WPT Rolling Thunder Sets Field, WSOPC Updates, Moneymaker Wins HPO

WPT Rolling Thunder Determines Prize Pool

The World Poker Tour was at Thunder Valley Casino for the new WPT Rolling Thunder Main Event, the final stop on the California Swing tour. The $3,500 buy-in allowed players the opportunity for one reentry per starting day.

Day 1A brought in 224 entries and finished with 85 players. Day 1B added another 241 entries with 106 bagging chips at the end of the night. That set the prize pool at $1,488,000 with 465 total entries, enough to pay the top 54 players and give $302,750 to the winner.

Day 2 brought 191 players back to the tables with Joe Serock as the overall chip leader with 261,800 in his stack. Play continued toward the money bubble in the evening hours, as names like Jeremy Kottler, Matt Salsberg, Ludovic Lacay, Maria Ho, and Marvin Rettenmaier exited before the money. The money bubble was up next, and play was scheduled to continue until midnight or the field was reduced to 24 players, whichever happened first.

Mike Leah Goes Double at WSOPC

The World Series of Poker Circuit was at the Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles, California, and players were busy competing in the many preliminary events prior to the Main Event. And one player took down two of those gold rings.

Mike Leah captured wins in two tournaments two days in a row – Event 9, the $580 NLHE for $16,945, and Event 11, the $365 NLHE Turbo for $15,440. By doing so, he also took the title of Casino Champion for that particular WSOPC stop.

WSOPC Bicycle Casino Main Event Begins

The WSOPC stop at the Bike began its $1,675 buy-in Main Event on March 15. One reentry was allowed per player over the course of the three starting days.

Day 1A started with 217 players but ended with only 45. Thomas Greiner was the chip leader with 260K. Day 1B added another 244 entries, though just 43 players bagged chips at the end of the night. Kody Muir took the overall chip lead with 266K.

Monday was Day 1C, and registration ended at the dinner break. Though the official numbers were not yet released, the tournament board showed 285 entries for the day, bringing the tournament total to 746.

Chris Moneymaker wins HPO St. Louis

The Hollywood Poker Open was in St. Louis for its Regional Championship event over the weekend, and the Hollywood Casino hosted $1,800 buy-in Main Event.

Day 1 attracted a total of 67 entrants for a prize pool of $106,643. The field was reduced to 15 players that night. Day 2 played down to the money, which was reserved for the top seven players. Chris Moneymaker was fifth in chips but took charge throughout the day, personally sending seven of his nine final table opponents to the rail. And in the end, he took the title.

Results:

1^st place: Chris Moneymaker ($36,259)

2^nd place: Frank Wyville ($22,395)

3^rd place: James Basham ($17,063)

4^th place: Todd Barlett ($10,664)

5^th place: Shabtai Moria ($8,531)

6^th place: Jovan Sudar ($6,399)

7^th place: Todd Metheny ($5,332)