Waites Leads but Hinkle Looks to Capture Title for Second Time in Three Seasons
The 2012/2013 World Series of Poker Circuit Horseshoe Council Bluffs continued on Sunday as 133 players from a 362 player field returned for Day 2 action. There were five late registrants, which brought the final number up to 367 entries and created a prize pool of $550,800 to be distributed to the top 45 players. Not only was the money bubble burst on Day 2, the field was reduced to the final ten. The man best position to capture the $121,177 first-place prize is Brendan Waite, who bagged the chip lead with 1.432 million. Hot on his heels is none other than WSOP bracelet winner Blair Hinkle, who actually won the WSOP Council Bluffs Main Event back in the 2010/2011 season.
Day 2 began in Level 13 (700/1,400/200) and it didn’t take long for players to hit the rail. In one brutal hand, Larry Ormson opened to 8,000 in late position only to have local pro Brandon Fish raise to 20,000 from the small blind. Ormson called off his stack and the players showed their cards:
Fish: 
Ormson: 
The 
flop was great for Ormson, but the 
turn gave him pause as Fish picked up a flush draw. Incredibly, and much to Ormson’s dismay, the 
spiked on the river to give Fish the runner-runner flush.
Others who fell before the money were five-time ring winner Ari Engel; the all-time WSOP Circuit ring winner Alex Masek; defending champ Scott Stanko; the WSOP Circuit National Leader Board points leader Rex Clinkscales; and WSOP Circuit Harveys Lake Tahoe champ Cary Marshall.
When just 46 players remained in Level 18 (2,000/4,000/500), hand-for-hand play was initiated as the money bubble was in full effect. It took awhile, but the bubble has finally burst. Not surprisingly, it came from a classic race situation.
It happened when Larry Scholl opened for 11,000 from the cutoff, leaving himself 76,000 behind. WSOP bracelet winner Robert Cheung, who had a bigger stack, moved all in from the big blind and put Scholl to the test. The rest of the tables ad completed the action, and all eyes seemed to be on Table 33. Scholl looked at the tournament clock, saw that a min-cash was worth $2,490, and said: "Well, I don't need $2,500." He then called.
Scholl: 
Cheung: 
"It's a race," Scholl said as both players stood. Indeed it was, but not so much after the flop came down 
. Scholl was still looking to improve, which became harder to do when the turn gave Cheung a straight. "Give him a queen," Scholl told the dealer knowing full well he needed one of the two remaining ladies to stay alive. The dealer burned and delivered the 
. It was paint, but not what Scholl needed. His elimination in 46th place meant that each of the remaining players were guaranteed a $2,490 payday. It's also worth noting that Doug "Rico" Carli, who ultimately finished in 32nd place for $3,057, notched his record 104th career WSOP-related cash, which is ahead of Phil Hellmuth’s 96 cashes.
From there, the in-the-money eliminations began to mount. Among those to fall were Henry Tran (45th - $2,490), Leonard Daniel (39th- $2,490), Allen Kessler (37th - $2,490), Everett Carlton (30th - $3,448), Mark Fink (29th - $3,448), Kou Vang ($3,938) and Casey Cavanaugh (24th - $4,555), Deborah Phillips (22nd - $4,555), Robert Cheung (18th - $6,334), Shawn Meyer (15th - $7,612) and the chip leader at the start of the day, Scott Small (14th - $7,612).
One player to fall late in the night was Grant Hinkle. It happened in Level 25 (8,000/16,000/2,000) when Hinkle shoved for 178,000 under the gun. Trevor Deeter called from the small blind and the hands were tabled.
Deeter:
Hinkle: 
Deeter was out in front with his ace and strengthened his lead when the flop brought the 
, though Hinkle picked up a heart draw. The 
turn was not what Hinkle needed, and neither was the 
run. Hinkle’s elimination in 11th place meant a highly anticipated Hinkle Brothers final table wasn’t going to happen.
Even so, the final ten are an eclectic bunch. Of course there’s Blair Hinkle, who won the 2010/2011 WSOP Circuit Horseshoe Council Bluffs $1,650 Main Event for $88,555 and was looking to take down the title for the second time in three seasons. There’s also the current Horseshoe Council Bluffs Casino Champ leader Mark Bonsack, who won a ring in Event #6 $365 Limit Omaha Hi/Lo for $11,254; “Cowboy” Ben Smith, the elder statesman at the table who hails from Wisconsin; and Sean Small, who is just 80,000 chips shy of the leader.
The third and final day is set to kick off at noon CST, and PokerNews will be on hand to bring you all the live updates from that event.