WSOP & WPT Tournament Blog

2009 World Series of Poker Circuit
Caesars Atlantic City
Event #6
No-Limit Hold’em
Buy-In: $500 (+70)
Total Entries: 329
Total Prize Pool: $164,500
March 9-10, 2009
Final Results:

1 Ronnie Kevin Mays Landing, NJ $50,995
2 Hermen Carriea Long Branch, NJ 26,320
3 Terry “T-Bone” Davis Murrells Inlet, SC 13,160
4 Doug Cressi Glen Cove, NY 11,515
5 John Alfera Pittsburgh, PA 9,870
6 Larry Goldstein Farmingville, NY 8,225
7 Dick Bunting Williamsburg, VA 6,580
8 Lior Rennert Lower Marion, PA 4,935
9 Dennis Levi Jersey City, NJ 3,290
10 Pierre Martel Montreal, Quebec 1,974
11 Mark Dalrymple 1,974
12 David Oshry 1,974
13 Joseph Cappuccio III 1,645
14 Dennis M. Summers 1,645
15 Thomas Barbour 1,645
16 Anthony Reed 1,316
17 Benjamin Comfort IV 1,316
18 William Sheridan 1,316
19 Frank Wong 987
20 Stephen Lee Smith 987
21 Roland Israelashvili 987
22 Keith Sopher 987
23 Joseph J. Brooks 987
24 Robert S. Gallagher 987
25 Adam L. Meisler 987
26 Minh Chung 987
27 Joe McManus 987
28 Benjamin Lester, Jr. 658
29 Paul Julius Skokloff 658
30 John C. Fones 658
31 Wasy L. Wynnyckyj, Jr. 658
32 Scott P. Griffith 658
33 Gregory S. Spurdis 658
34 Doug Carli 658
35 Michael “Sica” 658
36 Joseph Vernon 658

Local Poker Pro Ronnie Kevin Wins WSOP Circuit Event at Caesars Atlantic City

Tournament Veteran Now Has Over Half-Million Dollars in Career Winnings

Atlantic City, NJ (March 10, 2009) – If any player has paid his dues on the tournament trail, it is Ronnie Kevin. The 46-year-old poker pro from Mays Landing, NJ cashed for the first time ten years ago at the United States Poker Championship in Atlantic City. Since then, the former limo driver has finished in-the-money 35 times at major events, and has won victories at the 2005 Trump Classic and the 2006 World Poker Finals.

Kevin (real name: Souvanh Vilayvanh) won the latest World Series of Poker Circuit event held at Caesars Atlantic City. It was the sixth of 11 scheduled events. The $500 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em tournament attracted 329 entries, which generated $164,500 in prize money. 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.

Most of the field was eliminated on day one. When final table play began on day two, college student Lior Rennert enjoyed a sizable chip advantage over his rivals. However, Rennert did not last long. He busted out less than an hour into play. During much of the three-hour finale, Ronnie Kevin and Hermen Correia, who would come in second, dominated play and enjoyed chip advantages. When play became three-handed, the survivors agreed to a deal, although the tournament was played to a conclusion which determined the winner of the coveted top prize, the WSOP Circuit gold ring. Players were eliminated in the following order:

10th Place – Montreal’s Pierre Martel was the first player to exit. The President of the Gestion Poker Tour and owner of Royal Poker magazine went out unceremoniously in tenth place when he was desperately low on chips and tried to steal a round of blinds and antes with Q-10. Ronnie Kevin called the raise with pocket fives. The small pair held up, which meant Martel was out. Martel, who brought along 45 players from Quebec to play in this WSOP Circuit event, ended up with $1,974 in prize money.

9th Place – The next key hand resulted in the elimination of two players. Dennis Levi was dealt K-J. Lior Rennert was dealt A-Q. Hermen Correia was dealt the K-Q of spades. After the flop showed Q-10-5 with two spades, two players were all in. Correia’s bigger stack had both of his opponents covered and when a third spade hit on the river, he scooped a monster-sized pot, became the chip leader, and knocked out two dangerous players. As the player lowest in chips when he was eliminated, Dennis Levi took ninth place. Levi, who has made final tables at the World Poker Tour, U.S. Poker Championships, and the Wynn Classic, received $3,290 for ninth place.

