Lee Clark was very close to a ring back in Jan 2023 when he was heads up in Event #9 but ended up losing to Cranbook's Jerod Dobson. This time, however, he was able to go one spot better when he flopped a set of treys against the ace-queen for runner-up Kim Pham.

The money went in before the flop for what started as a race, but Clark's flopped set put a quick end to that. Clark had a little less than $90k USD in winnings prior to tonight's game, so the $25k he won tonight should puch him over $100k lifetime, regardless of today's exchange rate.

Kim Pham got oh-so-close to his first ring tonight, but his dream ended with a race. Lee Clark raised to 300k before Pham three-bet to 825k. Clark shoved and Pham snapped it off.

Kim Pham:
Lee Clark:

It started as a race but it wasn't much of a race after Clark flopped his set on and while Pham turned his queen, it wasn't enough to stop the "Funcle" Lee Clark train today.

Dave Howat has been the short stack at the table for a while, and he finally shoved the button. Big blind Lee Clark snapped it off with and was in good shape against the for Howat.

Howat flopped a straight draw on the board, but then bricked the rest, sending the pot to Clark's flopped pair of kings.

Kim Pham is closing in on Lee Clark now after his king-queen got there against the ace-nine for Clark. Pham spiked his queen on the flop and that was enough to give him the double.

There are just three players left in the Big 30 Stack now after Lee Clark extended his lead by sending Ty Adams to the rail. Clark raised under the gun to 200k and Adams reraised the small blind to 550k. Clark called to see on the flop. Adams shoved the rest and Clark snapped it off.

Adams was on a straight draw with ace-ten but Clark's queen-four hit the queen. Adams bricked his straight on the runout and Clark improved to trips.

There are just four players left now after Phillip Eisel from Germany hit the rail in 5th place, though I missed the action while writing up the Taylor bust.

Lee Clark is running well tonight as he just sent Thomas Taylor to the rail in 6th place. Taylor shoved the small blind with ace-seven and Clark called it off from the big stack with king-ten.

Clark turned the king-high straight on a board of to send Taylor to the cash cage for his payout.

Ty Adams just doubled through leader Lee Clark after his king-ten won the race against Clark's ducks.

Dave Howat is up over 1 million now after getting another double. He shoved the small blind for 500k even, and Phillip Eisel called from the big blind. Eisel had ace-five and was dominated by the ace-king for Howat. Both players hit their ace on the river but Howat's kicker played for the win.

Shawn Caron hit the rail for 7th place money in the hand following the exit of Gurdeep Parhar, so I missed the action as I was writing up the previous hand. However, Caron was in rough shape after doubling up Dave Howat just before the last break, and was playing the short stack at the table after the break, however he did manage to ladder one spot over the second shortest stack of Parhar.

It was a bit of a bad beat for Gurdeep Parhar when he got ace-king in against the ace-queen for Kim Pham. Parhar looked good but Pham shut the door by flopping Broadway on a board of .

Lee Clark has close to half the chips in play right now with about 4 million in front of him while three other players have 1 million or more.

The action went a bit crazy when Shawn Caron raised under the gun to 130k and Lee Clark, who is the current leader, called from the small blind. Big blind Dave Howat came over the top to 250k all-in and Caron re-shoved 760k. Clark hit the tank for a bit but ultimately folded to set up the showdown between Caron and Howat.

Dave Howat:
Shawn Caron:

Caron turned open-ended on the board of but bricked the river to send Howat the double including some extra dead money from Clark. The hand gave Howat about 780k and left Caron on about 500k. I'll get full chips at the break shortly.

They are down to 8 players left now after Neil McFayden got his final 495k into the middle from the small blind and was called by Lee Clark in the big.

Neil McFayden:
Lee Clark:

Clark flopped his king on the board and McFayden, who is over from the UK, had to settle for 9th place tonight.

They are down to the final 9 players now after Scott Longstaff hit the cage for the 10th-place payout of $1,820. I missed the action while I was uploading and editing FT pictures.

They are down to 10 players left now and breaking down to the final table of 10. At the moment, the 13th-place player hasn't reported in yet, but Blaine Sanderson and Essam Saadeddine were two of the players to bubble the FT.

They are now just 4 away from the 10-handed final table with 14 players left alive now. Tyler Thomas, winner of the final Big 30 Stack in Jan this year, was among the recent busts.

I had a quick wander around the room just now and it looks like Thomas Taylor is currently in the lead with about 1.2 million in front of him. Lee Clark, at the same table, is also playing more than a million, and former leader Neil McFayden also had around a million before he had to fold the river on a board of when the button shoved 325 over his bet of 125k. McFayden is still playing about 900k after the hand though, for what looks like the 3rd stack in the game right now.

They are down to 18 players left now on the final two tables. Andy Truong was the last player to collect $1,074 with Nicholas Lee and Shane Chief filling out the first 4-digit pay level.

