The World Series of Poker Circuit once again drew a big crowd, this time at the Choctaw Casino in Durant, Oklahoma.  While it may not be a very big city, the Midwestern stop generated the second biggest field of the season with 978 runners in the $1,600 buy-in event.

Abraham Araya, an East African immigrant now residing in Carrollton, Texas, took home the biggest chunk of the $1.4 million prize pool.  The 44 year-old aircraft mechanic and father of three defeated the massive crowd to claim the top payday of $270,380.  This is not the first time Araya has found success on the property.  He took first place in the 2011 TJ Cloutier Choctaw Poker Challenge Main Event for over $83,000 just three months ago.  In addition to the money and the WSOPC ring, Araya also earns an automatic entry into the season-ending WSOPC National Championship freeroll.

The Oklahoma stop saw a 21% increase in attendance compared to last year’s field of 808 players. This year’s event also drew a number of notables, including Gavin Smith, Tommy Vedes, Dennis Phillips, Chad Brown, Scotty Nguyen, and Todd Brunson.  The top 99 finishers in the event earned a payday of at least $2,917.  The big names missed out on paydays, while the locals dominated the action.  Only four states were represented at the final table, with five players from Texas, two players from Arkansas, one person from Oklahoma, and a player from Louisiana.

The WSOPC’s next stop in Las Vegas is already underway at Caesars Palace.  The preliminary action is already drawing several local pros, and even more are expected to turn up when the Main Event gets underway on January 28th.

Here are the final table results from the WSOPC Choctaw Main Event:

1st: Abraham Araya – $270,380
2nd: Daniel Lowery – $167,230
3rd: Michael Sanders – $123,430
4th: Jack Miller – $92,352
5th: Mark Buford – $69,968
6th: Derek Browning – $53,675
7th: Will Nguyen – $41,679
8th: Justin Gardenhire – $32,771
9th: Dejuante Alexander – $26,069

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