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2010-2011 Harvey’s Lake Tahoe WSOP Circuit Main Event Results

Wednesday, November 24th, 2010

2010-2011 World Series of Poker Circuit
Season Seven
Harvey’s Lake Tahoe
Event #9
Main Event Championship
No-Limit Hold’em
Buy-In: $1,600
Total Entries: 246
Total Prize Pool: $354,240
November 21-23, 2010

OFFICIAL RESULTS:

2010-2011 Harveys Lake Tahoe WSOP Circuit Main Event Winner Stanley Quinn

2010-2011 Harveys Lake Tahoe WSOP Circuit Main Event Winner Stanley Quinn

1 Stanley Quinn Danville, CA $86,789

2 John McNeilly Glen Ellen, CA $53,625

3 Michael Traylor Houston, TX $38,743

4 Dan Black Cloverdale, CA $28,513

5 Drew Caseri Merced, CA $21,361

6 Ned Mantua Bodega Bay, CA $16,277

7 Donna Jetter Sparta, TN $12,611

8 Grant Hillman Oakland, CA $9,929

9 Joseph Mongkul-Ua-Aree Gardnerville, NV $7,942

10 Tom Masinter Dublin, CA $6,451

11 Leroy Patitz Hastings, NE $6,451

12 Ray Martin Bargersville, IN $6,451

13 Arthur Molloy La Jolla, CA $5,321

14 Kevin Fleming Pleasanton, CA $5,321

15 Dustin Leary Mountain View, CA $5,321

16 Stephen Brown Simi Valley, CA $4,456

17 Anthony Winters Patterson, CA $4,456

18 John Miner Carlson City, NV $4,456

19 Kenneth Churchill Auburn , WA $3,790

20 Jason Stern San Jose, CA $3,790

21 Jason Moe Roseville, CA $3,790

22 Archie Raimer Boerne, TX $3,270

23 Andrew Barber Rocklin, CA $3,270

24 Zachary Gilbert Reno, NV $3,270

25 Richard Peterson Oakdale, CA $2,862

26 George Reese Sacramento, CA $2,862

27 Jeffrey Lennon Fresno, CA $2,862

Stan Quinn Wins WSOP Circuit Main Event Championship Gold Ring at Harvey’s

Andrew Barber Wins Lake Tahoe’s Best All-Around Player Points Race

Winter Blizzard in High Sierras Fails to Cool Off Two National Championship Qualifiers – Quinn and Barber

Stateline, NV – The winner of the World Series of Poker Circuit Main Event Championship held at the Harvey’s Lake Tahoe Resort and Casino is Stan Quinn, from Danville, CA.

Quinn collected $86,789 in prize money. He was presented with his first gold ring, which is the supreme token of achievement awarded for winning a WSOP Circuit event. Quinn also received an automatic seat qualification into the 2010-2011 WSOP Circuit National Championship, to be held in Las Vegas next May.

Quinn is a 51-year-old professional poker player. He formally worked in IT management. Quinn earned his way into the championship by winning a mega-satellite in the Harvey’s Poker Room. Shortly after making the decision to play poker full-time, he cashed in this year’s WSOP Main Event – finishing in 549th place.

This marks Quinn’s debut year on the WSOP Circuit. Quinn cashed in one of the earlier gold ring events at Harvey’s finishing in 14th place in a $345 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em event. With this victory, he now has more than $100,000 in WSOP-related earnings for the year.

The $1,600 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em tournament began on Sunday at noon and ended Tuesday night. The tournament attracted a larger-than-expected field size totaling 246 entrants.

Tournament attendance was expected to suffer due to a record snowstorm which punished the Lake Tahoe area for more than four days. Around Harvey’s Lake Tahoe, nearly three feet of snow hit the ground and created white-out conditions during most of the weekend. Snowfall hit more than six feet at the higher elevations. Wind gusts on the upper ridges of the High Sierras were 80-90 mph, at times. According to some reports, this was the heaviest November snowfall in the last 100 years.

This made the trek to South Lake Tahoe treacherous for all but the most daring drivers, winter sportsmen, and poker players. Some roads were closed, and those paths that were open required snow chains. Nevertheless, players came and made this one of the busier weekends of the year.

Despite the severe weather, the number of participants in the Main Event Championship increased significantly over last year. Furthermore, the $354,240 prize pool was up by 15 percent over the previous figure, even though this year’s buy-in ($1,600) was reduced from the previous year ($5,000).

The first day opened with 246 players playing down to 51 survivors — which took about 12 hours. The first day chip leader was Dan Black, who would end up making it to the final table – ending up in fourth place. The second day of play whittled the field down to the final nine — which lasted about 10 hours. The second day chip leader was Michael Traylor, who enjoyed a 2 to 1 advantage over his closest rival when the final table started on the third day of competition. Traylor ended up as the third-place finisher.