They are down to 21 players left with Armin Bahmanpour taking the final payout of $934 for 22nd place just now. The next player to hit the rail is set to collect $1.074 for the first four-digit payout.

They are down to 23 players left with about 10 minutes to play in Level 21. Scott Calvank, who was third in the 4-Flight event last May, was among the recent busts.

.The break following Level 20 is nearly complete and there are still 27 players left in the game at the final three tables. Action has slowed a bit since the redraw but it still looks like this won't be a super-late night. There's still a lot of poker to play though ...

The field went from 30 to 27 in just a couple of hands with Michael Smith, Mal Hagan, and Kyle Cook taking the 30th-28th place spots for $747 each.

There are 30 players left now, and the first two three-player payout levels are complete. Among the recent busts was Jerry Li, who was chip leader before the break.

The first two payout levels of $603 and $617 are now complete with Zeyu Huang taking the final spot for $617 in 37th place. David Ko, winner of this event in January, followed him to the exit to take the first payout of $645 for 36th place.

They are down to 36 remaining at the start of Level 19 with January's Seniors winner Paul Sokoloff among the recent players to hit the rail for a payout of $617.

The numbers are dropping pretty fast now with the field down to 42 players and just over 5 minutes to play in Level 18. That means the first level of min-cashers is complete and they are well into the $617 level. Among the early busts tonight was Trevor Simpson, who hasn't been having much problem finding a cash lately, but seems be stuck on the min-cash level.

They lost another player as all the tables finished their final hand, so there was no hand-for-hand play tonight. There are now 55 players left in the game, and all are guaranteed at least $603. I expect the busts to come pretty fast and furious at this point.

There are 15 minutes left in Level 17, the field just hit 56 players on the money bubble. They are finishing the hands in play before the clock gets paused for the bubble, so it's still possible they may lose one more on this hand.

They are now 3 players off the money spots with 58 players left alive. Level 17 has just begun, so it seems almost certain hand-for-hand will begin sometime in this level.

They are nearing the bubble now with 61 players left, 6 away from the money spots, and 5 away from hand-for-hand play. The earliest min-cashers can expect to pocket $603 from 46th to 55th place.

Jerry Li is leading the way after the dinner break with 740k. He is the only player with more than 500k, but there are a few others in the 300-500k range,

Dinner break has just begun with 65 players left in the game. That puts them 10 off the money spots when they return to action in Level 16 in about 45 minutes. Gary Chan busted just before dinner when he got his last 18k in against pocket kings ... and pocket kings.

"I was live, at least," he said with a smile. The kings held and the two players chopped Chan's chips, sending Chan off to register for the satellite about to start in the Chrome room.

They are down to 70 players left now with just over 5 minutes to play in Level 15. The players will go for their 45-minute dinner break following this level, and it looks like the bubble will burst sometime in Level 16 or 17.

They are down to 75 players now, just 20 off the money with 20 minutes to play in Level 15.

Level 15 has just begun and this will be the final level of play before the 45-minute dinner break. They are down to 76 players left alive, 21 off the money and given the current pace, it looks like the bubble will burst sometime after the dinner break.

They are down to the final 9 tables now with 81 players left in the game and about 15 minutes to play in Level 14. That puts them 26 off the paid spots with a bit more than 30 minutes to play until the dinner break.

They are down to 90 players left alive in the Bog 30 Stack now, just 35 off the money spots. There are about 5 minutes left in Level 13 . They will take a 45-minute dinner break following Level 15 and it seems likely they'll be in the money, or very close to it, by then.

Event #1 Prizes:

The prizes are in and the entries are confirmed at 363 for prizes of $119,790. That means first place is set to pocket a bit more than $25k for their troubles later tonight with everyone who makes the final nine guaranteed at least $2,247.

Stay tuned for full prizes posted shortly under the Payouts tab.

They are down to 126 left in the game now with just under 20 minutes to play in Level 12. The prizes aren't out yet, but it looks like 55 players will be sharing in $119,790 in prizes later tonight with first place likely to be worth more than $20k.

The field size on the board has just dropped to 363 as it looks like there was confusion about one specific entry. I'm still waiting on the prizes for final confirmation of the numbers, but the field is dropping fast now that entries are closed with fewer than 150 players left alive.

The numbers are still unofficial, but entries are now closed with 364 total on the board for this game. If that holds, that will mean the prizes today will be $120,120. I'll confirm the numbers when the final prize pool is posted shortly.

There are just under 10 minutes left in Level 10 so entries will be open for less than 30 minutes now. The field now is at 346 entries for prizes just short of $115k but it seems likely we'll see that tick above 350 before the entry desk closes for today.

There are now about 45 minutes left to get into the game as Level 10 is just underway. Entries will be open through the break following this level, but the field will be set when they sit down for Level 11 following the upcoming break.

There are 334 entries in the game now as the pace of entries has slowed a bit in the past couple of levels. The prize pool ha snow capped $110k, but it looks a bit less likely that the field today will hit 400 at this point.

