WSOP & WPT Tournament Blog

2009 World Series of Poker Circuit
Caesars Atlantic City
Event #9
Championship Event
No-Limit Hold’em
Buy-In: $5,000 (+150)
Total Entries: 208
Total Prize Pool: $1,009,200
March 12-14, 2009

Final Results:

1 Samuel Chartier Montreal, Quebec (Canada) $322,944
2 John Nixon Toronto, Ontario (Canada) 177,619
3 Francis “Frank” Vizza Cold Spring Harbor, NY 90,828
4 Michael Michnik Voorhees, NJ 70,644
5 Alex “Diesel” Bolotin Brooklyn, NY 60,552
6 Matt Brady Havertown, PA 50,460
7 Jason Young Suffern, NY 40,368
8 Chris Klodnicki Voorhees, NJ 30,276
9 David Zeitlin Brooklyn, NY 20,184
10 Casey Jarzabek St. Catharines, Ontario (Canada) 12,110
11 Mike “GoLeafsGoEh” Leah Toronto, Ontario (Canada) 12,110
12 Tony Bueti Mt. Kisco, NY 12,110
13 David Fox Corum, NY 10,092
14 Tom Sheets Norfolk, VA 10,092
15 Michael “Little Man” Sica N. Brunswick, NJ 10,092
16 Larry Vance Lakewood, CA 8,073
17 Michael J. Katz Manalapan, NJ 8,073
18 Anthony Newman Brooklyn, NY 8,073
19 Adam B. Sanders Atlantic Heights, NJ 6,055
20 Steve Cho Derwood, MD 6,055
21 Craig Boyd Manchester, MO 6,055
22 Robert Willis Bellmawr, NJ 6,055
23 Robert Elias Seaford, NY 6,055
24 Igor Borukhov Rego Park, NY 6,055
25 Jeffrey M. Izes Washington Crossing, PA 6,055
26 John Mcewn Nazareth, PA 6,055
27 Richard Coehn Philadelphia, PA 6,055

Canadian Club Straight-Up: Make it a Double

Caesars Atlantic City Tournament Series Concludes with More Than 5,000 Total Players and $3 Million in Prize Money

Atlantic City, NJ (March 14, 2009) – The seventh of ten World Series of Poker Circuit tournaments on the 2008-2009 season schedule has just ended. The $5,000 buy-in championship event at Caesars Atlantic City was won by Samuel Chartier. He is a 23-year-old professional poker player from Montreal, Quebec (Canada). As a reward for his first major tournament victory ever, Chartier collected $322,944 in prize money.

The tournament attracted 208 entrants. The total prize pool amounted to $1,009,200. The top 27 finishers collected prize money. All of the action took place inside the Palladium Ballroom, steps away from the famous Atlantic City boardwalk.

The tournament began with honorary emcee Dennis Phillips announcing “Shuffle Up and Deal.” Phillips, from St. Louis, is best-known as the third-place finisher in last year’s WSOP Main Event. Other poker notables who played in the championship event included 2008 Ladies World Poker Champion Svetlana Gromenkova. Other former WSOP gold bracelet winners included Jason Young, Chris Reslock, and Cliff “Johnny Bax” Josephy. The defending Caesars champion was Eric “Sheets” Haber, who also participated. But only Jason Young survived past the first day, who ended up making it all the way to the final table.

Day two played from 52 players down to the final nine. The final table was played on Saturday, March 14th in front of a packed ballroom full of spectators. The battle lasted eight hours. In addition to the mix of poker locals mostly from New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania, the finale included two Canadians. In fact, four Canadians took the top 11 payout spots. No one could have guessed that Canadians would also end up finishing first and second, and taking what amounted to nearly half of the total prize pool.

When action resumed on day three, Alex “Diesel” Bolotin had a sizable chip lead over his opponents, with Frank Vizza in second place. No player was severely short-stacked, which meant the WSOP Circuit championship and gold ring was within the grasp of every player at the table. Sitting quietly among several prior tournament winners in seat nine was Samuel Chartier. He started ranked eighth in chips. The top nine finishers were:

9th Place – About 65 minutes into play, David Zeitlin (Brooklyn, NY) moved all-in with pocket sixes. Frank Vizza woke up in the blind with pocket aces and instantly called. Vizza’s big pair ended up making aces full on the hand, which meant Zeitlin became the final table’s first casualty. The former attorney-turned-poker player from Brooklyn, NY received a cash settlement totaling $20,184. Zeitlin now has nearly $750,000 in career tournament winnings – including previous wins at the Borgata, Taj Mahal, and Foxwoods. He won his way into this event via a satellite tournament.