The final table began at 12 noon on Tuesday and ended about 5 hours 15 minutes later. When the nine finalists took their seats, the chip counts were as follows:

SEAT 1: Dan Black (Cloverdale, CA) – 585,000 in chips
SEAT 2: Donna Jetter (Nashville, TN) – 111,000 in chips
SEAT 3: John McNeilly (Sonoma, CA) – 263,000 in chips
SEAT 4: Joe “13” Mongkol-ua-aree (Gardnerville, NV) – 287,000 in chips
SEAT 5: Michael Traylor (Houston, TX) – 1,843,000 in chips
SEAT 6: Drew Caseri (Merced, CA) – 164,000 in chips
SEAT 7: Grant Hillman (Oakland, CA) – 484,000 in chips
SEAT 8: Ned Mantua (Bedega Bay, CA) – 945,000 in chips
SEAT 9: Stan Quinn (Danville, CA) – 377,000 in chips

Blinds began at 10,000-20,000 with a 3,000 ante. Players were eliminated in the following order:

9th Place – Joe “13” Mongkol-ua-aree, from nearby Gardnerville, NV was the first player to exit. He went out after only about 20 minutes. Mongkol-ua-aree lost most of his stack with Ad Js. He moved all-in and got a quick call by Dan Black, who showed Ks Kc. Just a few hands earlier, Black had lost half of his stack when his K-K lost to Q-Q (a queen flopped). Black avoided a devastating repeat this second time around as his K-K survived a board which showed Qs 8d 3s 5s 5c. Mongkol-ua-aree was left with just 75,000 in chips and went out a few hands later when his A-Q lost to Michael Traylor’s straight.

Mongkol-ua-aree is a 38-year-old small business owner. He has been playing on the WSOP Circuit for 4 years. Mr. Mongkol-ua-aree loves playing poker with his wife Yvette, who has also cashed at Harvey’s Lake Tahoe. He once served proudly with the 82nd Airborne Division. Monghol-ua-aree collected $7,942 in prize money for ninth place.

8th Place – Grant Hillman, from Oakland, CA went out next. He was lowest in chips and moved all-in on a semi-bluff, which lost. Hillman was dealt Td 8d. After the flop came Qd Js 6h, Hillman moved all-in. Michael Traylor was delighted to call and tabled Qs Jd, good for top two pair. The cards ran out 3h Ad, pushing another pot to Traylor and putting Hillman out in eighth place with $9,929 in prize money.

Grant Hillman is a 38-year-old bio-informatics manager, which means he applies computer science and statistics to the field of molecular biology. He holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Illinois and a Masters Degree from the University of Colorado. Hillman won his way into the Main Event through a single-table satellite. This is his second year to play on the WSOP Circuit.

7th Place – Donna Jetter began play with the lowest stack. She managed to move two spots up the money ladder. Jetter doubled up three times during her two-hour session. She had a chance to go over 1,000,000 in chips at one point, but lost a critical race and fell back to a short stack. Jetter went out when she moved all-in with Js Ts. Michael Traylor faded her raise and called with Ad Kh. The flop gave Jetter several more outs, but she missed as two blanks hit the turn and river. The final board showed Qc 9c 3h 4c 3c giving Traylor more chips, and bankrupting Jetter. She is the only female to make a WSOP Circuit Main Event final table this season (through four championship events). Seventh place paid $12,611.

Donna Jetter specializes in renovating homes in and around the Nashville area. She has been playing on the WSOP Circuit for the past three years. She won the Ladies Championship at Harrah’s Tunica last January. Jetter is the first female poker player to make it to a WSOP Circuit championship final table this season.

6th Place – Ned Mantua was eliminated in sixth place when he was down to his last 150,000 and needed to find a hand. He found one shoved with Ac Td. Michael Traylor — who covered his opponent by more than a 10 to 1 margin — called and showed Kh Js. The final board came Kd Tc 4s 7c 2h giving Traylor top two pair. Thus, Mantua ended up in sixth place.

Ned Mantua is a 68-year-old gas station manager. He is a proud father of four, and a grandfather to four. Mr. Mantua enjoys fishing, but he found no fish at this final table. Mantua earned $16,277 in prize money.

5th Place – Drew Caseri’s last five minutes at the final table were a nightmare. He managed to run his initial stack size of 164,000 up to more than 800,000. He would have had 1.4 million except for a brutal beat which took place about three hours into play. Caseri re-raised all-in holding 9-9 and had John McNeilly covered, who showed 6-6. It appeared that Caseri would knock out McNeilly and move into second place in chips. But a six on the river completely reversed the fortunes of both players. Two hands later, Caseri was down to 200,000 and moved all-in again, with Ks Ts. Michael Traylor called and showed Ac Qd. The flop was good for Caseri, but once again, the river card was a killer. The board ran Tc 9d 4c 3c Qh, giving Traylor what remained of Caseri’s stack.

Drew Caseri is a 25-year-old college student. He won his way into this tournament via a $235 mega-satellite. Mr. Caseri loves poker, but says he actually came to Lake Tahoe to snowboard. However, he didn’t get to snowboard much on this trip because of his success in this tournament. Caseri earned $21,361 in prize money.

4th place – Dan Black was eliminated during the fifth hour of play. He was all-in on an unusual hand where both players had straight-flush draws. Black was dealt Td 9d and was up against Michael Traylor, with 6d 5d. After the flop came 9c 8d 7d Black moved in with top pair and the straight-flush draw. But Traylor had the made straight which held up as the final two cards were 7d and Qh. Black collected $28,513 in prize money.

Dan Black is a 61-year-old retired construction specialist and former fireman. He prefers to play in cash games and paid his way into this event through his cash game winnings. Mr. Black owns his own ranch which is 5,000 acres, where he escorts visitors on hunting trips around his property. This marks his fifth year to play on the WSOP Circuit.

