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2011 Harrah’s St. Louis WSOP Circuit Ring Event 5 Final Results

Friday, April 8th, 2011

2010-2011 World Series of Poker Circuit
Season Seven
Harrah’s St. Louis
Event #14 (Ring Event #5)
No-Limit Hold’em
Buy-In: $345
Total Entries: 138
Total Prize Pool: $38,406
April 5 – 6, 2011

Final Results:

Place Name Hometown Prize

1 Hugh Jordan Drummond Vancouver, Canada $24,611
2 Richard Roberts Moore, OK $15,209
3 Bobbie Talbot Hernando, MS $11,113
4 Timothy Reedy Saint Ann, MO $8,251
5 Matt Lawrence Tulsa, OK $6,222
6 Paul Giles Saint Louis, MO $4,762
7 Nikolaj Poulsen Manchester, MO $3,698
8 Michael Souza San Diego, CA $2,913
9 Aaron Massey Chicago, IL $2,327
10 Nicholas Wheeler Ft Myers, FL $1,884
11 Peter Nigh Saint Louis, MO $1,884
12 Michael Bohlken Weymouth, MA $1,884
13 Gary Peck Eureka, MO $1,546
14 John Clark Dallas, TX $1,546
15 David Burt Catlin, IL $1,546
16 Ryan Barnes Champaign, IL $1,286
17 Russel Suter Springfield, IL $1,286
18 Martin Grivich San Antonio, TX $1,286
19 Roy Egeditch Wood River, IL $1,084
20 Thomas Obrien Mount Prospect, IL $1,084
21 Brian Burney Branson, MO $1,084
22 Duster Ellis Gretna, NE $925
23 Wesley Bell Saint Louis, MO $925
24 Earl Merritt Ponder, TX $925
25 Timothy Barrett Saint Louis, MO $800
26 Suzanne Lackey Union, MO $800
27 Kyle Caslin Saint Charles, MO $800

Hugh Jordan Drummond Dominates Final Table to Win Ring Event #5 at Harrah’s St. Louis

22-year-old Canadian Online Pro Surges to All-Around Casino Champion Points Lead through Five Events with 1st and 3rd Place Finishes

2011 Harrah's St. Louis WSOP Circuit Ring Event 5 Winner Hugh Jordan Drummond

2011 Harrah's St. Louis WSOP Circuit Ring Event 5 Winner Hugh Jordan Drummond

With his benign presence and mild-mannered disposition, Hugh Jordan Drummond is as unassuming as they get.

However, his persona is in stark contrast to what he’s shown to be a malicious poker mind. After eliminating 12 final table opponents in only his second-ever live tournament, his MO is clear, wreaking havoc on all comers.

In short, don’t let Drummond fool you. This kid is a menace.

After a third place finish in the series’ opening event, Drummond booked a win in Ring Event #5 at Harrah’s St. late Wednesday night, worth $24,611 and the coveted WSOP Circuit Event gold ring.

Drummond is an online poker pro from Vancouver, Canada. He regularly plays sit-and-go tournaments ranging from $100 buy-ins to over $1,000. He said that there was nothing to his decision to play in his first live events here at Harrah’s St. Louis, and admits that he has exceeded his initial expectations to get a feel for live play.

Event #5 drew 393 runners, generating a total prize pool of $111,869. 25 players survived day one and after five hours of play on day two, it was down to the final table. Drummond was at a commanding chip lead, which he held through much of the night.

Name Hometown Seat Chip Count

Bobbie Talbot Hernando, MS 1 287,000
Nikolaj Poulsen Sullivan, MO 2 133,000
Michael Souza San Diego, CA 3 275,000
Richard Roberts Moore, OK 4 680,000
Tim Reedy St. Ann, MO 5 220,000
Aaron Massey Chicago, IL 6 395,000
Hugh Jordan Drummond Vancouver, Canada 7 1,294,000
Paul Giles St. Louis, MO 8 358,000
Matt Lawrence Tulsa, OK 9 179,000

Ninth Place
Once play got down to ten, it wasn’t until nearly two hours later until the money bubble burst when Nicholas Wheeler was eliminated in tenth place. Official final table play resumed at about 7:15 pm with blinds and antes of 3,000/10,000/20,000.

During the early action a number of the short stacks were able to double through the larger including Tim Reedy, who made a royal flush to double through Drummond.

The first elimination of the night eventually took place with Aaron Massey all-in with A-9 vs. Drummond’s A-K. A-K held through the river to give Massey an early exit. Massey is a 26-year-old poker pro from Chicago, IL. In 2009, Massey beat out 1,410 players in the Circuit Event opener at Horseshoe Hammond, finishing in second place, worth $48,683. His final table finish at Ring Event #5 in St. Louis earned him $2,327.

Eighth Place
Finishing in eighth place was poker pro, Michael Souza. Souza had sizable stack of chips when play was at ten but lost a monster pot to Drummond. His final hand of the night saw his pocket sevens fail to hold all-in vs. Paul Giles’ K-J. Souza, who has over $290,000 in overall WSOP and WSOP Circuit earnings, added another $2,913 to his resume.

Seventh Place
Nikolaj Poulsen got all his chips in the pot with pocket sixes and was called by Richard Roberts who turned over [As][Jc]. The flop was harmless enough for Poulsen – [8s][Kd][2s], but the turn was a disastrous [Jd]. The river was no help to Poulsen and he made his way to the payout line to collect $3,698 in seventh place prize money.

Sixth Place
With blinds now at 15,000/30,000 Paul Giles made an all-in stand with [Th][4h] before Matt Lawrence isolated with an all-in reraise holding [Ac][Td]. The two went heads up to a board of [7s][5d][8d][9d][3s]. Lawrence’s ace-high was good enough to take the pot and eliminate Giles. Sixth place paid $4,762.

Fifth Place
It was an up and down final table for Lawrence, who after chipping up through Giles fell back down in chips before he was ultimately eliminated in a cooler of a hand all-in with 9-5 vs. Drummond. Drummond lead the betting through the river on a 3-9-7-9-J board. Lawrence was put to an all-in decision on the river and made the call only to see Drummond table 9-3.

Lawrence is poker pro from Tulsa, OK. He took down event #8 at last year’s Circuit Series here in St. Louis. In only his second year playing at the WSOP Circuit, he has made 14 cashes totaling nearly $120,000. He pocketed another $6,222 for his finish in this event. Blinds were now at 20,000/40,000.

Fourth Place
Tim Reedy’s tournament run ended after running A-T all-in into Drummond’s A-Q. The board double-paired Drummond, sending Reedy to the rail in fourth place. Reedy is a 58-year-old married father of four from St. Ann, MO. An employee of UPS, Reedy picked up a healthy parcel of $8,521 in prize money.

Third Place
Soon after Reedy’s elimination, Bobbie Talbot was all-in with A-8, but saw the same result as Reedy- Drummond making the call, turning over A-Q and watching it hold through the river. Talbot is a retired law enforcement officer from Hernando, MS. The overall points leader at IP Biloxi, Talbot secured an early seat to the WSOP Circuit National Championship which takes place in May at Caesars Palace Las Vegas. For his third place finish in event #5, Talbot pocketed $11,113.

Second Place
Heads up between Drummond and Roberts began at 11:00 pm with Drummond at more than a 3-1 chip lead over his opponent. Roberts was able to double up through Drummond but soon after called an all-in by Drummond with [Tc][Kc]. Drummond had Roberts dominated with [Ad][Th]. Drummond remained ahead after a [Qd][Td][5s] flop but had to endure a bit of a sweat when the [Js] hit the turn. The river was a harmless [3c] however, giving Drummond his first-ever WSOP Circuit victory.

Roberts is a 26-year-old married father of three from Moore, OK. Moore’s first-ever WSOP-related cash was worth $15,209.

For his win, Drummond took back over the border $24,611 and the WSOP Circuit gold ring.

“I’m pretty elated,” Drummond said after his victory. “I never expected to win when I came out here.”

He says that while he allows players to exploit him a bit pre-flop, he has a post-flop edge which is where he likes to get his chips.

Drummond’s performance in event #5 mirrored that in the opening event at Harrah’s St. Louis, with him also dominating in that final table. However, after an incredible call by Mark Pearse with two pair on the board and a king high kicker, Drummond fell short of the win in that event and settled for third place.

“It was frustrating, I was pretty [upset] after that final table,” he said.

Despite his disappointing result, the 30 points that Drummond earned in that event coupled with the 50 points earned for his win in Ring Event #5 puts him in a commanding lead for the overall points race at Harrah’s St. Louis.

Two players from Harrah’s St. Louis will earn an entry into the $1 million 2010-2011 WSOP Circuit National Championship– the winner of the $1,600 buy-in Main Event along with the overall points leader through the ten ring events here at Harrah’s St. Louis.

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

2011 Harrah’s St. Louis WSOP Circuit Ring Event 5 Final Results

Still to come are 19 events and 5 ring events.

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2011 Harrah’s St. Louis WSOP Circuit Ring Event 4 Final Results

Wednesday, April 6th, 2011

2010-2011 World Series of Poker Circuit
Season Seven
Harrah’s St. Louis
Event #11 (Ring Event #4)
H.O.R.S.E.
Buy-In: $345
Total Entries: 138
Total Prize Pool: $38,406
April 4 – 5, 2011

Final Results:

Place Name Hometown Prize

1 Benjamin Logan Bristol, RI $10,755
2 Ryan Tepen Chesterfield, MO $6,647
3 Martin Warren Rolla, MO $4,798
4 Kristopher Tong Costa Mesa, CA $3,525
5 Samuel Barnhart Benton, AR $2,635
6 Shaun Burnett Lacona, IA $2,004
7 Michael Mann Westerly, RI $1,549
8 Andrew Barber Rocklin, CA $1,217
9 Michael Souza San Diego, CA $971
10 Joe Riley Littlefield, TX $787
11 Clayton Prinster St. Charles, MO $787
12 Michael Foster Chicago, IL $787
13 Davidson Matthew Las Vegas, NV $648
14 Harold Mcintire Viburnum, MO $648
15 Gary Menard Wellsville, MO $648

Ben Logan Towers over the Competition in Ring Event #4

6’10 Former Ivy League Division I Center Wins H.O.R.S.E. Event at Harrah’s St. Louis

2011 Harrah's St. Louis WSOP Circuit Ring Event 4 Winner Benjamin Logan

2011 Harrah's St. Louis WSOP Circuit Ring Event 4 Winner Benjamin Logan

ST. LOUIS, MO. – During his years playing D1 basketball at Brown University, Ben Logan was well-served by his nearly seven foot stature. The 2002-2003 Lindys Sports pre-season rookie of the year made his presence known in the paint, grabbing rebounds and putting up points.