8th Place – A few hands later, Chris Klodnicki (Voorhees, NJ) was eliminated when he was dealt pocket jacks. This time, Frank Vizza had pocket kings and called the all-in raise holding the best hand. Vizzo big pocket pair held up again, knocking out Klodnicki. While Vizza was busy stacking another 300,000 in chips and taking over the chip lead from Alex Bolotin, Klodnicki was forced to settle for an eighth place finish, which paid $30,276. At age 23, Klodnicki’s biggest claim to fame so far is his 12th-place finish in the 2008 WSOP Main Event, which paid nearly $600,000.

7th Place – About 70 hands into the finale, Jason Young (Suffern, NY) tried to steal a pot with a bluff, which failed miserably. Down to less than 200,000 in his stack, he moved all-win with two overcards but no pair (K-Q) to a flop which showed 8-4-3. Samuel Chartier made an easy call and tabled pocket jacks. Young failed to improve and ended up going out in seventh place, good for $40,368. Young was the winner of a WSOP gold bracelet in the $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em Shootout last year.

6th Place – Vizza lost the chip lead temporarily when Alex Bolotin doubled up to nearly 1,000,000 in his stack. But he regained the chip lead when his pocket kings crushed Matt Brady’s pocket tens. That left Brady as the smallest stack. He was eliminated a few hands later on a brutal beat. Brady had pocket eights. Samuel Chartier had pocket threes. Four spades came on board and Chartier had the only spade, which made a flush – and thus Brady was gone. Sixth place paid $50,460. Matt Brady (Havertown, PA) now has 51 cashes, 25 final table appearances and over $2 million in career tournament winnings – all since 2006.

5th Place – After another hours passed, Alex “Diesel” Bolotin (Brooklyn. NY) went out next. The early chip leader suffered a brutally cold run of cards during his closing stages of the tournament. On his final hand he was forced to move all-in with K-3 offsuit, which lost to Frank Vizza’s A-Q. Bolotin, a 28-year-old poker player was once a weightlifting champion, carried away $60,552 in prize money as the fifth-place finisher.

4th Place – Entering the fifth hour of play, Michael Michnik (Voorhees, NJ) got all his chips in with A-J. He was called by Samuel Chartier, also holding A-J. Just about everyone expected a split pot, but the board came with four consecutive clubs. Chartier had a club in his hand – good for a flush — and scooped up the 700,000 pot. As he crowd buzzed, all Michnik could do was shake his head in disbelief and he walked away in a cold daze with $70,644 for fourth place. The student-turned-poker pro is close friends with Chris Klondicki, who also made it to the final table and finished eighth.

3rd Place – Prior to the dinner break, Samuel Chartier continued to roll as he took down a 1,200,000 pot at Frank Rizza’s expense. His all-in river bet went uncalled, and Chartier dragged the huge pot seizing the chip lead for the first time. After returning from the break, Vizza’s misfortune continued. He finally moved all-in with A-2 and was eliminated by John Nixon’s K-J after a jack fell on the river, good for best pair. Vizza (Cold Spring Harbor, NY), a commodity trader who won a WSOP Circuit event ring at Harrah’s Atlantic City in 2007, earned $90,828 as the third-place finisher. With the last American out, the showdown became an all-Canadian matchup.

2nd Place – When heads-up play began, Montreal’s Samuel Chartier held a 5 to 3 chip lead over Toronto’s John Nixon. The rival countrymen battled back and forth for about a dozen hands. Then, Nixon re-raised all-in with A-10 and Chartier called with A-J. The flop came A-J-5 and Nixon was left nearly drawing dead. All he and his supported could do was watch in disappointment as the final board showed A-J-5-5-10. Both players made two pair, but the aces and jacks gave Chartier the victory.

“I like playing heads-up,” Nixon stated afterward. “I liked my chances playing him heads-up, but then I got it in bad – and lost.” As the runner up, Nixon, a 23-year-old student, received $177,619.