3rd Place – Despite being the powerhouse force during much of the final table, Michael Traylor ended up finishing in third place. At one point during the finale he held a 4 to 1 chip lead over his closest rival. In fact, Traylor was dealt a flurry of big hands during his stay. Trouble was, several of the hands were cracked and he ended up losing a number of big pots at critical times during the finale. He managed to double up players at the worst possible times, which was no fault of his own since he always seemed to have big cards. Traylor was finally eliminated while low on chips holding Ts 4s. The flop came Qd Jh 8d, with the Js on the turn and the Kd on the river. Stan Quinn’s Ac 9c – good for ace-high — took what remained of Traylor’s once-towering stack.

Michael Traylor is a 28-year-old professional poker player. He previously worked in sales and was an actor. Mr. Traylor has only recently begun a full-time poker career, but says he is in the game to stay and is determined to improve one step at a time. Traylor took a solid step forward with his third-place finish in this tournament. He collected $38,743.

2nd Place – John McNeilly was the runner up. He collected a very respectable consolation prize totaling $53,625.

The final hand of the tournament came quickly and unexpectedly. After five hours of final table action, a routine looking hand developed when the flop came 8h 6c 3h. McNeilly moved all-in and showed 8c 7h (after his bet was called), good for top pair. Unfortunately, Stan Quinn had Js Jc — good for an overpair. McNeilly added several outs to his shot of seizing the chip lead after the 5d fell on the turn. But the river bricked with the Ks coming, which gave the victory to Quinn and put McNeilly out in second place.

John McNeilly is a 54-year-old part-time player who says he is currently out of work. He previously worked as a manager at a winery. He was also a high school basketball coach at one time. Mr. McNeilly has been playing on the WSOP Circuit for two years. He wished to acknowledge the support he received from his wife, two daughters, and older brother, who is diagnosed with ALS, who followed his progress online.

1st Place – Stan Quinn won his first major poker tournament and his first WSOP Circuit gold ring. First place paid $86,789 in prize money.

The overall winner in the point race for this year’s Harvey’s Lake Tahoe series is Andrew Barber, from Rocklin, CA. He edged out two rivals, Tom Masinter and John Deng, both of whom won gold ring events. Barber won the point tally with a second and a third place finish in two events. He also cashed in the Main Event.

Joining the Main Event champion Stan Quinn, Barber earns an automatic bid into the WSOP Circuit National Championship.

This year, all players on the WSOP Circuit who cash will accumulate points which are used to qualify towards the WSOP Circuit National Championship. The tournament is to be held in May 2011 in Las Vegas.  The $1 million freeroll tournament will be nationally televised and will be open to only 100 qualifiers.  For the first time ever, a WSOP gold bracelet will be presented to the winner.
  
This was the final WSOP Circuit gold ring event held this year at Harvey’s Lake Tahoe. The WSOP Circuit gold ring winners at Harvey’s Lake Tahoe were as follows:
 
Phillip Hui (Event #1 champion — NLHE)
Manh Tran (Event #2 champion — NLHE)
James Sparks (Event #3 champion – Omaha High-Low Split)
Devin Jackson (Event #4 champion – H.O.R.S.E.)
Cyle Curtis (Event #5 champion – NLHE)
Matthew Hughes (Event #6 champion – Six-Handed NLHE)
Joel Casper (Event #7 champion – NLHE)
Tom Masinter (Event #8 champion — NLHE)
Stan Quinn (Event #9 MAIN EVENT champion – NLHE)
 
A total of 2,197 players participated in the ten WSOP Circuit events played at this year’s Harvey’s Lake Tahoe series.  That means each event has attracted an average of 220 players.

The impressive attendance figures at Harvey’s Lake Tahoe are consistent with big turnouts at all WSOP Circuit stops, so far.  All four WSOP Circuit events now completed have experienced increases in both attendance and prize money.  Numbers were up significantly at Council Bluffs, Hammond (Chicago), and Southern Indiana.  A new addition to this year’s schedule held at the IP Casino-Resort and Spa in Biloxi also produced impressive numbers.

This is the seventh WSOP Circuit stop to be held at Harvey’s Lake Tahoe. It is one of only three stops which have been a part of the WSOP Circuit season every year. The others are Harrah’s Rincon (San Diego) and Harrah’s Atlantic City.
 
Harvey’s Lake Tahoe is located on the south shore of crystal blue Lake Tahoe, beneath a wall of snow-capped mountains, making for one of the most astounding views of any poker destination in the world.
 
Northern Nevada has a rich poker history.  The WSOP had its origins, not in Las Vegas, but rather in Northern Nevada.  The first WSOP-style tournament was played in Reno at the Holiday Casino in 1969.  That first gathering of poker players was called the “Second Annual Gambling Fraternity Convention,” and was won by Crandell Addington, later a Poker Hall of Fame inductee.  Poker patriarch Benny Binion was so impressed with the concept that he held the first WSOP the following year at Binion’s Horseshoe in Las Vegas, in 1970. Now some 41 years later, poker remains alive and well in the Reno-Lake Tahoe area.

