Harrah's Tunica is one of those Circuit stops that has become synonymous with the brand. A tradition dating back to the origins of the Circuit, this Mississippi town has been a bit of a proving ground for Circuit grinders. Mark Smith and Kyle Cartwright both won Main Event titles here as did 2006 WSOP Main Event runner-up Paul Wasicka.It came as no surprise then that this year's Main Event field at Harrah's was packed with big names like Smith and Cartwright as well as up and comers on the tour looking to solidify their names as someone to watch--the next Loni Harwood or Ryan Riess if you will. Not only did the big names turn up, there was a pretty good crowd as well.This year's Harrah's Tunica Main Event drew 577 entries, generating a total prize pool of $865,500. The top 63 finishers will take home a payday in this event, with 63rd place earning $2,830 and the winner taking home an impressive $181,757 in addition to the title, the ring, and the seat into the 2014 WSOP National Championship in Atlantic City.Of the 577 entries, a total of 128 advanced to the second day of action. Of those, 49 came from Day 1A, which saw numerous notables make it through, including past Tunica Main Event winners and Circuit all-time performers Kyle Cartwright and Mark Smith, Casino Champion contenders Charlie Dawson and Joseph Hebda, Allen Kessler, Tripp Kirk, Carter Meyers, and Blake Barousse.Day 1B drew 353 entries compared to 1A's 224, including several players firing a single bullet in this $1,675 buy-in single re-entry event. Some of the more notable 1B arrivals included Charles "Woody" Moore, all-time Circuit cash leader Doug "Rico" Carli, three-time ring winner Phillip Hui, and 2003 WSOP Main Event Champion Chris Moneymaker.All of those players were among the 128 Day 1 survivors, save for Moneymaker, whose tenure in Tunica was rather brief. Joining Moneymaker on the rail over the course of the past two days were bracelet winners Loni Harwood and Jonathan Taylore, November Niner John Dolan, David Tuthill, Andy Hwang, Daniel Lowery, and last year's Main Event winner Ryan Stevenson.Those who did survive to make it to Day 2 will be back in action at 12pm CT on Sunday. Everyone will be chasing overall chip leader Caufman Talley, who managed to run up a 270,000-chip stack to end Day 1B as the chip leader. He managed to do so despite spending most of his day at a tough table that included fellow ring winners Katherine Bowen and Doug Carli as well as Circuit regular Jacob Bazeley.All those players survived Day 1B action along with three-time ring winner Phillip Hui, November Niner Dennis Phillips, the current Casino Champion frontrunner Aaron Frei, Michael Sanders, John Holley, and Cord Garcia.Sunday may be all about football, but there will be no shortage of big plays and big names at Harrah's tomorrow as these players vie for a spot in the money as well as at the final table. Be sure to follow along with live updates right here on WSOP.com.
A full list of chip counts is available on WSOP.com. Here is a look at the top ten players going into Day 2 action:
1. Caufman Talley - 270,000
2. Shawn Roberts - 258,500
3. David Lee - 231,000
4. Clifford Billups - 226,000
5. Shane Yokley - 214,000
6. Jonathan Gavaio - 212,500
7. Timothy Tracy - 208,500
8. Bradley Lipsey - 194,500
9. Cory Smith - 192,500
10. Adam Thomas - 186,500