1st Place – Samuel Chartier collected first-place prize money totaling $322,944. He also received a gold ring, the ultimate token of achievement for WSOP Circuit championship events. Chartier was also awarded a $10,000 seat into the 2009 WSOP Main Event to be played in Las Vegas in July.

“It’s amazing. I can’t describe the feeling I have right now,” Chartier said in a post-tournament interview. “I knew the final table lineup was pretty tough so I hoped to pick up a few good spots to put my money in, and that’s what I managed to do.”

Despite a short resume of tournament cashes, Chartier has enjoyed success in four different countries. His previous tournament successes came on the European Poker Tour at Barcelona championship (in Spain), the British Columbia Poker Open (in Canada), and the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (in Bahamas). This was his second time to cash on American soil and was his first and only WSOP-related in-the-money finish.

Once again, Caesars Atlantic City hosted one of the most successful turnouts of the year. More than 5,000 players entered 11 tournaments, generating more than $3 million in total prize money. This is the third consecutive year Caesars has hosted a WSOP Circuit stop, which has consistently proven to be one of the most popular attractions on the schedule. Special recognition goes out to Dan Nita (Senior Vice President and General Manager), Fred Niceta (Vice President of Table Games), Paul A. Natello (Director of Table Games), Tom McDonough III (Tournament Director) and Jake Devries (Poker Pit Manager) for another successful series of tournaments at Caesars Atlantic City.

The World Series of Poker Circuit continues with its next stop at Harrah’s Rincon, near of San Diego, which runs March 18th through April 1st.

Jeffrey Pollack – Commissioner, WSOP
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 – Caesars Atlantic City

Dan Nita – Senior Vice President and General Manager
Tom Wiedmayer – Assistant General Manager
Vice President of Table Games – Fred Niceta
Director of Table Games – Paul A. Natello
Public Relations Specialist – Christopher Jonic
Table Games Manager (Poker) – Thomas McDonough III
Poker Pit Manager – Jake Devries

2009 World Series of Poker Circuit
Caesars Atlantic City
Event #10
Turbo No-Limit Hold’em
Buy-In: $200 (+30)
Total Entries: 295
Total Prize Pool: $59,000
March 13, 2009

Final Results:

1 Ryan “Bink” Miller Basking Ridge, NJ $18,880
2 Felix Mok Brooklyn, NY 10,384
3 Frank Ryzik Manalapan, NJ 5,310
4 Brian Baglin Philadephia, PA 4,130
5 Al Riccobono Ossining, NY 3,540
6 Daniel Gottlieb E. Elmhurst, NY 2,950
7 Michael Coombs Colts Neck, NY 2,360
8 Jay Johnson Philadephia, PA 1,770
9 Matthew Chang Rockville, MD 1,180
10 Peter Mauro Douglas, NY 708
11 Jeff Crews 708
12 John Aryee-Annan 708
13 Phillip Haley 590
14 Michael Hoppes 590
15 James Boyle 590
16 Patrick Foumier 472
17 Sue Boyle 472
18 Neal Pherr 472
19 William J. Milazzo 354
20 John Howarth 354
21 Jason Ward 354
22 Adam Green 354
23 Charles Staubs 354
24 Kevin Boher 354
25 Andrew Gonzalez 354
26 Wallace Williams 354
27 Jason Eisele 354

Ryan “Bink” Miller Wins $18,880 and Turbo No-Limit Hold’em Championship at Caesars

Second Turbo Event on WSOP Circuit Schedule Draws Another Sizable Field

Atlantic City, NJ (March 13, 2009) – Caesars Atlantic City was the first World Series of Poker Circuit event to offer “Turbo No-Limit Hold’em.” The concept proved so popular with poker players last year that two such events were included on the 2009 schedule.

Turbo No-Limit Hold’em involves a normally-structured poker tournament, but with shorter rounds. In the turbo format, each round lasts only twenty minutes (instead of up to an hour for the most recent conventional tournament). Players are also given less time to act on their hands. If the clock is called on a player facing a decision, he/she is only given 30 seconds, instead of a full minute. The tournament is particularly attractive to players who cannot invest more than a day (or many hours) in one tournament, since the start to finish is completed within a single day.

The second $200 buy-in one-day turbo tournament attracted 295 entries, which generated $59,000 in prize money. The top 27 players collected payouts. All of the action took place over a two-day period inside the Palladium Ballroom, only steps away from the famous Atlantic City boardwalk.

