Ilich Bags Flight A Chip Lead with 650,000 as 64 Players Advance to Day 2
The World Series of Poker Circuit, presented by Southern Comfort 100 Proof, continued on Friday with Day 1a of the $1,675 Main Event from the Choctaw Casino in Durant, Oklahoma. The stop, which is in its third year, has developed a reputation of boasting some of the largest fields on the entire schedule, and the first starting flight was no exception as 466 players took to the felt.
After 17 levels of play, that field was whittled down to just 64, with Drazen Ilich and his stack of 650,000 leading the way.
Ilich did a good job chipping up throughout the day, but a big pot in the last hand of the night helped secure him the chip lead. It happened when Ilich checked a flop of 
and his opponent fired 19,000, Ilich check-raised to 46,000, and the player moved all in for around 100,000. Ilich quickly called.
Ilich: 
Opponent: 
The turn was the 
, prompting Ilich to slam the table angrily, but the 
fell on the river, giving him a straight.
Likewise, "Cowboy" John Land got many of his chips in the last level of the night. In a big hand in Level 17, when the blinds were 1,500/3,000/500, Land and two opponents saw a flop of 
. One player led out for 12,500, another moved all in for 42,000, and Land raised to what looked like 90,000 or so. The first player folded, and the hands were tabled.
Land: 
Opponent: 
The turn was the 
, giving Land's opponent a flush draw, but the 
bricked on the river. Land's opponent was eliminated, while Cowboy raked in the big pot.
As if that wasn’t enough, on the very next hand, Land limped in from early position and a player on the button moved all in. The action folded back to Land, who called and had the player dominated.
Land:
Opponent: 
The board ran out 
, and Land suddenly had over half a million chips.
There were also quite a few entertaining hands throughout the day. In addition to Andrew Watson doubling with a rare straight flush, which you can read about by clicking here, we also saw Jim Parker spike a one outer to keep his tournament hopes alive.
It happened in Level 13 when a short-stacked Parker moved all in for 11,500 from the hijack with the and received a call from the player in the small blind. Justin "Choctaw" Kruger then looked down at the and moved all in over the top, and the small blind called off his last 14,000.
The 
flop gave both Parker and Kruger a set, but of course the latter's was out in front. The 
turn meant Parker needed the case ten on the river, and wouldn't you know it, the spiked. Parker was all smiles, and even Kruger, who won the side pot to eliminate the small blind, couldn't help but laugh. "You can tell everybody you beat 'Choctaw' with a one outer," Kruger said with a smile.
Unfortunately, not everyone was as lucky as Parker. The vast majority of players failed to make it to the end of the night. Among the notables to be eliminated were 2011 Choctaw champ Huy Nguyen; David Nicholson, who won a ring on Friday night in Event #9 $365 Pot-Limit Omaha; last year’s WSOP Circuit Choctaw Casino Champ Raja Kattamuri; four-time ring winner Ari Engel; 1986 WSOP Main Event champ Berry Johnston; Doug “Rico” Carli, who holds the all-time WSOP Circuit record for most cashes (70); and the defending champ Abraham Araya, who won $270,380 for last year’s victory. Fortunately all of these players have the option of re-entering in Flight B.
Likewise, young up-and-comer AP Phahurat found himself on the rail late in the day. It happened in Level 12 with the blinds at 600/1,200/200 on a board reading 
. There was already 23,000 in the pot and Phahurat had just bet 16,600 from the small blind, the big blind folded, and Jarral D'Andrea called from middle position.
When the completed the board on the river, Phahurat moved all in for around 27,000, and after contemplating the decision for a few moments, D'Andrea called off for 23,400 with . It was good as Phahurat showed 
for missed straight and flush draws. Phahurat was eliminated on the very next hand.
While many fell, a few notables managed to punch their ticket to Day 2. They include Poker Hall of Famer T.J. Cloutier; six-time WSOP bracelet winner Layne Flack; circuit regular Jeff Fielder; 2006 WSOP final table member Richard Lee; and Lee Abramson, who was responsible for a late-night slowroll controversy.
Day 1a Top 10 Chip Counts
| Place | Name | Count |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Drazen Ilich | 650,000 |
| 2 | "Cowboy" John Land | 482,000 |
| 3 | Andrew Watson | 315,500 |
| 4 | Brian Jordan | 279,000 |
| 5 | Brant Hale | 278,000 |
| 6 | TJ Cloutier | 276,500 |
| 7 | Doug Ashmore | 272,500 |
| 8 | Jeff Fielder | 263,000 |
| 9 | Richard Booker | 256,000 |
| 10 | Geoff Gafford | 250,500 |
Day 1b, which is set to kick off at 12:00 CST on Saturday, is expected to draw a massive crowd, and it’s very much within the realm of possibility last year’s field of 978 entrants could be surpassed. Be sure to join the PokerNews Live Reporting Team on Saturday as we bring you all the action from Flight B of the WSOP Circuit Choctaw Casino Main Event!