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2009 Harrah's Atlantic City
Event 1 - $300 Buy-in No Limit Holdem. Final Results. 2009 Harrah's Atlantic City WSOP Circuit Events.

2009 Harrah's Atlantic City
World Series of Poker Circuit Events
Official Results
World Series of Poker (WSOP) Circuit Results
2009 Harrah's Atlantic City Event #1 Results
2009/2010 World Series of Poker Circuit
Final Results: Harrah’s Resort Atlantic City
Event #1
No-Limit Hold’em
Buy-In:  $300 + $40
Total Entries:  1,056
Total Prize Pool:  $307,296
Dante Magtoto
Final Results:
Place
Name
Hometown
Prize
To view the complete schedule and results for the 2009 Harrah's Atlantic City WSOP Circuit Events, click on the link below:

2009 WSOP Circuit Harrah's Atlantic City Schedule and Results
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Dante Magtoto
Massoud Nikjouian
Dwyte Pilgrim
Desmond Chan
Jeremy Solomon
Chris Goez
Steven Rodriguez
Casey Jarzabek
Saleh Levy
Alex Khan
Victor Paulino
Thomas Cipriano
Timothy Huhn
Russell Ramsey
Robert Briody
Keith Berman
John Long
Elameer Labib
Richard Ryu
Abimar Camara
Jorge Nader
Omar Diaz
Roland Isra
Jack Walton
Brad Rodrigues
Kyle Carter
Jerome Holman
Michael Baker
Jonathan Praet
Patrick Reynolds
Michael Breslosky
Philip Fisher
Harold Stickel
Thomas Blackwell
Brian Eckstrom
Tho  Dinh
Dan Sztenderonicz
Michael Higgins
John Curcuru
Michael Steinberg
Daniel Fox
John McGuiness
Ralph Deangelus
Charles Matchese
Albert Winchester
Mark Arciero
R.A. Villaluna
Karl Tretter
James Boyle
Michael Kincel
Darren Critcher
Andrew Hoffman
Igor Rakhlin
Michael Boscarello
Kevin Simon
Gail Ellsfermaun
Dereje Fekadu
Joseph Brooks
Kevin Rosini
Rob Santilli
Dick Carson
Leonard Cologna
Robert Nguyen
Nathaniel Paventi
Miles McDarby
Paul Mouhtis
Sefat Lee
Allen Chou
Michael Needham III
Casey Yontz
Charles Lineberry
John Zoldak
Jerry Hufton
Ronald Pugliese
James Maloch
Larry Vance
Craig Snyder
Scott Murehy
Evan Corliglino
Angelo Gizzie
John Bell
Phillip Rowley
John Gonzalez
Marc Masino
Jeffrey Vanchiro
Nicholas Pompo
Mark Gelley
Richard Cozza
William Lord
Joshua Zinklon
Milton Amarante
Thomas Coan
Ronald Frank
Hung Chan
Daniel Buzgon
Lawrence Lucisano
Gabrielle Gearhart
David Kim
Linda Secrest
Alexandria, VA
Alexandria, VA
Brooklyn, NY
New York, NY
Oreland, PA
Westfield, NJ
Staten Island, NY
St. Catharines, ON
Westfield, NJ
Fairfield, OH
Nedham , MA
Floral Park, NY
Dundalk BA , MD
Manassas, VA
Brigatine, NJ
Brooklyn, NY
Bowie PG, MD
Mississauga, ON
Champaign, IL
East Rutherford, NJ
Benito Juarez, MX
Coconut Creek, FL
Forest Hill, NY
Arlington, VA
Raleigh, NC
Gathersburg, MD
Danville, VA
Englewood, NJ
Howell, NJ
Red Hook, NY
Shenandoah, PA
Woodcliff Lake, NJ
Waretown, NJ
Hatfield, PA
Marlton, NJ
North Wales, PA
Levittown, PA
Liverport, NY
Charlotte, NC
Colonia, NJ
Clarksville, MD
Toms River, NJ
Berlin, MD
Shoreham, NY
VA
Brooklyn, NY
New York, NY
Bellerose, NY
Atavre De Grace, MD
Hunting, PA
Cary, NC
Baldwin, NY
Vineland, NJ
Culpepper, VA
Collegeville, PA
Katunah, NY
Alexandria, VA
EHT, NJ
Willow Grove, PA
Jackson, NJ
Mansfield, MA
Union Beach, NJ
Brooklyn, NY
New York, NY
Easton, PA
Randolph, NJ
Brooklyn, NY
Metuchen, NJ
Flemington, NJ
Springfield, OH
San Antonio, TX
Staten Island, NY
Virginia Beach, VA
Palm Harbor, FL
Apex, NC
Lakewood, CA
Bethlehem, PA
Warminster, PA
Monroe, CT
Erial, NJ
Waretown, NJ
Springfield, VA
Haskell, NJ
New Hope, PA
Brooklyn, NY
Glenolden, PA
Dix Hills, NY
Hyde Park, NY
Rye, NY
Alliance, OH
Cherry Hill, NJ
Hauppauge, NY
Radford, VA
Staten Island, NY
Marlton, NJ
Wanamassa, NJ
Allentown, PA
Staten Island, NY
Adamstown, MD
$61,459
$32,205
$26,120
$23,047
$19,974
$16,901
$13,828
$10,755
$7,682
$3,072
$3,072
$3,072
$2,766
$2,766
$2,766
$2,151
$2,151
$2,151
$1,536
$1,536
$1,536
$1,536
$1,536
$1,536
$1,536
$1,536
$1,536
$1,076
$1,076
$1,076
$1,076
$1,076
$1,076
$1,076
$1,076
$1,076
$891
$891
$891
$891
$891
$891
$891
$891
$891
$799
$799
$799
$799
$799
$799
$799
$799
$799
$768
$768
$768
$768
$768
$768
$768
$768
$768
$738
$738
$738
$738
$738
$738
$738
$738
$738
$722
$722
$722
$722
$722
$722
$722
$722
$722
$707
$707
$707
$707
$707
$707
$707
$707
$707
$691
$691
$691
$691
$691
$691
$691
$691
$691
Dante Magtoto Wins First Event of the 2009 World Series of
Circuit Events at Harrah’s Resort Atlantic City

