2,3,7,10,6. He checked the river, and an opponent went all-in on him. Holding a Q,10 in his pocket, Billirakis sensed a bluff, but it took him a whole 10 minutes to decide to make the call. His top pair held up, and the pot gave him the chip lead.
Out if the 165 players who started the day, only 40 remained to see its conclusion. Those who survived saw Steve Billirakis topping the chip leader board with 295,600 chips followed by Jason DeWitt with 271,200.
Ravi Raghavan finished in 3rd position, followed by Jim Kasputis Jr in 4th and Adam Jacobs in 5th.
His chip lead evaporated, Dustin Woolf finished the day in 10th place, on a pretty solid stack of 114,900 chips.
