Feb
22
by Chad Holloway
I recently returned from a visit to Tunica, Mississippi for the World Series of Poker Circuit stop being held at Harrah’s. As usual, the trip was on poker news business, but really they always turn out to be working vacations. This was my first time in Tunica and I must say I was pretty impressed. The shuttle from the Memphis airport was pleasant and the customer service made a positive impression on me. I could tell right away that I was going to enjoy myself.
The first thing I did when I got there was check-in, put my bags down, and then headed to the poker room. It was a Saturday night, so Harrah’s Tunica poker room was in full swing. I only played a short two-hour session at a $2-$5 hold’em game before my PokerNews colleague, Mickey Doft, arrived. I left the game with my buy-in plus an extra $1 chip as a souvenir (something I take from every casino I play at). It was lights out early that night to be prepared for the start of the WSOP-C $1,500 Main Event in the morning. Unfortunately, I wasn’t playing but rather live reporting the tournament action for PokerNews.com (which powers the WSOP.com updates as well).
The Main Event drew 480 entrants and created a prize pool of $698,400. The biggest name in the field was Dwyte Pilgrim, who I find to always be friendly and upbeat whenever I see him on the circuit. Also in the field were regulars Kevin Calenzo, Chris Tryba, Maurice Hawkins, Stephen Kats, and many more. Day 1 was grueling and by the time it was done at around 2 AM, I was beat. No poker for me on Sunday night.
Monday’s Day 2 was much better. The field was smaller and more manageable, making my job a hell of a lot easier. Plus, I had the best tournament reporter in the business, talking of course about Doft, working alongside me. By midnight, the field had reduced itself to a final table and action came to a halt. That meant it was time for some poker. I hit up the poker room at Harrah’s yet again for a little $2-$5 action and I wasn’t disappointed. There was a maniac at my table who threw around money like a Saudi prince in Vegas. I mean this guy would raise $70 under the gun without looking at his cards. He’d follow that up with a blind bet in the dark for anyone who called him, sometimes for as much as $300. I was licking my chops and decided to pick my spots carefully. Unfortunately, those spots did not come often. The one time I picked up aces and limped from early position, no one raised behind and I won a small pot. I managed to win a little, which was nice, but I still felt I missed out on a lot of value. I ended up leaving the game a little after five in the morning in order to get a little rest.
The next day the final table commenced and took around seven hours to complete. During that time, I witnessed the biggest meltdown I’ve ever seen in poker. Kurt Jewell, who won the Main Event of the WSOP-C Hammond stop, entered the final table as one of the big stacks. After clashing with the chip leader, Jewell amassed 4.7 million in chips, about 50% of the chips in play. This was when there were still nine players left. Ninety minutes later, or a little over one level, Jewell was out in eighth place. No one could believe it. His downfall was a mix of lost coinflips, tilt, and frustration. If you want more specifics on what exactly happened, check out the PokerNews live reporting blog. In the end, here is how the final table played out:
Place - Player - Hometown - Winnings
1st - Sam Barnhart - Little Rock, AR - $148,612
2nd - Jesse White - Billings, MT - $91,881
3rd - Mary Harden - Ooltewah, TN - $67,122
4th - Brian Burney - Branson, MO - $49,759
5th - Marco Palacios - Austin, TX - $37,422
6th - John Nguyen - Fairview Heights, IL - $28,547
7th - Preston Derden - Houston, TX - $22,084
8th - Kurt Jewell - Frankfurt, KY - $17,328
9th - John Holley - Destin, FL - $13,789
Once the final table was done, Doft and I decided to catch a shuttle to the Horseshoe Casino to check out their poker room. I always enjoy the Horseshoe properties and this was no different. Outside was a bad-ass, old-school, bright-red limousine that caught my eye (Pictured below).
When we got to the poker room, I must say that I was impressed. They had a $1-$5 Stud game going, which surprised me. I usually don’t play games that small, but I hadn’t played Stud in years and was looking to have a fun, relaxing night. A cheap game and free drinks was the perfect combination. After getting taken for $55 in the Stud game, while throwing a few back, I changed to a $1-$3 no-limit hold’em game and promptly won my money back plus $100. Then, on my very last hand as I was racking up, I looked down at pocket kings and won a nice pot against a played with a missed flush draw and another with pocket queens. Tripling my profit before I left was a nice parting gift. I’ll definitely hit up the Horseshoe the next time I’m in Tunica. Lisa Crompton is the poker room manager there and she is doing a heck of a job. The players are well taken care of, the dealers are friendly, and there was a variety of games and tournaments to be had. They even had an announcement of Barnhart’s Main Event win since he is a regular in the room. I thought that was a classy thing to do in recognition of his achievement.
The next day I flew back home, or at least halfway home. My flight got cancelled in Chicago due to fog, so I had to get a ride from Chicago back home to south-central Wisconsin, about a three hour drive. Aside from the ending, the trip was fun. Good tournament, good people, and I came home with more than I left with. I hope I can do that in April when I head to the WSOP-C St. Louis stop where I will not only be reporting on the Main Event for PokerNews, but also playing some of the event, including my first WSOP-C ring events.