The top five finishers were:

5th Place – Al Riccobono, a 41-year-old professional poker player from Ossining, NY. He has 14 major tournament cashes on his resume, including two in-the-money finishes at the WSOP Main Event in 2007 and 2008. He collected a fifth-place payout totaling $3,540.

4th Place – Brian Baglin, a 44-year-old restaurant managing partner from Philadelphia, PA. Baglin earned $4,130 for fourth place.

3rd Place – Frank Ryzik, a 21-year-old student and poker player from Manalapan, NJ. He enjuoys p laying sports, rooting for the New Jersey Devils (NHL team), and plays lots of poker in his spare time. Ryzik earned $5,310 for third place.

2nd Place – Felix Mok, a poker pro from Brooklyn, NY. He has several previous cashes in WSOP-related events, World Poker Tour tournaments, and at Foxwoods. Mok collected $10,384 as the runner up.

1st Place – The winner of the second and final Turbo No-Limit Hold’em tournament at Caesars (Event #10) was Ryan “Bink” Miller. He is a 23-year-old college student at a local community college. Miler plays regularly in the no-limit cash games in the poker room at Caesars Atlantic City. In addition to poker, he enjoys snowboarding and rollerblading. As the winner, Miller received $18,880 and a gold ring, which the top prize awarding to all tournament winners at this year’s Caesars Circuit series.

Jeffrey Pollack – Commissioner, WSOP
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 – Caesars Atlantic City

Dan Nita – Senior Vice President and General Manager
Tom Wiedmayer – Assistant General Manager
Vice President of Table Games – Fred Niceta
Director of Table Games – Paul A. Natello
Public Relations Specialist – Christopher Jonic
Table Games Manager (Poker) – Thomas McDonough III
Poker Pit Manager – Jake Devries

2009 World Series of Poker Circuit
Caesars Atlantic City
Event #8
Turbo No-Limit Hold’em
Buy-In: $200 (+30)
Total Entries: 525
Total Prize Pool: $105,000
March 11, 2009

Final Results:

1 J.R. Reyes Fort Washington, MD $27,463
2 Andrew “the Vulture” Sleefe Massapequa, NY 14,489
3 Chris Biondino Baldwin, NJ 7,576
4 Brigante Per Sempre New York, NY 6,629
5 James Governa Richboro, PA 5,682
6 Alexander Pawlyk Branchburg, NJ 4,735
7 Dan Edward Weatherly Atlantic City, NJ 3,788
8 Ahup Suri Schaumburg, IL 2,841
9 Paul Dever Ocean View, NJ 1,894
10 Jesse Dale Flicker Pasadena, MD 1,041
11 Charles Levin 1,041
12 Pierre Martel 1,041
13 William Winfree 852
14 Chris J. Leight, Jr. 852
15 Peter Mylenki 852
16 Philip Chin 662
17 Edward Goldstein 662
18 Daniel Mikhlin 662
19 Keith E. Weaver 473
20 Stepehn Kmet 473
21 Wai Chui 473
22 Albert Yarboro 473
23 John Curtis 473
24 Anthony Boyd 473
25 Joseph Forman 473
26 Bae Sung Kim 473
27 Benjamin Laves 473
28 David Thomas 331
29 Jia Ming Liu 331
30 Anthony Maglione 331
31 Ron Gervolino 331
32 Michael Iannone 331
33 Mark Dalrymple 331
34 Hermen Correia 331
35 Jerry Yavner 331
36 George Bartlett 331
37 Max McAllister 284
38 Mark A. Brancato 284
39 Felix Mok 284
40 Brian Hurst 284
41 Jean Piquette 284
42 Brian Adragna 284
43 Steven Kang 284
44 Elmer Lynn 284
45 Basilios Diakokominos 236
46 Robert Zarzycki 236
47 Daniel Leo 236
48 Jonathan Savat 236
49 Steven Greenberg 236
50 Gary Humphrey 236
51 Stephen Crofott, Jr. 236
52 Jason Ray 236
53 Fred Finizio 236
54 Chris Biehl 236

J.R. Shoots Back!

Valet parker was down to just a few chips at final table, but staged dramatic comeback victory

Atlantic City, NJ (March 11, 2009) – Last year, Caesars Atlantic City was the first World Series of Poker Circuit event ever to offer what is called “Turbo No-Limit Hold’em.” The concept proved so popular with poker players that two such events were included on this year’s schedule.

