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2011 Harrah’s New Orleans WSOP Circuit Main Event Results

Thursday, May 19th, 2011

2010/2011 World Series of Poker Circuit
Harrah’s New Orleans
Event #9
No-Limit Hold’em
Main Event Championship
Buy-In: $1,500 (+100)
Total Entries: 382
Total Prize Pool: $550,060
May 16-18, 2011

Official Final Results:

1 Jonathon Poche LAFAYETTE, LA, US $121,017
2 Robert Toye BATON ROUGE, LA, US $74,783
3 Josh Evans PLANO, TX, US $54,644
4 Todd Wood SPRINGFIELD, LA, US $40,573
5 Scott Zakheim DAVIE, FL, US $30,595
6 Jacob Bazeley CINCINNATI, OH, US $23,416
7 William Payne SAN ANTONIO, TX, US $18,185
8 Matthew Waxman PARKLAND, FL, US $14,324
9 James Mcbride Slidell, LA, US $11,441
10 Lance Craig IRVING, TX, US $9,263
11 Billy McBrayer TUSCALOOSA, AL, US $9,263
12 Douglas Lang DELMAR, NY, US $9,263
13 Michael Benton LAFAYETTE, LA, US $7,602
14 Samuel Bailey GULF BREEZE, FL, US $7,602
15 William Moorer MONCKS CORNER, SC, US $7,602
16 Mario Silvestri COLLEYVILLE, TX, US $6,325
17 Jared Ingles Dry Prong, LA, US $6,325
18 Allie Prescott LAS VEGAS, NV, US $6,325
19 Brian Heptinstall Birmingham, AL, US $5,350
20 Corrie Wunstel BATON ROUGE, LA, US $5,330
21 Mstr Lynch LEWISVILLE, TX, US $5,330
22 Richard Sasso MIAMI, FL, US $4,549
23 David Emmons HOUSTON, TX, US $4,549
24 Dwyte Pilgrim BROOKLYN, NY, US $4,549
25 James Namken HOUSTON, TX, US $3,933
26 Sundeepan Mehta Wyckoff, NJ, US $3,933
27 Matthew Hankins NEWNAN, GA, US $3,933
28 Mike Beasley HOLLYWOOD, FL, US $3,443
29 Michael Hallen Tampa, FL, US $3,443
30 Eric Utter Jacksonville, FL, US $3,443
31 Walter Wright LAS VEGAS, NV, US $3,052
32 Melih Birdal KNOXVILLE, TN, US $3,052
33 Chun Law LONDON, GB $3,052
34 Michael Traylor HOUSTON, TX, US $2,739
35 Daniel MacDougald NEW ORLEANS, LA, US $2,739
36 Mederic Lemenager Denham Springs, LA, US $2,739
37 Edward Corrado NAPLES, FL, US $2,486
38 Johnny Landreth LANETT, AL, US $2,486
39 John Ross THE WOODLANDS, TX, US $2,486
40 Douglas Friedmutter BROOKLYN, NY, US $2,486
41 Curtis Simpson LIVINGSTON, TX, US $2,486
42 Arturo Alaniz Houston, TX, US $2,486
43 Dan Schmiech HOUSTON, TX, US $2,486
44 Torrey Reily NEW ORLEANS, LA, US $2,486
45 Michael Smith HIRAM, GA, US $2,486

2011 Harrah's New Orelans WSOP Circuit Main Event Champion Jonathon Poche

2011 Harrah's New Orelans WSOP Circuit Main Event Champion Jonathon Poche

Jonathan Poche Makes Winning Look Easy

Local Poker Pro Wins Big Easy Main Event Championship

Main Event Draws Biggest Field in Seven Years – 382 Players

Brian Walsingham Wins “Best All-Around” Points Race in New Orleans

National Championship Points Race Nears the Finish Line

WSOP Circuit Southern Regional Championship Runs May 19-22

New Orleans, LA (May 18, 2011) – The 2010-2011 World Series of Poker Circuit season is winding down to a thrilling conclusion. The season moved one step closer to ending today with the crowing of a new gold ring champion at Harrah’s New Orleans.

New Orleans has been the final stop during each and every season since the WSOP Circuit began, back in 2005. There were 15 WSOP Circuit stops this season, the most ever. Most stops included ten official gold ring events. A “gold ring event” means the winner is awarded a gold ring, which symbolizes victory. Furthermore, all players who finished in-the-money in gold ring events were awarded points which apply to a national championship race and leader board. This is the first season the WSOP Circuit has utilized a ranking system for its players.

Four WSOP Circuit stops were designated as Regional Championships, including Harrah’s New Orleans. Each of these stops had included one additional gold ring event. The first three Regional Championships were completed at Horseshoe Hammond (Indiana), Harrah’s Atlantic City, and Harrah’s Rincon (San Diego). Harrah’s New Orleans is the final Regional Championship, which will take place May 19-22. The Southern Regional Championship costs $10,000 to enter.

The culmination of this season comes during May 27-29 in Las Vegas, just prior to the start of the WSOP. The inaugural WSOP Circuit National Championship will take place at Caesars Palace. The tournament will be nationally-televised on the Versus Network. Only 100 qualifiers will be eligible to participate. Eleven of the qualifiers came from events held at Harrah’s New Orleans.

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The Main Event Championship was a $1,500 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em tournament. The field consisted of 382 entries, creating a prize pool totaling $550,060. This was the largest field ever for any Main Event ever held in New Orleans. The previous high mark was set in 2005, with 259 entries.

The winner and new champion is Jonathan Poche, from St. Martinsville, LA. He is a professional poker player. Pocha kept a low profile during most of the tournament, never holding the chip lead until the very end when play became short-handed. He entered the final table ranked in sixth place.

But Pocha won most of the key late pots. He seemed to get stronger as players were gradually eliminated, demonstrating great proficiency as a short-handed player. Once play reached heads-up, Pocha dominated play and earned a well-deserved victory.

Pocha collected $121,017 for first place. He was presented with the coveted WSOP Circuit gold ring. The bonus for winning this year’s Main Event was an automatic seat into the WSOP Circuit National Championship.

Pocha joins an exclusive list of seven players who have won the WSOP Circuit Main Event Championship at Harrah’s New Orleans. The list of Big Easy champions includes:

2011 – Jonathan Pocha (St. Martinville, LA)
2010 – Fred Berger (Las Vegas, NV)
2009 – Jean “Prince” Gaspard (Evanston, IL)
2008 – Nick Ceci (New Orleans, LA)
2007 – Andy Philachack (Garland, TX)
2006 – Peter Feldman (Las Vegas, NV)
2005 – Walter Chambers (Baton Rouge, LA)

………………………………….

Play stretched out over three days. The Main Event’s top 45 finishers collected prize money. The end of Day One chip leader was Mario Silvestri, from Ft. Worth, TX. But he was eliminated during Day Two and ended up finishing in 16th place. Other notable players who cashed included – Allie Prescott (18th), Mstr Lynch (21st), Dwyte Pilgrim (24th), Michael Traylor (34th), and Dan Schmiech (43rd).

Another notable finish was that of Edward Corrado, from Naples, FL. The 80-year-old retiree finished in 37th place. He took fourth place in last year’s Main Event Championship at Harrah’s New Orleans.

A complete list of all in-the-money finishers in EVENT #9 can be found at WSOP.COM.

Final table play took place on the main stage inside the tournament room at Harrah’s New Orleans. The blinds started at 15,000-30,000 with a 4,000 ante. When cards went into the air, the ten finalists and their chip counts were as follows:

Seat One: Lance Craig (Grapevine, TX) — 694,000 in chips
Seat Two: Josh Evans (Dallas, TX) – 1,159,000 in chips
Seat Three: Matthew Waxman (Parkland, FL) – 460,000 in chips
Seat Four: Bobby Toye (New Orleans, LA) – 882,000 in chips
Seat Five: Jonathan Poche (St. Martinsville, LA) – 656,000 in chips
Seat Six: Jacob Bazeley (Cincinnati, OH) — 983,000 in chips
Seat Seven: Todd Wood (Bucktown, LA) — 1,619,000 in chips
Seat Eight: Billie Payne (Mansfield, TX) — 307,000 in chips
Seat Nine: Scott Zakheim (Davie, FL) — 491,000 in chips
Seat Ten: Jim McBride (Slidell, LA) — 395,000 in chips

Final table play began at 2 pm on a Wednesday afternoon. Play concluded at 8 pm – making the total duration of play about six hours. Players were eliminated in the following order:

Tenth Place – Lance Craig experienced a nightmare at the final table. After about an hour of play, he became the first player to be eliminated when he shoved all-in with pocket queens. To his horror, chip leader Todd Wood snap called and showed pocket aces. Craig could not believe what he was seeing, not only facing the dreaded overpair, but also suffering the misfortune against a bigger stack. Craig failed to improve and had to settle for $92,63 in prize money.

Lance Craig, from grapevine, TX is a 42-year-old self-described “man of leisure.” He once worked as a software engineer. Craig has participated in five previous WSOP Circuit events. He took 17th in the Main Event Championship held two months ago at Harrah’s St. Louis. He also final tabled various tournaments in the past held at the Winstar Casino, in Oklahoma.

Ninth Place – Jim McBride was the senior player among the final ten. He is a 63-year-old retiree from Slidell, LA. He has played in many prior WSOP Circuit tournaments, cashing four times with two previous final table appearances. He took fourth place at the 2009 Winter Bayou Poker Challenge Main Event held at Harrah’s New Orleans.

McBride lost a race on what turned out to be his final hand. He took pocket eights up against A-Q. A queen flopped and an ace fell on the river, which busted McBride. He received $11,441 in prize money.

Eighth Place – Matthew Waxman was never able to generate much momentum on the final day. He ended up in eighth place. Waxman was down to his last 150,000 in chips and shoved with K-Q offsuit. He made the wrong time to make a move as his opponent called and revealed pocket kings. The dominant hand held up, putting Waxman out of the event.

Matthew Waxman is a 26-year-old professional poker player from Parkland, FL. He is originally from Princeton, NJ. He has many previous tournament accolades, including winning the WSOP Circuit Main Event Championship at Harrah’s Atlantic City earlier this season. Waxman has accumulated more than $700,000 in live tournament earnings in his career. He added another $14,324 to that figure for his performance in this tournament.

Seventh Place – Billy Payne went out about two hours into the finale. He shoved holding pocket eights and ran into pocket aces. Payne felt plenty of pain as the five board cards failed to bring a desperately-needed eight. He had to settle for $18,185.

Billie Payne is a 34-year-old plumber from Mansfield, TX. This marks only his second time to play in a WSOP Circuit tournament. He has two previous cashes elsewhere – including an in-the-money finish at the Choctaw Circuit stop in January as well as a cash at the WSOP in Las Vegas last year

Sixth Place – Jake Bazeley started play ranked third in chips but ran out of momentum about midway through the final and finished in sixth place. Bazeley’s final hand consisted of A-6 suited, which ran into pocket aces. Predictably, the bigger hand held up, leaving Bazeley with a payout totaling $23,416.

Jacob Bazeley is a 28-year-old professional poker player from Cincinnati, OH. He has played in nearly a dozen WSOP Circuit tournaments in the past. This marks his fifth time to cash, which means he’s made the money about half the time he has entered. Bazeley won first place in an event at the Indiana State Poker Championships in 2009. He has also cashed four times at the WSOP in Las Vegas.

Fifth Place – Scott Zakheim survived quite a while nursing a short stack. He was low on chips late on Day Two and still managed to make it not only to the final table, but all the way to fifth place. Zakheim might he gone even higher were it not for losing a race holding A-K against pocket queens. That critical hand cost Zakheim his stack and he went out with $30,595 in prize money.

Scott Zakheim is a 52-year-old attorney from Davie, FL. He is originally from New York. Zakheim has participated in four previous WSOP Circuit events. His most notable poker accomplishments include cashing in last year’s WSOP Main Event in Las Vegas, another cash at the Circuit Championship Main Event at Caesars Palace Las Vegas in 2008, and 16 overall in-the-money tournament finishes totaling more than $200,000 in prize money.

One of the biggest hands of the tournament took place when play was four-handed. Bobby Toye won a huge pot against Josh Evans and seized a commanding chip lead. Toye was all-in pre-flop holding pocket kings, which bested Evans’ A-Q. That hand all but ended Evan’s shot of winning.

Fourth Place – Todd Wood came into the finale as the chip leader. He ended up as the third-place finisher. Wood ran low on chips and shoved with K-7 suited on his final hand. He ran into K-Q. Both players rivered a king for top pair, but Wood’s weak kicker cost him his last chips. Woods’ share of the prize money came to $40,573.

Todd Wood is a 42-year-old lexicographer, which means he evaluates and edits dictionaries. Wood was born in New Orleans. This is only the second WSOP Circuit tournament Wood has entered. In his only previous appearance, he finished in second place in a $500 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em event at Harrah’s New Orleans, held two years ago. Wood now has a second and a fourth-place finish in his two Circuit events, which is a remarkable accomplishment.