There are just moments left in Level 8 now with the field up to 320 entries for prizes of $105,600. Ed Seagris won't be cashing in on his first free ticket for this event as he was one of the busts so far today. I just caught up with him in the hallway after his bust and he has his traditional good attitude on, saying with a smile that he plans to relax and enjoy his evening before he takes another free shot at Event #2 tomorrow.

David Ko & Crew UBC Poker Club Crew after his win in January.

There are just over 5 minutes left in Level 7, and the field just hit 300 entries for prizes of $99k. They need another 4 entries to push over the $100k mark, but the prizes will still grow from there. Among the more recent players I spotted in the field were Dave Howat, who finished final three in an Edmonton Main Event back in February this year, and defending champion of this event, David (Dongwoo) Ko.

They are up to 285 entries now with just under 20 minutes to play in Level 7. That puts the prizes just shy of $95k and it seems certain they'll crack the 6-digit mark within the next level or two.

They are back in their seats for Level 6 now with 265 entries on the board and prizes of almost $88k. Today's game looks on-pace to meet or beat the numbers from last May (414) and even this past January with 454. There are still a bot more than 2 hours left to enter the game, so a 400+ field seems pretty likely at this point.

They are on the first break of the day now with the end of Level 5. There are 252 entries on the board at the start of the break and a bit more than 2.5 hours left to enter this one. Joon Park  and Anthony Casten.

There are just over 5 minutes left in Level 5 and the field is now at 250 entries for a prize pool of $82,500. They'll take the first break of the day after this level, then return for about 2.5 hours of poker and breaks before the end of entries.

There are just over 15 minutes left before te first break of the day at the end of Level 5. The field is up to 234 entries now for prizes of more than $77k. Among the recent faces I've spotted getting into the game were Ryan Smith, Takuma Bergeron, and Kali Shuali.

The field is now up to 216 entries with about 13 minutes to play in Level 4. They'll take their first break of the day following Level 5, then return for five more levels of poker before entries close at the start of Level 11.

There are 5 minutes to play in Level 3 now and the field is just shy of 200 entries. That pushes the prizes over $65k with about 3.5 hours left to enter the game.

There are just over 5 minutes to play in Level 2 and the field is up to 175 entries for a prize pool of $57,720 and climbing. Entries will be closed in just under 4 hours from now, so there is still plenty of time to get into the game.

I just had a wander around the room to see who else is here and among the players I spotted were Andy Truong, Dylan Ellis (who had a great series here in Jan with a win and a runner-up finish), Shawn Caron, Nadav Bitton, Michael Smith, Kelly Gall, Mal Hagan, Tyler Thomas, Leo Leclerc, Peter Amic, David Thompson, Shane Chief, and Michael Malm.

Level 2 has just kicked off and the prizes are now just a couple of entries shy of $55k. There are 164 entries on the board to start the Level, and more than four hours still left in late entries.

Level 1 has just over 5 minutes to play and the field is now over $50k with 154 entries on the board. Among the players I've spotted recently are Gary Chan, Evan Thomas, Weston Pring, and Trevor Simpson, who is sporting a cast after a recent accident at work thanks to Calgary's bizarre weather, which is back this week with a spring snowfall but above-0 temps at least.

The action is now underway in the first event of this Circuit series. They started play today with more than 100 entries on the board for prizes of more than $36k, so this looks like it's going to be a big one today. Among the other players I spotted so far are Thomas TaylorPhil Wright, Claire Leclerc, Susan Webb, Frank Shi, multiple ring winner Paul Sokoloff (who won the seniors event in January), and package winner Eddie Seagris, playing his first event of the series for free today.

They are still about 10 minutes away from cards going in the air for the opening  event of this series and there are already more than 80 players waiting for the start of the day. That puts the prizes well over $25k before any hands have even been played!

Among the players I've already spotted in the field today is the runner-up in this event this past January, Rob Bridger. He was inches from the ring when he folded pocket fives to aggression preflop, then saw a five om the flop. That hand could have ended it, but it was a disciplined fold that was right in the moment. Joining Bridger today so  far are players like Zeyu Huang, Ben Locker, Kim Pham, Tom Shantz, Shannon Lazorko, Annie Li, Nicholas Peterson, and Dusty Speta, but that is far from a complete list.

Event #1: $400 Big 30 Stack ($330 + $70)

The opening event of the 2024 May WSOP Circuit Calgary is set to roll at 11 AM on Wed, May 1. The Big 30 Stack is both the traditional opening and closing event of the13 days of Circuit action in Calgary.

As the name suggests, players sit down with 30k in chips and they play 25-minute blinds throughout the game. Late entry is open for 10 levels, putting the last shot at a stack around 3:40 PM.

This will be my main focus for the opening day, and is likely to go pretty late. Previous winners of this event include David (Dongwoo) Ko in January, Glen Craien last May, and Joon Park in Jan 2023 who was heads up against GGPoker streamer and Big Brother Canada alum Kevin Martin.

Event #1 Structure