WSOPC Harrah's Main Event About to Begin

Welcome to our coverage of the 2012-13 World Series of Poker Circuit presented by Southern Comfort 100 Proof! We're mere minutes away from cards flying for our Main Event here in the theater of Harrah's Tunica. Today will mark the first of the two starting flights available to players. Those that are eliminated during play today have the option to re-enter the tournament tomorrow. As per the WSOPC structure sheet, players will play fifteen 40-minute levels and two 60-minute levels before bagging and tagging for the evening.

Last year's champion Kurt Jewell will be returning to the felt in an attempt to take back-to-back titles. Jewell overcame a field of 647 players last year to take home the gold ring, the $192,984 in first-place prize money, and the seat to the National Championship. We caught up with Jewell early in the morning to discover that he and fellow circuit regular Aaron Massey made a harrowing all-night journey from Atlantic City to participate in today's play.

Here's a look at the payouts from last year:

2011-12 Harrah’s Tunica Final Table Results

Place	Player	Prize
1st	Kurt Jewell	$192,984
2nd	Chris Thompson	$119,415
3rd	Dan Blakeman	$87,586
4th	Jacob Bazeley	$65,134
5th	Dustin Gardner	$49,093
6th	Steve McClusky	$37,495
7th	Michael “Great MJ” Cooper	$29,013
8th	Todd Chew	$22,744
9th	Ray Weaver	$18,056