Third Place – Josh Evans lost most of his chips on the big hand against Toye. He managed to double up one time and moved back into contention. But the rising blinds eventually made it necessary for Evans to gamble. On his final hand, Evans shoved with 9-8. He got a call by Jonathan Poche who tabled an ace. An ace on the flop crushed Evans, who ended up finishing in third place. The payout was $56,644.

Josh Evans is a 26-year-old poker pro from Dallas. He has played in numerous WSOP Circuit events in the past. This is his seventh Circuit cash this season. His best previous showing was third place – sho now he has two such finishes. Evans has many tournament accolades, including making the money in the 2007 WSOP Main Event Championship – which paid more than $100,000 for 76th place.

Second Place – Bobby Toye had a good shot to win, but went apparently went card dead at the worst possible time, when he was heads-up against a very aggressive opponent. However, Toye played remarkably well in this tournament. He earned his biggest cash ever in this event. Toye’s consolation prize for second place amounted to $74,783.

Bobby Toye is 24-years-old and resides in New Orleans. Remarkably, Toye won the very first three poker tournaments in which he cashed — earning victories at the Imperial Palace Classic in Biloxi, the World Poker Open, and the WSOP Circuit Seven-Card Stud Championship held at Harrah’s New Orleans in 2008, which earned him a gold ring. In fact, Toye was one of only two players at the final table who had previously won a WSOP Circuit gold ring.

When heads-up play began, the two finalists were close to even in chips. Pocha became super aggressive at this point, betting no matter what the situation, and ended up taking down pot after pot. Most of the hands were not shown.

The final hand came when Pocha had a big chip lead. Toye was forced to try to do something to stop Pocha’s ceaseless aggression. But he threw the gauntlet down at a bad time. When Pocha declared he was all-in, Pocha woke up with a strong hand – pocket eights. The final hand of the tournament played out as follows:

Toye: Js 8h
Pocha: 8s 8c
Flop: 5s 3d 2c
Turn: 6d
River: 5h

Toye was all-in pre-flop and was drawing slim. He essentially needed to catch a jack in order to stay alive. He did not get the jack and had to settle for second place. Jonathan Pocha was declared the winner.

First Place – The new champion is Jonathan Pocha, from St. Martinville, LA. He is a 29-year-old professional poker player. Prior to playing poker for a living, he worked as an oil field engineer. Poche has only participated in two WSOP Circuit events in the past and has made it all the way to the final table for the first time. He made the most of this opportunity and won a commanding victory.

Immediately following his victory, Pocha posed with “Mardi” the alligator. Mardi, named in honor of the Mardi Gras parade, has become a Harrah’s New Orleans tradition. Every year, the Main Event champion has posed with the big-jawed beast, stuffed with wads of $100 bills. Despite the unsavory company of being framed with the reptile, Pocha didn’t seem to mind one bit being photographed with “Mardi,” since the gawking gator was carrying the winner’s share of the loot.

With the Main Event now completed, New Orleans has crowned ten WSOP Circuit gold ring champions this year. The list of winners includes:

Event #1: John Christian (Baton Rouge, LA) defeated 473 players and won $28,288 in $355 NLHE
Event #2: John Holley (Destin, FL) defeated 96 players and won $8,380 in $355 MIX POT-LIMIT
Event #3: Danny Doucet (Lafayette, LA) defeated 312 players and won $21,116 in $355 NLHE
Event #4: Brian Walsingham (Atlanta, GA) defeated 423 players and won $26,801 in $355 NLHE
Event #5: Zhen Cai (Daytona Beach, FL) defeated 293 players and won $33,753 in $355 NLHE
Event #6: Walter B. Wright (Las Vegas, NV) defeated 101 players and won $14,544 in $565 PLO
Event #7: Tom Franklin (Gulfport, MS) defeated 646 players and won $38,139 in $355 NLHE
Event #8: Brian Walsingham (Atlanta, GA) defeated 356 players and won $78,604 in 1085 NLHE
Event #9: Jonathan Pocha (St. Martinville, LA) defeated 382 players and won $121,017 in MAIN EVENT
Event #10: Stephen Puleio (New Orleans, LA) defeated 355 players and won $23,515 in $355 NLHE

The Best All-Around Champion for the Harrah’s New Orleans series has officially been determined. The winner is Brian Walsingham. He won two gold rings and accumulated 100 points in the race for best player. By virtue of his outstanding performance, Walsingham qualified for a seat in the National Championship.

The inaugural WSOP Circuit Southern Regional Championship comes next. The $10,000 buy-in tournament will be taped for broadcast on national television. This is the first time since 2006 television cameras have filmed a poker event in New Orleans. The final of four regional tournaments promises to be an exciting end to the great 2010-2011 WSOP Circuit season.
 
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A Short History of the WSOP Circuit at Harrah’s New Orleans

The first major poker tournament held at Harrah’s New Orleans was called the “Cajun Poker Classic,” which took place in early 2004. The three-day tournament attracted 536 players and inspired the casino to host more poker events in the future. Later that year, the first Bayou Poker Challenge was held, which consisted of six tournaments.

Next, Harrah’s New Orleans became a charter member of the World Series of Poker Circuits, which officially started play in 2005. Since then, New Orleans has hosted the final stop on the circuit each year, which takes place in mid-May just prior to the start of the WSOP at the Rio in Las Vegas. The first two WSOP Circuit championships held at Harrah’s New Orleans were televised by ESPN and were among the most exciting tournaments broadcast at the time. They still occasionally appear in re-runs to this day.

WSOP Circuit events in New Orleans proved to be so successful that a second tournament series was created, starting in 2007. This became known as the “Bayou Poker Challenge” (a.k.a. the Winter Bayou Poker Challenge), which has since become a December attraction. This tournament series is categorized as a World Series of Poker Satellite, since its Main Event winner earns an entry valued at $10,000 seat (plus expense money) into the WSOP championship, held the following year.

Tournament Director – Steve Frezer
General Manager of Harrah’s New Orleans
Assistant General Manager – Sherri Pucci
Vice President of Marketing – Luann Pappas
Director of Table Games – Tosha Skipper
Shift Manager of Harrah’s New Orleans – Larry Barrett

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Harrah’s New Orleans WSOP Circuit Main Event Final Table Set

Wednesday, May 18th, 2011

2010/2011 World Series of Poker Circuit
Harrah’s New Orleans
Event #9
No-Limit Hold’em
Main Event Championship
Buy-In: $1,500 (+100)
Total Entries: 382
Total Prize Pool: $550,060
May 16-18, 2011

The New Orleans Nine are Set!

Todd Wood Enters Final Day as Chip Leader

Harrah’s New Orleans Main Event Championship Finale Coming Up on Wednesday

National Championship Points Race Heating Up in Last Few Events

WSOP Circuit Southern Regional Championship Runs May 19-22

2011 Harrah's New Orleans WSOP Circuit Main Event Final Table

2011 Harrah's New Orleans WSOP Circuit Main Event Final Table

New Orleans, LA (May 17, 2011) – The final table of the $1,500 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em Main Event Championship at Harrah’s New Orleans is now set. But instead of calling this motley crew the “New Orleans Nine,” they will be the “New Orleans Ten.”

Following nearly 24 hours of play over two consecutive days, only ten poker players remain. Day Two was expected to play to the official lineup of nine players. However, at 2 am following a long day, players agreed to suspect play and return with one additional player. The ten finalists and their seating positions are as follows:

SEAT ONE: Lance Craig
HOMETOWN: Grapevine, TX
CHIP COUNT: 694,000
Lance Craig is a 42-year-old self-described “man of leisure.” He once worked as a software engineer. Craig is from Grapevine, TX which is in the Dallas area. Craig has participated in five precious WSOP Circuit events. He took 17th in the Main Event Championship held two months ago at Harrah’s St. Louis. He also final tabled various tournaments in the past held at the Winstar Casino, in Oklahoma.

SEAT TWO: Josh Evans
HOMETOWN: Dallas, TX
CHIP COUNT: 1,159,000
Josh Evans is a 26-year-old poker pro from Dallas. He has played in numerous WSOP Circuit events in the past. This is his seventh Circuit cash this season. His best previous showing was third place. Evans has many tournament accolades, including making the money in the 2007 WSOP Main Event Championship – which paid more than $100,000 for 76th place.

SEAT THREE: Matthew Waxman:
HOMETOWN: Parkland, FL
CHIP COUNT: 460,000
Matthew Waxman is a 26-year-old professional poker player from Parkland, FL. He is originally from Princeton, NJ. Waxman is also involved in business when he is not playing poker. Waxman has many previous tournament accolades, including the WSOP Circuit Main Event Championship at Harrah’s Atlantic City earlier this season. Waxman has accumulated more than $700,000 in live tournament earnings in his career, the most of anyone at this final table.

SEAT FOUR: Bobby Toye
HOMETOWN: New Orleans, LA
CHIP COUNT: 882,000
Bobby Toye is 24-years-old and resides in New Orleans. Remarkably, Toye won the very first three poker tournaments in which he cashed — earning victories at the Imperial Palace Classic in Biloxi, the World Poker Open, and the WSOP Circuit Seven-Card Stud Championship held at Harrah’s New Orleans in 2008, which earned him a gold ring. In fact, Toye is one of only two players at the final table who has previously won a WSOP Circuit gold ring. He is now hoping to win number two.

SEAT FIVE: Jonathan Poche
HOMETOWN: St. Martinville, LA
CHIP COUNT: 656,000
Jonathan Poche is a 29-year-old poker pro from St. Martinville, LA. Prior to playing poker for a living, he worked as an oil field engineer. Poche has only participated in two WSOP Circuit events in the past and has made it all the way to the final table for the first time.

SEAT SIX: Jacob Bazeley
HOMETOWN: Cincinnati, OH
CHIP COUNT: 983,000
Jacob Bazeley is a 28-year-old professional poker player from Cincinnati, OH. He has played in nearly a dozen WSOP Circuit tournaments in the past. This marks his fifth time to cash, which means he’s made the money about half the time he has entered. Bazeley won first place in an event at the Indiana State Poker Championships in 2009. He has also cashed four times at the WSOP in Las Vegas.

SEAT SEVEN: Todd Wood
HOMETOWN: Bucktown, LA
CHIP COUNT: 1,619,000
Todd Wood is a 42-year-old lexicographer, which means he evaluates and edits dictionaries. Wood was born in New Orleans. This is only the second WSOP Circuit tournament Wood has entered. In his only previous appearance, he finished in second place in a $500 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em event at Harrah’s New Orleans, held two years ago. Wood arrives at the final table as chip leader with more than 1.6 million.

SEAT EIGHT: Billie Payne
HOMETOWN: Mansfield, TX
CHIP COUNT: 307,000
Billie Payne is a 34-year-old plumber from Mansfield, TX. This marks his second time to play in a WSOP Circuit tournament. He has two previous cashes – including an in-the-money finish at the Choctaw Circuit stop in January as well as a cash at the WSOP in Las Vegas last year.

SEAT NINE: Scott Zakheim
HOMETOWN: Davie, FL
CHIP COUNT: 491,000
Scott Zakheim is a 52-year-old attorney from Davie, FL. He is originally from New York. Zakheim has participated in four previous WSOP Circuit events. His most notable poker accomplishments include cashing in last year’s WSOP Main Event in Las Vegas, another cash at the Circuit Championship Main Event at Caesars Palace Las Vegas in 2008, and 16 overall in-the-money tournament finishes totaling more than $200,000 in prize money.

SEAT TEN: Jim McBride
HOMETOWN: Slidell, LA
CHIP COUNT: 395,000
James McBride is a 63-year-old retiree from Slidell, LA. He has played in many prior WSOP Circuit tournaments, cashing four times with two previous final table appearances. He took fourth place at the 2009 Winter Bayou Poker Challenge Main Event held at Harrah’s New Orleans.

Play will resume on Wednesday, May 18th at 2 pm CST. The blinds will be 15,000-30,000 with a 4,000 ante.

Play takes place on the main stage inside the tournament room at Harrah’s New Orleans. Seating is free and open to the public.

This is ninth of 11 gold ring events on this year’s Harrah’s New Orleans schedule. The tournament attracted 382 entries – which was the biggest turnout in six years. The prize pool amounts to $550,060. The champion will collect $121,017. He will also be awarded the coveted WSOP Circuit gold ring. The bonus for winning this year’s Main Event will be an automatic seat into the WSOP Circuit National Championship, which is to be played at Caesars Palace Las Vegas May 27-29.

The tournament’s top 45 finishers collected prize money. The end of Day One chip leader was Mario Silvestri, from Ft. Worth, TX. He was eliminated on this day and ended up finishing in 16th place. Other notable players who cashed, but are now out of the tournament include – Allie Prescott (18th), Mstr Lynch (21st), Dwyte Pilgrim (24th), Michael Traylor (34th), and Dan Schmiech 43rd).

