Ray Henson tops the largest field in World Series of Poker Circuit history, after defeating the six-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner, TJ Cloutier, in heads up action at Choctaw Casino in Oklahoma.

There are two things that I know for sure.

1. Poker players may think that re-entries are bad for poker, but they do their very best to keep them alive by ploughing money into them.

2. Once a great poker player: always a great poker player.

The World Series of Poker Circuit (WSOPC) $365 Main Event (Re-Entry), held at Choctaw Casino, Oklahoma, broke the attendance record when four starting days attracted a field size of 4,053 entrants and $1,215,900 in prize money.

With the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) also breaking records under the baking Bahamian sun; 2015 looks like it’s going to be a stellar year for live poker attendances. It’s not just a new influx of players that are affecting these numbers, as the final table of this bad boy demonstrated.

With six-WSOP bracelets, spread over a 35-year career, TJ Cloutier is a veritable legend in the game. His runner-up spot to Ray Henson is testament to both his skill and stamina, as he picked up a $122,040 paycheck – his largest in seven years when he took $240,560 for his victory in the $5,150 Scotty Nguyen Poker Challenge IV in Tulsa. Guess whom Cloutier beat in the heads-up phase of that contest – Ray Henson.