Long-time poker player Michael Ledford claimed a coveted gold ring in the first event on the WSOP Circuit Horseshoe Tunica schedule
The WSOP Circuit Horseshoe Tunica, the penultimate stop on the 2018-2019 schedule of the major poker series, kicked off with a bang on Thursday. The first gold ring event was completed last night at the host casino and it was long-time poker player Michael Ledford who claimed the piece of WSOP Circuit jewelry.
Event #1 or the $400 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em Double Stack (Big Blind Ante) drew 260 entrants who generated a prize pool of $85,800. The prize money was split into cashes for the top 27 finishers. Minimum payouts were worth $693, but everyone was vying for the top prize of $21,023 and the accompanying gold ring.
As mentioned earlier, Horseshoe Tunica is the penultimate stop in the current season of the WSOP Circuit. Poker action will run through May 6 at one of Mississippi’s premium’s gambling venues. The popular poker series will then head to Harrah’s New Orleans to wrap up its latest successful season and let Main Event winners prepare for the season-ending Global Casino Championship that will take place at Harrah’s Cherokee in North Caroline in August.
Back to the ongoing WSOP Circuit festival at Horseshoe Tunica, it was Ledford who topped Event #1’s field after a busy and action-packed day at the poker tables.
A Day to Remember
Ledford told WSOP staff after his biggest poker triumph that he has been playing the game since he was six. He is aged 65 now. Even though poker has been part of the brand-new WSOP Circuit ring holder’s life since young age, it was not before his retirement several years ago that he was able to devote more of his time and attention to the game.
Ledford previously “worked a gas pump” for many years. His retirement finally enabled him to pursue greater accomplishments at the poker table.
The win in the single-day at Horseshoe Tunica represented Ledford’s biggest poker success and earned him his biggest tournament cash of $21,023 as well as a coveted gold ring. The player had previously had two in-the-money finishes in WSOP Circuit events.
Winning the $400 buy-in event was not an easy task. Stephen Bierman, Ledford’s heads-up opponent, proved to be the biggest challenge before the eventual winner. Bierman, a New Orleans resident with nearly 40 WSOP Circuit in-the-money finishes, fought Ledford for several levels and hours before hitting the rail in second place, good for $12,988 in prize money. The event’s runner-up was, too, vying for his first gold ring from the series, despite his enormous experience.
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