Another notable finish was that of Edward Corrado, from Naples, FL. The 80-year-old retiree finished in 37th place. He took fourth place in last year’s Main Event Championship at Harrah’s New Orleans.

A complete list of all players who have cashed so far in EVENT #9 can be found at WSOP.COM.

New Orleans has already crowned eight WSOP Circuit gold ring champions, this year. The list of previous winners includes:

Event #1: John Christian (Baton Rouge, LA) defeated 473 players and won $28,288 in $355 NLHE
Event #2: John Holley (Destin, FL) defeated 96 players and won $8,380 in $355 MIX POT-LIMIT
Event #3: Danny Doucet (Lafayette, LA) defeated 312 players and won $21,116 in $355 NLHE
Event #4: Brian Walsingham (Atlanta, GA) defeated 423 players and won $26,801 in $355 NLHE
Event #5: Zhen Cai (Daytona Beach, FL) defeated 293 players and won $33,753 in $355 NLHE
Event #6: Walter B. Wright (Las Vegas, NV) defeated 101 players and won $14,544 in $565 PLO
Event #7: Tom Franklin (Gulfport, MS) defeated 646 players and won $38,139 in $355 NLHE
Event #8: Brian Walsingham (Atlanta, GA) defeated 356 players and won $78,604 in 1085 NLHE

At least 11 players from Harrah’s New Orleans will qualify for the nationally-televised WSOP gold bracelet event. The Main Event Championship winner gets a seat. The top overall point finisher gets a seat. And, the nine players who make it to the final table of the Southern Regional Championship will also earn automatic bids.

The inaugural WSOP Circuit Southern Regional Championship begins following the conclusion of the Main Event. The $10,000 buy-in tournament will be taped for broadcast on national television. This is the first time since 2006 television cameras have filmed a poker event in New Orleans. The final of four regional tournaments promises to be an exciting end to the great 2010-2011 WSOP Circuit season. The regional championship will be played May 19-22 at Harrah’s New Orleans.

Tournament Director – Steve Frezer
General Manager of Harrah’s New Orleans – Dan Real
Assistant General Manager – Sherri Pucci
Vice President of Marketing – Luann Pappas
Director of Table Games – Tosha Skipper
Shift Manager of Harrah’s New Orleans – Larry Barrett

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World Series of Poker Circuit Caesars Palace Las Vegas Main Event Results

Saturday, April 30th, 2011

2010/2011 World Series of Poker Circuit
Caesars Palace Las Vegas
Event #10
Main Event Championship
No-Limit Hold’em
Buy-In: $1,500 (+100)
Total Entries: 496
Total Prize Pool: $714,240
April 28-30, 2011

Official Results (Final):

1 Chris Johnson LAS VEGAS, NV, US $153,559
2 Brian England HAZLET, NJ, US $94,944
4 John Kulish Oconto, WI, US $51,418
5 Adam Hui Markham, ON, CANADA $38,669
6 James Martini INCLINE VILLAGE, NV, US $29,498
7 Alex Santiago WEST HARTFORD, CT, US $22,820
8 Dave Stann LOS ANGELES, CA, US $17,906
9 Matthew Leecy OTTAWA, KS, US $14,249
10 Derrick Kwenzel GRAND FORKS, ND, US $11,492
11 Stepan Dzhigarkhanyan MOSCOW, RUSSIA $11,492
12 JJ Liu LAS VEGAS, NV, US $11,492
13 Benny Chen STRATFORD, PE, CA $9,399
14 Vasili Lazarou LAS VEGAS, NV, US $9,399
15 Bo Pathammavond HONOLULU, HI, US $9,399
16 Harold Wasson CORONA, CA, US $7,785
17 Mary Jones HENDERSON, NV, US $7,785
18 Lance Oliver ROSEVILLE, CA, US $7,785
19 Luther Lewis GOODLETTSVILLE, TN, US $6,535
20 Michael Sortino PAPILLION, NE, US $6,535
21 Daniel Brown SAN ANTONIO, TX, US $6,535
22 David Williams LAS VEGAS, NV, US $5,557
23 Russell Powell EL CAJON, CA, US $5,557
24 James Fike LAS VEGAS, NV, US $5,557
25 Harold Wasson CORONA, CA, US $7,785
26 Jeremy Heartberg WEBSTER, NY, US $4,785
27 James Riggs LEWISBURG, TN, US $4,785
28 Steven Heeley BALLWIN, MO, US $4,178
29 Scott Epstein LAS VEGAS, NV, US $4,178
30 Raymond Wu CHICAGO, IL, US $4,178
31 William Wood CARMEL, IN, US $3,693
32 Andrew Robbins CINCINNATI, OH, US $3,693
33 Brian Park LOS ALTOS, CA, US $3,693
34 Evan Lamprea WOODSTOCK, ON, CANADA $3,307
35 Amanda Baker LAS VEGAS, NV, US $3,307
36 Mark Jeans HERMOSA BEACH, CA, US $3,307
37 Barry Hamilton DENVER, CO, US $2,993
38 Erica Schoenberg HENDERSON, NV, US $2,993
39 Andrew Watson TULSA, OK, US $2,993
40 Horatio Hu FRESH MEADOW, CA, US $2,993
41 Peter Paturzo ORANGE COUNTY, CA, US $2,993
42 David Levi LAS VEGAS, NV, US $2,993
43 Stan Quinn DANVILLE, CA, US $2,993
44 Jimmy Fricke LAS VEGAS, NV, US $2,993
45 David Byer LAS VEGAS, NV, US $2,993
46 Joshua Prager YUBA CITY, CA, US $2,743
47 Cody Slaubaugh HENDERSON, NV, US $2,743
48 Anthony Lazar PLYMOUTH, MN, US $2,743
49 Clifford Waite GRAND JUNCTION, CO, US $2,743
50 Michael Chow LAS VEGAS, NV, US $2,743
51 Anthony Hartmann SHAKOPEE, MN, US $2,743
52 Ann Mong LAS VEGAS, NV, US $2,743
53 Denny Robinson HENDERSON, NV, US $2,743
54 William Gaffney BARTLETT, IL, US $2,743

2011 WSOP Circuit Caesars Palace Las Vegas Main Event Champion Chris Johnson

2011 WSOP Circuit Caesars Palace Las Vegas Main Event Champion Chris Johnson

The Die is Cast

Chris Johnson Conquers the Competition at Caesars Palace

Las Vegas Poker Pro Earns First WSOP Circuit Gold Ring Victory

WSOP Circuit Main Event Attracts Big Turnout – 496 Entries

Las Vegas (April 30, 2011) – Poker was the star attraction on the world-famous Las Vegas Strip, this weekend. Caesars Palace hosted the thirteenth (of 15) World Series of Poker Circuit stops during the 2010-2011 season.

Poker players flocked to Caesars Palace from all over the country – actually, from all over the world – in order to compete for the last of ten gold rings at stake, plus piles of prize money, in addition to critical ranking points needed to qualify for the WSOP Circuit National Championship, which is also taking place later at Caesars Palace.

The Main Event Championship, which was a $1,500 (+100) buy-in No-Limit Hold’em tournament (officially known as Event #10), attracted the biggest field in its six-year history. There were 496 entries, up significantly from last year’s attendance.

The winner was Chris Johnson, from Las Vegas. He is a 24-year-old professional poker player. Johnson is originally from Nebraska. He moved to Las Vegas about nine months ago with the sole purpose of playing poker full-time. He has focused on a variety of targets, including playing both live and online. Johnson also spends much of his time playing in moderate to high-stakes cash games throughout Las Vegas.

Johnson collected $153,559 for first place. He was also presented with the first gold ring, the ultimate symbol of achievement awarded for winning a WSOP Circuit event. Johnson will being playing in the WSOP Circuit National Championship next month, by virtue of earning his seat via this victory.

Johnson caught fire at the end of the second day of tournament play. On the final hand of the night (Day Two), Johnson catapulted himself into the chip lead for the first time. On Day Three, as soon as the first hand was dealt at the final table, which was played the following afternoon, just about everything went in Johnson’s favor. He destroyed his opposition in record time.

Indeed, in a sense the final table was over just as things were getting underway. The finale was clocked at a rocket fast 2 hours and 40 minutes – making this one of the fastest final tables in the seven-year history of the WSOP Circuit.

“I got ran over by the deck,” Johnson said afterward. Everything went good for me today. I won two early coin flips and that pretty much made it smooth sailing the rest of the way.”

This was the last of ten official gold ring events played this year at Caesars Palace. The total prize pool amounted to $714,240 – making it the largest purse of any event played so far.  The top 54 finishers collected prize money. A complete list of all players that cashed can be found at WSOP.COM.

The tournament was played over three consecutive days.  After most of the starting field was eliminated on Day One, 84 survivors returned for Day Two action. Those players battled amongst themselves and played down to the final table during Day Two. Chris Johnson went into the final table as chip leader. But two other strong players, Alex Santiago and Adam Hui were close behind.

Final table play began with ten players on a Saturday afternoon in the top section of the Caesars Palace Poker Room. The finalists and their starting chip counts were as follows:

Seat 1: James Martini (Incline Village, NV) – 922,000 in chips
Seat 2: Chris Johnson (Las Vegas, NV) – 1,600,000 in chips
Seat 3: Alex Santiago (West Hartford, CT) – 1,478,000 in chips
Seat 4: Jon Seaman (Scottsdale, AZ) 617,000 in chips
Seat 5: John Kulish (Green Bay, WI) – 1,168,000 in chips
Seat 6: Brian England (Hazlet, NJ) – 1,390,000 in chips
Seat 7: “Hollywood Dave” Stann (Hollywood, CA) – 510,000 in chips
Seat 8: Matthew A. Leecy (Ottawa, KS) – 470,000 in chips
Seat 9: Derrick Kwenzel (Grand Forks, ND) – 486,000 in chips
Seat 10: Adam Hui (Markham, ON Canada) – 1,393,000 in chips

Final table play began at 12:15 pm. The table played at a lightning-fast pace. Four players were eliminated within the first 60 minutes. Play ended at 2:55 pm – making the total duration less than three hours. The official order of finish was as follows:

Tenth Place: Derrick Kwenzel enjoyed his WSOP-related cash and finished in tenth place. He was eliminated just a few hands into play when he lost a race – holding a middle pair versus two overcards. Kwenzel took 7-7 up against A-K. Not only did a king flop, which was nearly fatal for Kwenzel – he was kicked while down and out when the board four flushed, completing the opponent’s diamond lock. Kwenzel, who arrived at the final table with about half the average-sized stack, could take some satisfaction in collecting $11,492 in prize money. Kwenzel is a 36-year-old realtor from Grand Forks, ND.

Ninth Place: A few hands later, short-stacked Matthew A. Leecy lost his remaining chips when he could not overcome a dominating hand. Leecy shoved with A-8 and was called by chip leader Chris Johnson, who tabled A-Q. A queen on the flop all but ended Leecy’s hope of making a big comeback. Instead, he collected $14,249 in prize money. Leecy is a 23-year-old student and aspiring psychologist from Ottawa, KS. He serves in the Kansas Air National Guard. This was Leecy’s third time to make a WSOP Circuit final table.

Eighth Place: “Hollywood” Dave Stann is one of poker’s true characters. He notes himself as “the bad boy of blackjack, a poker punk, and an all-around rock star.” Side Note to Readers: This is for real. The flamboyant fashion mogul from his namesake Hollywood won a WSOP Circuit gold ring three years ago here at Caesars Palace. He hoped to add a Main Event victory to a resume that includes more than one-million in blackjack earnings, plus major poker tournament victories at the Venetian (Las Vegas) and Borgata (Atlantic City). But this was not Stann’s day. His stack melted when he was outfoxed by Brian England on a big hand. Stann shoved pre-flop holding A-T suited. He hoped to steal some chips, but England had smooth-called in middle position holding pocket kings and then made an instant call once Stann morphed into the aggressor. Stann failed to improve, which knocked him to the rail in eighth place. $17,906 was the figure added to Stann’s bankroll. Warning to Readers: More “Hollywood” Dave Stann trivia follows. He hosted and appeared on various television programs, including Celebrity Blackjack, King of Vegas, World Series of Blackjack, and the Ultimate Blackjack Tour. He is the author of “Hollywood Blackjack: An Uncensored Guide to Doing it Like a Pro.”

Seventh Place: Alex Santiago was the seventh-place finisher. He was eliminated when he took A-Q up against pocket tens. Santiago failed to make a pair, resulting in his elimination. Seventh place paid $22,820. Santiago is a 26-year-old poker pro. He has previously won both live and online tournaments, including a major event at the Borgata (Atlantic City). Santiago was a college student before playing poker full-time. He holds a B.A. in history from the University of Maryland. He wanted to note that all three of his brothers – Ari, David, and Jonathan – were rooting him on during the tournament. They could certainly be proud of Santiago’s showing.

