Event #51: $1,600 No-Limit Hold'em Main Event

The World Series of Poker Circuit Main Event at Harrah's Tunica continued on Tuesday with the final table of a 480-player field. The remaining nine players were not only competing for the first-place prize of $148,612 and a gold circuit ring, but also a guaranteed spot in the WSOP-C National Championship $1 Million Freeroll in May at Caesar's Palace Las Vegas. After seven hours of play, it was Sam Barnhart of Little Rock, Arkansas who emerged victorious and become the WSOP-C Harrah's Tunica Main Event Champion.

The first elimination of the day came when action folded to Kurt Jewell, winner of the circuit Main Event in Hammond, in the small blind and he shoved. John Holley called all in for about 360,000 in the big blind and tabled   , while Jewell showed   . The board ran out      , giving Jewell a flush, and Holley was eliminated in ninth place, earning $13,789 for his efforts.

Not long after, the two big stacks tangled and created a monster pot. It happened when action folded to Jewell in the hijack and he raised to 68,000. Sam Barnhart made the call from the cutoff while John Nguyen decided to reraise to 250,000 from the button. After the blinds folded, Jewell played back at Nguyen with a raise to 468,000. Barnhart wisely got out of the way and Nguyen made the call, creating a pot worth nearly one million. The flop came down    , Jewell immediately bet out 368,000, Nguyen called, and the dealer proceeded to burn and turn the  . Jewell check-called a bet of 550,000 from Nguyen and then both players checked the   river. Jewell showed    for queens and fours with an ace kicker. Nguyen mucked, dropping all the way down to just 800,000, while Jewell took down the massive pot and chipped up to 4.7 million, nearly half the chips in play.

From there, an unbelievable turn of events has transpired, one that could be considered the biggest downfall in WSOP-C history. Over the course of 90 minutes Jewell proceeded to double short stack after short stack. After being down to 2.3 million, Mary Harden raised a hand to 150,000 and Jewell called. It was heads up to the     flop and Harden bet 350,000. Jewell called as the dealer burned and turned the  . This time Harden bet 325,000 and again Jewell called. When the   peeled off on the river, Harden moved all in for 705,000. Jewell tanked before making the call and then mucked when Harden flipped   . Harden doubled to 3.1 million while Jewell was left with just 670,000. The very next hand, Jewell moved all in holding    and was called by Barnhart, who held   . The board ran out       and Jewell's epic downfall was complete. He was eliminated from the tournament in eighth place.

Preston Derden, who had clung to a short stack for much of the day, was the next to go in seventh place. He was followed out the door by Nguyen, who could never recover from the aforementioned monster pot with Jewell, in sixth place. Marcos Palacios, Brian Burney, and Harden were the next to go respectively, leaving Sam Barnhart (6.03 million in chips) to do battle heads up with Jesse White (3.57 million). It didn't take long before Barnhart picked up pocket kings and threw in a standard raise. White moved all in and Barnhart made the easy call. The rest was history.

Here is a look at the WSOP-C Harrah's Tunica Final Table results:

[TABLE]*Place | Player | Hometown | Winnings *

1st | Sam Barnhart | Little Rock, AR | $148,612

2nd | Jesse White | Billings, MT | $91,881

3rd | Mary Harden | Ooltewah, TN | $67,122

4th | Brian Burney | Branson, MO | $49,759

5th | Marco Palacios | Austin, TX | $37,422

6th | John Nguyen | Fairview Heights, IL | $28,547

7th | Preston Derden | Houston, TX | $4,623

8th | Kurt Jewell | Frankfurt, KY | $17,328

9th | John Holley | Destin, FL | $13,789[/TABLE]

That is it for us here at Harrah's Tunica. Be sure to join us in a couple weeks for our live coverage from the WSOP-C Palm Beach Kennel Club!

Sam Barnhart raised to 230,000 on the button and Jesse White called from the big blind.

The     flop was checked by both, with the   following on the turn. White bet 300,000 and was quickly called, landing the   on the river. White again bet 300,000 and was again was called by Barnhart who showed   . White couldn't beat it, surrendering the pot to Barnhart.

Sam Barnhart - 6,400,000

Jesse White - 3,200,000

Sam Barnhart limped on the button, Jesse White folded from the small blind, and Harden checked her option from the big blind. The flop came down     and Harden led out for 210,000, which Barnhart called.

Both players proceeded to check the   flop and the   hit the river. Harden immediately moved all in and Barnhart snap-called showing    for a full house. Harden just stared into oblivion as she turned over   . The stacks were close, but Barnhart had the edge. Harden was eliminated in third place.

Mary Harden raised to 190,000 from the small blind and Sam Barnhart called from the big. When the flop came down    , Harden bet 250,000 and Barnhart called. The dealer then burned and turned the  , which inspired Harman to check-fold to Barnhart's 500,000 bet. Harman is down to 3.3 million while Barnhart is up to 3.8 million.

Jesse White opened the action with a raise to 175,000 on the button. Brian Burney re-raised all in for about 750,000 from the small blind and Mary Harden snap called from the big blind. White folded    face up and the other hands were revealed.

Harden:   

Burney:   

Burney was in need of some help and found it when the flop came down    . However, Harden had outs to a flush to score the knockout. The   turn card kept Burney ahead, but the   popped off on the river to send Burney to the rail in fourth place for $49,759.

Brian Burney raised to 175,000 from the cutoff and Sam Barnhart responded with a reraise to 330,000 from the small blind. Burney called and the pair watched the flop fall    . Barnhart bet out 500,000 and Burney folded. The former is up to 2.6 million while the latter dropped to 1.1 million.

Once again, the action has ceased. Raise and take, raise and take, that is the story of the last ten minutes. With action being four-handed, someone will likely step up the aggression soon enough.

Mary Harden opened to 130,000 on the button and Sam Barnhart called from the small blind. Jesse White shoved from the big blind for 1,630,000 and forced quick folds from the others.

The remaining four players have tightened up a bit and seem content to wait for some big hands. Flops are rare, but we expect that to change before too long.

Action folded to Brian Burney in the small blind and he promptly raised to 130,000. Marco Palacios called from the big blind and the     was put out on the flop. Burney bet 145,000, Palacios called, and the   hit the turn.

Burney checked, Palacios bet 200,000, Burney moved all in, and Palacios called.

Burney:   

Palacios:   

Both players had flopped a straight, so it was a chopped pot. We won't even bore you with what the river was.