The Final Table Awaits
Welcome to Day 3 of the World Series of Poker Circuit Main Event here at Harrah's Tunica. A field of 480 players began the quest a few days ago and after 16 levels on Day 1, 111 were left. Just about 10 more levels were played on Day 2 to dwindle the field down to just the final table of nine -- all with their eyes on the first-place prize of $148,612.
Leading the way into the final table is John Nguyen with 2,300,000. Hot on his heels is WSOP-C Hammond Main Event Champion Kurt Jewell, who will be looking to become the second player to capture two WSOP Circuit Main Event titles within the same season since Chris Ferguson did it back in 2005.
Joining the company of the man commonly referred to as "Jesus" in the poker community is quite the accomplishment. Jewell scored $242,909 for his victory in Hammond and could add another $148,612 to his pocket here if he can pull off the victory. He's got plenty of chips to do it and all eyes will be fixed on him.
Here is how the rest of the final table stacks up.
| Seat 1 | Mary Harden (Ooltewah, TN) | 1,281,000 |
| Seat 2 | Kurt Jewell (Frankfurt, KY) | 1,851,000 |
| Seat 3 | John Holley (Destin, FL) | 586,000 |
| Seat 4 | Sam Barnhart (Little Rock, AR) | 758,000 |
| Seat 5 | John Nguyen (Fairview Heights, IL) | 2,300,000 |
| Seat 6 | Jesse White (Billings, MT) | 923,000 |
| Seat 7 | Preston Durden (Houston, TX) | 497,000 |
| Seat 8 | Brian Burney (Branson, MO) | 901,000 |
| Seat 9 | Marco Palacios (Austin, TX) | 440,000 |
Play starts at the top of the hour, so be sure to keep it here at PokerNews for all of the exciting action!