Sixth Place:  James Martini, a 53-year-old retired CFO from New Jersey (now living in Incline Village, on Lake Tahoe) lost a race for all his chips and went out in sixth place. He shoved holding pocket fives. Brian England had plenty of chips and made the call, with K-J. Both a king and a jack flopped, drying up Martini. Nevertheless, Martini is clearly a player to watch in future tournaments. He has hopes of “getting better” at the game. He already won the Best All-Around Player award at this year’s World Poker Challenge, played at the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno. Sixth place paid $29,498.

Fifth Place:  Adam Hui, one of the stars of this year’s Caesars series, made a deep run and ended up in fifth place. The poker pro from Markham, Ontario (Canada) ended up with eighth, fifth, and fourth-place showing in the nine events he entered. Hui went card dead late and was down to a short stack when he pushed with K-5 (hoping to steal a round of blinds and antes). However, Brian England called with K-4. It was a great spot for Hui, until disaster struck when a four flopped. Hui could not improve from that point and accept the fifth-place payout totaling $38,669. Hui ended up winning the Best All-Around Player race for this Caesars Palace series and will play in the WSOP Circuit National Championship.

Fourth Place: John Kulish finished in fourth place. He took a terrible beat which cost him most of his chips. Kulish was dealt A-T and shoved. He got a call from Jon Seaman, who showed A-9. Kulish loved his situation, even after the flop when both players connected with a pair. Kulish’s pair of tens were in the lead, until disaster struck when another nine fell on the turn, ending Kulish’s run. The 65-year-old retiree from Green Bay, WI fell just short of Adam Hui in the point-race. Had Kulish taken second place (or better) in this tournament, he would have won the seat into the National Championship. Instead, Kulish came in two spots short but did earn a well-deserved $51,418 in prize money.

Third Place:  Jon Seaman went out in third place. He was getting low on chips, unable to stop the storm that was sitting to his right named Chris Johnson. Seaman decided he had to gamble at one point and got his chips in with K-J, which was a slight dog to Johnson’s A-2. In a repeat of virtually every other all-in situation, the big stack with the best hand prevailed. Neither player made a pair, so the ace-high scooped the pot. Seaman did manage to collect a very nice payout totaling $69,360. Seaman is a 27-year-old high-stakes poker player from Scottsdale, AZ.

Second Place: The heads up match only lasted a few hands. Outchipped by about a 5 to 1 margin, Brian England shoved holding A-J. He ran into A-K. The rest was history. The final hand was played out as follows:

England: Ah Jh
Johnson: Ad Kd
Flop: Ks Jd Th
Turn: 9s
River: 2c

Brian England is a 21-year-old poker pro from Hazlet, NJ. He attended Columbia University in New York. In fact, he played on the football team. England also played a lot of poker while in school. Remarkably, this is the first WSOP-related tournament England has played. He earned $94,944 as his consolation prize.

First Place: Chris Johnson, from Las Vegas became the latest WSOP Circuit Main Event champion. He earned his first WSOP Circuit gold ring with an impressive win at Caesars Palace. First place paid $153,559.

All ten gold ring events have now been completed. The list of Caesars champions reads as follows:

EVENT 1: Giuseppe Biancoviso – Florence, Italy ($350 buy-in NLHE)
EVENT 2: Randy Huberty – La Grange, KY ($560 NLHE)
EVENT 3: Randy Crowe – Los Osos, CA ($350 OMHL)
EVENT 4: Taylor Nguyen – Houston TX ($560 NLHE)
EVENT 5: Jesse Bryant – Conway, AK ($350 PLO)
EVENT 6: Bob Whalen – Milwaukee, WI $560 NLHE)
EVENT 7: Todd Chew – Nowhere, IL ($560 NLHE)
EVENT 8: Michael Souza – San Diego, CA ($350 SIX-HANDED NLHE)
EVENT 9: Miller Dao – Maricopa, AZ ($1,090 NLHE)
EVENT 10: Chris Johnson – Las Vegas, NV ($1,600 NLHE MAIN EVENT)

Two players qualified for the WSOP Circuit National Championship – Chris Johnson and Adam Hui.

Blake Kelso, one of two players with three final table appearances at this year’s Caesars series, took a bad beat in not winning a seat. His point lead was overcome in the final event by Adam Hui, who also made three final table appearances. Hui joined Johnson as winners of pre-paid entries into the $1 million 2010-2011 WSOP Circuit National Championship, to be held at Caesars Palace Las Vegas, next month. They are the only two players from Caesars Palace who qualified for the WSOP gold bracelet event.

The next WSOP Circuit stop is already underway in Chester, PA – located near Philadelphia. The final WSOP Circuit location of the current season will take place at Harrah’s New Orleans from May 8-22.

This marks the sixth straight year Caesars Palace Las Vegas has hosted a WSOP Circuit stop. The last five champions have all been local players from Las Vegas. The updated list of Main Event champions include:

2011: Chris Johnson (Las Vegas, NV)
2010: Andrew Lichtenberger (Las Vegas, NV)
2009: Justin Bonomo (Las Vegas, NV)
2008: Allen Cunningham (Las Vegas, NV)
2007: Cory Carroll (Las Vegas, NV)
2006: John Spadavecchia (Lighthouse Point, FL)

Executive Staff, World Series of Poker Circuit – Caesars Las Vegas

President – Gary Selesner
Vice President and Assistant General Manager – Gerry Tuthill
Vice President Specialty Games – Howard Greenbaum
Director Poker Operations – Andy Rich
Director Public Relations – Celena Haas

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World Series of Poker Circuit at Caesars Palace Las Vegas Main Event Final Table Set

Saturday, April 30th, 2011

Caesar Would Be Proud

Final Table of WSOP Circuit Main Event Championship Set for Caesars Las Vegas

Chris Johnson Leads the Final Ten, by Slim Margin

Main Event Draws Strong Field Totaling 496 Players

Las Vegas, NV (April 30, 2011) – This weekend, poker players are the marquee attraction on the world- famous Las Vegas Strip. Caesars Palace has been poker central for more than two weeks, playing host to the thirteenth (of 15) World Series of Poker Circuit stops during the 2010-2011 season.

Poker players flocked to Caesars Palace from all over the country – actually, from all over the world – in order to compete for the last of ten gold rings at stake, plus piles of prize money, in addition to critical ranking points needed to qualify for the WSOP Circuit National Championship, which is also taking place at Caesars Palace.

The final event on the ten-tournament Caesars Palace schedule is the $1,500 buy-in Main Event Championship. The three-day No-Limit Hold’em tournament started on Thursday. Competition will conclude Saturday with play of the final table.

The tournament attracted an impressive field size totaling 496 entries. Main Event participation was up significantly from last year’s number. This was consistent with increased overall participation for all gold ring events. In fact, two of the gold ring events this year attracted in excess of 500 players.

The Main Event prize pool amounts to $714,240. The top 54 finishers are being paid. Here’s a list of players who have finished in-the-money, so far:

11
Stepan Dzhigarkhanyan
MOSCOW, RUSSIA
$11,492

12
JJ Liu
LAS VEGAS, NV, US
$11,492

13
Benny Chen
STRATFORD, PE, CANADA
$9,399

14
Vasilis Lazarou
LAS VEGAS, NV, US
$9,399

15
Bo Pathammavond
HONOLULU, HI, US
$9,399

16
Harold Wasson
CORONA, CA, US
$7,785

17
Mary Jones
HENDERSON, NV, US
$7,785

18
Lance Oliver
ROSEVILLE, CA, US
$7,785

19
Luther Lewis
GOODLETTSVILLE, TN, US
$6,535

20
Michael Sortino
PAPILLION, NE, US
$6,535

21
Daniel Brown
SAN ANTONIO, TX, US
$6,535

22
David Williams
LAS VEGAS, NV, US
$5,557

23
Russell Powell
EL CAJON, CA, US
$5,557

24
James Fike
LAS VEGAS, NV, US
$5,557

25
Harold Wasson
CORONA, CA, US
$7,785

26
Jeremy Heartberg
WEBSTER, NY, US
$4,785

27
James Riggs
LEWISBURG, TN, US
$4,785

28
Steven Heeley
BALLWIN, MO, US
$4,178

29
Scott Epstein
LAS VEGAS, NV, US
$4,178

30
Raymond Wu
CHICAGO, IL, US
$4,178

31
William Wood
CARMEL, IN, US
$3,693

32
Andrew Robbins
CINCINNATI, OH, US
$3,693

33
Brian Park
LOS ALTOS, CA, US
$3,693

34
Evan Lamprea
WOODSTOCK, ON, CANADA
$3,307

35
Amanda Baker
LAS VEGAS, NV, US
$3,307

36
Mark Jeans
HERMOSA BEACH, CA, US
$3,307

37
Barry Hamilton
DENVER, CO, US
$2,993

38
Erica Schoenberg
HENDERSON, NV, US
$2,993

39
Andrew Watson
TULSA, OK, US
$2,993

40
Horatio Hu
FRESH MEADOW, CA, US
$2,993

41
Peter Paturzo
ORANGE COUNTY, CA, US
$2,993

42
David Levi
LAS VEGAS, NV, US
$2,993

43
Stan Quinn
DANVILLE, CA, US
$2,993

44
Jimmy Fricke
LAS VEGAS, NV, US
$2,993

45
David Byer
LAS VEGAS, NV, US
$2,993

46
Joshua Prager
YUBA CITY, CA, US
$2,743

47
Cody Slaughbaugh
HENDERSON, NV, US
$2,743

48
Anthony Lazar
PLYMOUTH, MN, US
$2,743

49
Clifford Waite
GRAND JUNCTION, CO, US
$2,743

50
Michael Chow
HONOLULU, HI, US
$2,743

51
Tony Hartmann
SHAKOPEE, MN, US
$2,743

52
Ann Mong
LAS VEGAS, NV, US
$2,743

53
Denny Robinson
HENDERSON, NV, US
$2,743

54
William Gaffney
BARTLETT, IL, US
$2,743

After more than 75 percent of the starting field was eliminated on Day One, just 84 survivors returned for Day Two action. Those players battled amongst themselves and played down to the final table during Day Two. Play will commence with Day Three starting at NOON Saturday afternoon, inside the Poker Tournament Room.

The ten finalists and their starting chip counts are as follows:

Seat 1: James Martini (Incline Village, NV) – 922,000 in chips

Seat 2: Chris Johnson (Las Vegas, NV) – 1,600,000 in chips

Seat 3: Alex Santiago (West Hartford, CT) – 1,478,000 in chips

Seat 4: Jon Seaman (Scottsdale, AZ) 617,000 in chips

Seat 5: John Kulish (Green Bay, WI) – 1,168,000 in chips

Seat 6: Brian England (Hazlet, NJ) – 1,390,000 in chips

Seat 7: “Hollywood Dave” Stann (Hollywood, CA) – 510,000 in chips

Seat 8: Matthew A. Leecy (Ottawa, KS) – 470,000 in chips

Seat 9: Derrick Kwenzel (Grand Forks, ND) – 486,000 in chips

Seat 10: Adam Hui (Markham, ON Canada) – 1,393,000 in chips

Among the more notable players among the final ten is former WSOP Circuit gold ring winner “Hollywood” Dave Stann. Adam Hui, who made it to two final tables at this Caesars series, is also still alive.

The current chip leader is Chris Johnson, from Las Vegas. However, three players are essentially close to be neck-a-neck in the lead – Johnson, plus Brian England and Adam Hui.

The winner receives $153,559 for first place. He also receives the coveted gold ring, the token prize for winning a WSOP Circuit event. The champion will also gain an automatic seat into the season-end National Championship finale, which is to be televised from Caesars Palace during May 27-29.

This final tournament caps yet another successful tournament series at Caesars Palace. The following players won the first nine events:

EVENT 1: Giuseppe Biancoviso – Florence, Italy ($350 buy-in NLHE)

EVENT 2: Randy Huberty – La Grange, KY ($560 NLHE)

EVENT 3: Randy Crowe – Los Osos, CA ($350 OMHL)

EVENT 4: Taylor Nguyen – Houston TX ($560 NLHE)

EVENT 5: Jesse Bryant – Conway, AK ($350 PLO)

EVENT 6: Bob Whalen – Milwaukee, WI $560 NLHE)

EVENT 7: Todd Chew – Nowhere, IL ($560 NLHE)

EVENT 8: Michael Souza – San Diego, CA ($350 SIX-HANDED NLHE)

EVENT 9: Miller Dao – Maricopa, AZ ($1,090 NLHE)

At present, Blake Kelso leads the race as the Best All-Around Player for the Caesars Palace Las Vegas series, with 85 points. With his three final table appearances (8-7-2) in previous tournaments, he was the point leader coming into the Main Event. However, it appears Adam Hui from Canada has a very good chance to overtake Kelso in points. It will depend upon where Hui finishes. Should he win the Main Event, he would automatically qualify – which would then help Kelso. In addition to the Main Event winner, the (one) player who accumulates the most overall points in the ten gold ring tournaments receives a pre-paid entry into the $1 million 2010-2011 WSOP Circuit National Championship.

