The staff at Caesars Indiana was trying to get this tourney over in just two days. And in doing so, they forced some Day 1 participants to play for 16 hours straight. Those lucky (or unfortunate) enough to go onto Day 2 got a whopping 8 hour brake before what ended up being an 11 hour session to close things out for the winner.

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Caesars Indiana really ended up being more about who could keep their focus during this tournament rather than who knew their cards the best. However, a lot of the original 117 players who made it on the boat before it took off down the Ohio River didn’t have to worry about this. That’s because 99 of them were trimmed off the player count before it could be decided who would be among the final 18 playing on Day 2.

There weren’t a whole lot of major stars making the trip to Elizabeth, Indiana this year so not many notable players busted out on Day 1. But there were quite a few people who’ve become famous on the WSOP Circuit that did so. Lou Esposito, Ed Corrado, John Racener, and Hilbert Shirey were some of the players who didn’t fare so well on the first day.

Also occurring on day 1 was a bit of a mishap when, with just 20 players still alive, the big blind Dale Poynter went all-in before anyone else had even so much as peaked at their cards. The tournament staff ruled that he must stay all-in but lucky for Poynter, he came out of the hand unharmed. This was a perfect example of the weariness at work on the field.

After an eight hour break, and a much needed one for Poynter, the 18 players who had made it this far had already earned their $5,000 entry fee back and then some. But the people who made up these final two tables were hoping for a little more in the form of the $180,000 grand prize which awaited the winner.

Unfortunately, poker babe Beth Shak’s face wouldn’t be seen much longer as she went out in 16th place which netted her $6,677. WSOP bracelet holder Robert Cheung didn’t make the final table either busting out near the last cut in 11th. He got $8,903 for making the flight to Indiana.

With 108 players now finished, the last nine got a chance to go for the top spot at Caesars.

Here’s a rundown of how everyone looked going into the final table:

Dale Poynter - 213,000 chips
Jason Mann - 203,000 chips
Wilbur Futhey - 198,000 chips
Giovanni Marcacci - 136,500 chips
Benjamin Hock - 87,999 chips
Michael Iacovone - 55,000 chips
Doug Carli - 52,500 chips
Jerry Martin - 40,000 chips
Steven Merrifield - 19,000 chips

Many people would have expected Steven Merrifield to be the first victim but he went largely ignored as it was Wilbur Futhey involved it most of the early action. Futhey lost several big hands to go short-stacked but battled back to get even.

Futhey’s efforts left Michael Iacovone the low man now and he pushed in his remaining chips holding only Q, 5 which did nothing for him and he was the first to go out. Jerry Martin wasn’t far behind as he failed to pair his aces against Jason Mann’s kings and he grabbed $27,823 for this finish. Meanwhile, recent college graduate Steven Merrifield quietly proved why you should never give up as he came from 19,000 starting chips to take the lead at 260,000.

The next major action took place when Giovanni Marcacci called Benjamin Hock’s all-in wager. But Marcacci’s set of 4’s couldn’t withstand Hock’s set of jacks and Giovanni was out in 7th. Next on the chopping block was Dale Poynter as he was in against Jerry Mann who held A, K on a flop of K, Q, 6. But with Mann all-in, Poynter turned up 6’s which gave him the set and the win as Mann couldn’t get any help and was out in 6th.

Play froze up for a while with little going on until Benjamin Hock was all-in against Poynter. Hock held the advantage with pocket jacks and the board read 7d, 3h, 2d, 6d which meant Poynter, who held Ad, Qh, needed an ace or a diamond to win the hand. He got his diamond as a 6d landed on the river which ended Hock’s dreams of winning but did get him $33,387.

Doug Carli found himself in trouble against Futhey since his chip stack had dwindled to dangerously low levels. Carli’s all-in attempt proved to be futile as he got nothing on the board and went down to Futhey’s kings pair.

Down to three players, Futhey led with 554,000 to Poynter’s 341,000 and Merrifield’s 300,000. Things got pretty hectic as Poynter went all-in nine different times before his last attempt failed against Merrifield’s kings to his nothing.

Now it was just Futhey and Merrifield, which was amazing when you again take into account what Merrifield came to the final table with. But Wilbur Futhey seemed none too impressed as he hit a flush against Merrifield’s pocket 4’s and suddenly Steven had only 50,000 chips.

Merrifield did battle back some as he doubled his stack a couple of times. But he couldn’t hang with Futhey any longer as Wilbur hit a straight with Merrifield all-in to end the tournament. Steven couldn’t be too disappointed though as he collected $94,596 for his finish.

But the spotlight was now on the retired toy salesman Wilbur Futhey who’s previous Circuit winnings of $67,143 now paled in comparison to the $180,290 he would be taking home with him this time. With his automatic bid into the WSOP already paved, Futhey will hope to be increasing his winnings even more in June. But for now, he just plans to do some fishing just like many of his fellow retirees.