Nowadays, the 26-year-old from Tiverton, RI continues to keep the competitive juices flowing, not on the hardwood, but on the soft felt. And while height has about as much use in poker as an ashtray on a motorcycle, the Ivy Leaguer relies on critical thinking and good card sense to give him a head up on all comers.

Logan’s instincts saw him through a tough field in the $345 buy-in H.O.R.S.E. tournament to take first place, worth $10,755 and his first WSOP Circuit gold ring.

Although he has cashed multiple cashes in past years at the annual World Series of Poker in Las Vegas, this was Logan’s first time playing at a WSOP Circuit Event. Having just come back from business overseas, he says that he regrets only now being able to join the chase for a seat into the WSOP Circuit National Championship and that the event is a huge opportunity undervalued by many players.

138 players ponied up the $345 buy-in for Ring Event #4, generating a total prize pool of $38,406. By the end of day one, it was down to the final table. Joining Logan at the final table was this year’s Harrah’s Tunica Main Event Champion, Sam Barnhart and Kristopher Tong, who incredibly made the final table in the previous night’s Omaha 8 Ring Event. Ryan Tepen was the chip leader heading into the final stretch with Logan second in chips.

Name Hometown Seat Chip Count

Martin Warren Rolla, MO 1 166,000
Sam Barnhart Little Rock, AR 2 153,000
Ryan Tepen Bowling Green, MO 3 368,000
Shaun Burnett Lacona, IA 4 125,000
Andrew Barber Sacramento, CA 5 45,000
Michael Mann Westerly, RI 6 82,000
Benjamin Logan Tiverton, RI 7 286,000
Kristopher Tong St. Louis, MO 8 155,000

Eighth Place
After the final eight players were announced, play resumed shortly after 2:00 pm. The first elimination came during the hold’em round when the short stack, Andrew Barber’s K-10 was beat on the river by Benjamin Logan’s A-Q after a river king made Logan’s straight. Barber is a 27-year-old engineer from Sacramento, CA, Barber took the WSOPC Harvey’s Lake Tahoe Casino Championship back in May, securing an early seat to the WSOPC National Championship. Eighth place paid $1,217.

Seventh Place
A second elimination came during the hold’em round when Michael Mann got in all his chips in a three-way pot with Ryan Tepen and Shaun Burnett. Burnett took the pot with two pair, sending Mann to the rail. Mann is a 30-year-old former treasurer turned poker pro from Westerly, RI. He pocketed $1,549 for seventh.

Sixth Place
Burnett was the next player to make his exit after he was outdrawn in a hand of razz all-in vs. Martin Warren. The 37-year-old from Lacona, IA took home $2,004 for his two-day effort.

Fifth Place
After a bad run of cards, Barnhart was eliminated in fifth place. Barnhart is a systems analyst for the Little Rock school district. In February, Barnhart took down the WSOPC Main Event at Harrah’s Tunica, earning $148,612 and a seat to the WSOPC National Championship. His fifth place finish in today’s event paid $2,635.

Fourth Place
The two short stacks, Warren and Kristopher Tong experienced a bit of a roller coaster ride during the final stretch. Tong, down to just a couple of bring ins, scooped a four-way pot during a hand of stud, leaving Warren on the verge of elimination. Warren however, was able to double twice through Ryan Tepen to stay alive. A few hands later, Tong survived a second all-in, but finally saw his luck run out after missing on a flush draw to Tepen. Tong’s second consecutive final table finish in two days earned him $3,525.

Third Place
Warren succumbed to the felt a short while after Tong in the Stud 8 round when his pair of sixes were trumped by Tepen’s pair of nines. Warren is 54 years old from Rolla, MO. The self-employed married father of four learned the game of poker in “Uncle Hershel’s basement” back in 1978. He collected $4,798 for third.

Second place
It was down to Logan and Tepen heads up. Tepen had a marginal lead over his opponent but after a back and forth matchup, fell to a sizable deficit. The final hand of the night saw Tepen lead the betting in a hand of hold’em through a [5c][Jd][Tc][Jc][9h] board. Tepen was all-in on the river and Logan made the call tabling jacks full [Jd][Tc]. Tepen mucked his hand and it was all over.

Tepen is a 25-year-old poker pro from Bowling Green, MO. A former convenience store assistant manager, Tepen is enjoying marginal success on the poker circuit with numerous major tournament wins. His second place finish today was worth $6,647.

For his victory, Logan was awarded $10,755, the coveted WSOP Circuit gold ring and fifty points toward the WSOP Circuit National Championship race.

In addition to skill, Logan attributes his win to good timing which helped him get into a rhythm and build confidence during the final table.

Two players from Harrah’s St. Louis will earn an entry into the $1 million 2010-2011 WSOP Circuit National Championship, to be held in May at Caesars Palace Las Vegas – the winner of the $1,600 buy-in Main Event along with the overall points leader through the ten ring events here at Harrah’s St. Louis.

With four official ring events in the books, Logan sits in a five-way tie in the Harrah’s St. Louis points race at fifty each with previous ring winners Mark Pearse, Dan Sztenderowicz, and Kurt Jewell along with Kristopher Tong whose back-to-back final table finishes also put him at fifty.

Jewell, who already earned his seat from his win at the Horseshoe Hammond Main Event, is not eligible for a second entry but can still be the overall point earner through the series. If he were to accomplish this feat, the player with the second most overall points would be awarded the National Championship seat.

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

2011 Harrah’s St. Louis WSOP Circuit Ring Event 4 Final Results

Still to come are 22 events and 6 ring events.

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2011 Harrah’s St. Louis WSOP Circuit Ring Event 3 Results

Tuesday, April 5th, 2011

2010-2011 World Series of Poker Circuit
Season Seven
Harrah’s St. Louis
Event #8 (Ring Event #3)
Omaha High Low Eight or Better
Buy-In: $345
Total Entries: 181
Total Prize Pool: $50,794
April 3 – 4, 2011

Final Results:

Place Name Hometown Prize

1 Kurt Jewell Frankfort, KY $13,206
2 Eliot Spiro St. Louis, MO $8,158
3 Tom Franklin Gulfport, MS $5,891
4 Jim Rye Laurie, MO $4,326
5 Nathan Hogan Chesterfield, MO $3,232
6 Kristopher Tong Costa Mesa, CA $2,456
7 La Sengphet Carrollton, TX $1,897
8 Alexander Hoff Wentzville, MO $1,490
9 Thomas Henry Jackson, MO $1,189
10 Craig Ollar St. Charles, MO $964
11 Randy Andrews Foristell, MO $964
12 Thomas Wall Ballwin, MO $964
13 Christopher Hill Lake St Louis, MO $793
14 Robert Sadler Siloam Springs, AR $793
15 Jeff Winget Belleville, IL $793
16 James Chen Pittsburgh, PA $663
17 Danny Nguyen Houston, TX $663
18 Charlie Dawson Owensboro, KY $663
19 Joseph Dupre Saint Charles, MO $563
20 Brian Swinford Hoopeston, IL $563
21 Jonathan Hales Conway, AR $563

A Second Gold Jewell for Kurt

Kurt Jewell Wins Omaha 8 Event at Harrah’s St. Louis

2011 Harrah's St. Louis WSOP Circuit Ring Event 3 Winner Kurt Jewell

2011 Harrah's St. Louis WSOP Circuit Ring Event 3 Winner Kurt Jewell

ST. LOUIS, MO. – The World Series of Poker Circuit Events continued at Harrah’s St. Louis with the conclusion of Ring Event #3, Omaha High Low Eight or Better. The winner of the two-day long tournament was Kurt Jewell.

Jewell, who won the largest Main Event field in WSOP Circuit Event history back in October, added another gem to his gallery of outstanding results so far this Circuit season, which now includes five final table finishes – two of those in Main Events.

The 25-year-old graduate of Eastern Kentucky University with a degree in sports management took home $13,206 for his latest cash and a second WSOP Circuit Event gold ring.

The $345 buy-in event attracted 181 players, an impressive turnout for an Omaha 8 event and was second in size only to the event held earlier this year at Choctaw which drew 182 players.

It was a stacked final table with long-time WSOP bracelet-holding veteran “Captain” Tom Franklin and Circuit ring champion La Sengphet joining Jewell among the final nine.

Name Hometown Seat Chip Count

Nathan Hogan Chesterfield, MO 1 75,000
Kristopher Tong St. Louis, MO 2 317,000
Eliot Spiro St. Louis, MO 3 388,000
Jim Rye Gravois Mills, MO 4 130,000
“Captain” Tom Franklin Gulfport, MS 5 345,000
Kurt Jewell Franklin, KY 6
Alex Hoff O’Fallon, MO 7 44,000
Tom Henry St. Louis, MO 8 25,000
La Sengphet Dallas, TX 9 207,000

Ninth Place
The official final table began just after 4:00 pm with the blinds at 6,000/24,000 and limits of 12,000-24,000. The final table’s short stack, Tom Henry was unable to gain any traction and got his last chips in on the turn against Alex Hoff on a [Ks][3d][2h][8d] board. Henry was ahead with two pair, 2’s and 3’s, but the [4d] on the river completed Hoff’s nut flush, giving him the pot. Henry made his early exit to collect $1,189 for ninth.

Eighth Place
Besides Henry’s bust out hand, Hoff himself was unable to get much going in the final stretch and was forced all in from the big blind. Franklin led the betting through the river with Jewell coming along. Jewell scooped both the main and side pots with two pair. Hoff, a blackjack dealer from nearby O’Fallon, MO was eliminated in eighth place, worth $1,490.

Seventh Place
La Sengphet saw her stack eroded down to a couple of big blinds after being quartered in multiple pots. Her final hand saw her all-in with [9s][Ah][Ts][3s] vs. Franklin’s [7s][Jh][6d][Td]. The [7d][8s][3c][9h][Ts] was more kind to Franklin, leaving Sengphet with a seventh place finish worth $1,897. With that however, came 20 valuable points toward her bid for a seat in the WSOPC National championship, putting her in strong contention at 95 total points.

Sixth Place
Kristopher Tong was poised to go deep in the final table, but after being crippled in a hand with Eliot Spiro, was forced to settle for sixth place after moving all in on a [5c][Kh][Jc] flop with [Td][9c][Th][7c] in the hole vs. three other players. Franklin pushed the other live players out of the pot with [Ks][8s][Qh][Tc] and took it down after making a straight with a nine on the turn. Tong pocketed $2,456 for sixth.