First event of the WSOP Circuit at Harrah’s AC attracts 1,056 entrants


Atlantic City, NJ (December 5, 2009) –The World Series of Poker Circuit Events at Harrah’s
Resort Atlantic City kicked off in grand fashion Friday, December 4th with the first event of
the Circuit drawing 1,056 players.

The ballroom served as the venue for the WSOP Circuit at Harrah’s AC, which hosted the
first-ever WSOP Circuit Events nearly five years ago. The tournament area was packed with
players and spectators for much of the day. Alongside event #1, a battle for east coast
supremacy brewed at the feature table where the annual Philly vs. New York World Series
of Poker Showdown was being held. The event, sponsored by ESPN FM Radio 950
Philadelphia and ESPN Radio1050 New York pits poker players from the two cities against
one another, adding to a long list of cross-town rivalries. Philadelphia, whose Phillies lost
the MLB Championship to the New York Yankees in 6 games of the World Series, saw their
hopes for redemption shattered when Robert Ricci, a divorce lawyer representing New York
took down the event.

Also on hand for opening day of the Harrah’s Resort Atlantic City WSOP Circuit were
representatives from Cabot Creamery, who in conjunction with the WSOP Circuit Events, is
the proud sponsor of Project Full House, a fundraising campaign that gives players the
opportunity to donate a portion of their winnings to the New Orleans Chapter of Habitat For
Humanity. Project Full House will span all 11 Circuit Events of the 2009/2010 season,
culminating at Harrah’s New Orleans in May. Cabot is a coop of over 1200 dairy farming
families in Vermont who since 1919, have been dedicated to assisting people in need.

The first day of event #1 saw over 90 percent of the 1,056 player field eliminated as 99 in-
the-money finishers made it into day two which began at 1 pm.

After about seven hours of play, at level 27 with blinds at 20,000/40,000 and 5,000 chip
antes, a short-stacked Alex Kahn of Fairfield, OH busted in 10th place, setting the stage for
the first final table of the Harrah’s AC circuit:

Name                                            Hometown                       Seat                    Chip Count
Chris Goez                                    Hamburg, PA                      1                        1,300,000
Desmond Chan                             New York, NY                      2                        339,000
Massoud Nikjouian                       Woodbridge, VA                  3                        1,776,000
Casey Jarzabek                            St. Catherines, ON,             4                        1,100,000
Jeremy Solomon                           Oreland, PA                         5                        605,000
Salah Levy                                    Westfield, NJ                       6                        300,000
Dwyte Pilgrim                               Brooklyn, NY                        7                         2,000,000
Dante Magtoto                             Alexandria, Virginia             8                         272,000
Steven Rodriguez                         Staten Island, NY                9                        1,700,000

The final nine resumed play just before 10:00 pm. A few hands into play, former tennis pro
Salah Levy was served the first elimination by Dante Magtoto after shoving his short stack
all-in with 3h-5d.

