National/Global Casino Championship History: Sam Barnhart Wins Inaugural Event
In 2011, the WSOPC hosted its first National Championship, which was held at Caesars Palace just prior to that year’s WSOP. The tournament was only open to 100 WSOPC qualifiers and offered up a $1,000,000 prize pool.
The inaugural winner was Arkansas’ Sam Barnhart, who qualified after winning the WSOPC Horseshoe Tunica for $148,612 three months earlier. Barnhart’s heater continued later in the summer when he finished 17th in the WSOP Main Event for a career-high $378,796.
Barnhart relocated to Las Vegas after his remarkable run where he still resides today.
“Mostly cash games and online. Not playing as much,” Barnhart recently told PokerNews when asked what he’s been up to. “I’m also doing real estate. I will eventually get in commercial ‘selling businesses.’”
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sam Barnhart | USA | $300,000 |
| 2 | James Anderson | USA | $200,000 |
| 3 | Josh Evans | USA | $135,000 |
| 4 | La Sengphet | USA | $100,000 |
| 5 | Jonathan Poche | USA | $75,000 |
| 6 | Charles “Woody” Moore | USA | $55,000 |
| 7 | Drazen Ilich | USA | $42,500 |
| 8 | Adam Hui | Canada | $35,000 |
| 9 | Matt Lawrence | USA | $30,000 |
| 10 | Huy Nguyen | USA | $27,500 |