This marks the fifth straight year Caesars Palace Las Vegas has hosted a WSOP Circuit stop. Previous Main Event champions include:

2010: Andrew Lichtenberger (Las Vegas, NV)

2009: Justin Bonomo (Las Vegas, NV)

2008: Allen Cunningham (Las Vegas, NV)

2007: Cory Carroll (Las Vegas, NV)

2006: John Spadavecchia (Lighthouse Point, FL)

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2011 Caesars Palace Las Vegas WSOP Circuit Ring Event 2 Results

Tuesday, April 19th, 2011

2010/2011 World Series of Poker Circuit
Caesars Palace Las Vegas
Event #2
No-Limit Hold’em
Buy-In: $500 (+60)
Total Entries: 247
Total Prize Pool: $118,560
April 16-17, 2011

Official Results (Final):

1 Randy Huberty LA GRANGE, KY, US $29,047
2 Brian Hunt PEARLAND, TX, US $17,948
3 Brandon Bowyer CORONA, CA, US $12,967
4 Akio Ishii TOKYO, JAPAN $9,543
5 Barry Clapp CALGARY, AB, CANADA $7,149
6 Richard Jackson KEY WEST, FL, US $5,448
7 Raju Jawalekar LAS VEGAS, NV, US $4,221
8 Neil Webber AUSTIN, TX, US $3,323
9 Darren Michels HENDERSON, NV, US $2,658
10 Bryce Daifuku MERCER ISLAND, WA, US $2,159
11 Justin Oliver BARNHART, MO, USA $2,159
12 Jack Lo LOS ALTOS, CA, US $2,159
13 Tripp Kirk CHAMBLEE, GA, US $1,781
14 Matthew Hankins NEWNAN, GA, US $1,781
15 Simon Samano CULVER CITY, CA, US $1,781
16 David Miranda HOBBS, NM, US $1,491
17 Arthur Hinson ATLANTA, GA, US $1,491
18 James Hoeppner LAS VEGAS, NV, US $1,491
19 Jared Michelizzi BLAINE, MN, US $1,269
20 Danny Alvarez NEW YORK, NY, US $1,269
21 Scott Sitron HENDERSON, NV, US $1,269
22 Samuel Leckie GLASGOW, SCOTLAND $1,094
23 David Slowik LAS VEGAS, NV, US $1,094
24 Jonathan Persekian POWAY, CA, US $1,094
25 Robert Wofford PEORIA, AZ, US $958
26 Joshua Jumpp Calera, OK, US $958
27 Qui Ho NORTH CHARLESTON, SC, US $958

Randy Huberty Wins Gold Ring at Caesars Palace

Through First Two Events, WSOP Circuit Attendance Up 18 Percent Over Last Year

2011 Caesars Palace Las Vegas WSOP Circuit Ring Event 2 Winner Randy Huberty

2011 Caesars Palace Las Vegas WSOP Circuit Ring Event 2 Winner Randy Huberty

Las Vegas (April 17, 2011) – Poker may be more about skill than chance. But Randy Huberty is on a lucky streak.

The 54-year-old recreational poker player from Kentucky won the most recent World Series of Poker Circuit event, held at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. Huberty collected first place prize money totaling $29,047. He was also presented with his first WSOP Circuit gold ring, the ultimate prize awarded to all tournament champions.

Huberty’s success at the poker table aside, he was far more fortunate in the bigger game of life. He recently received a liver transplant. Huberty has been getting positive medical reports since then, and now appears well on the road to making a full recovery and living a healthy life. No doubt, Huberty was far more thrilled to win that “all-in” battle which took place in an operating room. But a WSOP Circuit win at Caesars Palace isn’t too shabby, either.

Huberty works as a construction supervisor. However, he is now semi-retired. Huberty came to Las Vegas on vacation earlier this week with his wife. He decided to enter this tournament after seeing the WSOP Circuit was being played during his stay at Caesars Palace. A casual decision to spend a day at the tables and a few lucky breaks in the tournament led to achieving his first major tournament victory.

To make the victory even sweeter, Huberty won in style. He made a big comeback when playing heads-up against a tough opponent named Brian Hunt. Huberty was behind in chips at one point by nearly a 3 to 1 margin. But just when his wife Shelley entered the poker room to cheer on her favorite poker player, Huberty raked in a huge pot and seized the chip lead. Two hands later, it was all over, with Huberty hugging his wife in celebration of the victory.

Following his triumph, Huberty called his son Andrew on his cell phone, who is enrolled at the University of Kentucky. He said his son could not have been prouder of his dad. Indeed, winning this tournament was a very special personal moment for the Huberty Family, who all share a piece of the gold ring symbolizing victory, made all the more poignant overcoming far more serious personal challenges.

Alas, Randy Huberty is a champion – in more ways than one.

Huberty won the $500 (+60) buy-in No-Limit Hold’em tournament, classified at Event #2. This was the second of ten official gold ring events at Caesars Palace Las Vegas. The total prize pool amounted to $118,560.  The top 27 finishers collected prize money.

Attendance for the first two events increased from last year. The field size of 247 players for Event #2 surpassed last year’s attendance figure (195 players) by 26 percent for the same event. Combined attendance for the first two events played at Caesars Palace is now at 695 players, which is up 18 percent over the first two tournaments played in 2010.

The tournament was played over two days.  After most of the starting field was eliminated on Day One, 18 survivors returned for Day Two action. It took a few hours to play down to the final ten.

Final table play began on a Sunday afternoon in the top section of the Caesars Palace Poker Room.  The finalists and their starting chip counts were as follows:

Seat 1: Neil Webber (Austin, TX) – 160,000 in chips        
Seat 2: Randy Huberty (La Grange, KY) – 420,000 in chips       
Seat 3: Akio Ishii (Tokyo, Japan) — 434,000 in chips       
Seat 4: Raju Jawalekar (Las Vegas, MV) – 159,000 in chips
Seat 5: Brian Hunt (Pearland, TX) – 445,000 in chips     
Seat 6: Brandon Bowyer (Murrieta, CA) – 379,000 in chips       
Seat 7: Bryce Daifuku (Las Vegas, NV) – 214,000 in chips
Seat 8: Richard Jackson (Key West, FL) – 409,000 in chips
Seat 9: Darren Michels (Henderson, NV) – 118,000 in chips
Seat 10: Barry Clapp (Calgary, AB Canada) – 238,000 in chips

Final table action began at 4 pm and ended at 10 pm.  Players were eliminated in the following order.

Tenth Place: Bryce Daifuku lasted about a half hour before busting out. He is a 25-year-old poker pro from Las Vegas. Daifuku previously worked in biochemistry research before pursuing the game full time. His previous tournament cashes include a win at the North American Poker Tour stop in Los Angeles, last year. He also cashed twice in last year’s WSOP in Las Vegas.

Ninth Place: Darren Michels made his first WSOP Circuit final table appearance. In fact, this was the first time he had entered a WSOP-related event. Unfortunately, he busted out after taking a bad beat. Michels is a 44-year-old poker from nearby Henderson, NV.

Eighth Place: Neil Webber, a 49-year-old software engineer from Austin, TX finished in eighth place. He has enjoyed a number of previous cashes in major tournaments, including quite a few in-the-money finishes in the Venetian Deep Stack series.

Seventh Place: The seventh-place finisher was Raju Jawalekar, from Las Vegas, NV. He is a Indian-born software developer. Jawalekar created and developed an iphone application called “PokerCruncher,” which is an advanced poker odds calculator.

Sixth Place:  Richard Jackson, a retiree from Key West, FL was the sixth-place finisher. He has cashed in a few other tournaments, including the Wynn Classic. Jackson was one of the early chip leaders, but went card dead at the worst time of the tournament and ended up with the mixed blessing of a middle of the pack finish.

Fifth Place:  Barry Clapp finished in fifth place. He is an attorney from Calgary, Alberta (Canada) who specializes in employment law. Clapp could applaud his fine effort in this tournament. He has now cashed nearly a dozen times in various tournaments played in Las Vegas the past year. Clapp also previously cashed in the Canadian Poker Championship, a few years ago.

Fourth Place:  Akio Ishii, who is visiting the U.S. from Japan, ended up as the fourth-place finisher. Had he won this tournament, he would have become only the second Japanese citizen in history to win a WSOP-related tournament. The first Japanese winner was Jaeik Cho, who earned his victory a few months ago at Caesars Atlantic City. Ishii is a 64-year-old businessman who cashed twice at the WSOP, both times occurring in the Seniors Championship.

Third Place:  Brandon Bowyer went from having a lot of chips to the rail within a relatively short time frame. He had a big stack, but lost nearly half of his chips when he ran into pocket aces. A short time later Bowyer moved all-in on a semi-bluff with a huge draw, but missed. Bowyer can be proud of the fact he has played in four WSOP Circuit events and has cashed in two of them. His fine effort in this tournament was good for $12,967 in prize money.

Second Place:  Brian Hunt finished as the runner up. The last ten minutes of the tournament were a nightmare for the 37-year-old pest control specialist from Pearland, TX. He appeared on his way to a victory. However, Hunt missed to big draws late and had to settle for a consolation prize amounting to $17,948.

Note: Hunt works for his company, “Hunt’s Pest Control.” He asked for a special plug in the official tournament report. Anyone with serious bug problems in the Houston area would be well advised to call upon Mr. Hunt.

When heads-up play began, the bug butcher enjoyed nearly a 3 to 1 chip advantage. The two finalists battled for only a short time. The first big hit took place when Hunt moved all-in on a straight draw, but missed. He lost to a pair of sevens. The final hand was dealt a short time later. The cards were played as follows:

Hunt – As 2h
Huberty – Ac Js
Flop – As Qd 7d
Turn – 6h
River – 7d

All the chips went in on after the flop.  Both players flopped top pair, but Huberty held the better kicker. Hunt bet out 70,000 in chips. Huberty re-raised all-in, which was called. Huberty had his opponent covered by about a 2 to 1 margin. The turn and river failed to improve Hunt’s hand. Huberty won the final pot of the tournament with a pair of aces, plus a jack kicker.

First Place: Randy Huberty became the latest WSOP Circuit champion. He received $29,047 for first place. Huberty earned his first major tournament victory and first WSOP Circuit gold ring. Huberty’s best previous showing was third place in a tournament played in Louisville, KY called the “Poor Boy Classic.” After his impressive win here in Las Vegas, one presumes Huberty will be ineligible to enter that same event next year.

Huberty joins yesterday’s winner Giuseppe Biancoviso at the top of the leaderboard as early point leaders in the Best-All Around race for the Caesars Palace series.  The player who accumulates the most overall points in the ten gold ring tournaments receives a pre-paid entry into the $1 million 2010-2011 WSOP Circuit National Championship, to be held at Caesars Palace Las Vegas, next month. At least two players from Caesars Palace will qualify for the WSOP gold bracelet event.

2010-2011 Caesars Palace Las Vegas WSOP Circuit Events Schedule and Results

2011 Caesars Palace Las Vegas WSOP Circuit Ring Event 2 Final Results

There are eight more gold ring events remaining. The WSOP Circuit at Caesars Palace continues through April 30th.  This year’s schedule includes ten 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.