2010-2011 Harvey’s Lake Tahoe WSOP Circuit Main Event Championship Results

2010-2011 Harvey’s Lake Tahoe WSOP Circuit Event Schedule and Results

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2010-2011 Horseshoe Council Bluffs WSOP Circuit Ring Event #6 Results

Tuesday, August 31st, 2010

2010-2011 World Series of Poker Circuit
Horseshoe Council Bluffs
August 25-26
Ring Event # 6
Six-handed No-Limit Hold’em
Buy-In: $500+$55
Number of Entries: 114
Total Prize Money: $53,370

Final Results:

1 Drazen Ilich Lincoln, NE $16,013

2 Jason McKelvey Lincoln, NE $9,896

3 Drew Woodke Omaha, NE $7,107

4 Jeffrey Fielder Des Moines, IA $5,130

5 Brett Schwertley Omaha, NE $3,707

6 Joel Merwick Lincoln, NE $2,685

7 Mark “Pegasus” Smith Georgetown, KY $1,952

8 Bob Slezak Omaha, NE $1,952

9 Robert Townsend Woodridge, IL $1,423

10 Tommy Nguyen Sioux City, IA $1,423

11 Timothy Sciscoe Omaha, NE $1,041

12 David Weeks (Tie) Port Murray, NJ $520

13 Thomas Culberson (Tie) Ellisville, MS $520

Bosnia Immigrant Drazen Ilich has Easy Win in 6-Handed No-Limit

Six-Handed Format Lets Him Play Aggressively And Plenty of Chips Allows Him to Gamble

Council Bluffs, IA — Drazen Ilich is a 31-year-old poker player who came to this country from Sarajevo, Bosnia 12 years ago. Originally working as a machinist, he began playing poker with friends, and four years ago decided he was good enough to play full time. He won two prior Circuit rings last year, including a $1,000 no-limit event here that paid $32,825, and tonight added a third ring by winning the $500 six-handed no-limit hold’em event that earned him $18,013, along with a diamond and gold trophy ring. He also has three final tables at the Horseshoe Poker Classic in 2008, including two wins, along with numerous online tournament wins. Hobbies are golf and tennis.

Normally a selective/aggressive player, Ilich said the six-handed format permitted him to turn up the heat and, because he was never short-stacked, he could gamble with less-than-premium hands. He said he also had a pretty good read on the final table players, and was able to pick his spots successfully. Ilich, who now lives in Lincoln, Nebraska, divides his poker time between cash games and tournaments, preferring tournaments because of the bigger prize potential, and because they’re more fun. He also had high praise for the new tournament structure giving entrants a lot more play. His hobbies are golf and tennis.

This tournament had 114 players and a $53,370 prize pool. The final six began play at level 17 with blinds of 2,000-4,000, 500 antes and 22:34 remaining at that level. With 356,000 chips, Jason McKelvey was the leader.

Here were the starting chip counts:

Seat

1. Joel Merwick 194,000
2. Jeff Fielder 119.000
3. Brett Schwertley 116,000
4. Drew Woodke 239,500
5. Drazen Ilich 330,000
6. Jason McKelvey 356,000

Sixth Place: Joel Merwick was first out. He went all in holding 10s-9s, after a flop of Qs-7s-2s gave him a flush. However, Jeff Fielder, holding pocket 7s, went after him with a set. A 9 turned, and then a river deuce filled Fielder, leaving Merwick in sixth place, paying $2,685. Merwick, 29, is a pro from Omaha playing for seven years. His biggest cashes were $39,000 for finishing 189th in the 2005 WSOP main event, and $37,000 for sixth in a New Orleans Circuit championship. His hobbies are “Sports, sports, sports.”

Fifth Place: Just as the next level ended, so did another player. Brett Schwertley looked at pocket 9s and raised, and then Drew Woodke re-raised him all in. “Wow!” Schwertley exclaimed as Woodke turned up pocket aces. A board of 4-3-Q-8-8 changed nothing and Schwertley went out fifth for $3,707. Schwertley, 27, is from Omaha. He learned to play seven or so years ago from his grandma.

Fourth Place: Several more levels of careful play went by without any more called all-ins. Then, with blinds of 6,000-12,000, Woodke was called after moving in with pocket kings, but he easily survived by flopping a set. A couple of hands later, another player finally was eliminated. The board showed 4d-6d-7s. Drazen Ilich, holding 7-6, was ahead with two pair, but an all-in Jeffrey Fielder, holding Ad-5d, had 15 outs with draws to a flush and open-end straight. Instead, a turn-card 7 filled Ilich, and Fielder checked out with $5,130 for fourth place. Fielder, 33, is from Des Moines, Iowa where he owns a construction business. He began playing in home games and later the on Internet seven years ago. He had a deep run in the main event here in February, along with other cashes here and in Vegas, in total giving him four out of eight WSOP cashes. His hobby is traveling for music.

At the next break, the three remaining players weren’t that much apart. Ilich led with about 480,000, while Woodke and McKelvey were in the 400,000 range. Blinds were now 8,000-16,000 with 3,000 antes. Late in the level, McKelvey pushed in for 178,000, and got a call from Woodke. “I’ve got a decision to make,” Ilich said, finally deciding to “let you guys tangle.” McKelvey turned up Qh-2h, way behind Woodke’s pocket kings. The flop came Qc-3s-9h, and then runner-runner hearts rescued and doubled-up Woodke with a flush. flush.

Third Place: Returning from a dinner break to blinds of 10,000-20,000 and 3,000 antes, Ilich led with 840,000 chips to 340,000 for McKelvey and 200,000 for Woodke. Later, down to under 100,000, Woodke moved in from the small blind with As-6s, getting called by Ilich with Jc-8c. A flop of Jh-2s-4-s gave Ilich top pair, while Woodke needed an ace or a spade, He got neither when an offsuit queen and 4 came. Woodke, cashing third for $7,107., is 28 and a real estate agent from Omaha who’s played for 10 years, learning online. He has four Circuit final tables.