For the most part, the final table was a jovial one, with exchanges of light-hearted banter
taking place between the players. However, a bit of bad blood began to boil over between
Massoud Nikjouian and Casey Jarzabek after Jarzabek re-raised Nikjouian’s initial pre-flop
raise of 130,000 to 400,000. Jarzabek made the call and the flop came 2s-Jc-4c.

Nikjouian then pushed all-in, putting the Pocket Fives 14th ranked online multi-table
tournament player in the tank for a few minutes before mucking his hand. Nikjouian showed
the semi-bluff: 10c-7c. The banter that followed became not-so light-hearted. A few hands
later, the two got involved in another pre-flop confrontation when Nikjouian raised to
200,000 with Ah-9h. Jarzabek’s reraised all-in with Kc-Jd and was called. The board came
9d-2s-8c-3h-9c, sending Jarzabek to the rail in eighth.

Seventh place belonged to Steven Rodriguez who saw his chips dwindle after folding to a
couple of pre-flop reraises. Rodriguez took a big hit to his stack after he ran his J-K into
Jeremy Solomon’s A-K. Rodriguez’s tournament run ended when he pushed the rest of his
stack all-in with A-J suited against the pocket kings of Desmond Chan. A jack on the river
was too little too late for Rodriguez, who saw his tournament life end. However, the 42-
year old real estate agent was able to build a little equity during his two-day run, taking
home $13,828 for his efforts.

Out in sixth place was Chris Goez. Goez, a 30-year old contractor, played a conservative
game for most of the night, but made the untimely decision to move all-in pre-flop with Ks-
Qh against the Ah-Kd of Dante Magtoto. Goez was unable to improve over Magtoto and
was eliminated. Sixth place paid $16,901.

Jeremy Solomon found himself dominated after running his Qc-10c all-in into Nikjouian’s Ah-
10d preflop.  The board improved neither player’s hand sending Solomon off the table in 5th
place and $19,974.

Desmond Chan was next out in fourth. Chan, a 30-year old data analyst shoved with
pocket fours against Nikjouian’s Ah-9h who caught a flush with two hearts on the flop and
a third on the turn. Chan earned $23,047 for his finish.

The final three players were seasoned poker veteran Nikjouian, 2009 Rincon Circuit
Champion Dwyte Pilgrim and Dante Magtoto, a 28-year old IT consultant who has been
moonlighting on the felt for the past few years. Pilgrim, the short-stack of the three, fell
short of earning his third WSOP Circuit ring after his Ac-5c did not improve against the
pocket queens of Magtoto.

Heads-up was between Magtoto and Nikjouian. Magtoto, with about a million chip lead,
proposed a deal with his opponent to split the remaining $90,000 of the prize pool 50/40
with the ring going to Magtoto. Nikjouian suggested the two step outside of the ballroom to
further discuss the deal. A few minutes later, both players returned to the table visibly
upset. Apparently, negotiations had fallen through and the two decided to play it out. The
final hand of the night saw both players all-in pre-flop; Nikjouian’s A-6 off vs. the Qh-9h of
Magtoto.

The flop came 2s-7h-ks. A queen on the turn gave Magtoto the lead, which held after a
seven hit the river, earning him $61,459 for first place and a WSOP Circuit Event ring.  

Magtoto, who also once played professional pool, described his ascent from playing micro
stakes online to winning his first major tournament. “I always thought I was a decent
player. I did a lot of reading about poker and played online until I was constantly winning.”

After playing his first live game, Magtoto discovered his knack for reading players and
eventually stopped playing online, preferring to play at live tables.

“Unfortunately, I haven’t had the bankroll to play at the level I want, but this win will help
change that.”

Harrah’s Resort Atlantic City is the fourth stop of the 2009/2010 WSOPO Circuit Events.
With one event now completed at Harrah’s AC, the tournament has now attracted more
than 1,056 total entries and has awarded in excess of $307,296 in total prize money.  

Still to come are 16 more events and 29 nightly (single-day) satellites which begin at 3 pm
and 7pm.  The WSOP Circuit at Harrah’s Resort Atlantic City continues through December
20th.

Ty Stewart – Director, Sponsorship and Licensing, WSOP
Craig Abrahams – Director, Broadcasting and New Media, WSOP
Seth Palansky – Communications Director, WSOP


Executive Staff, World Series of Poker Circuit – Harrah’s Resort Atlantic City

Jay Snowden – Senior Vice President and General Manager
Alyce Parker – Director of Public Affairs
John Arthur – Poker Room Manager and Tournament Director
2009 World Series of Poker WSOP Circuit Harrahs Atlantic City Event #1 Winner
Poker Stars