Jeff Banghart of Bennington, Nebraska, with 86,800 chips, was the leader as day one of the WSOP Circuit at Horseshoe Casino Coucil Bluffs ended with 42 players remaining. With 1,420,000 chips in play, the average stack was 33,810.

The championship event attracted 142 players who generated a prize pool of $677,700 that would pay 18 places. In all, the eight Circuit events brought in 2,089 players and a total prize pool of $1,629,494. This first Circuit event series at Horseshoe Casino Council Bluffs has proved to be a great success, bringing in enough players and spectators to increase table game and poker room drops by about 35 percent.

Each player in this final event was given 10,000 chips, playing 75-minute rounds, starting with blinds of 25-50. The three biggest names who flew in for this championship event were Phil Gordon, Chris Ferguson and T.J. Cloutier. T.J. did not make it past the first level, and the other two were also gone midway through the first day. T.J. went out when he moved in with A-K into a safe-looking board and got nailed by pocket queens.

Then, not long after the dinner break, Ferguson and Gordon went out bang-bang, one right after the other. Earlier, Gordon was left with about 3,000 chips when he called an all-in bet with pocket kings and his opponent, with A-K, flopped an ace. Now, he was all in with 10s-7s against Everett Carlton, who finished third the night before, and now held Ac-Qc. The flop paired Gordon's 7, but also Carlton's queen, and Gordon was through. He was still taking his farewell bows when Ferguson followed him out. Holding Ac-10c, Ferguson made trip 10s when the board came 10-7-3-2-10, but another player, with pocket 7s, had made a full house.

Meanwhile, also in early going, the amiable Ed Corrado, a familiar face on the Circuit trail who has made five final tables in the past two years, went broke. His pocket 8s were no match for pocket queens.

When the final round of the night started at 10 p.m., only 52 of the 142 starters were still in action, and by the end of the round, 10 more were gone.

Play will resume at noon tomorrow and continue until the final nine are left.

Here are the remaining players listed by chip count:

Player City Chips Table Seat
Jeff Banghart Bennington, NE 86,800 29 7
Sam Von Duhn Chicago, IL 69,600 23 3
Alan Cutler Chicago, IL 68,200 29 4
James English Tamarac, FL 65,400 19 6
Matt Infranca Blue Springs, MO 65,100 19 1
Krista Gifford Chicago, IL 61,200 19 2
Everett Carlton St. Paul, MN 56,500 19 3
Ryan Fisler Waterloo, Ontario 55,100 27 6
Erik Albertson Omaha, NE 54,500 27 5
Ken Felchuk Winfield, KS 51,500 27 9
Shannan Roberts Kansas City, KS 48,600 27 3
Kosta Sengos Sioux Falls, SD 41,300 21 9
Deb Blair Tucson, AZ 37,900 29 8
Larry Vance Torrance, CA 35,800 27 7
David Wintroub Omaha, NE 35,100 19 7
Doug 'Rico' Carli Alliance, OH 34,300 21 7
Kevin Ratliff Chicago, IL 31,500 23 8
John Kincaid Omaha, NE 30,500 19 8
Bob Slezak Omaha, NE 30,000 27 4
Tony Panos Lawrence, KS 29,700 27 1
Sean Johnson Chamberlain, SD 29,600 27 2
Matt Streeter Lincoln, NE 29,400 19 4
Stan Schrier Las Vegas, NV 25,200 19 9
Dennis Otto Corpus Cristi, TX 24,900 23 6
Chris Hunt Aurora, NE 24,800 21 1
Brian Gabrielle Moosomin, Can. 24,700 21 2
Ray Flavin Woodstock, IL 22,700 23 7
Warren Campbell Omaha, NE 20,600 3 9
John Sanna Madison, WI 20,400 27 8
Jeff Bryan Fort Calhoun, NE 19,300 21 3
Danny Ciaramella Pittsburgh, PA 18,700 29 9
Tony Hartmann Minneapolis, MN 18,700 29 5
Tyler Meierotto Kansas City, MO 17,900 29 2
David Dicken Waterloo, IA 17,500 29 3
Thadd Wolff Omaha, NE 17,300 21 6
Linda Hackney Durand, MI 17,200 29 1
Yoon Soo Kim Milwaukee, WI 16,200 21 4
Lee Borrall Brooklyn, WI 13,800 29 6
James Jewett Boise, ID 13,500 21 8
Paul Kraus Los Angeles, CA 13,200 23 1
Ryan Hartmann Minneapolis, MN 12,900 23 4
Brett Richey New York, NY 12,300 23 2

PAYOUT SCHEDULE

1. $219,576

2. $115,209

3. $67,770

4. $54,216

5. $40,662

6. $33,885

7 $27,108

8. $20,331

9. $13,554

10. $10,843

11. $10,843

12. $10,843

13. $9,488

14. $9,488

15. $9,488

16. $8,132

17. $8,132

18. $8,132

For more information, please contact:
Max Shapiro -- WSOP Media Director at (323) 356-3303
Or visit our official website: http://www.worldseriesofpoker.com

World Series of Poker Commissioner - Jeffrey Pollack
Director of Poker Operations for Harrah's Entertainment - Jack Effel
World Series of Poker Circuit Tournament Director - Janis Sexton
Horseshoe Casino Council Bluffs Poker Room Manager - Gary Margetson