14 August 2017 (Cherokee, N.C.) - Day 2 of the Main Event at the Harrah’s Cherokee Circuit was a wild one, packed with seemingly non-stop action virtually the whole day. When dust settled and the last card was dealt, Randy Lowery held the chip lead with 2,950,000.
There are now 19 players left, and they’ll return Monday at noon for Day 3 to play down to a winner. Each of the 19 remaining players is guaranteed a payout of at least $12,601, but all eyes are on the first-place prize of $283,597. The winner will also earn a WSOP gold ring and will become the first player of the 2017/2018 WSOP Circuit season to officially secure a free entry into next year’s Global Casino Championship.
Lowery is followed by Harry Arutyunyan (2,075,000 in chips). They’re the only players over two million in chips. Norman McKeldin is third with 1,900,000. Full chip counts are available here.
Four of the remaining players completed in the Global Casino Championship here at Cherokee last week. Marshall White qualified by winning Casino Champion at two Circuit stops last year. Joshua Vizcarra and Kindah Sakkal both earned at-large berths. And Christine Hia earned her spot in the event by winning Casino Champion at the Star Casino Sydney.
Day 2 started with 181 players returning from a starting field of 1,022 entries. The top 108 would make the money, so 73 players would go home empty-handed. The bustouts came quickly when play began, and when the first break rolled around two hours into the day, there were only 114 players left. The field reached the bubble early in the next level. And at that point, there were two eliminations virtually back to back, so there was no need for hand-for-hand play.
By dinner break, the field had been whittled down to 44 players. The few hours after dinner were one of the few parts of the day that action slowed down, and it was another two and half levels until they reached the three-table redraw. At that point, action picked up again, and there were another five bustouts in quick succession. A little more than an hour later, play concluded for the night with 19 players.
Three-time Super Bowl Champion Richard Seymour made it to Day 2, but was eliminated out of the money.
One former winner of this event had a shot at winning it again this year. Jason Sandling won this event in 2014, and made the money today. But he eventually bowed out in 103rd place for $2,821.
Other players making the money include John Holley (106th place), Martin Ryan (87th), Warren Sheaves (87th), Michal Mrakes (84th), Alex Rocha (80th), Will Berry (79th), Jason Gooch (68th), Chris Conrad (67th), Nate Bandy (64th), Jonathan Hilton (51st), Ryan Welch (46th), Brandon Fish (24th), and Sohale Khalili (23rd).
Here are the top 10 counts heading into Day 3. Click here for full chip counts.
1 – Randy Lowery – 2,950,000
2 – Harry Arutyunyan – 2,075,000
3 – Norman McKeldin – 1,900,000
4 – Scott Ryder – 1,735,000
5 – Lakisha Slaughter -1,575,000
6 – Danny Lawson – 1,265,000
7 – Josh Vizcarra – 1,200,000
8 – Marshall White – 1,170,000
9 – Kindah Sakkal – 1,070,000
10 – Christopher Din – 935,000