Turbo No-Limit Hold’em involves a normally-structured poker tournament, but with shorter rounds. In the turbo format, each round lasts only twenty minutes (instead of up to an hour for the most recent conventional tournament). Players are also given less time to act on their hands. If the clock is called on a player facing a decision, he/she is only given 30 seconds, instead of a full minute. The tournament is particularly attractive to players who cannot invest more than a day (or many hours) in one tournament, since the start to finish is completed within a single day.

The $200 buy-in one-day turbo tournament attracted 525 entries, which generated $105,000 in prize money – minus the ($10,300) entry fees for the top two finishers in this event, who will play in tomorrow’s championship event. The top 54 players collected payouts. All of the action took place over a two-day period inside the Palladium Ballroom, only steps away from the famous Atlantic City boardwalk.

The top five finishers were:

5th Place – Jim Governa, a 63-year-old municipal worker from Richboro, PA. He has cashed previously in other WSOP-related events. The married father of two, with two grandchildren collected $5,682 for fifth place.

4th Place – Brigante Per Sempre, a 34-year-old restaurant owner from New York City. Fourth place paid $6,629.

3rd Place – Chris Biondino, a 24-year-old student and poker player from Baldwin, NJ. He finished in sixth place in a WSOP Circuit event at Caesars three years ago. He plays mostly online and watched his friend Brian Fitzpatrick with the first event at this year’s Ceasars series. Biondino received $7,576 for third place.

2nd Place – When heads-up play began, J.R. Reyes enjoyed about a 2 to 1 chip lead over Andrew “the Vulture” Sleefe. The rivals battled for about a dozen hands when the final confrontation took place. Sleefe was dealt A-Q and moved all-in. Reyes called with A-K. A queen flopped, putting Sleefe temporarily in the lead. But a king fell on the river, giving Reyes a pair of kings. He dragged the final pot of the night and was declared the winner. The runner up was Andrew “the Vulture” Sleefe. He is a 22-year-old student from Massapequa, NY. Second place paid $14,489. Sleefe also received a buy-in to main event, valued at $5,150.

1st Place – The winner of the first Turbo No-Limit Hold’em tournament at Caesars (Event #8) was J.R. Reyes from Fort Washington, MD. He is a 24-year-old valet parker, who works at Tysons Corner, in Virginia. His official first-prize payout amounted to $27,463. He also received a buy-in into the $5,000 championship event, which starts tomorrow. Reyes was also presented with the coveted gold ring, which is awarded to all WSOP Circuit champions at this year’s Caesars series.

Incredibly, Reyes was down to just three chips (3,000) at one point at the final table. That paltry sum amounted to less than one percent of the chips in play. But Reyes doubled up several times and managed to pull off a dramatic comeback en route to his first tournament win ever.

With seven events now completed at Caesars, the tournament has now attracted more than 4,000 entries and has awarded in excess of $1.7 million in total prize money. Still to come are the ladies championship, the Turbo No-Limit competition, and the Main Event. The WSOP Circuit at Caesars continues through March 14th.

Jeffrey Pollack – Commissioner, WSOP
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 – Caesars Atlantic City

Dan Nita – Senior Vice President and General Manager
Tom Wiedmayer – Assistant General Manager
Vice President of Table Games – Fred Niceta
Director of Table Games – Paul A. Natello
Public Relations Specialist – Christopher Jonic
Table Games Manager (Poker) – Thomas McDonough III
Poker Pit Manager – Jake Devries

2009 World Series of Poker Circuit
Caesars Atlantic City
Event #7
No-Limit Hold’em
Buy-In: $1,000 (+80)
Total Entries: 310
Total Prize Pool: $310,000
March 10-11, 2009

Final Results:

