The Horseshoe Hammond puts the WSOPC almost right on the doorstep of Chicago. Just 20 minutes from the Windy City, there's a whole lot of potential for a big poker crowd.

Along with the 1,187 who picked up the $345 tab for Event 1, the events so far have seen a range of playing fields from 142 into the 500 range.

Even though it's close to Chicago, players in the tournament series have come from as far away as the Dominican Republic, British Columbia, California and more. And they have nothing to be disappointed about for their journey either.

The Horseshoe Casino in Hammond is a brand-new facility that recently reopened after a $500 million renovation and expansion.

According to WSOPC officials, one company executive said the Hammond casino was not only the No. 1 casino in the region, but that it can compete with anything on the Las Vegas Strip.

The poker room itself is in full swing with 34 tables, offering all games, all limits and a private high-limit room named Benny's Back Room in honor of Benny Binion.

After a week of action, players will now settle into their seats at the poker tables for the $5,000 main event. It is expected to take three days of play to reach a winner, who will not only get the top cash prize, but also wins a seat in the $10,000 2009 World Series of Poker Main Event.

PokerListings will be on the scene every step of the way to bring you live updates, photos, interviews, reports and more from Horseshoe Hammond. When the action begins today, you can check it out in the Live Tournaments section.

It's likely that a few of the players who've taken part in some of the events throughout the week will take to the felt again today as well, especially those with a little extra tournament winnings burning holes in their pockets.

Here's how the final tables for the 10 preliminary events leading up to the main event played out:

Event 1: $300 No-Limit Hold'em Place Name Hometown Prize 1st Perry Ernest Naperville, Ill. $70,597 2nd David Lindquist Benson Harbor, Mich. $45,426 3rd Matthew Dunn Fort Wayne, Ind. $27,562 4th Antonio Scott Maywood, Ill. $23,138 5th Todd Huynh Chicago $18,885 6th David Kim Glenview, Ill. $14,802 7th Florencio Acevedo Hammond, Ind. $11,399 8th Jesse Nunez Griffith, Ind. $8,847 9th Randy White Chicago $6,295 Event 2: $500 No-Limit Hold'em Place Name Hometown Prize 1st Frederic Winter La Grange, Ill. $55,159 2nd Matthew Sekeres Burlington, Wisc. $34,928 3rd Scott Kahoun La Grange Park, Ill. $21,447 4th Ronald Kruk Osceola, Ind. $17,525 5th Leon Hamrick Tulsa, Okla. $14,339 6th Musa Mustafa Orland Park, Ill. $11,275 7th Ryan Julius Peoria, Ill. $8,824 8th Alfredo Ceballos Jr. Chicago $6,986 9th Kenneth Norman Homewood, Ill. $5,147 Event 3: $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em Place Name Hometown Prize 1st Michael Foster Chicago $40,275 2nd Christopher Gentile Plainfield, Ill. $24,318 3rd Joel Nichols Marion, Ohio $15,579 4th Michael Parisi Wood Dale, Ill. $12,159 5th Thomas G. Macey Chicago $9,499 6th Michael J. Lutes Bloomington, Ind. $7,600 7th Robert S. Panitch Northbrook, Ill. $6,080 8th William Fockelmann Clayton, Mo. 44,940 9th James Kasputis Rockford, Ill. $4,180 Event 4: $200 Ladies Only No-Limit Hold'em Place Name Hometown Prize 1st Linda Tucker Chicago $10,196 2nd Kelley Ann Kiser Ashville, Ohio $6,306 3rd Leah Elizabeth Albritton Chicago $3,994 4th Allison Kaulen Aurora, Ill. $3,258 5th Karen Hakimian Chicago $2,627 6th Nesli Ohare Indianapolis, Ind. $2,102 7th Carol Jacobson Whiting, Ind. $1,682 8th Maria DiPaulo Lake In The Hills, Ill. $1,366 9th Diane Pavlik Bloomingdale, Ill. $1,051 Event 5: $500 No-Limit Hold'em Place Name Hometown Prize 1st Justin Filtz Stevens Point, Wisc. $29,566 2nd Patrick Heneghan Chicago $18,288 3rd Aaron Steury Fort Wayne, Ind. $11,582 4th John Bravos Mt. Prospect, Ill. $9,449 5th Harvey Bundy III Winnetka, Ill. $7,620 6th Curtis VanGilder Port Byron, ill. $6,098 7th Maurice Nelson Chicago $4,877 8th Scott Rokita Willowbrook, Ill. $3,962 9th Michael Book Grevor, Wisc. $3,048 Event 6: $200 Pot-Limit Omaha with $100 rebuys Place Name Hometown Prize 1st Joel Casper Chicago $19,475 2nd Alec Milam Chicago $11,760 3rd Csaba Vicen South Bend, Ind. $7,534 4th Karl Sederberg Bloomingdale, Ind. $5,880 5th Terry Harden Terre Haute, Ind. $4,594 6th Edward Chana Elgin, Ill. $3,675 7th Jason Rice Kenosha, Wisc. $2,940 8th Va Shon Watkins Aurora, Ill. $2,389 9th Brian Schwartz Buffalo Grove, Ill. $2,021 Event 7: $700 No-Limit Hold'em Place Name Hometown Prize 1st Eric Dam Evansville, Ind. $31,774 2nd Gary Allen Valparaiso, Ind. $19,166 3rd Steven Verrett Cross Plains, Wisc. $12,278 4th George Dietz III Oak Park, Ill. $9,583 5th Shannon Fahey Arlington Heights, Ill. $7,487 6th Frank Berrettoni So. Chicago Heights, Ill. $5,989 7th Eric Eklund Kenoasha, Wisc. 44,791 8th Michael Kalinsky Cummings, Ga. $3,893 9th Joseph Darnell Merrillville, Ind. $3,294 Event 8: $300 H.O.R.S.E. Place Name Hometown Prize 1st Charles Bransford Des Plaines, Ill. $13,029 2nd Douglas Lorgeree Hernando, Miss. $7,869 3rd Alan Durson Hinsdale, Ill. $5,041 4th Desmond Portano Chicago $3,934 5th David Rogowski Lockport, Ill. $3,074 6th Mark Provenzano Melrose Park, Ill. $2,459 7th John Guarisco Melrose Park, Ill. $1,967 8th Thomas Wilson Winnetka, Ill. $1,598 Event 9: $2,000 No-Limit Hold'em Place Name Hometown Prize 1st Marc Emond Chicago $51,072 2nd Sung Hong Chicago $30,837 3rd Robert Scewczyk Lockport, Ill. $19,755 4th Stuart marshak Deerfield, Ill. $15,418 5th Samuel Oberlin Grand Rapids, Mich. $12,046 6th Brian Brunner Carmel, ind. $9,637 7th Cary Bone So. Barrington, Ill. $7,709 8th Joel Casper Chicago $6,264 9th David Kaminsky South Bend, Ind. $5,300 Event 10: $300 Omaha Eight-or-Better Place Name Hometown Prize 1st Anthony Marchese Chicago $11,799 2nd Sung Hong Lombard, Ill. $7,124 3rd Richard Garrison Merrillville, Ind. $4,564 4th Bruce Dubin Oak Park, Ill. $3,562 5th Brett Nichols Munster, Ind. $2,783 6th Scott Bohlman Melrose Park, Ill. $2,226 7th Kyle Schertz Metamora, Ill. $1,781 8th Bill Rother Libertyville, Ill. $1,447 9th Tim Moran Orland Park, Ill. $1,224

 

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