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2009 Harvey's Lake Tahoe
Event 18 - $5,000 Buy-in No Limit Holdem Championship. Final Results. 2009 Harvey's Lake Tahoe WSOP Circuit Events.

2009 Harvey's Lake Tahoe
World Series of Poker Circuit Events
Official Results
World Series of Poker (WSOP) Circuit Results
2009 Harvey's Lake Tahoe Championship Results
2009 World Series of Poker Circuit
Season Six
Harvey’s Lake Tahoe
Event #18
Main Event Championship
No-Limit Hold’em
Buy-In:  $5,000 (+150)
Total Entries:  64
Total Prize Pool:  $299,400
Matt Keikoan
Final Results:
Place
Name
Hometown
Prize
To view the complete schedule and results for the 2009 Harvey's Lake Tahoe WSOP Circuit Events, click on the link below:

2009 WSOP Circuit Harvey's Lake Tahoe Schedule and Results
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Matt Keikoan
Justin Hallstrom
John Goodger
Ari Engel
Tommy Vedes
Roger Sippl
David Woo
Tim Davey
John McNeilly
San Rafael, CA
Lodi, CA
Montreal, Canada
Las Vegas, NV
Las Vegas, NV
Woodside, CA
Atlanta, GA
Morgan Hill, CA
San Francisco, CA
$106,435
$56,886
$39,820
$28,144
$21,557
$17,066
$13,174
$9,581
$6,737
Poker Pro Matt Keikoan Wins Harvey’s Lake
Tahoe Championship

Former Gold Bracelet Winner Collects $106,435 in Latest
WSOP Circuit Main Event

Final Table Battle Lasts Nine Hours, with Keikoan
Outplaying a Talented Lineup

Stateline, NV (November 16, 2009) – When Matt Keikoan won his first gold bracelet at the
2008 World Series of Poker, he instantly knew the victory was a major breakthrough.  Not
only did Keikoan manage to outlast a huge field of 1,593 entrants, he also won a whopping
$550,601 in prize money.  His win, which occurred in the $2,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em
event, was a relief for a popular player who paid his dues for four seemingly long years
playing on the poker tournament circuit.  The financial windfall and confidence builder also
gave Keikoan the option of playing in even more future events.  
   
Yet Keikoan insists that his half-a-million dollar win 18 months ago was not life-changing.  
As a player with financial backers as well as the responsibilities of being a father to a 7-
year-old daughter, he felt compelled to try even harder, by entering even more
tournaments and sustaining his momentum on the circuit.  That translated into the rather
obligatory decision to attend the biggest annual tournament series in Northern Nevada,
held at Harvey’s Lake Tahoe, which is relatively close to his home in San Rafael, CA.
Keikoan won the latest WSOP Circuit championship, which took place the Harvey’s Resort
and Casino.  The 41-year-old poker pro collected $106,435 for his victory.  He was also
presented with a gold ring, the ultimate token of achievement for winning a WSOP Circuit
championship.  This victory now gives Keikoan nearly $1.2 in career winnings in WSOP-
related tournaments.

“I live only about three hours away from here,” Keikoan said following his victory.  “I used
to come here all the time on vacation when I was a kid.  I really love it here at Lake Tahoe.”
This year’s Main Event championship (Event #18) at Harvey’s attracted a modest-sized field
of 64 players, generating $299,400 in prize money.  The top nine finishers, which meant
only the final table participants, collected payouts.  All the No-Limit Hold’em action took
place over a two-day period inside the poker room and special events area, which was
packed with players and spectators.