8th Place – Lior Rennert began the final table with high hopes. But the early chip leader suffered a miserable 45 minutes of misfortune. He lost the chip lead early and then busted out, although he did have the best hand when all of his chips were committed. The Israeli-born college student who is attending Penn State University, earned $4,935 for eighth place.

7th Place – Next, Dick Bunting took a horrible beat and went out in seventh place. He was dealt K-9 and was all-in against Ronnie Kevin’s Q-J. Neither player had a pair after the turn, which meant Bunting’s king was the high card. But a jack on the river gave Kevin a pair, and bunting was sacrificed. Bunting, the 49-year-old owner of a moving company in Williamsburg, VA, collected $6,580.

6th Place – Larry Goldstein tangled with Terry “T-Bone” Davis a few hands during which the rivals exchanged chips. But “T-Bone” won the hand that mattered most when he had A-K to Goldstein’s A-Q and had his opponent covered. “T-Bone” caught a king on the turn which left Goldstein drawing dead to a sixth-place finish. Goldstein, one of the top fantasy football minds in the world (he was one of the marketing director of fantasy sports at The Sporting News before turning to poker as a full-time profession) collected $8,225 in prize money. Goldstein has several other major cashes, including at the WSOP in Las Vegas.

5th Place – A few minutes later, John Alfera was low on chips and moved all-in with J-10 after the flop showed K-10-8. He had second pair. But Ronnie Kevin had K-Q, which was good for top pair. Kevin’s kings held up. As the fifth-place finisher, Alfera, a financial advisor from Pittsburgh, added $9,870 to his investment portfolio.

4th Place – Doug Cressi was the shortest stack of the final four players. He moved all-in on what turned out to be his final hand with Q-10. Herman Correia called with the A-4 of clubs. Cressi flopped an inside straight draw as K-9-5 appeared. But running clubs gave Correia the nut flush, which eliminated Cressi. The former electrician-turned-poker pro received a payout totaling $11,515.

3rd Place – When play became three-handed, the remaining players agreed to a financial settlement. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The tournament continued and Terry C. Davis, a.k.a. “T-Bone” took third place. The plumber from South Carolina received an official payout of $13,160.

2nd Place – The runner up was Hermen Carreia. The construction supervisor from Long Branch, NJ had an interesting two days while this tournament was being played. When the tournament was not being played, Carreia was at his job, which involved building new siding for homes. He later admitted he had not slept in two days. Despite the lack of rest, Carreia managed to play some great poker and accepted second place, amounting to $26,320 in prize money.

1st Place – The winner was Ronnie Kevin. His official payout amounted to $50,995. Kevin was also presented with a gold ring, which is awarded to all WSOP Circuit champions at this year’s Caesars series. Kevin has enjoyed success at previous Circuit events. He cashed at Harrah’s Atlantic City, Caesars Indiana, and the WSOP in Las Vegas.

With six events completed at Caesars, the tournament has now crossed the midway point. Still to come are the ladies championship, the Turbo No-Limit competition, and the Main Event. The WSOP Circuit 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 #5
No-Limit Hold’em
Buy-In: $300 (+40)
Total Entries: 619
Total Prize Pool: $185,700
March 8-9, 2009

Final Results:

1 Dan Goonin Minneapolis, MN $51,996
2 John Gerasimov Astoria, NY 26,926
3 Kevin Crumlish Wall, NJ 14,856
4 Bob Lauria West Haven, CT 12,999
5 Dzianis Satsukevich Lawnside, NJ 11,142
6 Wayne Hassell New Bern, NC 9,285
7 Mark Polis Deptford, NJ 7,428
8 Charles Kerstetter Williamsport, PA 5,571
9 Taylor B. Williams Winston-Salem, NC 3,714
10 George Mieczkowski Wayne, NJ 2,042
11 Gerald Wilson 2,042
12 Jeffrey Lang 2,042
13 Robert Wing 1,671
14 Batkhuu Batulzii 1,671
15 Angela Merryman 1,671
16 Dylan Mich 1,299
17 Richard Band 1,299
18 Steven Yoder 1,299
19 Jonathan Kovacs 928
20 Thomas Newman 928
21 Robert Santelli 928
22 Anthony Jackson 928
23 Hueng Yoon 928
24 Phillip Reed 928
25 Thomas Barbour 928
26 Phetdavone Peaseuth 928
27 Richard McKelvey 928
28 William Humphreys 649
29 Edward Gant 649
30 Albert Hoffman 649
31 Eric Nathanson 649
32 Sergey Kapchits 649
33 Aleksander Laputsko 649
34 Anthony Jager 649
35 Scott Wilson 649
36 Anthony Lobue 649
37 Daniel Curley 557
38 Geoffrey Desobry 557
39 Jack Deutsch 557
40 William Heilman 557
41 Felix Mok 557
42 Frank Wong 557
43 James Stenella 557
44 Remi Subair 557
45 Brian Peck 557
46 Caroline Reed 464
47 Billie Laws 464
48 Abdulmasi Tarzikhan 464
49 Anthony Flanagan 464
50 Larry Love 464
51 Kevin Beavers 464
52 William Streett 464
53 Victor Filletti 464
54 David Pekarchik 464
55 Douglas Kirby 371
56 Scott Andrew 371
57 Richard Gargiulo 371
58 John Rodriguez 371
59 Ryan Miller 371
60 Joseph Malebranche 371
61 David Geslak 371
62 Douglas Ahrenberg 371
63 Alexander Nikaj 371