Fifth Place
Down to one big blind, it looked as Jim Rye would be the next to go but managed to quadruple up to survive Tron Potter who busted in fifth. Rye was unable to fully recover however and made his way to the payout table a short while later. Fourth and fifth places paid $4,326 and $5,891, respectively.

Third Place
Play had come down to Spiro, Jewell and the captain. With blinds now at 20,000/40,000 and 40k-80k limits, Franklin and Spiro went heads up to an [As][4d][6d] flop, after which Spiro put Franklin all-in. Franklin was unable to complete his diamond flush draw after a [Th] turn and [3c] river, yielding the pot to Spiro who made two pair, aces and threes.

Franklin is long-time poker veteran who made his first major tournament cash in the 1990 World Series of Poker Main Event. He has over 2.75 million in lifetime tournament earnings. For his efforts today, he added another cash to his lengthy resume, worth $5,891.

Second Place
Heads up began three hours into final table play with Spiro holding a marginal lead over Jewell. Jewell however, quickly gained the upper hand and soon had his opponent on the ropes. Down to a couple of blinds, Spiro called Jewell for his remaining chips after a flop of [2d][Qd][3s]. Spiro was drawing to a wheel with [9s][7c][5d][4s] vs. Jewell’s [2h][2c][5h][Kc], but was left looking to take the low pot after a [5c] on the turn. The [Kh] on the river however was no good for Spiro and it was over.

Spiro is from St. Louis, MO. A cash game player, he dabbles in tournaments “here and there” which he says nowadays he plays mainly for leisure. Although disappointed for not taking home the ring, he said he was glad to see “a good guy like Jewell” take it down. Second place paid $8,158.

Jewell’s second WSOP Circuit victory earned him $13,206 and WSOP Circuit ring #2. He also picks up 50 points toward a seat into WSOP Circuit National Championship. However, with his seat already secured from his Main Event win in Hammond, the points will serve no more as an adornment to what has been a phenomenal 2010/2011 WSOPC season, which includes five final table appearances.

What makes Jewell’s win even more impressive is that he states that this was his first Omaha 8 tournament ever.

“I was literally Googling Omaha 8 to see what the optimal starting hands were and to get some tips,” said the quick study.

Since his $242,909 cash at Hammond last October, Jewell says that life has been great; full of good poker and good friends. He says he will continue playing the circuits in preparation for the National Championship which takes place in May at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.

Still to come are 25 events and 7 ring events.

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

2011 Harrah’s St. Louis WSOP Circuit Ring Event 3 Results

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2011 Harrah’s St. Louis WSOP Circuit Ring Event #2 Official Results

Monday, April 4th, 2011

2010-2011 World Series of Poker Circuit
Season Seven
Harrah’s St. Louis
Event #5 (Ring Event #2)
No-Limit Hold’em
Buy-In: $345
Total Entries: 709
Total Prize Pool: $202,906
April 2 – 3, 2011

Final Results:

PLACE PLAYER CITY / STATE / COUNTRY CASH EARNED

1 Dan Sztenderowicz PHILADELPHIA, PA, US $41,589
2 Mark Koeln SAINT LOUIS, MO, USA $25,739
3 Paul Jepsen ROLLA, MO, US $18,878
4 Donald Swentik FORT WORTH, TX, USA $14,039
5 Ryan Hill ACWORTH, GA, USA $10,582
6 Christopher Feiner DENVER, CO, USA $8,082
7 Darrell Swentik VERNON, TX, USA $6,254
8 Brett Balber SAINT LOUIS, MO, USA $4,902
9 Jared Speckmeyer O FALLON, MO, USA $3,892
10 Jack Skerston SPRINGFIELD, IL, USA $3,129
11 Andrew Bakota KIRKWOOD, MO, USA $3,129
12 Daniel Liberton DITTMER, MO, USA $3,129
13 Frederick Vogt JACKSON, MO, USA $2,546
14 Paul Stratman Kansas City, MO, US $2,546
15 Clay Wideman St. Clair, MO, USA $2,546
16 Joshua Jumpp Calera, OK, US $2,098
17 Brett Thomas BAXTER SPRINGS, KS, USA $2,098
18 Timothy Hacke FLORISSANT, MO, USA $2,098
19 Lee Blakemore JACKSON, TN, USA $1,749
20 John Clark DALLAS, TX, US $1,749
21 Mark Schmid LOWELL, MI, US $1,749
22 Frank Davis JACKSONVILLE, FL, US $1,475
23 Richard Unnerstall MARYLAND HEIGHTS, MO, USA $1,475
24 Angela Valencia HOFFMAN ESTATES, IL, US $1,475
25 Daniel Nassif SAINT LOUIS, MO, USA $1,260
26 Carolyn Prettyman Fulton, MO, US $1,260
27 Ryan Kiwala SAINT LOUIS, MO, USA $1,260
28 Bernard Morrow GRAND ISLAND, NE, US $1,088
29 Nicholas Wheeler FT MYERS, FL, USA $1,088
30 Robert Wightman CLARKSVILLE, TN, USA $1,088
31 Adam Rude MARION, IL, USA $950
32 James Sparks WARSAW, IN, US $950
33 Justin Ratcliff LAKE SAINT LOUIS, MO, USA $950
34 James Brown LODI, WI, USA $840
35 James Pruitt RAYMORE, MO, USA $840
36 Steven Heeley BALLWIN, MO, USA $840
37 Bradley Ellis $751
38 Bradley Cunningham BRIGHTON, IL, USA $751
39 Michael Enke RALEIGH, NC, USA $751
40 Edward Williams COLUMBIA, MO, USA $751
41 Christopher Wolfe ROLLA, MO, US $751
42 Kyle Cartwright BARTLETT, TN, USA $751
43 Terrence Muhammad STONE MOUNTAIN, GA, USA $751
44 William Blood EXCELSIOR SPGS, MO, US $751
45 William Woods JERSEYVILLE, IL, USA $751
46 Samuel Barnhart BENTON, AR, US $678
47 Jessica Meyer O’Fallon, MO, US $678
48 Jeffrey Patricca WARREN, MI, USA $678
49 Michael Stephens GODFREY, IL, USA $678
50 Shawn Brown OVERLAND, MO, US $678
51 Matthew Pelter OKLAHOMA CITY, OK, USA $678
52 David Roth COLLINSVILLE, IL, USA $678
53 William Thompson VALLEY PARK, MO, USA $678
54 Lonnie Roark OLATHE, KS, USA $678
55 Andrew Eisen BALLWIN, MO, USA $619
56 Poch Ros SPRINGFIELD, IL, USA $619
57 llias Kellikidis $619
58 Cynthia Crosby MEMPHIS, TN, USA $619
59 Timothy Mckernan SAINT LOUIS, MO, US $619
60 Pete Zdazinsky CLAYTON, MO, US $619
61 Raymond Jennings SOUTH ROXANA, IL, USA $619
62 Roger Eggers OZAWKIE, KS, USA $619
63 Vernon Yoder COLUMBIA, MO, USA $568
64 Jeffrey Roberson ROLLA, MO, USA $568
65 Diane Painter STURGEON, MO, USA $568
66 Steven Hayes TULSA, OK, US $568
67 Maxel Thompson THOMPSONS STATION, TN, USA $568
68 Richard Moore SMITHTON, IL, USA $568
69 Timothy Bainter MARYLAND HEIGHTS, MO, USA $568
70 Samuel White MEDICAL LAKE, WA, USA $568
71 Richard Filkins W FRANKFORT, IL, USA $568
72 Michael Larimer Omaha, NE, US $568

Dan Sztenderowicz Takes Down Ring Event #2 at Harrah’s St. Louis

WSOP Circuit Series Continues to Draw Huge Weekend Numbers

2011 Harrah's St. Louis WSOP Circuit Ring Event #2 Winner Dan Sztenderowicz

2011 Harrah's St. Louis WSOP Circuit Ring Event #2 Winner Dan Sztenderowicz

ST. LOUIS, MO. – WSOP Circuit Event action continued over the weekend at Harrah’s St. Louis as the second of ten scheduled official ring events came to an end Sunday. The winner of Ring Event #2 was 23-year-old Dan Sztenderowicz, a 23-year-old poker pro from Philadelphia, PA.

Large numbers continued to pour into Harrah’s St. Louis through Sunday. Event #2 drew 709 players, generating a total prize pool of $202,906.

A couple of notables graced the poker masses with their presence over the weekend, including one of poker’s living legends, Amarillo Slim Preston, who made the trip up to St. Louis from his ranch in New Mexico to try his hand at the WSOP Circuit.

The 82-year-old, four-time WSOP bracelet winner mixed it up with the crowd over the weekend- sharing stories, signing autographs and playing poker.

“I got a call from one of my cowboys to come up and play last week,” said Preston, donning one of his trademark cowboy hats and a pair of ostrich skin boots.

“I wasn’t doing anything so I decided to come on up.”

Also making his presence at the poker tables over the weekend was Grammy award winning hip-hop artist and avid poker player, Nelly.

Name Hometown Seat Chip Count
Daniel Swentik Vernon, TX 1 593,000
Chris Feiner Denver, CO 2 1,295,000
Mark Koeln St. Louis, MO 3 553,000
Paul Jespen Rolla, MO 4 858,000
Donald Swentik Burleson, TX 5 594,000
Dan Sztenderowicz Philadelphia, PA 6 842,000
Ryan Hill Atlanta, GA 7 1,278,000
Mark Koeln St. Louis, MO 8 553,000
Brett Balber St. Louis, MO 9 387,000

Final table play began with blinds and antes at 3,000/10,000/20,000. Jared Speckmeyer of O’Fallon, MO suffered the first elimination of the night after running his pocket sevens all in against Mark Koeln’s pocket queens. The queens held and Speckmeyer made his early exit to collect $3,892 for ninth. Just a couple of hands later, 41-year-old Brett Balber of St. Louis, MO was eliminated after losing a race with [Ah][Kh] vs. Ryan Hill’s pocket nines. Balber pocketed $4,902 for eighth.

A few orbits into the 15,000/30,000 level, the first of the Swentik twins, Daniel saw his tournament run end after moving all-in from the big blind with [As][Js] vs. Paul Jepsen’s pocket Jacks. Daniel was unable to improve on a king-high board and his tournament day was over. Daniel Swentik is a 51-year old former table games dealer from Vernon, TX. Seventh place paid $6,254.

