WSOP Circuit at Caesars Attracting Big Names

The 2007 World Series of Poker Circuit event at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas has attracted hundreds of players for its preliminary events. Here is an overview of the winners and events so far:

The preliminaries kicked off on April 23, with a no-limit hold'em $550 buy-in tournament. A field of 601 players came to battle for their piece of the $300,500 prize pool. Jason Adler took home $81,616 for first place after defeating Thomas Kirkpatrick heads up. Kirkpatrick received $42,265 for his efforts.

The next day, the second event boasted a field of only something over half that of the first event but with double the buy-in at $1,060. David Wilkinson prevailed in a field of 338 players to win $101,637. Gerald Rhoades received $52,458 for second and World Poker Tour winner Surinder Sunar took fifth. The total prize pool was $338,000.

Event three was another $550 no-limit event. It attracted 522 players to generate a prize pool of $261,000. Allen Kessler won $73,419 for the event title. Jason Becher came in second and received $38,735.

The $1,500 buy-in no-limit hold 'em event four began on April 26, and had 276 entrants, making the prize pool $414,000. Benjamin Kang and Erik Riise got heads up for the title. Both players have had only one other significant tournament cash before this event. Riise won the match and $128,506. Kang received $70,678 for second. Last year's Caesars Circuit event championship winner, John Spadevecchia, placed fourth.

Event five was a no-limit $2,000 buy-in event. The prize pool came to $422,000 from the 211 entrants. Lance Oliver won $130,989 for first place and Richard Vallandigham received $72,044 for second. Alfredo "Toto" Leonidas, 2005 United States Poker Champion and WSOP bracelet winner, placed seventh.

On April 29, event six began. It was the third $550 buy-in no-limit event. A prize pool of $308,000 was generated from the 616 entrants. Noam Freedman won $83,653 after beating Joey Lusby. Second place was $43,320. Ted Lawson increased his Player of the Year points to put him into fifth place for placing fifth in this tournament.

The only event that was not no-limit hold'em was a $3,000 buy-in H.O.R.S.E. event that attracted 64 players. Hae Cheong won the title, along with $67,978. Justin Bonomo was runner-up and took home $40,973. Kenna James was eliminated in fifth place.

The last event before the championship was the $300 buy-in no-limit ladies event. There were 198 women playing for the $59,400 prize pool. Anna Wroblewski won $18,668 to add to the money she won from cashing in three events at the 2007 Bellagio Five Star Poker Classic. Sonya Foote received $9,495 for second.

The $5,000 buy-in no-limit hold'em main event began today. Be sure to check in with Card Player TV to view coverage of the final table.

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