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2010 Caesars Atlantic City
Event 3 - $300 Buy-in No Limit Holdem Final Results. 2010 Caesars Atlantic City WSOP Circuit Events.

2010 Caesars Atlantic City
World Series of Poker Circuit Events
Official Results
World Series of Poker (WSOP) Circuit Results
2010 Caesars Atlantic City Event #3 Results
2009/2010 World Series of Poker Circuit
Final Results: Caesars Atlantic City
Event #3
No Limit Hold’em
Buy-In: $300 (+40)
Total Entries:  662
Total Prize Pool:  $192,642
March 5-6, 2010
Earnest Whistler
Final Results:
Place
Name
Hometown
Prize
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
Earnest Whistler
Viheet Pahuja
Adam Lippert
David Corazza
Jason DeLozier
Irek Jozwiak
Timothy Goenert
Richard Grazul
George Walther
Thomas Wagner
Jason Gardner
Timothy James Lyons
Eligene Gorelik
Harry Cardillo
Joseph Kelley
Vincent Guarino
Robert Bethea
Kevin Murray
Stephen Reynolds
Norm Liberman
Timothy Finne
Marco Imbastaro
Sean Post
Raymond Palmieri
Michael Sites
Fred Winkelman
Donna Dicresento
Ernest Ignacio
James Daniel Cook
Michael James Durette
Blake Mason
Keith S. Watson
Kenneth S.Laird
Samir Mikal Hickson
Joshua Brikis
Stefano S. Stefanidis
Souvanh Vilayuanh
Peter Piorkowski
Eric Herget
Damian Perez, Jr.
Dennis Kein
Robert Fetko
Mitchel Friedman
Lester Dinunzio
Richard Sarkinsian
Travell Thomas
Brian Katz
Armando Pagliari
Tam Ly
George Machesic
Mark Abrahams
Christian Kehler
Paul Mangiafico
Michael Jonny
Jeffrey Neuman
Patrick Rush
Lawrence Rada
Michael Muniz
Charles Cox
Geoffrey Desobry
Joseph Lucchetta
Jamie Slaughart
Brian Bayley
Fairfax, VA
New York, NY
Brooklyn, NY
Honesdale, PA
Arlington, VA
Frederick, MD
Rigaud, Canada
Kearny, NJ
Huntington Stat., NY
Abingdon, MD
$53,940
$27,933
$15,411
$13,485
$11,559
$9,632
$7,706
$5,779
$3,853
$2,119
$2,119
$2,119
$1,734
$1,734
$1,734
$1,348
$1,348
$1,348
$963
$963
$963
$963
$963
$963
$963
$963
$963
$674
$674
$674
$674
$674
$674
$674
$674
$674
$578
$578
$578
$578
$578
$578
$578
$578
$578
$482
$482
$482
$482
$482
$482
$482
$482
$482
$385
$385
$385
$385
$385
$385
$385
$385
$385
Whistling Dixie

Earnest Whistler Wins WSOP Circuit Event and $53,940
Top Prize

Virginian Wins First Gold Ring at Caesars Atlantic City

Atlantic City, NJ – Most poker tournaments reach a stage at which there is a definite turning
point, a fateful series of events where momentum decidedly shifts towards one player and
abandons another.  The most recent WSOP Circuit tournament held at Caesars Atlantic City
reached that point when play became three handed.

Three players battled it out for more than four hours before the self-admitted underdog in
the fight, a 41 year old network engineer from Fairfax, VA named Earnest Whistler, made a
startling comeback and vanquished two far more experienced poker tournament pros.  
Indeed, Whistler managed not just the unthinkable act of defeating Goliath.  In fact, he
whipped two Goliaths.  The remnants of the final table and tournament room resembled
the epic ancient battlefield at Carthage.  All that was missing were the fading flames of the
pyres and motionless bodies, although 661 lifeless former tournament souls were missing
when the newest poker conqueror was crowned.

Amongst the 661 players getting their collective tails kicked were two New Yorkers, Adam
“Lippy” Lippert and Vinny Pahuja, who have a combined dozen tournament wins and more
than $1.6 million between them.  Contrast this with Whistler, with one lone unremarkable
cash in a B-level tournament, and you have all the makings of a classic upset.  That’s
exactly what it was, with Whistler catching a gratuitous flurry of cards when play became
short handed which provided the propulsion towards the most satisfying of victories.