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2011 Caesars Palace Las Vegas WSOP Circuit Ring Event 1 Results

Tuesday, April 19th, 2011

2010/2011 World Series of Poker Circuit
Caesars Palace Las Vegas
Event #1
No-Limit Hold’em
Buy-In: $300 (+50)
Total Entries: 448
Total Prize Pool: $129,065
April 15-16, 2011

Official Results (Final):

1 Giuseppe Biancoviso CATANIA, ITALY $28,398
2 Leonid Ryadynskyy KHARKOV, UKRAINE $17,546
3 Josh Evans PLANO, TX, US $12,821
4 George Ash CARMEL, CA, US $9,520
5 Scott Davies LAS VEGAS, NV, US $7,179
6 Dmitry Shamilov BROOKLYN, NY, US $5,494
7 Blake Kelso LAS VEGAS, NV, US $4,267
8 Phillip Dagger SIDNEY, BC, CA $3,361
9 Sheila Olsen JACKSONVILLE, FL, US $2,685
10 Michael Bernal TUCSON, AZ, US $2,173
11 Remilyn Nacionales Roseville, CA, US $2,173
12 Steven Lyons SPRING, TX, USA $2,173
13 Mark Muchnik HENDERSON, NV, US $1,784
14 Joseph Sena SAN DIEGO, CA, US $1,784
15 Randy Coble SAN ANTONIO, TX, US $1,784
16 Thomas Kougias LAS VEGAS, NV, US $1,484
17 Larry Rogers WARRENTON, MO, US $1,484
18 Karri Konga LAS VEGAS, NV, US $1,484
19 Gary Nanni HENDERSON, NV, USA $1,251
20 Gregory Chen CHICAGO, IL, US $1,251
21 Dimas Reyes SAN ANTONIO, TX, US $1,251
22 Wesley Lew SAN RAMON, CA, US $1,067
23 Nicholas Ivester CHARLOTTE, NC, US $1,067
24 Karl Fulde LAS VEGAS, NV, US $1,067
25 Eric Minjares SUGAR LAND, TX, US $923
26 Venerando Villarino LAS VEGAS, NV, US $923
27 Yousri Ali CHICAGO, IL, US $923
28 Allan Jacobi MORAGA, CA, US $808
29 Claudio Argese TORINO, ITALY $808
30 Connie Rockhill BLUFTON, SC, US $808
31 Michael Wexler BOYNTON BEACH, FL, US $716
32 Nicholas Caquette LEWISTON, ME, US $716
33 Carl Misera NATRONIC HEIGHTS, PA, US $716
34 LeRoy Wayman SALT LAKE CITY, UT, US $643
35 Michael Parizon CANTON, MI, US $643
36 Brett Schwertley OMAHA, NE, US $643
37 Min Ho So ORLANDO, FL, US $583
38 Manuel Siordia LOS ANGELES, CA, US $583
39 Daniel Halverson LAS VEGAS, NV, US $583
40 Jefferson Morrill NASHVILLE, TN, US $583
41 Joshua Harer PHOENIX, AZ, US $583
42 Neil Alcorn DALLAS, TX, US $583
43 Nathaniel Bedocs LAS VEGAS, NV, US $583
44 Jenny Wilson SEAL BEACH, CA, US $583
45 Doyle Packer ROUND ROCK, TX, US $583

Italy Defeats Ukraine in Caesars Palace Opener

Italian Giuseppe Biancoviso Tops Ukrainian Leonid Ryadynskyy in Heads-Up Play

WSOP Circuit First Event Attendance Up 16 Percent Over Last Year

2011 Caesars Palace Las Vegas WSOP Circuit Ring Event 1 Winner Giuseppe Biancoviso

2011 Caesars Palace Las Vegas WSOP Circuit Ring Event 1 Winner Giuseppe Biancoviso

Las Vegas (April 16, 2011) – It’s a small world. Who would have thought two non-English speaking Europeans who each traveled thousands of miles and came all the way to Las Vegas would end up at the final table together playing heads-up for a World Series of Poker Circuit gold ring?

That’s precisely what happened in the opening WSOP Circuit tournament held at famed Caesars Palace, located on the Las Vegas Strip.

It didn’t matter that more than 400 players, perhaps 95 percent of them Americans, constituted the field. In the end, the two poker players who had very likely traveled the greatest distances reaped the biggest rewards from the journey.

The tournament winner was Guiseppe Biancoviso, from Florence, Italy. He is originally from Catania, located on the island of Sicily. Biancoviso is a 28-year-old electrician. He plays poker part time. Biancoviso’s prior tournament experience is limited to a few events held last year at San Remo, which is part of the European Poker Tour (EPT).

Biancoviso dominated final table play. He busted out seven of the final nine opponents. First place paid $28,398 in prize money. Biancoviso was also presented with the coveted gold ring, the token prize awarded to all champions who win WSOP Circuit events.

All in all, for Biancoviso — it wasn’t a bad way to spend a holiday vacation. He came to Las Vegas for nine days, mostly to play poker with his friends. Following his WSOP Circuit victory, Biancoviso admitted he had not won much money while visiting. So, the victory was particularly sweet for both financial reasons and as a personal celebration.

Finishing in second place was Leonid Ryadynskyy, from Kharkov, Ukraine. This marked his second time to cash in a Las Vegas poker tournament. Unfortunately, Ryadynskyy didn’t have quite enough momentum to achieve victory. He nursed a healthy chip stack during much of the later stages of the tournament. However, the Ukrainian was not able to seriously threaten the cheap leaders, but did come away with a very respectable consolation prize amounting to $17,546.

Perhaps next time when an Italian and a Ukrainian want to compete for a WSOP title, they should save on the airfare. Maybe some neutral middle ground can be found to host poker’s battle of nations.

Then again, both players said afterward the experience was particularly memorable for one reason. It happened in Las Vegas. In this case, “what happens in Vegas” is certainly not going to stay in Vegas.

Biancoviso’s triumph came in a $300 (+50) buy-in No-Limit Hold’em tournament, classified at Event #1. This was the first of ten official gold ring events at Caesars Palace Las Vegas. The total prize pool amounted to $129,065.  The top 45 finishers collected prize money.

Attendance in the opener increased substantially from last year. The field size of 448 players surpassed last year’s attendance (384 players) by 16 percent, even though this buy-in was higher. Last year’s opener had a $200 buy-in.

The tournament was played over two days.  After most of the starting field was eliminated on Day One, 28 survivors returned for Day Two action. It took a few hours to play down to the final ten.

Final table play began on a Saturday afternoon in the top section of the Caesars Palace Poker Room.  The finalists and their starting chip counts were as follows:

Seat 1: Michael Bernal (Tucson, AZ) – 208,000 in chips        
Seat 2: Dmitry Shamilov (Brooklyn, NY) – 400,000 in chips      
Seat 3: Blake Kelso (Las Vegas, NV) – 841,000 in chips       
Seat 4: George Ash (Carmel, CA) – 361,000 in chips
Seat 5: Phil Dagger (Sidney, BC Canada) – 584,000 in chips     
Seat 6: Josh Evans (Plano, TX) – 525,000 in chips       
Seat 7: Giuseppe Biancoviso (Catania, Italy) – 533,000 in chips
Seat 8: Leonid Ryadynskyy (Kharkov, Ukraine) – 396,000 in chips
Seat 9: Scott Davies (Las Vegas, NV) – 341,000 in chips
Seat 10: Sheila Olsen (Jacksonville, NC) – 211,000 in chips

Final table action began at 5 pm and ended at 9:30 pm.  Players were eliminated in the following order.

Tenth Place: The first player eliminated was Michael Bernal, from Tucson, AZ. He arrived at the final table as the short stack and lasted about a half hour. Bernal, who works as a fireman on the Tucson Fire Department was extinguished in tenth place. Last year, he cashed twice at the WSOP in Las Vegas. This was his highest major tournament finish, to date.

Ninth Place: Sheila Olsen was the top female finisher in this event. The Indian-born part-time poker player from North Carolina went out with A-K which lost to A-Q (a queen flopped). She ended up in ninth place. This marked her first time to cash in a major poker tournament.

Eighth Place: Phil Dagger, who is originally from the UK and now resides in British Columbia (Canada), finished in eighth place. Dagger was stabbed through the heart when he took a bad beat on his final hand. This was his second time to cash in a WSOP Circuit event at Caesars Palace. Dagger took ninth place in an event played last year.

Seventh Place: Blake Kelso arrived at the final table as chip leader. In fact, he enjoyed a big lead over his closest rival when play began. But Kelso suffered a brutal cold deck late during his stay and ended up in seventh place. Kelso, a 28-year-old poker pro, has previously cashed in numerous tournaments around Las Vegas. This was his 13th time to cash in just the last six months. Kelso also took fifth place in last year’s Caesars Poker Classic Main Event.

Sixth Place:  Dmitry Shamilov, a currency trader from Brooklyn, NY ended up as the sixth-place finisher. Shamilov is originally from Russia. Shamilov won an event previously held at the Trump Taj Mahal, in Atlantic City. He is engaged to be married soon to his fiancé “Inna,” who he wished to credit for providing the inspiration to play well in the tournament and succeed away from the game, as well.

Fifth Place:  Scott Davies, a 30-year-old poker pro from Las Vegas. He earned a law degree a few years back, but soon discovered that he had no interest in being an attorney, even though he had passed the Florida Bar Exam and worked for a firm specializing in aviation law. Davies took a gamble instead and decided to play poker. So far, his investment has paid off. Davies has now been playing poker full time for about three years. He ended up finishing in fifth place in this tournament. Davies has numerous other cashes in tournaments, mostly in Nevada and California.

Fourth Place:  George Ash was the fourth-place finisher. He enjoyed a few nice cashes last year, including cashing in the 2010 Shooting Star Main Event. But this was his first occasion to cash in a WSOP-related tournament. Ash is an architect from Carmel, CA.

Third Place:  Josh Evans ended up in third place. He is a 26-year-old part-time poker player from Plano, TX which is in the Dallas area. Evans’ biggest career cash was a 76th-place finish in the 2007 WSOP Main Event, where he earned more than $100,000. Evans now has more than $200,000 in live tournament winnings. He cashed in two WSOP Circuit events held earlier this year, at Choctaw (in Oklahoma).

Second Place:  Leonid Ryadynskyy finished as the runner up. He is a 34-year-old part-time poker player from Kharkov, Ukraine. This marked his first time to cash in a WSOP-related tournament. His only other previous recorded tournament finish took place in a tournament held last year at the Venetian.

When heads-up play began, Biancoviso enjoyed nearly a 3 to 1 chip advantage. The two finalists battled for only a short time when the final hand was dealt. The card were played as follows:

Biancoviso – Js 7h
Ryadynskyy – As Jd
Flop – 8h 6h 5h
Turn – Kh
River – 9c

All the chips went in on after the flop.  Biancoviso had his opponent covered by more than a 2 to 1 margin. Biancoviso flopped a monster draw – which was an open-ended straight flush. However, Ryadynskyy had the lead with his ace high and was actually a slight favorite on the hand. Then, it all ended. The turn brought another heart, giving Biancoviso a flush. Since he did not have a heart, Ryadnyskyy was drawing completely dead. Biancoviso won the hand and the tournament with his king-high flush.

First Place: Giuseppe Biancoviso became the latest WSOP Circuit champion. He received $28,398 for first place. Biancoviso earned his first WSOP-related victory and first gold ring. This was the first time Biancoviso has cashed in a WSOP tournament.

Biancoviso rocketed to the top of the leaderboard as the early point leader in the Best-All Around race for the Caesars Palace series.  The player who accumulates the most overall points in the ten gold ring tournaments receives a pre-paid entry into the $1 million 2010-2011 WSOP Circuit National Championship, to be held at Caesars Palace Las Vegas, next month. At least two players from Caesars Palace will qualify for the WSOP gold bracelet event.

2010-2011 Caesars Palace Las Vegas WSOP Circuit Events Schedule and Results

2011 Caesars Palace Las Vegas WSOP Circuit Ring Event 1 Results

There are nine more gold ring events remaining. The WSOP Circuit at Caesars Palace continues through April 30th.  This year’s schedule includes ten 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.

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2011 Harrah’s St. Louis WSOP Circuit Main Event Final Results

Wednesday, April 13th, 2011

2010-2011 World Series of Poker Circuit
Season Seven
Harrah’s St. Louis
No-Limit Hold’em Main Event
Buy-In: $1,600
Total Entries: 449
Total Prize Pool: $646,762
April 10-12, 2011

Final Results:

1 Kyle Cartwright Bartlett, TN $142,290
2 Asheesh Boyapati Sterling, VA $87,927
3 Ronald Segni Ln, CA $64,249
4 Phillip Stelzer Columbia, MO $47,705
5 Troy Weber W Terre Haute, IN $35,973
6 Christopher Viox Glen Carbon, IL $27,533
7 Mitchell Franks Tupelo, MS $21,382
8 Steven Goff Secor, IL $16,842
9 Nick Jivkov Des Plaines, IL $13,453
10 Scott Carlson Green bay, WI $10,891
11 Yury Parad Chicago, IL $10,891
12 Samuel Ansley Colleyville, TX $10,891
13 Matthew Thornton Keokuk, IA $8,938
14 Gary Herstein Chicago, FL $8,938
15 Thomas Cronin St Peters, MO $8,938
16 Mark Koeln St Louis, MO $7,438
17 Lance Craig Grapevine, TX $7,438
18 Ryan Sponaugle Palm Harbor, FL $7,438
19 Douglas Winters St Louis, MO $6,267
20 Matthew Stern Rock Island, IL $6,267
21 Harris Paroya N Kansas City, MO $6,267
22 Terry Stuhldreher St Charles, MO $5,349
23 Kelly Johnson Louisburg, Ks $5,349
24 Samuel Devers Fenton, MO $5,349
25 Gaetano Mondello Chesterfield, MO $4,624
26 Daniel Chambers St Louis, MO $4,624
27 Steve Galey Petersburg, IN $4,624
28 Dylan Thomassie Champaign, IL $4,049
29 Brett Schwertley Omaha, NE $4,049
30 David Schaarf Maryland Hts, MO $4,049
31 Brandon Steven Wichita, KS $3,590
32 Cory Drury Florissant, MO $3,590
33 Aaron Massey Elmwood, IL $3,590
34 Johnathan Dahlberg St Charles, MO $3,221
35 William Blood Excelsior Spgs, MO $3,221
36 Gary Lucht Cissna Park, IL $3,221
37 Clayton Hamm Yorkville, IL $2,923
38 Nadezhda Magnus Palatine, IL $2,923
39 Christopher Juul Kansas City, MO $2,923
40 Gary Schaan St Louis, Mo $2,923
41 J. Austin Hijar St. Louis, MO $2,923
42 David Potter Ballwin, MO $2,923
43 Gregory McCurry Prospect, KY $2,923
44 Timothy Hebert Maurice, LA $2,923
45 Todd Bartlett Dallas City, IL $2,923

Kyle Cartwright Wins Championship Main Event at Harrah’s St. Louis

Picks up Third Gold Ring since Playing in First Live Tournament in February

Cartwright Clinches Seamless Victory in Four-Hour Final Table Whirlwind

2011 Harrah's St. Louis WSOP Circuit Main Event Winner Kyle Cartwright

2011 Harrah's St. Louis WSOP Circuit Main Event Winner Kyle Cartwright

Back in February with the encouragement of friends and just $2,000 to his name, 23-year-old online poker player Kyle Cartwright decided to make a go at the live tournament circuit.