Dan Goonin Stages Dramatic Comeback and Wins First Live Poker Tournament

Another Big Turnout Shows at WSOP Circuit Event at Caesars Atlantic City

Atlantic City, NJ (March 9, 2009) – Every poker player suffers bad beats. What differentiates the great players from those who are merely good is the ability to recover from them. Other then learning advanced skills, perhaps the single greatest attribute of a winning poker player is maintaining emotional self-control and always playing your absolute best game, even when the cards are not cooperating.

Late in the most recent World Series of Poker Circuit tournament played at Caesars Atlantic City, Dan Goonin took a bad beat. After losing most of his chips on the key hand, it appeared he would probably finish as the runner up. But instead, Goonin continued to focus on victory, patiently waited for the right opportunities, and gradually wore his opponent down and regained the chip lead, eventually conquering his final foe, and ultimately winning his first major live tournament after several years spent tooling his game on the Internet.

In fact, soon after Goonin was dealt a bad beat, he somehow managed returned the favor – with interest piled on for pain and suffering. Goonin found himself all-in at the final stage of the tournament and needed to catch a miracle three-outer to survive. He managed to do just that — and then proceeded to go on to victory, seemingly immune to the financial and emotional roller coaster of it all.

The $300 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em tournament attracted 619 entries, which generated $185,700 in total prize money. The top 63 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.

When final table play began on day two, John Gerasimov enjoyed a sizable chip advantage over the final ten players. He had a quarter of the total chips in play. Eventual winner Dan Goonin was ranked third in chips. During the four-hour finale, Gerasimov was the chip leader perhaps 80 percent of the time. However, Goonin made the late charge and took first place. Players were eliminated in the following order:

10th Place – A few hands into play, a huge hand took place when short-stacked Mark Polis was dealt A-Q. He moved all-in. Chip leader John Gerasimov flat called with A-10. Then, George Mieczkowski woke up in the big blind with A-K and re-raised all-in. Gerasimov reluctantly called the extra 100,000. Mieczkowski was clearly in the best spot with the dominant hand and he appeared ready to nearly triple up. However a ten flopped (matching Gerasimov’s A-10), crushing Mieczkowski. A queen on the river blocked what might have been a double elimination, and Polis took the main pot with top pair (queens). Gerasimov dragged the side pot (with tens). And poor George Mieczkowsski, from northern New Jersey had to settle for a tenth-lace payout totaling $2,042.

9th Place – Gerasimov enjoyed more good fortune a few hands later when he moved all-in with A-Q and was called by Taylor B. Williams (with A-9) after the flop came A-7-6. Two blanks on the turn and river gave Gerasimov top pair with best kicker and another 150,000 in chips. Meanwhile, Williams went out in ninth place. The 22-year-old student from North Carolina collected $3,714.

8th Place – Charles Kerstetter took a tough beat when he moved all-in with 10-10. He was primed to double up after the flop came J-J-6. But an ace on the turn and another ace on the river gave Dan Goonin (holding A-9) a full house. Kerstetter, an engineer from Williamsport, PA received a payout totaling $5,571.