1 Frank Calo Syracuse, NY $96,100
2 Beroit Robichaud Montreal, Quebec (Canada) 49,600
3 Theodore Ely Brooklyn, NY 24,800
4 Jon Iacovelli Philadelphia, PA 21,700
5 Chris Reslock Atlantic City, NJ 18,600
6 Bob Lauria West Haven, CT 15,500
7 Jeff Papola New York, NY 12,400
8 Al Hoffman Fayetteville, NC 9,300
9 Rick Rossetti Linwood, NJ 6,200
10 Dwight Eley Rocky Mount, NC 3,720
11 Robert Elias 3,720
12 Jimmy Bailey 3,720
13 Raymond Morgan 3,100
14 Daria Geslak 3,100
15 Dennis Summers 3,100
16 Michael Faust 2,480
17 Kieth Berman 2,480
18 William Thornburg 2,480
19 Chad Loube 1,860
20 Anthony L. Hill 1,860
21 Alex Smith 1,860
22 Joanne Dorin 1,860
23 Gerald Hughes 1,860
24 Bryan Shelley 1,860
25 Steve LamaDelaine 1,860
26 Concetta Rinaldi 1,860
27 Carlos Alarcon 1,860
28 Maxime Tremblay 1,240
29 Alex Kuchik 1,240
30 Samuel Bernstein 1,240
31 Joshua Brikis 1,240
32 Quentin Battle 1,240
33 William Lee Childs, Jr. 1,240
34 Mark DeLeonardis 1,240
35 Michael “Little Man” Sica 1,240
36 Ashton Tucker 1,240

Frank Calo Wins Nearly Six Figures in Caesars Tournament

Quebec’s Beroit Robichaud Finishes as Runner Up

Atlantic City, NJ (March 11, 2009) – The story of Frank Calo’s first live poker tournament victory began at home on his personal computer. By his estimation, Calo plays about 750 poker tournaments online each month. Many of those tournaments are smaller events, including sit-n-gos. But the inestimable variety of poker situations Calo has faced on his computer screen has paid off handsomely, to the tune of a first-place cash prize totaling $96,100 and a World Series of Poker Circuit gold ring.

The seventh of 11 scheduled events at the World Series of Poker Circuit concluded today at Caesars Atlantic City. This was unquestionably the most interesting final table played so far of any of the preliminary events. The finale had great drama, interesting personalities, and lots of exciting poker action which lasted nearly eight hours – the longest of any tournament at Caesars to date.

The winner Frank Calo is a 21-year-old college student. He is currently attending Syracuse University, in New York. Calo admits that he has taken a semester off from school. But he plans to return to his studies soon. Before he’s back in the classroom, one expects to see Calo in other poker tournaments, and perhaps making final tables.

The $1,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em tournament attracted 310 entries, which generated $310,000 in prize money – the most of any event held so far. The top 36 players collected payouts. All of the action took place over a two-day period inside the Palladium Ballroom, only steps away from the famous Atlantic City boardwalk.

Attendance was boosted significantly by the participation of many players visiting from Canada, particularly Quebec. Forty-five members of the Gestion Poker Tour entered this event and three finished in-the-money. One player, Benoit Robichaud made it all the way to the final table where arrived second in chips. He ended up finishing in second place. Every year, the Gestion Poker Tour selects up to four major tournament destinations for its members – with Caesars Atlantic City on this year’s schedule.

When final table play began on day two, Calo enjoyed a slight chip advantage over Robichaud — with the remaining eight players all within striking distance. It seemed any player’s tournament to win, especially since two of the players were former WSOP Circuit champions — Chris Reslock and Rick Rossetti. But in the end, it was Calo and Robichaud battling for the gold ring. Players were eliminated in the following order:

10th Place – A few hands into play, Benoit Robichaud seized the chip lead on a key hand where he moved all-in, but was not called. Half an hour later, he busted Dwight Eley in tenth place. On the hand Robichaud was dealt pocket queens against Eley’s pocket jacks. The higher pair held up, which meant Eley was eliminated as the shorter stack. Eley, who is a semi-professional bowler and owns a sporting goods shop in North Carolina, collected $3,720 in prize money.

9th Place – Rick Rossetti took a tough beat when he was all-in with pocket tens against Theodore Ely’s A-7. Just when it appeared Rossetti would double up, an ace on the river gave Ely a higher pair and busted out Rossetti in ninth place. Rossetti, who won the $5,000 buy-in WSOP Circuit championship held at Harrah’s Atlantic City in 2006 and now had more than $600,000 in lifetime tournament winnings, added $6,200 to his poker bankroll.