The decision would soon prove to be one the best choices that the University of Memphis graduate had ever made. Just 100 days later, Cartwright is a three-time World Series of Poker Circuit champion and has parlayed that initial $2k investment into over $200,000 in WSOPC earnings.

Cartwright, who back in February accomplished the astounding feat of winning two consecutive WSOPC Gold Rings in only his third and fourth-ever live tournaments, picked up a third gold ring playing in only his 12th live tournament in the Harrah’s St. Louis World Series of Poker Circuit Main Event Championship.

For the win, Cartwright booked the largest score of his budding career – $142,290.

Cartwright started day two near the bottom of the leader board but after building up a healthy stack with the help of a good run of cards, the 23-year-old University of Memphis graduate turned up the aggression to distance himself even further from the pack.

“After that first day, Sam Barnhart (the Tunica Main Event Champion) told me how he started day two with around the same amount of chips and he gave me confidence,” said Cartwright.

“That really helped me a lot going into day two.”

The $1,600 buy-in event drew 449 players, generating a total of $646,762, the largest poker tournament prize pool in Missouri state history.

Greg Raymer, Dennis Phillips, Dwyte Pilgrim and TJ Cloutier were among the notables who competed in the three-day event.

Raymer, who went to high school in St. Louis and graduated with a degree in chemistry from the University of Missouri-Rolla, took to the mic just before day one play began to share a few words with the players and make the announcement to shuffle up and deal.

A barrage of day one eliminations which included Pilgrim and Cloutier left 92 players bagging up their chips for the night and returning for day two play which began promptly at noon CST. Raymer and Phillips were among the survivors along with WSOPC veterans Mark “Pegasus” Smith and John “Cowboy” Land.

Unfortunately, all four men saw their exit on day two before the money bubble burst shortly after 4pm.

Harris Paroya of Lee’s Summit, MO started day two atop the leaderboard, but was eliminated late in the day finishing in 21st.

The final nine players resumed day three play just after 1:00 pm CST with Cartwright holding nearly a third of the chips in play to start the day. In less than four hours, it would all be over.

Name Hometown Seat Chip Count
Kyle Cartwright Bartlett, TN 1 2,875,000
Mitch Franks Tupelo, MS 2 460,000
Nick Jivkov Des Plaines, IL 3 206,000
Ron Segni El Cajon, CA 4 983,000
Asheesh Boyapati Sterling, VA 5 1,138,000
Chris Viox Glen Carbon, IL 6 346,000
Troy Weber West Terre Haute, IN 7 1,000,066
Steve Goff Eureka, IL 8 1,270,000
Phil Stelzer Columbia, MO 9 637,000

Eliminations took place in the following order:

Ninth Place
With blinds and antes at 15,000/30,000 Nick Jivkov moved his short stack all-in UTG with [Ah][9s] and was called by Ron Segni with pocket sevens. The board was dealt out [5d][6c][6h][3c][4h], giving the pot to Segni and sending Jivkov to the rail in ninth. Jivkov is a former logistics company owner who now plays poker for a living. The 32-year-old married father of two collected $13,453 for ninth.

Eighth Place
Steve Goff got it all-in on the button with pocket deuces vs. Cartwright, who tabled [Ac][Kh]. Goff remained ahead after a [Td]Qc][7h] flop and [5s] turn, but the river was disaster – [Kd] and his tournament run was over. Goff is a 25 years old from Euerka, IL. Eighth place paid $16,842.

Seventh Place
A short while after Goff’s exit, Mitch Franks moved all-in, running his pocket tens into Phil Stelzer’s pocket kings. The jack-high board was no help to either player, sending Franks on his way to collect seventh place prize money. Franks is a 41-year-old engineer from Tupelo, MS. He is a married father of three and an avid fan of Mississippi State University athletics. For his seventh place finish, Franks took home $21,382.

Sixth Place
The final table exodus continued when Chris Viox found himself all-in for his tournament life in a race situation with Cartwright after showing A-Q to Cartwright’s pocket nines. The nines held steady through a king-high flop and blanks on the turn and river, moving Cartwright up to over 4.7 million in chips and sending Viox to the payout table to collect $27,533 for sixth.

Viox is a 35-year-old poker player and investor from Glen Carbon, IL. The married father of two placed third in the 2008 $1,500 buy-in Razz event. For his performance at the Harrah’s St. Louis Main Event he pocketed $27,533.

Fifth Place
With blinds now at 20,000/40,000, Troy Weber would be the fifth place finisher. All in with pocket fives vs. Asheesh Boyapati’s [Ah][Jd], Weber was outflopped after a spread of [Kd][Js][3d]. Weber stayed behind after a [9d] turn and [7h] river, and his Main Event was finished. Weber is a 40-year-old salesman from West Terre Haute, IN. He has numerous previous circuit event cashes with his latest one worth $35,973.

Fourth Place
It was another all-in coin flip after Segni opened for 125,000 with pocket sixes only to see Stelzer move all-in over the top with [As][Kd]. Segni made the call for his tournament life and the two went heads up to an 8-9-K flop. It appeared that Segni would be going home, but after the [6c] fell on the turn, Stelzer was drawing dead and was left crippled. He was eliminated by Boyapati a few hands later.

With his fourth place finish, Stelzer overtook the current all-around points leader at Harrah’s St. Louis, Jordan Drummond to claim the title of Casino Champion and earn an automatic seat to the WSOP Circuit National Championship to be held in May at Caesars Palace Las Vegas. Stelzer is a 69-year-old grandfather of 12 children who began playing poker in 1950 for baseball cards. Stelzer’s fourth place finish earned him $47,705.

Third Place
Segni was soon all-in for just over a million in chips with [As][Ts] and was called by Cartwright who showed [Ad][Kh]. Segni fell farther behind after a flop of [Ac][Kc][2d] , where he stayed after the [2c] and [3d] fell on the turn and river. Segni is a contractor from El Cajon, CA and has a son and daughter both in college with his wife of 26 years. His $64,249 third place prize will hopefully be enough to keep the kids enrolled for another year.

Second Place
Heads up play began at about 4:30 pm with Cartwright at more than a 3-1 chip lead over Boyapati. Play lasted only a few hands before Boyapati moved all-in with [8h][5c] after Cartwright made it 110,000 to go pre-flop. Cartwright made the call, showing [Kd][Qs] and after a final board of [2d][Jd][Td][Tc][3s], Cartwright was declared the winner.

For second place, Boyapati took home a healthy $87,927 in prize money. Boyapati is a 25-year-old software engineer from Sterling, VA. He is a recreational poker player who picked up the game just last year.

Harrah’s St. Louis’ 2010/2011 Main Event Champion was awarded $142,290 and his third WSOP Circuit Gold Ring.

“I feel like I have a small advantage for some reason. I’m not sure how to explain it but I think I do,” said Cartwright about his phenomenal run over the last hundred days.

This was the second year that the World Series of Poker Circuit Events has come to Harrah’s St. Louis. Tournament organizers have deemed this year’s series to be an overall success with increases over last year’s attendance and prize pools. This year’s opening event saw a 20% increase in attendance over 2010.

2010-2011 Harrah’s St. Louis WSOP Circuit Events Schedule and Results

2011 Harrah’s St. Louis WSOP Circuit Main Event Final Results

The next stop on the 2010/2011 World Series of Poker Circuit Event schedule is Caesars Palace Las Vegas. The sixteen-day event runs from April 14 through April 30th.

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2011 Harrah’s St. Louis WSOP Circuit Main Event End of Day 2 Report

Tuesday, April 12th, 2011

2010-2011 World Series of Poker Circuit
Season Seven
Harrah’s St. Louis
No-Limit Hold’em Main Event
Buy-In: $1,600
Total Entries: 449
Total Prize Pool: $646,762
April 10-12, 2011

Final Table Chip Counts:

Name Hometown Seat Chip Count
Kyle Cartwright Bartlett, TN 1 2,875,000
Mitch Franks Tupelo, MS 2 460,000
Nick Jivkov Des Plaines, IL 3 206,000
Ron Segni El Cajon, CA 4 983,000
Asheesh Boyapati Sterling, VA 5 1,138,000
Chris Viox Glen Carbon, IL 6 346,000
Troy Weber West Terre Haute, IN 7 1,000,066
Steve Goff Eureka, IL 8 1,270,000
Phil Stelzer Columbia, MO 9 637,000

Down to the Final Nine at the Harrah’s St. Louis WSOPC Main Event Championship

Kyle Cartwright Final Table Chip Leader with Nearly Third of Chips in Play

After two days of play in the Main Event Championship at Harrah’s St. Louis, the final table stage has been set.

Kyle Cartwright, who back in February accomplished the astounding feat of winning two consecutive WSOPC Gold Rings in only his third and fourth-ever live tournaments, sits atop the chip leaderboard heading into the final stretch with over 2.875m – nearly a third of the chips in play.

Cartwright started day two near the bottom of the leader board but after building up a health stack with the help of a good run of cards, the 23-year-old University of Memphis graduate turned up the aggression to distance himself even further from the pack.

Trailing in second place in chips is Steve Goff of Eureka, IL with 1.27 million.

The $1,600 buy-in event drew 449 players, generating a total of $646,762, the largest poker tournament prize pool in Missouri state history.

Greg Raymer, Dennis Phillips, Dwyte Pilgrim and TJ Cloutier were among the notables who competed in the three-day event.

Raymer, who went to high school in St. Louis and graduated with a degree in chemistry from the University of Missouri-Rolla, took to the mic just before day one play began to share a few words with the players and make the announcement to shuffle up and deal.

A barrage of day one eliminations which included Pilgrim and Cloutier left 92 players bagging up their chips for the night and returning for day two play which began promptly at noon CST. Raymer and Phillips were among the survivors along with WSOPC veterans Mark “Pegasus” Smith and John “Cowboy” Land.

Unfortunately, all four men saw their exit on day two before the money bubble burst shortly after 4pm.

Harris Paroya of Lee’s Summit, MO started day two atop the leaderboard, but was eliminated late in the day finishing in 21st.

The final nine players will return at noon Tuesday to play for $142,490 and the coveted WSOPC gold and diamond ring. The main event champion here at Harrah’s St. Louis will also earn an automatic seat to the $1 million-dollar freeroll WSOPC National Championship to be held in May at Caesars Palace Las Vegas.

A second seat to the WSOPC National Championship is also up for grabs with two players, Goff and Phil Stelzer in prime position to overtake Jordan Drummond in the overall Casino Champion points race. Drummond currently sits at 80 points. A third place finish in the Main Event will put Goff, who currently has 22.5 points in the lead. Stelzer currently has 27.5 points and can take the lead from Drummond with a fourth place finish.

This was the second year that the World Series of Poker Circuit Events has come to Harrah’s St. Louis. Tournament organizers have deemed this year’s series to be an overall success with increases over last year’s attendance and prize pools. This year’s opening event saw a 20% increase in attendance over 2010.

The final nine players of the Main Event will resume day three Tuesday at 1 pm CST.