The chip leader heading into the final table, Chris Feiner, was unable to get things going and prematurely found himself near the opposite end of the leader board. He was eliminated in brutal fashion all-in with pocket three’s vs. Koeln’s [As][Kh] after Koeln completed a straight on the river. Feiner’s first-ever major tournament cash earned him $8,082.

Ryan Hill started the final table second in chips and like Feiner, was also poised to make his first major tournament cash. Whether it was inexperience or bad timing, Hill also saw his chip stack erode and ultimately made an all-in stand. Hill was left needing help from the board with pocket fives vs. Koeln’s pocket nines but neither player’s hand improved through the river leaving Hill forced to settle for a fifth place finish. Fifth place paid $10,582.

The other brother Swentik , Donald, was eliminated after moving all-in with [Ah][Kc] on an [As][4h][Js] flop. Koeln made the call with [Ks][Qs] and hit his flush after the [2s] came on the turn. Swentik is a construction contractor from Burleson, TX. For fourth place, he pocketed $14,039.

Dan Sztenderowicz got all of his chips in the middle with pocket tens and got a call from Paul Jespen, who tabled [Ah][Js]. The board came down [2s][7c][9c][9d][Td] to end Jespen’s run. Jespen took $18,878 third place prize money to his hometown of Rolla, MO.

Heads up play began shortly after midnight with blinds at 25,000/50,000. with Koeln and Sztenderowicz at 3 million and 3.9 million chips, respectively. The two went heads up for fifteen minutes before the final hand of the night when on a board of [Ac][9h][2d][6s][8c], Koeln had all of his chips in the pot with two pair, aces and eights, but was trumped by Sztenderowicz’s trip sixes.

Koeln is a 26-year-old real estate agent from St. Louis. This was his second-ever major tournament cash. His first came in an event at last year’s WSOP Circuit here at Harrah’s St. Louis. His two-day effort in this year’s event #2 earned him $25,739.

The winner of the tournament was Dan Sztenderowicz of Philadelphia, PA. For his win, he earned $41,589 and the coveted WSOP Circuit gold ring.

As the night progressed, it became clear that Sztenderowicz was the player to beat. A few players commented about how ‘the kid in the black hoodie’ ended up with their chips earlier in the day while many others voiced their prediction that Sztenderowicz would be the winner even before play got down to the final table.

This was by far the biggest live tournament cash in Sztenderowicz’s young career. His previous largest cash was at the Borgata Summer Open in 2010 where he placed third in an event for over $18,000.

Still to come are 28 events and 8 ring events.

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

2011 Harrah’s St. Louis WSOP Circuit Ring Event #2 Final Results

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2011 Harrah’s St. Louis WSOP Circuit Ring Event #1 Results

Sunday, April 3rd, 2011

2010-2011 World Series of Poker Circuit
Season Seven
Harrah’s St. Louis
Event #2 (Ring Event #1)
No-Limit Hold’em
Buy-In: $345
Total Entries: 843
Total Prize Pool: $241,510
April 1 – 2, 2011

Final Results:

Finish Name Hometown Prize

1 Mark Pearse TAYLORVILLE, IL, USA $47,096
2 Charlie Dawson OWENSBORO, KY, US $29,102
3 Hugh Drummond VANCOUVER, BC, CANADA $21,436
4 Phil Stelzer COLUMBIA, MO, USA $15,998
5 George Cahill SAINT PETERS, MO, USA $12,095
6 Frank Austin DE FOREST, WI, USA $9,262
7 Eric Crain MURPHYSBORO, IL, US $7,183
8 Bryan Testin HAWTHORN WOODS, GB $5,639
9 Wyatt Denis FENTON, MO, USA $4,482
10 David Hipperson SAINT LOUIS, MO, USA $3,606
11 Daniel Hubler SAINT LOUIS, MO, USA $3,606
12 Michael Budde WILLIAMSBURG, MO, USA $3,606
13 Lance Lenz KANSAS CITY, MO, US $2,934
14 Kaleb Leeper TRENTON, MO, USA $2,934
15 Douglas Campbell HIGHLAND, IL, USA $2,934
16 Richard Flach KIRKWOOD, MO, USA $2,418
17 James Flowers PERRY, IL, USA $2,418
18 Max Shapiro SAINT LOUIS, MO, USA $2,418
19 Benjamin Astvazaturov LONG BEACH, MS, USA $2,014
20 Larry Hicks MOUNT VERNON, IL, USA $2,014
21 Nicholas Weber SAINT CHARLES, MO, US $2,014
22 Maurice Patton SAINT LOUIS, MO, USA $1,698
23 Ryan Nezaj RUSSELLVILLE, AR, USA $1,698
24 “OC” Altan-Ochir SPRINGFIELD, MO, USA $1,698
25 Brian Birkel WASHINGTON, IL, USA $1,447
26 Patrick Fogleman SPRINGFIELD, IL, US $1,447
27 Graham Watson PEKIN, IL, US $1,447
28 Hau Tran SAN BERNARDINO, CA, USA $1,246
29 Samuel Grindstaff COLUMBIA, MO, USA $1,246
30 Ross Kimble SAINT LOUIS, MO, USA $1,246
31 Patrick Mcanulty SACRAMENTO, CA, USA $1,087
32 Lonnie Adams LAKEWOOD, CO, USA $1,087
33 Jason Blazich NOKOMIS, IL, USA $1,087
34 Joshua Johnson INDIANAPOLIS, IN, USA $959
35 Richard Fried SAN DIEGO, CA, USA $959
36 William Matula BALLWIN, MO, USA $959
37 David Butts WOOSTER, OH, USA $855
38 Gregory Bergbower EFFINGHAM, IL, USA $855
39 Adam Tull INDIANAPOLIS, IN, USA $855
40 Christopher Bibb O FALLON, MO, US $855
41 Don Norman MARION, IL, US $855
42 Mike Sinnott MELROSE, IA, USA $855
43 Andrew Barfield MT STERLING, IL, USA $855
44 Jesse Menley HILLSBORO, MO, USA $855
45 Michael Fong OVERLAND PARK, KS, USA $855
46 Keith Gregory GIRARD, IL, US $770
47 Clayton Jackson SAINT LOUIS, MO, USA $770
48 Garan Mccuskey SAINT CLAIR, MO, USA $770
49 Ronald Covert COLUMBIA, MO, USA $770
50 Eugene Esker PRAIRIE ROCHER, IL, US $770
51 Michael Wickert FITCHBURG, WI, USA $770
52 Junior Asi COLUMBIA, MO, USA $770
53 Shawn Hierl DEERFIELD, IL, USA $770
54 Michael Miller COLUMBIA, MO, USA $770
55 Daniel Jin Jeon SAINT LOUIS, MO, USA $700
56 Rafal Les DES PLAINES, IL, USA $700
57 Frank Mason $700
58 Michael Metz KAUKAUNA, WI, USA $700
59 Murray Hilyard SPRINGFIELD, IL, USA $700
60 Jeffrey Herrman BLOOMINGTON, IL, USA $700
61 Shelby Durham SAINT LOUIS, MO, USA $700
62 Douglas Burjoski SAINT LOUIS, MO, USA $700
63 Michael Larimer BROOKLYN, NY, US $700
64 Jeffrey Arbuckle DOWNERS GROVE, IL, US $645
65 Sammy Kiger COLUMBIA, MO, USA $645
66 Steven Gilletly WHEATON, IL, US $645
67 Susan Haviluk CHESTERFIELD, MO, USA $645
68 Dustin Ward Glencoe, MO, USA $645
69 Marino Tarticchio CHESTERFIELD, MO, USA $645
70 Robert Warden BLUFFTON, SC, US $645
71 Joshua Leach WOOD RIVER, IL, USA $645
72 Cullen Oldham SULLIVAN, MO, USA $645
73 Michael Ferre PEORIA, IL, US $594
74 Thomas Suddarth FAIRFIELD, IL, USA $594
75 John Loveless CHESTERFIELD, MO, US $594
76 Jim Vincent US $594
77 Francesco Difiore NAPERVILLE, IL, US $594
78 David Cruzen WALNUT HILL, IL $594
79 Alan Schermer WELDON SPRING, MO, USA $594
80 Matt Lawrence TULSA, OK, US $594
81 Richard Johnson CHICAGO, IL, USA $594
82 Joseph Berry SAINT PETERS, MO, USA $546
83 Jessica Flores NAPERVILLE, IL, USA $546
84 Linda Seeba WEST ALTON, MO, USA $546
85 Jon Stallard ST PETERS, MO, USA $546
86 Michael Kulka JACKSON, MI, US $546
87 Shamar Swanigan CHICAGO, IL, USA $546
88 Michael Dalton ASHLAND, MO, US $410
89 Brad Meador COLLINSVILLE, IL, USA $410
90 Brian Reitenour US $409
91 Jonathan Mings COLUMBIA, MO, USA $409

Mark Pearse Wins Record-Breaking Opening Event at Harrah’s St. Louis

Attendance up 20 percent over Last Year’s Series Opener

2011 Harrah's St. Louis WSOP Circuit Ring Event #1 Winner Mark Pearse

2011 Harrah's St. Louis WSOP Circuit Ring Event #1 Winner Mark Pearse

ST. LOUIS, MO. – A day after St. Louis Cardinals fans celebrated their beloved team’s home opener, hundreds of poker players celebrated a home opener of their own with the kick-off of the first official ring event of the World Series of Poker Circuit Events at Harrah’s St. Louis.

This is the second year that Harrah’s St. Louis has hosted the WSOP Circuit Events. The casino resort’s sophomore Circuit series got off to a phenomenal start as 843 players registered for ring event #1, smashing the record for the largest poker tournament ever held in the state of Missouri.

The previous record of 675 was set at last year’s ring event opener at the casino resort.

On hand to share a few words with the record-breaking field of players and to make the ceremonial announcement to shuffle up and deal was 2008 WSOP Main Event third place finisher and local favorite, Dennis Phillips.

The winner of two-day event was Mark Pearse of Taylorville, IL. Pearse is a 41-year old corrections officer and father of four. For his win, Pearse was awarded $47,096 and the coveted WSOP Circuit gold ring.

The total prize pool amounted to $241,510 with 90 players taking home their share.

The money bubble broke shortly after midnight with day one coming to a close a short while later. Day two play began promptly at 2:00 pm Saturday with 62 players remaining. After seven hours of play, it was down to the final table.