Second Place: One hand later it was all over. Ilich pushed in with Ah-2c, and McKelvey called with Qs-10s. A flop of 9c-Js-2s paired Ilich’s deuce but gave McKelvey all kinds of outs: a spade for a flush, an 8 or king for a straight, or a queen or 10 for a better pair, making him a 69 percent favorite. But two bricks came off, and McKelvey settled for $9,896 for second. McKelvey, 26, is from Lincoln, Nebraska, and his occupation is working with adults with disabilities. He’s only been playing eight months, online and bar poker, and has a few online tournament cashes.

2010-2011 Horseshoe Council Bluffs WSOP Circuit Events Schedule and Results

2010-2011 Horseshoe Council Bluffs WSOP Circuit Ring Event #6 Results

By Max Shapiro

Director of Poker Operations for Harrah’s Entertainment – Jack Effel
Horseshoe Council Bluffs Poker Room Manager – Gary Margetson
Tournament Director – Jimmy Sommerfeld

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2010-2011 Horseshoe Council Bluffs WSOP Circuit Ring Event #4 Results

Thursday, August 26th, 2010

2010-2011 World Series of Poker Circuit
Horseshoe Council Bluffs
August 23-24
Ring Event #4
H.O.R.S.E.
Buy-In: $300+$45
Number of Entries: 75
Total Prize Money: $31,825

Final Results:

1 Kevin Marcus Massapequa, NY $6,885

2 Alan Cutler Vernon Hills, IL $4,260

3 Duster Ellis Gretna, NE $2,804

4 Brian Schwartz Chicago, IL $1,963

5 Jimmy Blevins Oakland, NE $1,455

6 Betty Davidson St. Charles, MO $1,138

7 Michael Altman Mequon, WI $936

8 Daniel Thomas Lincoln, NE $809

Accounting Student Kevin Marcus Bullies His way to Win in H.O.R.S.E.

Key to Win is Using His Big Stacks to Steal from Shorties Trying to Move Up

2010-2011 Horseshoe Council Bluffs WSOP Circuit Ring Event #4 Winner Kevin Marcus

2010-2011 Horseshoe Council Bluffs WSOP Circuit Ring Event #4 Winner Kevin Marcus

Council Bluffs, IA — Kevin Marcus is a 25-year-old accounting student from Massapequa, New York whose normal style of play is tight. But two situations presented itself in today’s H.O.R.S.E. tournament, the fourth ring event of the WSOP Circuit tour at Horseshoe Council Bluffs, that allowed him to bully his way to victory, earning $6,885 and a diamond-encrusted gold trophy ring..

The first came the night before, with nine players left, one away from the final table. Playing a hand against Betty Davidson, he had her down to 2,000 on the river and was pretty sure he had her beat with two pair. But he just checked. Was he playing partners with her? No, not exactly. There were two other short stacks at the table, he was the chip leader, and he knew they were trying to make the final table and he could bully them and steal blinds and antes if play were to continue. He did just that, and was able to considerably build his stacks.

At the final table, he went down a lot in early action. Then with six players left and sensing that two short stacks were trying to move up another notch or two, he began pushing them around, picking up 20,000 or 30,000 chips six or seven times in a row, and moved up from 300,000 to 450,000 chips, After that he was unstoppable. “It only works when you’re a big stack,” he explained.

Marcus began playing poker 13 years ago with friends. He prefers tournaments, but ends up playing mostly cash games because of the underground clubs in New York. He has one prior small cash in Atlantic City. Asked for any final thoughts, he exclaimed “Let’s go, Islanders!” cheering on his favorite New York hockey team.

This event drew 75 players with a $31,825 prize pool. Play commenced in a razz round at level 16 with five hands left and 20:34 on the clock. Antes were 2,000, the bring-in 4,000, blinds 5,000-10,000, and limits 10,000-20,000. Marcus was now well in front with 246,000 chips, nearly 2-1/2 times as much as anyone else. And Davidson (at least due in part to Marcus’ strategy) became the first lady to grace a final table in any of the noon or 4 p.m. events thus far.

Here were the starting chip counts:

Seat
1. Jimmy Blevins 102,000
2. Alan Cutler 103,000
3. Brian Schwartz 52,000
4. Michael Altman 106,000
5. Betty Davidson 22,000
6.Kevin Marcus 246,000
7. Daniel Thomas 29,000
8. Duster Ellis 91,000

Eighth Place: The next round was stud, and we lost our first player when Daniel Thomas, starting second-lowest in chips, missed his gut-shot straight draw. He lost to Jimmy Blevins’ aces and cashed for $809. Thomas, 33, is a professional poker player and entrepreneur from Lincoln, Nebraska who was an advertising manager before turning pro. His biggest cash was $82,000 for finishing sixth in a WSOP no-limit event this year. Thomas, who only plays no-limit tournaments live, decided to enter his first H.O.R.S.E. event because of the national Circuit points race and because he made a few friendly side bets with other players.

Seventh Place: One more player went out in this round. On sixth street, Dustin Ellis was in the lead with a pair of eights. An all-in Michael Altman, holding A-2-K-7-9-3 with four diamonds, needed an ace, a king, a 9 or a diamond to overtake him. Instead, he caught a brick while Ellis made an overkill gut-shot straight. Seventh was worth $936.
Altman, 43, is an attorney from McQueen, Wisconsin who’s played six years. He has a final table at this event in 2008 and another at a Hammond Circuit. He is the “proud father” of two boys.

