Previewing the 2011-2012 World Series of Poker Circuit Harrah's Philadelphia

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May 05, 2012 5 min read Last updated May 07, 2012

The 2011-2012 World Series of Poker Circuit continued this past week with the second-to-last stop of the season, Harrah’s Philadelphia. That stop’s Main Event begins on Saturday, May 5, so we thought it’d be a good idea to recap the WSOP Circuit Harrah’s Philadelphia action thus far.

One notable event was Event #5: $555 No-Limit Hold’em, which drew 134 players and created a prize pool of $64,505. That event saw circuit regular Katherine “Kat” Bowen, an owner of an Internet service provider from Gladewater, Texas, make the trip to the East Coast in an attempt to earn more points toward the National Championship.

It was a wise decision as she soon found herself at the final table, where some superb plays made her one of the final two players left with a slight chip lead over Steven Skowrownski, a 27-year-old poker pro from Indiana. In the final hand, Skowrownski was all in preflop holding A♦J♠ and in bad shape against the A♠K♣ of Bowen. The board ran out nine-high and Bowen captured her first WSOP Circuit gold ring and the $18,197 first-place prize.

“This has been a really great experience and this is my first gold ring, so you can’t beat that,” Bowen said after the win.

Prior to he win, Bowen had amassed 77.5 points on the WSOP Circuit, meaning the additional 50 awarded to her for the win will no doubt be enough to qualify her for this year’s National Championship.

Here's a look at the WSOP Circuit Harrah’s Philadelphia events completed thus far:

WSOP Circuit Harrah’s Philadelphia Event #1: No-Limit Hold’em

WSOP Circuit Harrah’s Philadelphia Event #2: No-Limit Hold'em Re-Entry

WSOP Circuit Harrah’s Philadelphia Event #3: No-Limit Hold’em

WSOP Circuit Harrah’s Philadelphia Event #4: No-Limit Hold’em

WSOP Circuit Harrah’s Philadelphia Event #5 No-Limit Hold'em

WSOP Circuit Harrah’s Philadelphia Event #6: Mixed Pot-Limit Hold’em/Omaha

WSOP Circuit Harrah’s Philadelphia Event #7: No-Limit Hold’em

WSOP Circuit Harrah’s Philadelphia Event #8: No-Limit Hold’em Six-Handed

WSOP Circuit Harrah’s Philadelphia Event #9: No-Limit Hold’em

With several events yet to be determined, the race for the WSOP Circuit Harrah’s Philadelphia Casino Champion is undetermined. Whoever captures that title, along with the eventual winner of the Main Event, will automatically qualify for the Second Annual $1 Million National Championship. Here's a look at the players who have qualified:

National Championship Qualifiers

In addition to the qualifiers, players who earn enough points on the National Leaderboard will be able to buy-in to the National Championship:

WSOPC National Leaderboard Top Ten*

*Leading up to the WSOP Circuit Harrah’s Philadelphia stop.

Don’t miss your chance to qualify for the National Championship. There is only one stop on the WSOP Circuit schedule:

Remaining 2011-2012 WSOPC Schedule

*Photos courtesy of Eric Harkins and ImageMasters.

Get all the latest PokerNews updates on your social media outlets. Follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook today! In the meantime, see who qualifies for the National Championship this week by following our Live Reporting Team’s coverage from the Harrah’s Philadelphia.

PR & Media Manager for PokerNews, Podcast host & 2013 WSOP Bracelet Winner.

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