Andy Hwang Wins Largest Tournament in New Orleans History
There have been a slew of preliminary events here in New Orleans prior to today's Main Event. One of these events was Event #1 $355 No-Limit Hold’em, which attracted 945 players and became the largest poker tournament ever held in New Orleans by surpassing the previous record of 833 players set on May 18, 2005.
After four days of intense play, a stacked final table was set that saw Yung “Andy” Hwang, Charles “Woody” Moore, and Josh Evans make it all the way to three-handed play. Moore has proven himself time and again on the circuit, having won last year’s WSOP Circuit Horseshoe Southern Indiana Main Event and making multiple final tables this year, but he came up short of his second gold ring. The good news is that, in addition to his $23,853 payday, Moore’s third-place finish earned him enough points to qualify for the National Championship for the second year in a row.
That left Hwang and Evans to do battle heads up, which lasted about 45 minutes. In the final hand, Evans moved all in with 
only to run into Hwang’s 
. The board ran out an uneventful 
, and Evans was dispatched in second place for $32,317 with enough points qualify him for a seat in the National Championship
Meanwhile, Hwang collected the $52,249 first-place prize and his first WSOP Circuit gold ring. What’s more, the Houstonian earned enough points to join Evans and Moore near the top of the National Leaderboard and essentially locked up a spot in the National Championship.
Here's a look at the WSOP Circuit Harrah’s New Orleans events completed thus far:
WSOP Circuit Harrah’s New Orleans Ring Event #1 No-Limit Hold’em Re-Entry
| Buy-in | Entrants | Prize Pool |
|---|---|---|
| $300+$55 | 945 | $274,995 |
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yung Hwang | Sugar Land, TX | $52,249 |
| 2 | Josh Evans | Plano, TX | $32,317 |
| 3 | Charles “Woody” Moore | Las Vegas, NV | $23,853 |
| 4 | Steve Hesse | Houston, TX | $17,847 |
| 5 | Lacey Coffey | Houston, TX | $13,521 |
| 6 | Dwayne Vetter | Houston, TX | $10,372 |
| 7 | Jose Serratos | Detroit, MI | $8,054 |
| 8 | Todd Cowan | Metairie, LA | $6,333 |
| 9 | John Finnan | Metairie, LA | $5,037 |