Event #1: $365 Double Stack No-Limit Hold'em Re-Entry ($200k Guarantee)

Event #1
No-Limit Hold'em Double Stack Re-Entry
Buy-in: $300 (+$65)
Total Entries: 800
Prizepool: $240,000

The grueling four-day tournament led to a cash-prize of $47,992 and WSOP gold ring for David “Bama” Walters.

Biloxi, Mississippi (September 12, 2016) – David “Bama” Walters won his first career gold ring in Event #1: $365 No-Limit Hold'em Double Stack Re-Entry by defeating a large field of 800 players. The tournament featured three starting flights, a Day 2 restart, and an unplanned for Day 3. After the long road, which turned out to be an exciting battle for the Circuit history books, Walters came out with feelings of elation.

“I feel fantastic. First win, it was grueling. Four days it took to get there. I came in as the chip leader. So, I’ve been blessed,” Walters said.

Walters bagged up in Flight B and was the outright chip leader after all three starting flights concluded and the fields were combined. This towering position does not always bode well for poker players. Walters, who runs a car dealership now, made an industry reference on the matter.

“It’s rare that you take it from the beginning to the end. In the car business we call that cradle to grave,” Walters explained.

Coming away with the conquest was no easy task. Following an exhausting Day 2, the final four players sighed at the notion of having to reset for a Day 3. On their return, a couple of quick eliminations left Walters heads up with Benjamin Cardenas, a tough competitor from Coahuila, Mexico. These two duked it out for a good while, swapping chip leads multiple times. Each player, at one point or another, was down to a mere one million chips and had to claw their way back with a slew of double ups. After the dust settled, Walters was the last man standing.

Walters, a retired deputy sheriff, did not start playing poker in a serious fashion till around 2013. Before this victory, Walters’ biggest cash came in the 46^th annual World Series of Poker in Las Vegas, where he finished 57^th out of 1,655 players in Event #45: $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em. Although an impressive feat, this triumph proved to be a more fruitful one. Walters walked away with $47,992, a WSOP gold ring, and 50 Casino Championship points. He plans on playing more events here at the IP Biloxi series in hopes of being crowned Casino Champion.

here's a look at the final table results:

1st: David "Bama" Walters - $47,992
2nd: Benjamin Cardenas - $29,592
3rd: Stephen Nussrallah - $21,816
4th: Charles Clubb - $16,260
5th: Larry Alexander - $12,281
6th: Steve Giddings - $9,396
7th: James Beetz - $7,279
8th: Will "Monkey" Souther - $5,710
9th: Enrique Melguizo - $4,534

Complete results can be found above, under the "Results" tab.

An all in head to head took place when each of the final two players held nearly equal chip stacks. Walters took down that pot with his pocket eights and came out with a dominating chip lead.

From that point forward and extensive back and fourth battle was on. It seemed nobody could possibly lose an all in showdown. The two warriors swapped the chip lead many times.

Cardenas, from Coahuila, Mexico, takes home $29,592 and 37.5 Casino Championship points. Although a nice payday, he will be disappointed in narrowly missing out on a WSOP gold ring.

Cardenas moves all in and Nussrallah calls behind. Action moves to David "Bama" Walters and after a quick grimace he also calls. On calling, Walters flips over and slams down AK suited. Because Nussrallah was still in the hand Walters was given a penalty and forced to sit out a round on account of exposing his hand.

The hand played out with Nussrallah and Walters checking every street. With two pair, deuces and fours, on the board, Cardenas tripled up with his pocket fives. The fives were good enough to take down Walter's AK and Nussrallah's AQ.

The action is underway on the main stage and a quick double up occurs for Charles Clubb on the very first hand. He could not have asked for a better start, bringing his chip stack to around 3.5 million.

Larry Alexander went out in fifth place with a payday of $12,281.

After Alexander's exit, the final four players buckled down for the rest of Level 33. On completion of the level players counted their chips and bagged up.

James Beetz has been eliminated in seventh place. Beetz is a long time poker player and this marks his 12th WSOP Circuit cash, bringing his total Circuit earnings to $24,045.

After a quick, 15 minute break play resumes. Starting level 30, there are eight players remaining, including the chip leader from Flight A, Stephen Nussrallah, chip leader from Flight B, David "Bama" Walters, and winner of Event #2, Steve Giddings.

One players has been eliminated reducing the field to 18 players shortly after the dinner break. The tournament staff is conducting the two table redraw. Once players are settled cards will get back in the air and players will fight for their spot at the final table. The final 18 players are all guaranteed at least the 18th place money of $2,441. The complete payouts table can be found above under the "Prizepool" tab.

Once the final table is reached, seating assignments and chip counts will be posted.

Stephen Nussrallah, who took third place in the Monster Stack this summer, is still alive with just over one million in chips. Currently, the average stack is 842,105. Nussrallah was the chip leader of Flight A.

The overall chip leader going into Day 2 of the tournament, David "Bama" Walters, is also still in the hunt. He sits with around 1.3 million chips, another above average stack.