7th Place – Mark Polis was down to about 200,000 in chips and tried to make a move with K-Q. He raised all-in, but Gerasimov insta-called and tabled pocket aces. Polis was nearly drawing dead from the start and ended up losing to trip aces. This marked Polis’ third time to cash in a WSOP Circuit event and was his second final table appearance. The 42-year-old assets manager from Deptford, NJ earned $7,428 for seventh place.

6th Place – Gerasimov had factored in the elimination of three of the first four bust-outs. Next, it was Bob Lauria’s turn to play the role of dragon. Wayne Hassell was down to 180,000 in chips and moved all-in with Q-J suited, hoping to steal a round of blinds and antes. Bob Lauria had around 200,000 left and also moved all-in with pocket sixes. Big-stacked Gerasimov called and showed A-Q. On the turn, the board showed 10-5-4-2. Lauria still had the best hand with a pair of sixes. Then, a 3 came on the river which temporarily confused Gerasimov, who announced “I have a straight!” Lauria, excited at the prospect of tripling up shouted back, “Yeah, and I have a higher straight!” Indeed, Lauria’s 6 played and scooped the monster-sized pot. That put a crack in Gerasimov’s chip castle and knocked Wayne Hassell out in sixth place. The North Carolina poker player received $9,285 in prize money.

5th Place – A short time later, Dzianis Satsukevich moved all-in pre-flop with pocket fives. Kevin Crumlish, who had played somewhat conservatively up to that point, went into the tank for a full three minutes. He finally called and tabled A-Q. In a classic race (a pair versus two overcards), Crumlish caught a queen on the flop and won the hand with two pair. Satsukevich, who was born in Belarus and now owns an air-duct cleaning service, collected $11,142 for fifth place.

4th Place – After the four survivors agreed to a deal (terms were not disclosed), a big three-way showdown took place between Bob Lauria, Dan Goonin, and John Gerasimov. Lauria hoped to triple up. Be he missed everything and busted out in fourth place, paying $12,999. Lauria, a poker pro from Connecticut, now has twenty cashes at major tournaments, all since 2005. He took third place in the Seven-Card Stud High-Low championship last year at the WSOP in Las Vegas. He has also cashed twice in the WSOP Main Event.

3rd Place – Next, Kevin Crumlish took a horrible beat and busted out in third place. He moved all-in with the dominant hand, pocket jacks versus Dan Goonin’s pocket tens. Then — kaboom! A ten flopped. Crumlish went from massive favorite to monster dog. Crumlish failed to catch a jack and ended up with an official payout of $14,856. Previously, Crumlish came in second place in a WSOP Circuit event at Harrah’s Atlantic City.

2nd Place – When heads-up play began, Goonin enjoyed a slight chip advantage. Then, both players each took bad beats which shifted the chips back and forth. First, Gerasimov faced an excruciating call on the turn, and ended up catching a break on the river to drag the biggest pot of the two-day event. Gerasimov had J-9 and was staring down at a board showing A-Q-J-3, with three diamonds. Gerasimov had a pair and the nine of diamonds. Groonin was holding A-2 and had top pair, with no flush draw. Gerasimov was hoping for a diamond. Instead, he caught a nine and made two pair – jacks and nines.

A few hands later, Gerasimov was just one card away from winning the tournament, holding A-Q over Goonin’s A-J. But then a jack flopped, killing the early celebration. What a huge break catching the jack turned out to be. In fact, the A-J over A-Q miracle changed everything.

Goonin won the tournament twenty minutes later holding 7-6 offsuit, which faded Gerasimov’s heart draw. Gonnin had flopped middle pair (with sevens) and called his opponent’s all-in semi-bluff after the flop. Two hearts on board gave Gerasimov a flush draw. But the last two cards were black, which eliminated Gerasimov and ended the tournament. The runner up was John Gerasimov, a 35-year-old banker from Astoria (Queens), NY. His official payout amounted to $26,926. He only started playing poker last year, so this was quite an impressive showing.

1st Place – Goonin is a 24-year-old poker pro from Minneapolis, MN. He plays poker mostly online. In fact, this marked his first time ever to cash in a live poker tournament. The former soccer-coach-turned poker player collected and official payout amounting to $83,955. Goonin was also presented with the coveted gold ring, which is awarded to all WSOP Circuit champions at this year’s Caesars series.

With five events now completed at Caesars Atlantic City, the WSOP Circuit series has nearly reached its midway point. Tournaments continue through March 14th. The three-day championship event will begin on March 12th.