Name Hometown Seat Chip Count
Wyatt Denis Fenton, MO 1 xxxx
Charlie Dawson Owensboro, KY 2 2,054,000
George Cahill St. Louis, MO 3 467,000
Frank Austin Deforest, WI 4 197,000
Phil Stelzer Columbia, MO 5 1,029,000
Mark Pearse Taylorville, IL 6 800,000
Eric Crain Murphysboro, IL 7 2,107,000
Bryan Testin Hawthorn Woods, IL 8 550,000
Hugh Jordan Drummond Vancouver, BC Canada 9 1,208,000

Eighth Place
Hugh Drummond’s dual elimination of Wyatt Denis and David Hipperson in ninth and tenth places marked the start of official final table play shortly before 9:30 pm with blinds and antes at 4,000/12,000/24,000. Drummond continued his final table rampage after re-raising Bryan Testin all-in on a board of [8c][9h][7d][Tc][3d]. Testin called with top pair, holding [Kc][Ts], however Drummond had him beat with Kd][Jd] for a turned straight. Testin is a 46-year-old retiree from Hawthorn Woods, IL. He earned $5,639 for eighth.

Seventh Place
Two-time WSOP Circuit champion, Eric Crain took critical damage to his stack after doubling Charlie Dawson to nearly two million in chips.

With blinds now at 15k/30k and down to his last 345k, Crain moved all-in with [As][Ts] and was called by no other than Drummond with pocket tens. The tens held up for Drummond, ending Crain’s tournament run. The 27-year old from Murphysboro, IL pocketed $7,183 for his efforts.

Sixth Place
The remaining six players returned from dinner break to blinds of 20k/40k. After a flop of [6h][Tc][9d], Frank Austin pushed all in holding [9h][6c]. Dawson called with [Jh][Qc] and eliminated his opponent after making a straight on the turn. Austin, a 26-year-old financial specialist from DeForest, WI nursed his final table baby stack well to move up a few pay spots. His strategy earned him sixth place prize money, worth $9,262.

Fifth Place
After a short reprieve, Drummond resumed his wrecking spree with George Cahill as his next target. After raising pre flop to 90,000, Cahill moved all in over the top with [Ah][2h]. Drummond quickly obliged, tabling [As][Kc]. Cahill was unable to improve after a queen-high board and the 48-year-old driver from St. Louis saw his day come to a screeching halt. For fifth, Cahill collected $12,095.

Fourth Place
Stelzer was next on Drummond’s hit list. From the button, he ran his [As][9h] all-in into Drummonds pocket kings which held on a K-4-3-9-8 board. Stelzer is a mortgage broker from Columbia, MO. The 69-year-old grandfather of 12 earned $15,998.

Third Place
When play was at five, Pearse was crippled after an all-in vs. Stelzer. With less than seven big blinds left, a fifth place finish seemed inevitable for the 41-year-old corrections officer. However, a bit of run good and some well-timed aggressive play kept him in contention long enough to see a key hand where Drummond moved all-in on a [Qh][3d][Qc][3c][Jd] board. Sensing a bluff from his opponent, Pearse eventually made the monster call with just a king-high kicker [Kc][5c]. Pearse’s instinct proved correct as Drummond tabled T-8 off.

After scooping the massive pot, Pearse sat at about 3.5 million in chips while Drummond was left with 1.4 million. Shortly after, Drummond was all-in with A-J vs. Pearse’s pocket fives. The fives held, eliminating the final table’s once dominating chip leader in stunning fashion. Drummond is a 22-year-old former salesman turned poker pro from Vancouver, Canada. Despite taking home $21,436 in third place prize money, it was nonetheless a disappointing outcome for the young Canadian pro.

Second Place
Heads up play began shortly before 1:30 am with Pearse and Dawson nearly dead even in chips. Incredibly, the two even stacks were all-in the first hand of heads up play when Dawson re-raised Pearse pre-flop for all of his chips. Pearse called with pocket 3’s while Dawson tabled [Ah][Th].

“I really didn’t think he was going to make the call there,” Dawson later revealed. “I was shocked.”

The final board of the night was dealt out [5s][Ks][4s][5h][Jc], giving the Pearse the remarkable comeback victory.

Dawson is a 41-year-old real estate investor from Owensboro, KY. Incredibly, this was the ninth time that Dawson has walked away from a WSOP Circuit final table without the ring.

Dawson, dressed in University of Kentucky gear, suffered a double whammy as his alma mater fell to UConn in the NCAA Men’s Basketball semi-finals 55-56.

Pearse, who was the runner up in event #6 last year at Harrah’s St. Louis attests that victory is even sweeter the second time around.

“This is unbelievable,” he said.

When asked about how poker compared to his day job keeping prison inmates in line, Pearse made a striking comparison.

“Bar none, poker is just as tough. I felt like I got my [tail] whipped all day.”

For his victory, Pearse takes home $47,096 and the WSOP Circuit gold ring. He also picks up 50 points toward the WSOP Circuit national championship and an early lead in the casino championship race.

Still to come are 31 events and 9 ring events.

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

2011 Harrah’s St. Louis WSOP Circuit Ring Event #1 Official Results

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2011 Harrah’s St. Louis WSOP Circuit Event Schedule

Thursday, March 31st, 2011

The 2010-2011 World Series of Poker Circuit Tour will be at Harrah’s St. Louis in Maryland Heights, Missouri. This stop will run from March 31st through April 12th. There will be a total of 33 events with 10 WSOP Ring Events. This series of tournaments will feature the $1,500 Buy-in No Limit Holdem Main Event as well as a $100 Buy-in No Limit Holdem Ladies Event.

ST. LOUIS, MO., (March 31, 2011) – World Series of Poker action returns to the Gateway City when Harrah’s St. Louis hosts the WSOP Circuit Events March 31 – April 12.

The schedule offers 33 events, including ten official ring events and poker variations such as Omaha, H.O.R.S.E. and Hold’em are all on the docket at Harrah’s St. Louis.

This is the second year that Harrah’s St. Louis will play host to the WSOP Circuit Events. Last year’s tournament series at the casino resort was regarded as an overall success. Its opening event in 2010 drew 675 players and is the largest poker tournament ever held in the state of Missouri.

Tournament organizers are looking to break that record and have focused their efforts to ensure that Harrah’s St. Louis’ sophomore year as host to the WSOP Circuit will be better than the last. An improved tournament floor layout and the implementation of this Circuit season’s highly regarded standardized structures are just some of the enhancements for this year’s series.

“We’ve had a whole year to work on improving the series here and Harrah’s St. Louis has been very receptive to our ideas on how to present an even better product to the players in 2011,” said WSOPC tournament director Bill Bruce of Poker Tournament Consultants.

“We are very much looking forward to being a part of what is sure to be a top-notch poker tournament series in St. Louis.”

The thirteen-day series of tournaments will conclude with the $1,600 buy-in no-limit hold’em Main Event that begins Sunday April 10th.

Last year’s champion, St. Louis attorney Jeff Roper, outlasted 128 opponents to take home first place prize, worth $625,650* and the diamond-encrusted championship gold ring.

Also scheduled for this year’s Circuit Stop at Harrah’s are the $235 buy-in NLH seniors event which takes place Sunday, April 3 and the $125 buy-in NLH ladies event which will be held on Saturday, April 9.

In addition to first place prize money, the winner of the ladies event takes home the diamond and gold WSOP Circuit ladies pendant. The reining ladies event champion is Felicia Johnico, a blackjack dealer from Sherman, TX.

WSOP Circuit leader board points will be distributed to players based on their performance in St. Louis with the winner of the Main Event earning an automatic entry to the $1 million WSOPC National Championship to be held May 27-29 at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.

A second National Championship entry will be awarded to the player earning the most points through the ten ring events at Harrah’s St. Louis.

*Last year’s Main Event buy-in was $5,000.

For a complete schedule and up to date results click on the link below:

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

2011 WSOP Satellites at Ultimate Poker

2011 WSOP Satellites at Ultimate Poker

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2011 Harrah’s Rincon WSOP Circuit Western Regional Championship Results

Thursday, March 31st, 2011

2010/2011 World Series of Poker Circuit
Harrah’s Rincon (San Diego)
Western Regional Championship
No-Limit Hold’em
Buy-In: $10,000 (+300)
Total Entries: 98
Total Prize Pool: $940,800
March 27-30, 2011

Official Final Results:

1 Ali Eslami VAN NUYS, CA, US $282,242
2 Tim West LOS ALTOS, CA, US $174,443
3 Duane Blanchard LAS VEGAS, NV, US $124,204
4 Steve Brecher RENO, NV, US $90,223
5 David Peters RANCHO SANTA FE, CA, US $66,834
6 Dana Kellstrom STEVENSON RANCH, CA, US $50,455
7 Dwyte Pilgrim BROOKLYN, NY, USA $38,808
8 Dylan Wilkerson AUBURN, WA, US $30,397
9 Miller Dao MARICOPA, AZ, US $24,235
10 Kwinsee Khoa Tran ORANGE COUNTY, CA, US $19,653
11 Alejandro Garcia MEXICALI, MEXICO, MX $19,653
12 Joseph Parker HOWELL, MI, US $19,653

2011 Harrah's Rincon WSOP Circuit Western Regional Championship Winner Ali Eslami

2011 Harrah's Rincon WSOP Circuit Western Regional Championship Winner Ali Eslami

Ali is the Greatest

Ali Eslami Wins WSOP Circuit Western Regional Championship at Harrah’s Rincon

Eslami Dedicates His Tournament Victory to Lakers’ Owner Dr. Jerry Buss and Poker Pro Chad Brown

Tim West, Fresh Off His Big Win in Las Vegas, Takes Second Place

Two-Time WSOP Gold Ring Winner Dwyte Pilgrim Falls Short, Finishes Seventh

Valley Center, CA (March 30, 2011) – The inaugural World Series of Poker Circuit Western Regional Championship debuted this week at the Harrah’s Rincon Resort and Casino, near San Diego. 

This 2010-2011 WSOP Circuit season includes four Regional Championships.  Last October, the first Northern Regional took place in Chicago.  Last December, the Eastern Regional took place in Atlantic City.  San Diego hosted the Western Regional.  The Southern Regional will take place in New Orleans, in May.

Harrah’s Rincon is located about 40 miles north of San Diego.  The resort is one of only three venues which have hosted a WSOP Circuit stop during all seven seasons.  Harrah’s Rincon is located on tribal land owned by the Rincon Band of Luiseno Indians.