The three handed battle with Whistler, Lippert, and Pahuja at center stage was full of
extraordinary hands and contentious emotions.  At several points, heated words were
exchanged.  One could argue emotions were fueled by the rank amateur far outperforming
expectations, lighting the fuses of frustration within Lippert and Pahuja.  It was Pahuja in
particular who grew increasingly agitated with the course of events.  As his chip lead
gradually evaporated and then disappeared altogether, the poker pro made no attempt to
hide his aggravation.  Caught in the crossfire was Whistler, who could only marvel at being
at sitting a major tournament final table at the first time.  Whistler collected the top cash
prize totaling $53,939 plus his first gold ring, which is the ultimate token of achievement
presented to all tournament champions who win WSOP Circuit events around the country.

This was the third of 12 WSOP Circuit events on this year’s Caesars Atlantic City schedule.  
The tournament attracted 662 entrants.  After most of the field was eliminated on day one
which clocked in at 14 hours, six tables of survivors returned on day two and played
another lengthy session, which lasted another 16 hours and ended well past midnight.
The top 63 finishers divided prize money from a $192,642 prize pool.

Final table play began on a Saturday night inside the Palladium Arena at Caesars.  The
only previous WSOP Circuit winner was two-time former champ Adam “Lippy” Lippert, who
began play in eighth place, but who would ultimately manage to shape the course of
events which unfolded and produced the latest winner.  Long Islander George Walther
arrived at the finale with a slight chip lead, but soon became a non factor within only a few
hands.  Vinny Pahuja appeared to be the player to watch, and did not disappoint as what
some would describe as the finale favorite.  Earnest Whistler ended up playing a duel role,
that of the wild card and the joker.  The wide scattering of chips as play began made the
competition one of the most uncertain finales of the season.  Indeed, the final table was a
wide open affair, and given the low blinds (16,000-8,000), all the stacks at the table had
time to patiently wait it out for the best possible situation.  The nine finalists and their
starting chip counts were as follows:

Seat        Player                              Hometown                 Chip Count
1              Tim Goenert                      Montreal, Canada        500,000
2              Earnest Whistler               Fairfax, VA                   426,000
3              Adam “Lippy” Lippert        Brooklyn, NY                224,000
4              George Walther                Huntington, NY            690,000
5              Vinny Pahuja                     New York, NY               653,000
6              Irek Zoziak                        Frederick, MD              278,000
7              David V. Corazza               Honesdale, PA            572,000
8              R.J. Grazul                         Kearny, NJ                   214,000
9              Jason DeLozier                 Arlington, VA               410,000

Final table player introductions can be seen here:  http://www.twitvid.com/9B6FC

Players were eliminated in the following order:

Ninth Place:  A Nightmare for the Early Chip Leader
George Walther, a retired phone company worker, was disconnected from the final table
and went out only 30 minutes into play.  One can only describe Walther’s experience as a
disaster.  He bluffed off most of his stack just as play began and then went bust a short
time later holding A 4 against pocket 9’s.  Walther managed to catch a 4 on the flop which
provided some hope.  But he got no further help from the deck and had to settle for
$3,853.  Walther also managed to finish in the top 12 percent of the field at last year’s
WSOP Main Event, certainly an impressive accomplishment.        

Eighth Place:  R.J. is D.O.A.
R.J. Grazul, a telecommunications technician from Kearney, NJ played well, but ultimately
busted out.  Grazul was down to his last 100,000 in chips and made what turned out to
be a fateful move with pocket 9’s, which were hammered by the supreme pre flop Hold’em
hand, pocket A’s.  This was the third time Grazul has entered a WSOP Circuit event, and
the third time indeed turned out to be a charm, worth $5,779 in prize money.

Seventh Place:  Another Big Stack Bites the Dust
Tim Goernert, a business owner from Montreal, Canada had plenty of chips early, but ran
cold as the tournament progressed.  He was down to about 200,000 and was the lowest
stack size when he moved all in holding A Q.  His raise was called instantly and
subsequently was dominated by A K.  When a K came on flop, that essentially ended
Goernert’s chance of making a comeback.  However, the poker player from Quebec could
certainly be proud of his seventh place showing, which paid $7,706.

Sixth Place:  Jozwiak Out Sixth
Irek Jozwiak, a technician from Frederick, MD went bust when his all in bet with A J was
called by a rival holding pocket K’s.  Jozwiak failed to catch either of his cards and ended
up as the sixth place finisher.  The former U.S. Marine had previously cashed in several
smaller tournaments and also won a major event held in Atlantic City just a few years ago.  
He ended up with a nice payout from this tournament totaling $9,632.