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2011 Harrah’s St. Louis WSOP Circuit Ring Event 7 Final Results

Saturday, April 9th, 2011

2010-2011 World Series of Poker Circuit
Season Seven
Harrah’s St. Louis
Event #20 (Ring Event #7)
No-Limit Hold’em
Buy-In: $555
Total Entries: 276
Total Prize Pool: $131,171
April 7 – 8, 2011

Final Results:

#1 Keith Woernle Montgomery, AL $31,477
2 Joel Shulruf Buffalo Grove, IL $19,455
3 Alan Engel Las Vegas, NV $14,117
4 Gary Welch Perryville, MO $10,415
5 Don Norman Marion, IL $7,811
6 Shawn Arnold Tulsa, OK $5,953
7 Noah Nodine Oklahoma City, OK $4,607
8 Jovan Sudar Omaha, NE $3,620
9 Darren Dwyer Salem, IL $2,888
10 Jeffrey Bryan Ft. Calhoun, NE $2,339
11 Michael Frazin Deerfield, IL $2,339
12 Patricia Till Avon, IN $2,339
13 Bobby Byram Osceola, AR $1,922
14 Blake Barousse Lafayette, LA $1,922
15 Melissa Kubach Chesterfield, MO $1,922
16 Brian Combs Belleville, IL $1,602
17 Travis Lutes Crawfordsville, IN $1,602
18 Peter Mavro Little Neck, NY $1,602
19 Gregory Joslyn Milford, PA $1,354
20 Prasada Namburi Houston, TX $1,354
21 James Lakin Edwardsville, IL $1,354
22 Benjamin Kramer Terre Haute, IN $1,161
23 Riley Luttrell Oshkosh, WI $1,161
24 Jonathan Holloway Cherokee Village, AR $1,161
25 Travis Brassfield Norman, OK $1,009
26 David Hiers Council Bluffs, IA $1,009
27 Richard Edinger West Fargo, ND $1,009
28 William Ellis II Blue Springs, MO $889
29 Larry Hicks Mount Vernon, IL $889
30 Judith Barnosky Pt Charlotte, FL $889

Keith Woernle Wins Ring Event #7 at Harrah’s St. Louis

26-Year Old From Montgomery, AL Takes Home $31,477 and the Ring

2011 Harrah's St. Louis WSOP Circuit Ring Event 7 Winner Keith Woernle

2011 Harrah's St. Louis WSOP Circuit Ring Event 7 Winner Keith Woernle

The World Series of Poker Circuit Events at Harrah’s St. Louis continued Friday evening with the conclusion of Ring Event #7.

The winner of the $555 buy-in No Limit Hold’em tournament was Keith Woernle of Montgomery, AL. It was his largest-ever major tournament win, earning him $31,477 and the coveted WSOP Circuit gold ring.

276 players entered the two-day tournament, generating at total prize pool of $131, 171. The event paid out 30 spots.

16 players returned on day two to play it out on day two and a few hours into play it was down to the official final table. Although Woernle started the final table as the chip leader, it would not be an easy road to victory. Joining him was notable pro Ari Engel who was in the middle of the pack.

Name Hometown Seat Chip Count
Keith Woernle Montgomery, AL 1 974,000
Shawn Arnold Tulsa, OK 2 341,000
Don Norman Marion, IL 3 100,000
Gary Welch Perryville, MO 4 113,000
Darren Dwyer Salem, IL 5 250,000
Joel Shulruf Buffalo Grove, IL 6 740,000
Noah Nodine Oklahoma City, OK 7 283,000
Ari Engel Las Vegas, NV 8 408,000
Jovan Sudar Omaha, NE 9 100,000

Ninth Place
A couple of the short stacks were able to double up early after final table play began at 3:25 pm with blinds and antes at 1,000/4,000/8,000, but Darren Dwyer wasn’t as lucky after moving all-in with [Ac][Jc] from the small blind and getting a call from Shawn Arnold who tabled [Ah][Qs]. The board paired both players’ kickers, leaving Arnold trailing through the river. The Salem, IL resident earned $2,888 for ninth.

Eighth Place
2010 Horseshoe Council Bluffs Main Event champion Jovan Sudar couldn’t get much going with his deficient stack of chips and was eliminated after moving all-in preflop with pocket jacks vs. Joel Shulruf’s K-Q when a king hit the turn. Since his first major tournament cash back in 2007at the Horseshoe Classic in Council Bluffs, Sudar has had strong results, including two final table finishes at the Venetian deep stack in February. The 28-year-old poker pro from the former Yugoslavia now living in Omaha, NE earned $3,620 for his efforts in Ring Event #7 at Harrah’s St. Louis.

Seventh Place
Blinds crept up to the 6,000/12,000 level before Noah Nodine made a final all-in stand with [Ad][6s] and was called by Engel, who had pocket 8’s. The eights held firm through a jack-high board giving Engel the pot and eliminating Nodine. Nodine is a 37-year-old pharmaceutical sales rep from Oklahoma City, OK. He has numerous major tournament cashes worth over a total of $176,000. He added another $4,607 to his total earnings for his seventh place finish.

Sixth Place
The rest of the level saw a number of double ups by the short stacks, but the 8,000/16,000 level of blinds brought a barrage of bust outs. Shawn Arnold was the first in the level to bust after moving all-in from the big blind with [Qd][3d] vs. Engel’s pocket jacks. Don Norman was eliminated a short while later after getting rivered with A-J all-in vs. Shulruf’s A-8. Fifth and sixth places paid $7,811 and $5,953, respectively.

Fourth Place
The fourth place finisher was Gary Welch. He saw his exit after moving all-in pre-flop with [Kc][Js] and failing to improve on the board against Engel, who called with pocket queens. The Perryville, MO resident earned $10,415 for fourth.

Third Place
In addition to playing poker for a living, Engel is an esteemed poker coach. Years ago, he picked up Shulruf as a student, teaching him much of what he knows of the game. Through most of the second half of the final table, teacher and pupil were atop of the leader board.

However, when play got down to three, the two chip leaders got tangled in an all-in pot when Engel got all his chips in the middle with [Kc][Js] and Shulruf made the call with [As][7c]. The board ended up pairing the pupil’s seven, sending teacher to the rail in $14,117.

Engel is 27-years-old from Las Vegas, NV by way of Brooklyn, NY. He has numerous major tournament cashes including two WSOP Circuit championships. He added another cash worth $14,117 to his resume for third place.

Heads up play was between Shulruf and Woernle. With Shulruf at a 5-1 advantage over his opponent, it was almost certain to be a quick matchup. However, this is poker and after doubling up twice, Woernle was able to pull within even before cruising to a 2-1 lead over Shulruf. Heads up play lasted over two hours with the duo trading the chip lead back and forth between one another.

The final hand of the night occurred with both players all-in after turn on a [Ad][Kd][4s][Td] board. Shulruf turned over pocket tens for the turned set, but was left needing to pair the board or pick up the last ten in the deck after Woernle tabled [9d][7d] for the flush.

The river was the [Jd], giving Woernle his first major tournament victory and a runner up finish to Shulruf.

Shulruf is a 26-year-old poker pro from Buffalo Grove, IL. A one-time WSOP Circuit champion, Shulruf was denied a second gold ring but picked up $19,455 for second.

For his victory, Woernle pocketed a healthy $31,477 and the coveted WSOPC gold ring. He played a well-fought match to earn his win, coming back from a huge deficit to win it all.

2010-2011 Harrah’s St. Louis WSOP Circuit Events Schedule and Results

2011 Harrah’s St. Louis WSOP Circuit Ring Event 7 Final Results

Still to come are 13 events and 3 ring events.

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2011 Harrah’s St. Louis WSOP Circuit Ring Event 6 Final Results

Friday, April 8th, 2011

2010-2011 World Series of Poker Circuit
Season Seven
Harrah’s St. Louis
Event #17 (Ring Event #6)
No-Limit Hold’em Six-Handed
Buy-In: $555
Total Entries: 205
Total Prize Pool: $97,081
April 6 – 7, 2011

Final Results:

1 Huy Nguyen Norman, OK $25,241
2 Jim Mink Houston, TX $15,592
3 Jeffery Welch Greenfield, IN $11,258
4 Johnathan Dahlberg Saint Charles, MO $8,268
5 Cory Drury Florissant, MO $6,177
6 Jennifer Reel Du Quoin, IL $4,694
7 Drazen Ilich Lincoln, NE $3,626
8 Wistar Holt St. Louis, MO $2,847
9 Michael Hahn Indianapolis, IN $2,272
10 Donald Schmitt Ballwin Mo, MO $1,842
11 Stewart Carmier Salem, MO $1,842
12 Eli Loewenthal Carmel, IN $1,842
13 Billy McBrayer Tuscaloosa, AL $1,516
14 Robert Griffin Canton, GA $1,516
15 Jerry Cole Trilla, IL $1,516
16 Joshua Gray Wood River, IL $1,268
17 Scott Levine Boynton Beach, FL $1,268
18 Stephen Dolle Saint Louis, MO $1,268
19 Brett Schwertley Omaha, NE $1,076
20 Gerald Paskert Caseyville, IL $1,076
21 Wallace Austin Rockwall, TX $1,076

Nguyen-iiing!!!!!

Choctaw Main Event Champion Huy Nguyen Ships Circuit Ring #2 at Harrah’s St. Louis

2011 Harrah's St. Louis WSOP Circuit Ring Event 6 Winner Huy Nguyen

2011 Harrah's St. Louis WSOP Circuit Ring Event 6 Winner Huy Nguyen

He’s no F-18, doesn’t have tiger blood flowing through his veins, and (more than likely) doesn’t carouse with escorts and adult film stars.

And while Huy Nguyen may not share any of the characteristics that have made actor Charlie Sheen one of the top news topics of 2011, the 25-year-old accountant from Norman, OK is nonetheless winning. And with his second WSOP Circuit Event Ring victory at Harrah’s St. Louis Thursday night, make that bi-winning.

In January, Nguyen beat out 807 players at the WSOP Circuit Main Event at Choctaw, taking home $232,706 in prize money and his first WSOPC gold ring. After taking a break from the WSOPC, Nguyen made his return to the Circuit Events here at Harrah’s St. Louis and outlasted a 204 player field in Ring Event #6 to take down second gold ring.

The $555 buy-in, No Limit Hold’em Six-Handed Event generated a total prize pool of $97,081, from which 21 players would take home their share. Day one ended with play down to two tables.

Day two play began promptly at 2:00 pm. After a few hours, the elimination of two-time WSOP Circuit champion, Drazen Llich in seventh place set the stage for the final table. Local resident Cory Drury had a sizable lead over the remaining five players.

Name Hometown Seat Chip Count
Jennifer Reel DuQuoin, IL 1 184,000
Jeff Welch Greenfield, IN 2 331,000
Jim Mink Houston, TX 3 405,000
Huy Nguyen Norman, OK 4 263,000
John Dahlberg St. Louis, MO 5 399,000
Cory Drury St. Louis, MO 6 878,000

Final table play got underway with blinds at 6,000/12,000. Jennifer Reel nursed her short stack as long as she could but finally succumbed to the felt in an all-in with pocket sevens vs. Huy Nguyen’s pocket tens. Nguyen spiked a ten on the flop, leaving Reel drawing to two miracle sevens, neither of which came on the turn or river. Reel is an auditor from DuQuoin, IL. Her second-ever WSOP Circuit final table earned her $4,694.

After doubling a number of short-stacked opponents, including Nguyen and Jim Mink, Drury fell from the top to near the bottom of the chip leader board. All-in for his remaining chips, he got none of the mercy shown to his opponents earlier in the evening, and like that, the final table chip leader was gone. Drury is from St. Louis, MO. He collected $6,177 for fifth.

John Dahlberg was the next player the hit the rail after moving all in with [Td][5c] vs. Welch, who turned over [Ad][3s]. The board was no help to Dahlberg and the 27-year-old St. Louis resident’s run was over. Fourth place paid $8,268.

Shortly after Dahlberg’s elimination, the final three players took a dinner break and returned to blinds of 12,000/24,000. Jim Mink was the three-handed short stack, but was able to double through Welch to stay in contention.

The hand of the night went down when after a flop of [Ah][6h][7d], Welch moved his nearly 700k stack in the middle with [Ah][2c] in the hole, leaving Nguyen to make a huge decision. After tanking for a few minutes, Nguyen called and was drawing to a flush with [Kd][Qd]. The turn was the [2d], fulfilling Nguyen’s draw, but also double pairing Welch. The river however, was a benign [5s] and Welch’s run was finished. Welch is from Greenfield, IN. He took home $11,258 for third.

Nguyen had just over a 2-1 advantage over Mink when heads up play began later in the 12,000/24,000 level but was able to distance himself from his opponent to more than a 7-1 lead. In the event’s final hand, Nguyen moved all-in with [Ad][6d]. Mink made the call, but was trailing with [Ah][3d]. The board came down [Jc][2s][4s][9c][Tc] to seal it up for Nguyen.

Mink is an oilfield consultant from Houston, TX. Back in February, he won the H.O.R.S.E. event at Harrah’s Tunica. Incredibly, Mink, who generally plays a conservative game, had a flight to catch back home to Houston and with only a few blinds left at the end of day one, made three consecutive all-in pre flops. In each of those hands, he was able to double up and cruise into day two with a sizable stack. Mink’s runner-up finish earned him $15,592.

For his win in Ring Event #6, Nguyen picked up a second WSOPC gold ring and added $25,241 to his total earnings. With his Main Event win in Choctaw, he will be among the 100 players competing for their share of a $1 million dollar purse at the WSOPC National Championship to be held at Caesars Palace in May.

2010-2011 Harrah’s St. Louis WSOP Circuit Events Schedule and Results

2011 Harrah’s St. Louis WSOP Circuit Ring Event 6 Final Results

Still to come are 16 events and 4 ring events.

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