Sixth Place: In this same stud round, Davidson, starting with (Q-10)2, was left with a single chip after having to post the low-card bring-in, and had no choice but to play. She ended up with a pair of queens, losing to Brian Schwartz’s trip aces, leaving with $1,138 for sixth. Davidson, retired, is from St. Charles, Missouri, learning to play two years ago by reading books.

Fifth Place: Another player went out in a hold’em round. Blevins was all in on fourth street holding J-10. With a board of 5d-Ks-Jh-Ah, he was in bad shape, with a pair of jacks and an inside straight draw against Alan Cutler, who had Kh-7h for kings and a flush draw. A river 4h gave Cutler his flush, and Blevins cashed fifth for $1,455. Blevins is 55, from Oakland, Nebraska and works as a technician. His nickname is “Rebuy.” He taught himself poker 17 years ago. He has two cashes in the WSOP main event, along with numerous cashes in smaller tournaments. Blevins spent three years in the army and is married with two children and three grandchildren.

Fourth Place: Two players went out in the next hold’em round. Finishing fourth for $1,963 was Brian Schwartz. He had A-5 versus Cutler’s 8c-7c and went out when a board of K-2-4-7-4 paired Cutler’s 7. Schwartz, 30, is from Chicago where he runs a sports memorabilia business which he started while in college. He’s played six years and has three small cashes at WSOP events and another Circuit final table.

Third Place: On the next hand, Duster Ellis had to post his last chips in the small blind with an anemic 8-3 against Cutler, holding 10-8 in the big blind. A board of A-J-6-Q-5 didn’t do much for either player, and Cutler’s 10-high was enough to leave Ellis in third place, paying $2,804. Ellis, whose name is “Husker Hustler,” is a 21-year-old pro from Gretna, Nebraska, who “grew up playing poker” and has been a pro four years. His recent cashes include one in the Venetian Deep Stack Extravaganza and a ninth out of 1,484 at the Hustler Casino’s Grand Slam of Poker.

Second Place: The two remaining players went on break, returning for their final match-up, with Marcus holding a 425,000 to 325,000 chip advantage over Cutler. Play started in an Omaha round and ended during stud high play. On the final hand, Cutler, reading his opponent as weak, raised all in on fifth street holding (4-7)Q-5-7, and was surprised when Marcus, showing 5-3-A, turned up 5-3 for two pair. Marcus didn’t improve when a king and six were dealt to him, but neither did Cutler when he got a 10 on sixth street and a 6 on the river. For second, Cutler, 52, whose nickname is “Chgocut,” picked up $4,260. He is a CPA from Vernon Hills, Illinois who learned poker as a kid in home games and has been playing professional-level tournaments since 2006. Cutler has a WPT bracelet at the Bellagio in $1,500 no-limit, a $225,000 final table cash in $2,000 no-limit at the WSOP, and a H.O.S.E. title at the Majestic Star in Indiana. The father of four children, he also likes golf and movies.

2010-2011 Horseshoe Council Bluffs WSOP Circuit Events Schedule and Results

2010-2011 Horseshoe Council Bluffs WSOP Circuit Ring Event #4 Final Results

–Max Shapiro

Director of Poker Operations for Harrah’s Entertainment – Jack Effel
Horseshoe Council Bluffs Poker Room Manager – Gary Margetson
Tournament Director – Jimmy Sommerfeld

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2010-2011 Horseshoe Council Bluffs WSOP Circuit Ring Event #3 Results

Thursday, August 26th, 2010

2010-2011 World Series of Poker Circuit
Horseshoe Council Bluffs
August 22-23
Ring Event #3
No-Limit Hold’em
Buy-In: $300+$45
Number of Entries: 111
Total Prize Money: $30,618

Final Results:

1 Dean Jackson Waukon, IA $9,185

2 Allan Moore Manhattan, KS $5,677

3 Michael Lynch Appleton, WI $4,042

4 Peter Mavro Douglaston, NY $2,936

5 Robert Nelson Omaha, NE $2,175

6 Brian Brashaw Papillion, NE $1,642

7 Ross Jones Manhattan, KS $1,263

8 Kostas Mantzaris Council Bluffs, IA $989

9 David Summers Spearfish, SD $789

10 Paul Sterk Charlotte, IA $640

11 Travis Batenhorst Columbus, NE $640

12 Jean Laurent Naples, FL $640

Playing His Favorite Game, Omaha Hi-Lo, Dean ‘Action’ Jackson Wins Ring Event #3

Jackson, a Farmer and Salvage Man from Waukon, Iowa, has Fairly Easy Win

2010-2011 Horseshoe Council Bluffs WSOP Circuit Ring Event #3 Winner Dean Jackson

2010-2011 Horseshoe Council Bluffs WSOP Circuit Ring Event #3 Winner Dean Jackson

Council Bluffs, IA — They call him “Action Jackson,” and action in poker is what Dean Jackson wants. He doesn’t like sitting around for hours waiting for good hold’em cards, and that’s why he likes Omaha hi-lo, where you can find all kinds of playable hands. He got enough of them today to take down the third ring event of the WSOP Circuit tour at Horseshoe Council Bluffs. His triumph was worth $9,185, along with a diamond and gold trophy ring.