Keikoan did not start out as the favorite.  When final table play began, the chip leader was
poker pro and fellow former WSOP Gold bracelet winner David Woo.  But the top two
finishers, including Keikoan, came from among the shorter stacks, starting off in 6th and 7th
places, respectively.  Woo did not fare well, ultimately finishing in seventh place.  Also
present was two-time WSOP Circuit gold ring winner Ari Engel – who came in fourth.  The
top ten finalists, with their chips counts when the final table began play at 6 pm on a
Monday night on the shores of South Lake Tahoe, were as follows:

SEAT 1:        Tim Davey                  80,000 in chips
SEAT 2:        Roger Sippl                125,000 in chips
SEAT 3:        John Goodger            130,000 in chips
SEAT 4:        John McNeilly             84,000 in chips
SEAT 5:        Tommy Vedes           186,000 in chips
SEAT 6:        Matt Keikoan            117,000 in chips
SEAT 7:        David Woo                286,000 in chips
SEAT 8:        Justin Hallstrom        89,000 in chips
SEAT 9:        Ari Engel                   118,000 in chips
SEAT 10:      Steve Kujubu            86,000 in chips

It took over eight hours to play down to the final two, which ended up being Matt Keikoan
versus Justin Hallstrom.  Keikoan enjoyed about a 5 to 1 chip advantage when the duel
began.  The action lasted another hour before the final hand was dealt out at about 3 am.  
Hallstrom, sensing he had to make a bold move and try to double up, moved all-in with A-5.  
Keikoan looked down and saw A-K and snap-called.  A king on the flop all but ended
Hallstrom’s shot of a comeback.  Keikoan ended up scooping the final pot of the tournament
with a pair of kings.

“I’m really excited to win, but I’m also really tired,” Keikoan said.  “There were some good
players here.  But I always feel comfortable playing at Lake Tahoe because I have come
here to the Circuit each year it’s been held.  It’s kind of a home field advantage for me, I
believe.”

The runner up was Justin Hallstrom, a 33-year-old police officer from Lodi, CA.  Hallstrom
played marvelously throughout the long ordeal.  But he was never quite able to catch the
key hand which might have enabled him to overtake the determined former WSOP winner.  
Hallstrom, who previously won a major event held at North Lake Tahoe back in 2006,
collected a nice payout totaling $56,886.

Finishing in third place was John Goodger, an English-born author and residential developer
now living in Montreal, Quebec (Canada).  Goodger was a force throughout the tournament,
but finally went out holding top pair, which lost to Matt Keikoan’s two pair.  Goodger moved
all-in after flopping a pair of kings.  But Keikoan managed to hit bottom two pair on the flop,
which made for Goodger’s worst nightmare.  Goodger, the author of the novel “The
Druperman Tapes,” which is an action-adventure story set in Las Vegas, earned a nice
tournament royalty amounting to $39,820.
  
The fourth-place finisher was Ari Engel, an online poker pro from Las Vegas, NV.  Engel had
a wonderful opportunity to double up late when his K-8 connected for a pair of kings on the
flop.  Matt Keikoan sat sour faced with pocket fives and barely had Engel covered in chips,
with two cards still to come.  Keikoan was down to just two outs (fives) when the river card
was dealt.  It was Engel’s worst nightmare, a five – making trips for Keikoan.  That hand
was arguably the biggest of the tournament and propelled Keikoan on to victory.  Engel
stood up and graciously shook the hand of Keikoan, who suddenly realized he was now
much closer to the finish line with the checkered flag.  Engel, the winner of previous WSOP
Circuit events held at Caesars Atlantic City and Caesars Palace Las Vegas, had to settle for
fourth place, which paid $28,144.
  
Tommy Vedes, a.k.a. “The Mad Cyprian,” finished in fifth place after taking two beats.  First,
he took a tough hit when John Goodger drew out with the inferior hand, by catching a flush
on the river.  That ripped away 75 percent of Vedes’ stack.  The remaining chips were
ditched to Ari Engel.  Vedes moved all-in with 6-5 suited, hoping to steal a round of blinds
and antes.  Engel had pocket jacks, and naturally called.  There was no deck magic left for
Vedes, who ended up taking home $21,557 in prize money.  The self-described poker
grinder from Las Vegas has been hot lately.  In addition to making this final table, Vedes
also won a major World Poker Tour event held a few weeks ago.
  