Fifth Place:  D-Lo Goes
Jason DeLozier (a.k.a. “D-Lo”), a consultant from Arlington, VA hung on for more than
three hours but ultimately crashed in fifth place.  He was dealt pocket 9’s on his final
hand, which were dominated by the chip leader’s pocket 10’s.  A 10 flopped, which all but
discharged DeLozier from the competition.  He ended up losing the big pot to a full house.  
DeLozier played excellent poker over two days and could be proud of his win, which
amounted to $11,559.

Fourth Place:  Corazza Misses Straight Draw
David V. Corazza, a builder and contractor from Honesdale, PA nailed down fourth place.  
On his final hand he moved all in with an open ended straight draw, but missed.  He ended
up losing his whole stack to a pair of fives.  Nevertheless, with this finish, Corazza added to
a nice record of accomplishment in tournaments, as this was his fifth time to cash in a major
tournament.  Fourth place paid $13,485.  “Not bad for playing poker for a couple of days,”
he said.

Third Place:  Two Time Former Gold Ring Winner Misses Third Attempt
Adam “Lippy” Lippert, a highly-accomplished professional poker player from Brooklyn, NY
put on a clinic in how to overcome adversity.  He arrived at the final table as one of the
shortest stacks, and managed to scratch and claw his way all the way up to a third place
finish.  Lippert arguably might have won this event had he not taken a brutal beat when
play was at three handed.  He had a good sized stack and had his adversary, Ernie
Whistler, covered with pocket K’s versus A 10.  But an A came on the turn which changed
the entire outcome of the tournament.  Lippert managed to re-stage another comeback
and came within reach of the chip lead.  But he ended up losing another big pot late which
sealed his fate.  Lippert, a two time WSOP Circuit gold ring winner, with previous victories
at Harrah’s New Orleans and Caesars Indiana collected third place prize money totaling
$15,411.  He now has more than $700,000 in live career tournament winnings.

Second Place:  Vinny Vanishes
Vinny Pahuja, a 30 year old poker pro from New York City experienced a roller coaster
ride of emotions.  At one point, he appeared well on his way towards his fifth major
tournament victory within just three years.  Then, late in the finale he became severely
short stacked.  That did not stop Pahuja from staging a major comeback and drawing
about even in chips with his final foe.  But in the end, Pahuja succumbed to Whistler’s
unconventional playing style and a rush of favorable cards which made it all but impossible
to overcome.  The final hand of the tournament came when Pahuja was low on chips and
moved all in with K Q.  Whistler called with A Q.  The final board came QJJ99 giving both
Whistler and Pahuja two pair.  But Whistler held the better kicker with an A.  Pahuja, a
former Wall Street analyst who has earned more than $800,000 in career tournament
winnings, collected $27,933 in a less than satisfying performance as the runner up.

The final hand of the tournament can be seen here:  http://www.twitvid.com/C579B

First Place:  Whistling Dixie
Earnest Whistler, a 41 year old network engineer from Fairfax, VA earned $53,940 plus a
gold ring in what was his first tournament victory ever.

The WSOP Circuit at Caesars Atlantic City continues through March 14.  This year’s
schedule includes 12 gold ring events, along with multiple second-chance tournaments,
single table and mega satellites, plus cash games going around the clock inside the
Caesars Poker Room.  This marks the fifth straight year that Caesars Atlantic City has
been a part of the WSOP Circuit.  This is the seventh WSOP Circuit stop of the 2009-2010
season following previous tournaments held in Chicago, Southern Indiana, Lake Tahoe,
Harrah’s Atlantic City, Tunica, and Council Bluffs.


Executive Staff, World Series of Poker Circuit – Caesars Atlantic City

Joe Domenico – Senior Vice President and General Manager
Vice President of Table Games – Fred Niceta
Public Relations Specialist – Christopher Jonic
Table Games Manager (Poker) – Thomas McDonough III
Poker Pit Manager – Jake Devries
To view the complete schedule and results for the 2010 Caesars Atlantic City WSOP Circuit Events, click on the link below:

2010 WSOP Circuit Caesars Atlantic City Schedule and Results
Poker Stars
2010 Caesars Atlantic City WSOP Circuit Event #3 Winner Earnest Whistler