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 #3
May 6-7, 2009

Buy-In $300 (+40)
Game No-Limit Hold’em
Number of Entries 983
Net Prize Pool $294,900
First Place Prize $73,725
Places Paid 90

Official Results

1 “Big Al” Harary Rockville, NY $73,725
2 Brandon Croft Sumter, SC 40,062
3 Zhe Yu Flushing, NY 23,592
4 Larry Vance Lakewood, CA 20,643
5 Dan Yanofsky West Essex, NJ 17,694
6 Joe Palma Bensalem, PA 14,745
7 Barry Wenger New York, NY 11,796
8 Pralhad Deshpande Goa (India) 8,847
9 Aaron Goldberg Middletown, NJ 5,898
10 Chad Widenhoeft Whitewater, WI 3,243
11 Tam Ly 3,243
12 Donna Dicrescento 3,243
13 Lorne G. Kanover 2,654
14 Walter E, Jones 2,654
15 Harold J. Schmidt 2,654
16 William Waid 2,064
17 Darrell Perez 2,064
18 Perry Ernest 2,064
19 Peter Horenstein 1,474
20 Robert Fetzko 1,474
21 Thatsana Thirakoun 1,474
22 Henry Doiban 1,474
23 Philip Dicus 1,474
24 Kyle Chismar 1,474
25 James Mitchell 1,474
26 Willard McKennon 1,474
27 Michael Hickman 1,474
28 Michael Truman 1,032
29 Michael Hoppes 1,032
30 Kevin Jones 1,032
31 Joe To 1,032
32 Richard Melton 1,032
33 Francis Tavolacci 1,032
34 Daniel Tolly 1,032
35 Amanda Pasro 1,032
36 Phillipe Casciola 1,032
37 Anthony Tabasso 855
38 Christopher Bowman 855
39 Michael Serpico 855
40 Andrew Kloc 855
41 Mark Downing 855
42 Arnold Carnevale 855
43 Andrew Interdonato 855
44 Lee Mang 855
45 Stephen Maucere 855
46 Robert Brown 693
47 Harold Bibb, Jr. 693
48 Scott Park 693
49 Brian Erdmann 693
50 Phuong Quang Hong 693
51 Neal Armstrong 693
52 Tom Francisco 693
53 Barrett Taylor 693
54 Omar Paulino 589
55 William Kott 589
56 Gregory Disler 589
57 Joseph Fallows 589
58 Michael Gagiano 589
59 Kevin Barfield 589
60 Keith Cameron 589
61 Ivan Bailey 589
62 N.L. Montalbano 589
63 Robert Jaffe 589
64 Joseph Conde 516
65 Robert Feld 516
66 Kevin Farry 516
67 Julian Manolio 516
68 Lior Rennert 516
69 Jeffrey Neuman 516
70 Roy Frazier, Jr. 516
71 David Hoffman 516
72 William Floyd 516
73 Daniel Charizia 442
74 Erin Grace 442
75 Steven Gaines 442
76 William Celtnieks 442
77 David DiFilippo 442
78 Edward Harris 442
79 Craig Fleischman 442
80 Ryan Miller 442
81 Robert Magalski 442
82 Richard Spinelli 398
83 Roberto Garcia 398
84 Gar Lee 398
85 Patrick Rush 398
86 Philip Fisher 398
87 Joseph Berry 398
88 James Perugini 398
89 Kevin Terwilliger 398
90 Brian Pagano 398

“Big Al” Harary Wins WSOP Circuit Event at Caesars

New York City Interior Designer Tops Nearly a Thousand Players and Earns His First Major Tournament Victory

Atlantic City, NJ (March 7, 2009) – The third of 11 scheduled events at the World Series of Poker Circuit concluded today at Caesars Atlantic City with a first tournament victory by “Big Al” Harary, from Long Island, NY. He is a 56-year-old owner of a highly-successful interior design firm that operates in the New York City area. Harary absolutely dominated play throughout the later stages of this tournament. He was never in serious jeopardy of losing the chip lead at any point. His official payout amounted to $73,725. Harary was also presented with the coveted gold ring, which is awarded to all WSOP Circuit champions at this year’s Caesars series.