Jackson is a 58-year-old farmer (corn, beans and some beef cattle) from Waukon, Iowa, who also operates a salvage business – “A better word than junk,” he said. He learned poker from his father 30 or 40 years ago, and also likes mixed-game tournaments. He was in good shape throughout this tournament, came to the final table in second chip position, and took over the lead in late going. Jackson, describing himself as down-to-earth “nothing fancy,” has a bracelet in Omaha at the Jack Binion Mid-America Poker Classic in Tunica. This year he played his first WSOP event, Omaha hi-lo, finishing 43rd and knocking out Phil Ivey along the way.

This event drew 111 players for a prize pool of $30,618. Day one ended with nine players left, and they resumed play at 2 p.m. today. Holding a good lead with 411,000 chips was Allan “Bossman” Moore. At the other end, with just 12,000, was David “Guru” Summers.

Here were the starting chip counts:

Seat
1. Kostas Mantzaris 47,000
2. Paul Summers 12,000
3. Peter Mavro 75,000
4. Mike Lynch 51,000
5. Allan Moore 411,000
6. Dean Jackson 232,000
7. Ross Jones 111,000
8. Robert Nelson 128,000
9. Brian Brashaw 41,000

Play started with blinds of 3,000-6,000 and 6,000-12,000 limits, seven minutes remaining at level 18.

Ninth Place: It didn’t take long to lose the first player. Summers was immediately all in with A-3-10-Q, up against Peter “Dragon” Mavro, who held A-4-5-9. Both players missed their low draws when the board came K-4-3-4-10, Summers made 10s and treys, not nearly good enough after Mavro ended up with trip 4s, and he cashed ninth for $789.

Summers, 45, is a motorcycle builder from Spearfish, South Dakota with 15 years experience. He has a second in the spring Deadwood Shootout. His hobby, unsurprisingly, is motorcycle riding

Eighth Place: Limits became 8,000-16,000. On a flop of A-K-5, Kostas Mantzaris bet his last chips and had three callers. Holding A-3-5-J, Mantzaris had his low draw double-counterfeited, but made aces and 5s. He didn’t improve when a king hit the turn and a 6 came on the river. The cards were turned up. Moore, with an A-K in his hand, had kings full. He took the high end while Ross “King Size” Jones took the low as Mantzaris cashed out eighth for $989. Mantzaris is 71, retired, and from Council Bluffs.

Seventh Place: With limits now at 10,000-20,000. Jones found himself all in from the big blind holding a weak 2-4-6-6. There were three callers. A flop of K-Q-J made a set for Peter Mavro, who held K-K-10-2. He bet out when a deuce turned, and the other two players folded. Ross was now drawing dead, and after an irrelevant 9 came on the river, he finished seventh, paying $1,263. Jones, 32, is from Manhattan, Kansas, and is manager of a Chilis bar grill. Prior cashes include a 32nd in a Sunday Million event and a 13th in a Venetian Deep Stack event. His hobbies are fishing and creating music.

Sixth Place: Next out was Brian “Specialist” Brashaw. On a flop of A-4-K, he went all in holding A-3-3-10, up against Mike Lynch, holding A-5-7-9. A queen and then a 5 came, giving Lynch aces and fives to beat Brashaw’s lone pair of aces. Brashaw is a 29-year-old stock broker from Papillion, Nebraska who’s played 10 years. His best finish was a win in a $300 Omaha hi-lo event here in 2008.

Fifth Place: Robert Nelson quickly followed Brashaw to the payout window. In three-way action he was all in with K-Q-9-9 against Jackson with a premium hand of A-A-2-3, and Moore, who held A-A-9-J. The board came 7-8-2-8-4, completely missing Nelson. Jackson got three-quarters of the pot by making a nut low and splitting the high with Moore, each of them holding pocket aces. Fifth paid $2,175. Nelson, 32, is from Omaha working as a liquor store manager. He’s played for 14 years, going from home games to the Internet, to live. He has a prior final table in no-limit hold’em. Hobbies are golf, fishing and bartending.

Fourth Place: The players returned from break with Jackson now in the lead with nearly 590,000 chips, followed by Moore with 315,000, and Lynch with 165,000, while Mavro was down to just 16,000. Limits now were 15,000-30,000. On the first hand there was three-way action. The flop came J-Q-A, making a Broadway straight for Jackson, who held A-K-10-8. He bet and Mavro jokingly saying “I raise,” tossed in his last chip. He was virtually dead holding 6-6-Q-5, and was totally dead when a king turned. He earned $2,936 for fourth. Mavro, 31, is a full-time player from Douglaston, New York who listed his occupation as “space cowboy” before turning pro. He’s played seven years, his biggest cash being $70,564 for finishing third in a Borgata Deep Stack event in Atlantic City last year. He said his poker highlight was “meeting Ted Ely and Ian Palomo,” and his highlight outside poker was scoring the lead in a 6th grade production of “The Pajama Game.”

Third Place: Third place and $4,042 went to Mike Lynch. He was all in with J-10-8-3 against Moore, who had A-4-4-6, A flop of 3-5-6 left him in bad shape, giving Moore a higher pair and a wraparound straight draw. Instead, a 4 turned to give Moore a set along with a low, leaving Lynch no outs. Lynch, collecting $4,042 for third, is 62, retired, and from Appleton, Wisconsin. He learned poker with school friends 50 years ago. His hobby is fishing.