All Regional Championships, in addition to the season-ending National Championship, are nationally-televised.  Tournament coverage will be broadcast later on the Versus Network.  Dates and times will be announced at WSOP.COM.

Ultimate Poker WSOP Satellites

Ultimate Poker WSOP Satellites

…………… 

The first-ever Western Regional Championship was a $10,000 (+300) buy-in No-Limit Hold’em tournament.  The competition attracted a total of 98 entries.  The total prize pool amounted to $950,800.

The winner was Ali Eslami, from Los Angeles, CA.  He collected $282,242 in prize money.  Eslami was also awarded a WSOP Circuit gold and diamond ring, which is the ultimate symbol of achievement for winning a WSOP Circuit event.  He also qualified for an automatic seat into the WSOP Circuit National Championship.

Eslami endured a number of ups and downs en route to his victory.  He was among the chip leaders during most of Day Three (of the four day tournament), but arrived at the final table with only a slightly above-average stack — ranking fourth in the chip count.  About midway through the final table, he regained the momentum of the previous day, and won a convincing victory. 

Eslami, who plays regularly at the biggest cardrooms in the Los Angeles area, is primarily a cash-game player.  But he has also enjoyed some success in major tournaments.  He final tabled the HORSE event at the 2007 WSOP.  Eslami also enjoyed at least one unusual claim to fame.  He teamed up with a fellow poker pro to defeat an automated poker bot in a widely-celebrated match which was created by the University of Alberta, in Canada — perhaps proving (at least for now) that humans are still superior to machines when it comes to poker. Indeed, Eslami is one very tough poker player, whomever the competition.
 
Following his first WSOP-related victory, Eslami credited Dr. Jerry Buss (owner of the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers) and popular touring pro Chad Brown with proving the inspiration that propelled him to victory.  More details on Eslami’s two very special sources of inspiration appear later in this article.
 
……………

Among those who entered this tournament were former WSOP Main Event champions Phil Hellmuth (1989), Carlos Mortensen (2001), and Jerry Yang (2007).  Other former WSOP gold bracelet winners who participated were Daniel Negreanu, Eric Seidel, Eric Froehlich (E-Fro), Scott Montgomery, David Williams, and Kathy Liebert.  At least two recent WSOP Main Event final table “November Nine” players played in this event, including Scott Montgomery (5th place in 2008) and Joseph Cheong (3rd place in 2010).  Incredibly, none of the well-known poker stars finished in the money.

The 14th-place finisher was Daniel Negreanu.  He was one player off the “bubble.”  Negreanu suffered a brutal run during his last 90 minutes in the tournament during Day Three, falling from among the chip leaders to the rail within a relatively short time frame.

The dreaded bubble finisher was Kyle Bowker, from Walton, NY.  For 13th place, Bowker received little more than sympathy (and no prize money).  He endured a brutal beat on his final hand.  Bowker was all-in holding pocket nines.  He flopped a nine, which was good for a set against Dana Kellstom’s pocket aces.  With one card to come, an ace hit the board, giving Kellstrom a higher set (trip aces).  It was a tough way to exit for Bowker after playing excellent poker over nearly three days.

Finishing in 10th, 11th, and 12th places respectively were – Kwinsee Tran, Alejandro Garcia, and Joe Parker.

The “final table bubble” had added significance in this tournament.  Normally, the prize money jump between ninth and tenth place is not a huge factor which influences play.  However, in the case of the Regional Championship, a guaranteed seat in the WSOP Circuit National Championship was at stake.  Since only the top nine finishers earned seats into the $1 million season-ending contest, ten-handed play lasted longer than expected.  Furthermore, players who made the final nine were guaranteed to appear on television.  This contributed to a tense atmosphere at the end of Day Three and a huge advantage for the larger stacks, able to increase their advantages over the players with smaller stacks.

The final table bubble finisher (10th place) was Kwinsee Tran, from Orange County, CA.  He had been the chip leader coming into Day Three.  Instead, he settled for tenth place and a $19,653 payout.  Tran won his way into this tournament via a mega-satellite.

……………

This $10,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em tournament was the final event held at this year’s Harrah’s Rincon series.  The total prize pool amounted to $950,600.  The top 12 finishers collected prize money.  A complete list of all in-the-money finishers for all events held at Harrah’s Rincon can be found at WSOP.COM.

The tournament was played over four consecutive days, from May 27-30.  The first three days were played inside the Bordeaux Ballroom, located on the second floor at Harrah’s Rincon.  The Bordeaux Ballroom is located adjacent to the poker room.  The final table (Day Four) was played inside the more spacious Palladium Ballroom, which normally hosts some of the top acts in music and entertainment.

Tim West, fresh off his victory in the Wynn Classic Main Event just a week earlier, arrived at the final table with a big chip lead.  In fact, he was ahead nearly 2 to 1 in chips over his closest rivals.   The nine finalists and their starting chip counts were as follows:

Seat 1:  Dwyte Pilgrim (Brooklyn, NY) – 408,000 in chips
Seat 2:  Miler Dao (Maricopa, CA) – 99,000 in chips 
Seat 3:  David Peters (Rancho Santa Fe, CA) – 437,000 in chips 
Seat 4:  Ali Eslami (Los Angeles, CA) – 395,000 in chips
Seat 5:  D.J. Blanchard (Las Vegas, NV) – 271,000 in chips 
Seat 6:  Tim West (San Francisco, CA) — 843,000 in chips
Seat 7:  Dylan Wilkerson (San Francisco, CA) – 89,000 in chips
Seat 8:  Steve Brecher (Reno, NV) – 246,000 in chips
Seat 9:  Dana Kellstrom (Stevenson Ranch, CA) – 147,000 in chips 

Final table action began at 12:30 pm and ended at 10 pm – which officially clocked in at about 9.5 hours.  Players were eliminated in the following order.

Ninth Place:  Miller Dao, from Maricopa, CA was the first player to exit.  Born in Vietnam, Dao now works as a police officer.  He cashed in one of the preliminary events at Harrah’s Rincon as well as tournaments at the Deep Stack Extravaganza, at the Venetian in Las Vegas.  Dao exited when he pushed with a weak ace, which ended up losing to pocket jacks.  Dao collected $24,235 in prize money for ninth place.

Eighth Place:  The eighth-place finisher was Dylan Wilkerson, from San Francisco, CA.  He is a 26-year-old poker pro.  Wilkerson graduated from UC-Berkley.  He arrived at the final table with biggest challenge of anyone, starting with the lowest stack.  Wilkerson lasted about two hours before finally going out on a big hand.  He lost what is often referred to as the classic “race” in No-Limit Hold’em.  Wilkerson was dealt A-K and moved all-in.  He was called instantly by an adversary holding pocket queens.  The ladies held up, and provided an unwelcome escort for Wilkerson to the rail.  He pocketed $30,397 in prize money.

Seventh Place:  Dwyte Pilgrim’s seventh place finish was both a surprise and a disappointment.  The two-time WSOP Circuit gold ring winner hoped to win another event here at Harrah’s Rincon (he won San Diego’s Main Event in 2009).  Instead, he went out relatively early, considering his starting stack size.  Not much went right for Pilgrim at the final table.  He took a few early blows and was forced to nurse one of the shorter stacks during his time in the spotlight.  Pilgrim finally went out when he had A-3 suited.  He flopped an ace (top pair) and picked up a flush draw on the turn.  That’s when all of Pilgrim’s chips went into the pot.  However, Ali Eslami had K-7 and had flopped two pair.  His hand held up and eliminated the Brooklyn-based touring poker pro.  Pilgrim added $38,808 to his career tournament winnings, which is now close to $2 million. 

Sixth Place:  Dana Kellstrom, from Stevenson Ranch, CA was the sixth-place finisher.  He took a rough beat on what turned out to be his final hand.  Kellstrom was dealt A-5 and had a straight on the turn when the board showed 4-4-3-2.  Unfortunately, Ali Eslami had 6-5, good for a higher straight.  Kellstrom had to accept $50,455 for his middle-of-the-pack finish.  He is a 47-year-old poker player and entrepreneur.  Kellstrom entered eight events at last year’s WSOP in Las Vegas, and cashed in three of them.

Fifth Place:  The fifth-place finisher was David Peters, from Rancho Santa Fe, CA.  He is a 50-year-old attorney.  Peters has a few small tournament wins.  This was his biggest cash in a WSOP-related tournament.  Peters was eliminated when he was low on chips and moved all-in holding A-4.  He got a call from a player with A-8, and was dominated.  An eight on the flop essentially ended Peters’ hopes of victory.  He settled for $66,834 in prize money.

Fourth Place:  Steve Brecher, from Reno, NV finished in fourth place.  He is a 65-year-old computer software programmer and marketer who is a graduate of Stanford University.  Brecher now plays regularly on the poker tournament circuit.  He won a World Poker Tour Championship a few years ago.  Brecher is also an accomplished aviator, who flies regularly.  Brecher ran low on chips later and pushed all in with top pair when his K-8 matched a king on the flop.  Unfortunately, he had kicker problems and another player also had a pair of kings, along with a queen kicker.  That put Brecher out of the tournament with his best WSOP-related showing, to date.  Brecher collected $90,223.    

Third Place:  D.J. Blanchard finished in third place.  He is originally from Augusta, GA and now resides in Las Vegas, NV.  Blanchard is a 22-year-old professional poker player.  He is one semester away from graduating from the University of Nevada-Las Vegas.  Blanchard hung around for awhile against the bigger stacks, but busted out during the seventh hour of play.  Blanchard was eliminated when his A-J suited lost a race to Tim West’s pocket fives.  The small pair held up, giving West much-needed chips for the duel that was to come.  Meanwhile, Blanchard exited with $124,204 in prize money.

Heads-up play began with Eslami holding close to a 3 to 2 chip advantage over West.  The duo battled for about an hour, with Eslami gradually applying more pressure with the bigger stack.  He chipped away at West and appeared to be the aggressor during most of the duel.
 
The final hand of the tournament was dealt out as follows:

Eslami – As Ah
West – Ac Qs
Flop – 8s 6c 2s
Turn – Jc
River – 7c

All the chips went in before the flop.  West was hoping to win a race against Eslami, or better still – he hoped his opponent might call holding a weaker ace.  Instead, he encountered a nightmare scenario.  Indeed, Eslami had the goods – pocket aces.  The rockets held up and eliminated West from the tournament. 