8th Place – No doubt the worst beat of any tournament held thus far at Caesars took place about 90 minutes into the action when Al Hoffman moved all-win with pocket kings and was called by Frank Calo, holding A-J. The flop came K-5-2, all but ending Calo’s chances of scooping the 400,000 pot. But just as it seemed all hope was gone, a 4 on the turn opened the door for Calo, who suddenly had four outs to make a straight. Kaboom! A 3 fell on the river, completing an ace-to-five straight for Calo.

Hoffman, who had flopped top set (kings), stated that he had never suffered a worse beat – a sentiment completely understood by most of the crowd who watched in shock. Hoffman, a general manager who has made a final table on the World Poker Tour, received $9,300 for eighth place.

7th Place – Jeff Papola was low on chips and tried to steal a round of blinds and antes with an all-in pre-flop raise. Bob Lauria called the raise with pocket fives. The small pair ended up making a full house, which eliminated Papola in seventh place. The student and poker player from New York City now has over $1.2 million in tournament winnings, including a third-place finish in the Aruba Poker Classic championship event. Papola received a payout totaling $12,400.

6th Place – One of the biggest hands of the tournament took place in a three-way pot between Bob Lauria, Jon Iacovelli, and Chris Reslock. Lauria was all-in with A-2, but got called by Iacovelli with A-K and Reslock with 8-8. The flop came with an eight, giving Reslock a set of eights. The big hand held up, which put Lauria out in sixth place. Lauria was one of only two players at this year’s Caesar’s series to make two final table appearances (Chris Reslock was the other). He took fourth place in Event #5. This time, Lauria’s share of the prize pool amounted to $15,500.

5th Place – The three-way pot which eliminated Lauria left Jon Iacovelli desperately low on chips. A few hands after losing most of his stack, he doubled up twice and was back in contention. Tournament veteran Chris Reslock was not so lucky. Striving for his fourth WSOP Circuit gold ring in just five years, Reslock’s chances were undercut by Benoit Robichaud. Reslock moved all-in with pocket fives, which turned out to be the wrong move at the wrong time, since Robichaud woke up with pocket aces. The rockets held up and blasted Reslock off the final table in fifth place. Reslock, who won a WSOP gold bracelet two years ago, received $18,600 in what amounted to his second final table appearance at this year’s Ceasars series.

4th Place – Iacovelli went out next when he moved all-in holding pocket sevens, which lost to a pair of nines. The 26-year-old furniture delivery man from Philadelphia took home $21,700 in prize money. Iacovelli wanted to point out that he became a proud uncle yesterday and wanted to dedicate his finish to the family’s newest member. “Michael Dino Oacovelli.”

3rd Place – A few hands later, Theodore Ely went bust when he was all-win with A-J versus Frank Calo’s A-Q. A queen on the turn left Ely drawing dead. The 30-year-old poker player from Brooklyn, NY settled for third place, which paid $24,800.

2nd Place – When heads-up play began, Frank Calo enjoyed about a 2 to 1 chip lead over Benoit Robichaud. The rivals battled for about a dozen hands before Robichaud took the chip lead with a set, versus Calo’s two pair. But Calo fought his way back and gradually regained the chip lead. The final hand of the tournament came when Calo flopped a straight and Robichaud missed a flush draw, resulting in the 21-year-old taking the top prize. As the runner up, Beroit Robichaud received a whopping $49,600 in prize money. The amount won was certainly impressive considering that Robichaud invested exactly two dollars to play in this event. He won a series of satellite events via the Gestion Poker Tour to gain his entry into this tournament.

1st Place – Frank Calo is pursuing a degree in information technology at Syracuse. The 21-year-old student certainly has a bright future ahead. He says he plans to play in more tournaments, but will continue to concentrate on online poker.
With seven events now completed at Caesars, the tournament has now attracted more than 4,000 entries and has awarded in excess of $1.7 million in total prize money. Still to come are the ladies championship, the Turbo No-Limit Hold’em competition, and the Main Event. The WSOP Circuit at Caesars continues through March 14th.

Jeffrey Pollack – Commissioner, WSOP
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 – Caesars Atlantic City

Dan Nita – Senior Vice President and General Manager
Tom Wiedmayer – Assistant General Manager
Vice President of Table Games – Fred Niceta
Director of Table Games – Paul A. Natello
Public Relations Specialist – Christopher Jonic
Table Games Manager (Poker) – Thomas McDonough III
Poker Pit Manager – Jake Devries