The $300 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em tournament attracted 983 entries, generating $294,900 in total prize money. The top 90 players collected payouts. All of the action took place over a two-day period inside the grand ballroom, at Caesars Atlantic City.
The tournament’s ceremonial host was radio personality and reality TV star Danny Bonaduce, who traveled to the Jersey shore from his home in Philadelphia. Bonaduce, perhaps best-known as the wisecracking red-headed kid on 1970s series “The Partridge Family,” has pretty much been a human train wreck since his earliest days as a childhood star. Bonaduce, now muscled up and pushing 50, warmed up the crowd with a few inspiring remarks and then took his seat at the poker table. More than 900 players were eliminated on the first day.

When final table play began on day two, “Big Al” Harary started with about a 2 to 1 chip lead over his closest rival, South Carolinian Brandon Croft who would ultimately finish as the runner up in this tournament. Other players were eliminated in the following order:

10th Place – A few hands into play, Chad Wiedenhoeft appeared to be in a great position to double up. He was dealt Q=Q and moved all-in pre-flop. Chip leader Al Harary (with K-=Q) had a big enough stack with which to take a shot and called the 170,000 raise. A king flopped, which held up to drag the pot and catapulted Harary up over the million-chip mark for the first time. Meanwhile, Wiedenhoeft went bust and had to settle for tenth place, which paid $3,243.

9th Place – An hour passed before the next elimination. That came when Aaron Goldberg moved all-in with A=7 and was called by Larry Vance holding A=10. Neither player made a pair, but the ten played, putting Goldberg out in ninth place. The Middletown, NJ-based salesman earned $5,898.

8th Place – Pralhad Deshpande, a PhD student from India, decided to play in this tournament only because a college friend insisted he travel to Atlantic City and encouraged him to enter. Late on the first day, Deshpande was on the verge of elimination down to just 1,700 in chips, with blinds at 300-600. He staged a dramatic comeback and made it all the way to the final table in his first poker tournament ever. Deshpande finally went out with A=8 versus Al Harary’s A=10. Both players caught an ace on the flop, but Harary made two pair and busted Deshpande. The 24-year-old student picked up a nice prize totaling $8,847 for eighth place.

7th Place – New York attorney Barry Wenger was desperately low on chips and tried to steal a round of blinds and antes with 9=4. He moved his last 100,000 into the pot, but his raise was called by Brandon Croft, holding A=Q. An ace flopped, which meant the lawyer’s appeal to stay at the final table was denied. Wenger, who has previously won a number of online tournaments, received $11,796 for seventh place.

6th Place – Joe Palma, a poker pro from suburban Philadelphia survived over three hours at the final table. But he finally busted out with Q=J when he flopped top pair as the board showed J=9=9. Unfortunately, Larry Vance held a nine in his hand – good for trip nines – and feasted on Palma’s chips like a starving wolf. Palma, who was making his fourth final table appearance at a major poker tournament, settled for sixth place. He received $14,745.

5th Place – While sparring back and forth for several hands, the five survivors agreed to a deal after some spirited discussion. Terms of the financial arrangement were not disclosed. The tournament continued with the WSOP Circuit gold ring still at stake. Harary knocked out his last four opponents and the competition ended with Dan “the Phantom” Yanofsky taking fifth place. Yanofsky, a real estate broker with many in-the-money finishes previously at tournament held at Foxwoods and Las Vegas, collected a commission totaling $17,694.

4th Place – Fourth place went to Larry Vance, from Lakewood, CA. Vance had been short-stacked during much of the day two finale and survived long enough to cash for $20,643 in prize money.

3rd Place – Zhe Yu, a 26-year-old poker player from Queens, NY arrived at the final table ranked third in chips. Appropriately, he finished in third place. Yu received a payout totaling $23,592.

2nd Place – The runner-up was Brandon Croft, a manager from Sumter, SC. He too finished according to his starting chip count. Croft arrived second in chips, and was paid second-place prize money which amounted to $40,062.

1st Place – “Big Al” Harary earned an impressive victory in what amounted to a wire-to-wire finish. No player at the final table ever came close to his chip advantage at any point. Harary said that is a proud family man who has a wife, two daughters, and a grandson. He said he intends to take his share of the prize money and pay for his daughter’s wedding.

Harary owns Martin Albert Interiors, which among other things designs sets for movies and television shows. He also operates an annual “Toys for Tots” charity, which benefits underprivileged children. Indeed, “Big Al” Harary is a “winner” by any definition.

The WSOP Circuit at Caesars Atlantic City 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