Second Place:  The runner up was Tim West, from San Francisco, CA.  He is a 35-year-old professional poker player.  West was coming off a huge victory in the Wynn Classic (Las Vegas) Main Event Championship, which took place about a week prior to the start of this tournament.  He hoped for a repeat victory, but fell just short.  West’s consolation prize amounted to a very respectable $174,443.  This means West has won nearly half-a-million dollars playing tournament poker over the last eight days. 

First Place:  Ali Eslami won the first-ever Western Regional Championship on the WSOP Circuit.  He is known as a cash-game specialist.  However, Eslami has also performed quite well in tournaments.  He has 11 cashes at the WSOP in Las Vegas.  In fact, he now has 21 major cashes and more than $600,000 in tournament earnings over the past six years.
Eslami’s excursion to Harrah’s Rincon came entirely by accident.  Initially, he had no intention of playing in this event, since there were excellent opportunities to play in cash games near his home.  However, Eslami spoke with Dr. Jerry Buss, owner of the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers just prior to the start of the tournament.  Dr. Buss, a regular poker player at Harrah’s Rincon who has participated in numerous WSOP Circuit events over the years, talked his friend Eslami into making the two-hour drive from his home and entering the tournament.
 
“Jerry told me, ‘Ali — you can win this,” Eslami recalled later.  “I know Jerry makes champions — whatever he touches, he wins.  He would never say that to me, unless he really believed it.  So, I came here to Rincon and played in this because of Jerry, and now here I am with a victory.”
 
That wasn’t Eslami’s only inspiration.
 
In a post-tournament interview, Eslami cited Chad Brown, who is currently fighting a very different kind of battle apart from the poker table.  Eslami noted that his close friend Brown has recently undergone medical treatment, including a major operation, for cancer.  Eslami became quite emotional when the attention shifted to Brown.
 
“I really want to dedicate this victory to Dr. Buss for having enough confidence in me to motivate me to come here and play,” Eslami stated.  “But I want to add that Chad Brown is really on my mind right now.  He is very much on the minds of everyone in the poker community.  I want Chad to know we are all rooting for him.  We all care for him.  Winning a poker tournament is great.  I love what happened here.  But when I think of what Chad is going through — he’s the real champion.”

Note: Follow Ali Eslami on Twitter at: @indigoae

……………

Eslami’s victory caps an exciting 19-day run of poker events in San Diego.  Here’s the list of all winners from this year’s Harrah’s Rincon series:

Event 1 – Alexandru Masek defeated 391 players and won $22,794 ($345 NLHE)
Event 2 – “Choctaw” Kruger defeated 149 players and won $17,505 ($555 NLHE)
Event 3 – Matthew Ardo 74 players and won $5,186 ($345 OMHL)
Event 4 – Michael Ippolito defeated 81 players and won $4,584 ($345 HORSE)
Event 5 – Kevin Hanson defeated 331 players and won $19,852 ($345 NLHE)
Event 6 – Mstr Lunch defeated 180 players and won $20,897 ($555 NLHE)
Event 7 – Matthew Weber defeated 273 players and won $16,711 ($345 NLHE)
Event 8 – Alex Maturi defeated 89 players and won $10,790 ($555 NLHE-6)
Event 9 – Mstr Lynch defeated 97 players and won $25,236 ($1080 NLHE)
Event 10 – Seneca Easley defeated 188 players and won $70,384 (NLHE)

Eleven players from the Harrah’s Rincon series qualified for automatic seats into the $1 million 2010-2011 WSOP Circuit National Championship, to be held at Caesars Palace Las Vegas, in May.  Qualifiers included Seneca Easley (Ft. Worth, TX), the $1,500 buy-in Main Event winner.  Mstr Lynch (Lewisville, TX) was the winner in the best-all around player race.  He accumulated the most overall points (100) in the preliminary ten gold ring tournaments.  Moreover, the nine players who made the final table of the Regional Championship automatically qualified.

The National Championship has a $1 million prize pool.  In addition, the winner receives a WSOP gold bracelet.  This is the first time in history a WSOP gold bracelet has directly been tied in to the WSOP Circuit.

Players may still try and qualify to the chance to play in the National Championship.  There are four ways to qualify for the 100 open seats.  The first way is to win any of the WSOP Circuit $1,500 buy-in Main Event Championships.  The second way is to win the best all-around player point-race at any WSOP Circuit stop.  The third way is to make to the final table (nine seats) at any Regional Championship.  The fourth way is to accumulate enough points on a national leaderboard during the course of the 2010-2011 WSOP Circuit season.

Harrah’s Rincon is the eleventh WSOP Circuit stop of the season, following well-attended tournaments held in several other locations throughout the U.S.  The current 2010-2011 season includes a total of 15 WSOP Circuit stops.  The four upcoming WSOP Circuit stops are in St. Louis, Philadelphia, Las Vegas, and New Orleans.

2011 Harrah’s Rincon WSOP Circuit Western Regional Championship Results

2010-2011 Harrah’s Rincon WSOP Circuit Events Schedule and Results

Executive Staff, World Series of Poker Circuit – Harrah’s Rincon

Senior Vice President and General Manager – Janet Beronio
Director of Casino Operations – John Sebastian
Director of Public Relations – Sheryl Sebastian
Poker Room Manager – Alexia Alsop
Tournament Director – Jimmy Sommerfeld

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World Series of Poker Circuit Western Regional Championship Final Table

Wednesday, March 30th, 2011

WSOP Circuit Western Regional Championship
Final Table — Fact Sheet

This is the first-ever WSOP Circuit Western Regional Championship. There are four Regional Championships played this season. The Northern Regional took place in Chicago, last October. The Eastern Regional took place in Atlantic City, last December. The Western Regional takes place in San Diego. The Southern Regional will take place in New Orleans, in May.

The 2010-2011 WSOP Circuit season concludes with the inaugural National Championship, which will be played at Caesars Palace Las Vegas. The National Championship takes place May 27-29, 2011. The National Championship is limited to only 100 qualifiers. Those qualifiers earn seats various ways at each WSOP Circuit stop.

There are four ways to qualify for the 100 open seats into the National Championship. The first way is to win any of the WSOP Circuit $1,500 buy-in Main Event Championships. The second way is to win the best all-around player point-race at any WSOP Circuit stop. The third way is to make to the final table (nine seats) at any Regional Championship. The fourth way is to accumulate enough points on a national leaderboard during the course of the 2010-2011 WSOP Circuit season.

The National Championship field of participants includes the top nine finishers from each Regional Championship. Hence, the nine players who appear at the final table of the Western Regional Championship are automatically guaranteed a seat into the season-ending National Championship.

The National Championship will include a $1 million prize pool. In addition, the winner receives a WSOP gold bracelet. This is the first time in history a WSOP gold bracelet has directly been tied in to the WSOP Circuit.

The Western Regional Championship takes place at the Harrah’s Rincon Resort and Casino. Harrah’s Rincon is located near Valley Center, CA – which is about 40 miles north of San Diego. The resort is located on tribal land owned by the Rincon Band of Luiseno Indians. Rincon means “roadrunner.”

All Regional Championships in addition to the National Championship will be nationally-televised. Tournament coverage will be broadcast at later dates on the Versus Network. Dates and times will be announced at WSOP.COM.

Harrah’s Rincon is the tenth of 15 total stops this season on the WSOP Circuit. However, only four of the stops include a Regional Championship – including Harrah’s Rincon (San Diego).

Harrah’s Rincon is one of only three venues which have hosted a WSOP Circuit stop during each of all seven seasons. The other two venues are Harvey’s Lake Tahoe and Harrah’s Atlantic City.

……………

The Western Regional Championship is a $10,000 (+300) buy-in No-Limit Hold’em tournament. The tournament attracted a total of 98 entries. The total prize pool amounts to $940,800.

The winner will receive $282,242 in prize money. He/she will also be awarded a WSOP Circuit gold and diamond ring, which is the ultimate symbol of achievement for winning any WSOP Circuit event. However, the Regional Championship ring is extra special, since it also has diamonds (the other even rings are made of gold).

All players who cashed in this event were guaranteed at least $19,653 in prize money.

The tournament was played over four consecutive days, from May 27-30. The first three days were played inside the Bordeaux Ballroom, located on the second floor at Harrah’s Rincon. The Bordeaux Ballroom is located adjacent to the poker room. The final table (Day Four) was played inside the more spacious Palladium Ballroom, which normally hosts some of the top acts in music and entertainment.

Among those who entered the tournament were former WSOP Main Event champions Phil Hellmuth (1989), Carlos Mortensen (2001), and Jerry Yang (2007).

Other former WSOP gold bracelet winners who participated were Daniel Negreanu, Eric Seidel, Eric Froehlich (E-Fro), Scott Montgomery, David Williams, and Kathy Liebert.

At least two recent WSOP Main Event final table “November Nine” players played in this event, including Scott Montgomery (5th place in 2008) and Joseph Cheong (3rd place in 2010).

Neither of the two “stars” from the Harrah’s Rincon series entered the Regional Championship. Mstr Lynch (Lewisville, TX), winner of two gold rings and best all-around player, did not play. Moreover, Seneca Easley (Ft. Worth, TX), who won the $1,500 buy-in Main Event Championship, did not enter.

Players from Texas won four of the ten preliminary events held prior to the start of the Regional Championships. Lynch won two events. Easley won another. A fourth gold ring was won by Justin “Choctaw” Kruger (Denison, TX).

……………

The 14th-place finisher was poker superstar Daniel Negreanu. He was one player off the “bubble.” Negreanu suffered a brutal run during his last 90 minutes in the tournament, falling from among the chip leaders to the rail within a relatively short time frame.

The dreaded bubble finisher was Kyle Bowker, from Walton, NY. For 13th place, Bowker received little more than sympathy (and no prize money). He endured a brutal beat on his final hand. Bowker was all-in holding pocket nines. He flopped a nine, which was good for a set against Dana Kellstom’s pocket aces. With one card to come, an ace hit the board, giving Kellstrom a higher set (trip aces). It was a tough way to exit for Bowker after playing excellent poker over nearly three days.

Finishing in 10th, 11th, and 12th places respectively were – Kwinsee Tran, Alejandro Garcia, and Joe Parker.

Alejandro Garcia (11th place) is from Mexicali, Mexico. Despite close proximity to the U.S., relatively few players from Mexico have played in major poker tournaments over the years. However, more Mexican players are now participating in WSOP-related tournaments. WSOP gold bracelets have been won by only two Mexican players in history.

