National/Global Casino Championship History: Sam Barnhart Wins Inaugural Event
In 2011, the WSOPC hosted its first National Championship, which was held at Caesars Palace just prior to that year��s WSOP. The tournament was only open to 100 WSOPC qualifiers and offered up a $1,000,000 prize pool.
The inaugural winner was Arkansas�� Sam Barnhart, who qualified after winning the WSOPC Horseshoe Tunica for $148,612 three months earlier. Barnhart��s heater continued later in the summer when he finished 17th in the WSOP Main Event for a career-high $378,796.
Barnhart relocated to Las Vegas after his remarkable run where he still resides today.
��Mostly cash games and online. Not playing as much,�� Barnhart recently told PokerNews when asked what he��s been up to. ��I��m also doing real estate. I will eventually get in commercial ��selling businesses.����
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sam Barnhart | USA | $300,000 |
| 2 | James Anderson | USA | $200,000 |
| 3 | Josh Evans | USA | $135,000 |
| 4 | La Sengphet | USA | $100,000 |
| 5 | Jonathan Poche | USA | $75,000 |
| 6 | Charles ��Woody�� Moore | USA | $55,000 |
| 7 | Drazen Ilich | USA | $42,500 |
| 8 | Adam Hui | Canada | $35,000 |
| 9 | Matt Lawrence | USA | $30,000 |
| 10 | Huy Nguyen | USA | $27,500 |