The sixth-place finisher was Roger Sippl, a retired part-time poker player from Woodside, CA
who goes by the nickname “Crazy Old Man.”  Sippl seemed to do the sane thing when he
moved all-in with pocket fours.  But his underpair was ultimately steamrolled by Tommy
Vedes, who made an obligatory call holding pocket queens.  Sippl failed to improve his
hand, which resulted in a $17,066 payday.
  
Former WSOP gold bracelet winner David Woo took a horrible beat and finished in seventh
place.  Woo was the early chip leader but lost his momentum a few hours into play.  On his
final hand, Woo set his opponent up beautifully.  Ari Engel had three-bet pre-flop several
times from the button, each time forcing an increasingly annoyed Woo to lay down his
hand.  But Woo trapped Engel the final time, when he opened up with a raise and Engel re-
raised all-in.  Woo instantly called, tabling pocket queens.  Engel winced and showed A-9.  
The flop didn’t help Engel.  But he caught a nine on the turn and picked up a flush draw,
which suddenly made things interesting.  Then, distracter struck for Woo.  Wham!  An ace
rained down on the river, giving Engel two pair.  Woo was punch drunk and staggered
away from the final table with a disappointing seventh place finish, worth $13,174 – the
equivalent of getting an all-you-can-eat coupon for free salad at an expensive steakhouse.
  
Tim Davey, a contractor from Morgan Hill, CA nailed down eighth place.  He arrived with the
lowest stack and was eliminated trying to semi-bluff with K-8 when the flop came with all
low cards.  But chip leader David Woo was slow playing pocket queens and made an easy
call with his huge stack.  Davey failed to connect on the turn and river and went out with
$9,581 in prize money.  Davey has previous cashes at both the WSOP in Las Vegas and
WSOP Circuit at Harvey’s Lake Tahoe.
  
The ninth-place finisher was John McNeilly, from Sonoma, CA.  He moved all-in on what
turned out to be his final hand holding pocket nines.  Matt Keikoan woke up with pocket
kings and reflex-called the large raise.  McNeilly failed to improve and became the first
official casualty of the final nine.  McNeilly -- a sports coach, wine connoisseur, and part-time
poker player -- received a payout totaling $6,737.
  
The tenth-place position ended up as the bubble finisher, which is the worst place to finish
in any poker tournament.  This is due to the fact the player spends the most time playing
without actually collecting a payout.  It was Steve Kujubu, from Sacramento, CA, who ended
up with nothing but some extra tournament experience for a noble tenth place finish.  Then,
there were 54 others player who do not receive the notoriety of being mentioned, but shall
be seen perhaps another time, at future final tables – both real and imagined.
With all 18 events now completed at this year’s WSOP Circuit at Harvey’s, the world most
prestigious tournament series attracted a grand total of 2,664 entries and has awarded
$1,109,768 in prize money.  Last year’s similar WSOP Circuit at Lake Tahoe attracted 2,163
entrants, although there were fewer events.  Still, the total number of tournament entries
increased by 23 percent over last year’s series.  Harvey’s Lake Tahoe is one of only two
venues which hosted a WSOP Circuit event in all six seasons; the other being Harrah’s
Atlantic City.

This was the third stop of the 2009-2010 WSOP Circuit season – following successful
events already completed in Chicago and Southern Indiana.  The next WSOP Circuit stop
takes place at Harrah’s Atlantic City and runs December 4th through 20th.  There will also
be a WSOP Satellite series taking place at Harrah’s New Orleans next month, from
December 8th through 20th.


Executive Staff at Harvey’s Lake Tahoe

Tournament Director – Janis Sexton
Harrah’s Lake Tahoe Race and Sportsbook Manager – Steve Schorr
Harvey’s Lake Tahoe Poker Room Manager – Vince Contaxis
2009 Harvey's Lake Tahoe WSOP Circuit Championship Event Winner