The “final table bubble” has added significance in this tournament. Normally, the prize money jump between ninth and tenth place is not a huge factor which influences play. However, in the case of the Regional Championship, a guaranteed seat in the WSOP Circuit National Championship was at stake. Since only the top nine finishers earned seats into the $1 million season-ending contest, ten-handed play lasted longer than expected. Furthermore, since television was involved, players who made the final nine had additional potential sponsorship money. This contributed to a tense atmosphere at the end of Day Three and a huge advantage for the larger stacks who were able to increase their advantages over the players with smaller stacks.

The final table bubble finisher (10th place) was Kwinsee Tran, from Orange County, CA. He had been the chip leader coming into Day Three. Instead, he settled for tenth place and a $19,653 payout. Tran won his way into this tournament via a mega-satellite.

……………

There are nine players remaining in the tournament, which makes up the official final table. Play begins Wednesday, March 30th at noon PST and will conclude when the winner has been determined.

In Seat One is Dwyte Pilgrim, from Brooklyn, NY. He has a chance to tie the all-time record for most career WSOP Circuit wins. Pilgrim, who now owns three gold rings, can win a fourth gold ring with a victory. That would tie him with Mark “Pegasus” Smith and Men “the Master” Nguyen. Pilgrim won the Main Event at Harrah’s Rincon two years ago. Pilgrim was declared he unofficial WSOP Circuit “Player of the Year” in 2009, which was his breakthrough year in tournament poker. Pilgrim comes to the final table ranked third in chips, with 408,000.

In Seat Two is Miller Dao, from Maricopa, CA. He was born in Vietnam. Dao is a police officer. He has cashed in preliminary WSOP Circuit gold ring events at Harrah’s Rincon as well as tournaments at the Deep Stack Extravaganza, at the Venetian in Las Vegas. Dao has a big hill to climb at the player ranked eighth in chips out of nine players, with 99,000.

In Seat Three is David Peters, from Rancho Santa Fe, CA. He is a 50-year-old attorney. Peters has a few small tournament wins. This would be his biggest career victory to date, should he win this event. Peters starts play ranked second in chips, with 437,000.

In Seat Four is Ali Eslami, from Los Angeles, CA. He was among the chip leaders during most of Day Three, but now comes to the final table with a slightly above average stack. At 395,000 in chips, he currently ranks fourth in the chip count. Eslami is primarily a cash-game player, but has also enjoyed some success in tournaments. He final tabled the HORSE event at the 2007 WSOP. Eslami has also defeated a poker bot, in a widely-celebrated match against a programmed player created by the University of Alberta, in Canada.

In Seat Five is D.J. Blanchard, originally from Augusta, GA and now residing in Las Vegas, NV. He is a 22-year-old professional poker player. He is one semester away from graduating from the University of Nevada-Las Vegas. Blanchard comes to the final table ranked fifth in chips, with 271,000.

In Seat Six is Tim West, the chip leader. He has 843,000 in chips, which is almost double the stack of his closest challenger. West is from San Francisco, CA. He is a 35-year-old professional poker player. West is coming off a huge victory in the Wynn Classic (Las Vegas) Main Event Championship, which took place about a week prior to the start of this tournament.

In Seat Seven is Dylan Wilkerson, from San Francisco, CA. He is a 26-year-old poker pro. Wilkerson graduated from UC-Berkley. He has the biggest challenge of anyone at the final table, currently with 89,000 in chips – which is the shortest stack.

In Seat Eight is Steve Brecher, from Reno, NV. He is a 65-year-old computer software programmer and marketer who holds a degree from Stanford University. Brecher now plays regularly on the poker tournament circuit. He won a World Poker Tour Championship a few years ago. Brecher is also an accomplished aviator, who flies regularly. He come to the final table with 246,000 in chips, which places him currently in sixth place.

In Seat Nine is Dana Kellstrom, from Stevenson Ranch, CA. He is a 47-year-old poker player and entrepreneur. Kellstrom entered eight events at last year’s WSOP in Las Vegas, and cashed in three of them. He is married and has four children. Kellstrom starts play at the final table with 147,000, which places him seventh in the chip count.

Play will resume at Level 20. There are 11 minutes remaining at this level. Blinds are 3,000-6,000 with a 1,000 ante.

Live tournament coverage can be seen at WSOP.COM. Updates begin Wednesday at noon.

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2011 Harrah’s Rincon Western Regional Championship Day 2 Update

Tuesday, March 29th, 2011

WSOP CIRCUIT WESTERN REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP REACHES MIDWAY POINT

DANIEL NEGREANU AMONG 18 PLAYERS STILL ALIVE

Valley Center, CA — The World Series of Poker Circuit Western Regional Championship continued at Harrah’s Rincon (San Diego) with the play and conclusion of Day Two.

The $10,000 (+300) buy-in No-Limit Hold’em tournament attracted 98 entries. The total prize pool amounts to $940,800. The top 12 finishers will collect prize money. Turnout was about the same number of players (99) who participated in last year’s $5,000 buy-in Main Event Championship, held at Harrah’s Rincon. Even though the buy-in for this event doubled from last year, the field size remained constant.

The Western Regional Championship winner will collect $282,242 in prize money. The winner also receives a special gold and diamond ring, which is the ultimate prize for victory at a WSOP Circuit event. The top nine finishers will each earn prepaid seats (valued at $10,000) into the 2010-2011 WSOP Circuit National Championship, to be played at Caesars Palace Las Vegas, coming in May. The first tournament of its kind will award a WSOP gold bracelet to the winner.

Day Two of the four-day tournament at Harrah’s Rincon began with 61 players out of the starting field of 98. By day’s end, only 18 survived. Among those eliminated were former WSOP Main Event champions Phil Hellmuth and Carlos Mortensen.

The end of Day Two chip leader is Kwinsee Khoa Tran, from Orange County, CA. He satellited into the tournament and has a chance to turn a small investment into more than a quarter-million dollar payday. In second place is three-time WSOP Circuit gold ring winner and popular up-and-coming star Dwyte Pilgrim. Other well-known players still alive include Daniel Negreanu, Scott Montgomery, and others.

Here is a list of players still in contention for the Western Regional Championship.

Note: Players are listed by NAME, HOMETOWN, CHIP COUNT, TABLE/SEAT (DAY TWO):

Kwinsee Khoa Tran Orange County, CA 269,100 15 6
Dwyte Pilgrim Brooklyn, NY 236,500 14 6
Ali Eslami Los Angeles, CA 227,500 15 1
Tim West Los Altos, CA 216,900 15 2
David Peters Rancho Sante Fe, CA 200,500 14 8
Joe Parker Livonia, MI 200,000 14 5
Miller Dao Maricopa, AZ 186,600 15 3
Daniel Negreanu Las Vegas, NV 173,800 15 5
Kyle Bowler Walton, NY 168,100 14 1
Dylan Wilkerson San Francisco, CA 166,000 15 7
Dana Kellstrom Stevenson Ranch, CA 164,600 14 4
Steve Brecher Reno, NV 157,900 14 3
D.J. Blanchard Las Vegas, NV 140,700 14 7
Romik Vartear Los Angeles, CA 139,000 15 4
Todd Terry Hoboken, NJ 108,600 15 8
Scott Montgomery Ottawa, ON (Canada) 103,100 14 2
Alejandro Javier Garcia Mexicali, Mexico 59,000 15 9
Jesse Martin Northboro, MA 18,500 14 9

Note: Plays resumes with 44 minutes remaining in Level 16.

The Harrah’s Rincon Resort-Casino is located about 45-minutes from Downtown San Diego. This marks the seventh consecutive season that Harrah’s Rincon has hosted a WSOP Circuit stop.

The final table will be nationally-televised on the Versus Network. This is the third of four WSOP Circuit Regional Championships. The first two televised events took place in Chicago (North) and Atlantic City (East). The final Regional Championship will take place at Harrah’s New Orleans (South) in mid-May.

Live updates from Harrah’s Rincon can be seen here at WSOP.COM starting at noon on Tuesday. Play on Day Three will continue until the final table of nine players is reached. Final table play will begin on Wednesday.

Nolan Dalla
Media Director — World Series of Poker
Las Vegas, Nevada

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2011 World Series of Poker Circuit Tour

Monday, March 7th, 2011

WSOP 2011 Circuit Tour

It’s the biggest event of the poker calendar and attracts some of the game’s biggest players as well as attracting massive audiences of both playing and non-plating poker fans from across the world. With crowds in attendance at event and many more internationally inspired by television relay to cash in their Party Poker discount codes and give the game a go, WSOP poker is some of the most influential competition in its field.

The 2010/2011 World Series of Poker Circuit tour, or WSOPC as it is known in poker circles, kicked off back in August of 2010 with the first qualifiers at the at the Horseshoe Council Bluffs in Iowa and has visited locations across the US and the rest of the world (including the Emerald Casino in South Africa) as it hurtles toward what promises to be an exciting nail biter of a climax at Caesars Palace in May of this year (2011).

With the eyes of the world on the WSOP the 2010/2011 circuit tour officials took it upon themselves to make a few changes to the tour’s official rule book in the hopes of creating a more smooth running affair and brining into line some of the big name players who, in recent years, have seemed to get a little bit big for their poker playing boots.

Two notable rule changes have been pounced on by poker pundits as being direct attacks on players who constitute star attractions on the tour.

The first of the amendments concerns the tournaments rule 14 and has been nicknamed the Hellmuth clause, after Hold’em superstar Phil Hellmuth.

The new rule states that players must turn up at their tables before play reaches level three, if they are any later than this their chips will be taken off the table, minus the blinds from the missed hands, and the players original buy in will no longer count towards the tournament purse.

The rule change means that Hellmuth, famous for his fashionably late entrances will now have to attempt to adhere to the tournament timetable if he is to retain his high ranking.

The second big rule change for the current tour has been titled the Paskin clause after Brit Barry Paskin.

Rule 37b now demands that players maintain a suitable level of personal hygiene if they wish to play in the WSOP, after Paskin’s opponents in recent tournaments complained about his body odour and asked officials to remove him from the game. At the time there was no rule about smelling bad, and Paskin, who many speculated was aware of the effect of the psychological weapon, put the pong down to his lucky England shirt which had remained unwashed for a lengthy period. However, if he pulls the same stunt again this year, he could find his bluff is called and he is out of the game.

The WSOP 2011 Circuit tour is a star studded event packed with previous bracelet winners including Hellmuth, Johnny Chan, Greg Raymer and Jerry Yang – but even with such experience names in the mix the qualifiers have thrown up a few surprises, not least the emergence of the events youngest ever circuit champion in the form of 19-year-old John Riordan from Florida.

www.purecontent.com

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