Second Place: Heads-up, Jackson enjoyed a 2-1 chip lead, and after taking a couple of pots had Moore down to 60,000. Moore hung around a while, doubling up a couple of times, but couldn’t make much headway. The end came soon after blinds went to 10,000-20,000 with 20,000-40,000 limits. On the final hand the board showed 7d-2s-7s-5c-Qd. Moore bet his last chips and Jackson called. Moore turned over 2-4-5-10 for 7s and 5s, losing to Jackson, who held A-4-J-Q. Jackson had made a low on the turn and the river gave him the higher two pair, queens and 7s. Settling for second, Moore was paid $5,677.

Moore, 31, from Manhattan, Kansas, is a Verizon wireless manager. He began playing 10 years ago with the Northview Poker Crew, which he is representing here. His prior poker highlight was making the top 30 in the Sunday Million.

2010-2011 Horseshoe Council Bluffs WSOP Circuit Events Schedule and Results

2010-2011 Horseshoe Council Bluffs WSOP Circuit Ring Event #3 Results

–Max Shapiro

Director of Poker Operations for Harrah’s Entertainment – Jack Effel
Horseshoe Council Bluffs Poker Room Manager – Gary Margetson
Tournament Director – Jimmy Sommerfeld

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2010 Harrah’s New Orleans WSOP Circuit Seniors Championship Event Final Results

Thursday, May 20th, 2010

2009/2010 World Series of Poker Circuit
Harrah’s New Orleans
Bayou Poker Challenge
Event #19
No Limit Hold’em Seniors Championship
Buy-In: $300 (+40)
Total Entries: 113
Total Prize Pool: $32,883
May 19, 2010

Final Results:

1 Thomas Becnel NA $8,714

2 Lane Leblanc NA $5,261

3 Robert Irby NA $3,370

4 Richard Craig NA $2,630

5 Carl Lee NA $2,055

6 Theodore Etter Dallas, TX $1,644

7 Thomas Howard Gretna, LA $1,315

8 Ricardo Briseno NA $1,068

9 Markie Garner NA $904

10 Larry Wright McQueeney, TX $739

11 Michael Husar Laplace, LA $739

12 George Watford Austin, TX $739

13 Jerry Saucier Helena, AL $657

14 Wesley Brockhoeft Austin, TX $657

15 Kenneth Milam Laplace, LA $657

16 Ann Champlin NA $575

17 “Captain” Tom Franklin NA $575

18 Louis “Buddy” Bonnecaze Baton Rouge, LA $575

2010 Harrah’s New Orleans WSOP Circuit Seniors Championship Event Final Results

2010 Harrah’s New Orleans WSOP Circuit Events Schedule and Results

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

Tournament Director – Steve Frezer

General Manager of Harrah’s New Orleans — Jim Hoskins
Vice President of Marketing – Sandie McNamara
Director of Table Games – Tosha Skipper
Shift Manager of Harrah’s New Orleans – Larry Barrett
Special Events Coordinator – Gretchen Holzhauser

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2010 Harrah’s New Orleans WSOP Circuit – Event #18 Final Results

Thursday, May 20th, 2010

2009/2010 World Series of Poker Circuit
Harrah’s New Orleans
Bayou Poker Challenge
Event #18
No Limit Hold’em Ladies Championship
Buy-In: $300 (+40)
Total Entries: 78
Total Prize Pool: $22,666
May 19, 2010

Final Results:

2010 Harrah's New Orleans WSOP Circuit Ladies Championship Winner Paula Halata

2010 Harrah's New Orleans WSOP Circuit Ladies Championship Winner Paula Halata

1 Paula Halata Houston, TX $7,236

2 Patricia Marks Covington, LA $4,539

3 Deborah Lallo Ft. Myers, FL $2,894

4 Jodi Westendorf Key Largo, FL $2,042

5 Lisa Atwin Canada $1,645

6 Jenica Powell Canada $1,361

7 Jennifer White Houston, TX $1,134

8 Barbara Cardin NA $964

9 Patricia Mcardle New Orleans, LA $851

2010 Harrah’s New Orleans WSOP Circuit – Event #18 Final Results

2010 Harrah’s New Orleans WSOP Circuit Events Schedule and Results

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

Tournament Director – Steve Frezer

General Manager of Harrah’s New Orleans — Jim Hoskins
Vice President of Marketing – Sandie McNamara
Director of Table Games – Tosha Skipper
Shift Manager of Harrah’s New Orleans – Larry Barrett
Special Events Coordinator – Gretchen Holzhauser

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2010 Harrah’s New Orleans WSOP Circuit Main Event Championship Final Results

Thursday, May 20th, 2010

2009/2010 World Series of Poker Circuit
Harrah’s New Orleans
Bayou Poker Challenge
Event #17
No Limit Hold’em
Main Event Championship
Buy-In: $5,000 (+150)
Total Entries: 156
Total Prize Pool: $745,600
May 17-19, 2010

Final Results:

1 Fred Berger Slidell, LA $197,584

2 Mike Beasley Hollywood, FL $119,296

3 Ben Keiley Missoula, MT $76,424

4 Ed Corrado Naples, FL $59,648

5 Fernando Perez Mexico City, Mexico $46,600

6 Joel Merwick Omaha, NE $37,280

7 Jacob Naquin New Orleans, LA $29,824

8 Chander Jain Houston, TX $24,232

9 Jared Ingles Baton Rouge, LA $20,504

10 Jean “Prince” Gaspard Evanston, IL $16,776

11 Andrew Liporace Westport, CT $16,776

12 Patricia Pate Birmingham, AL $16,776

13 James Jewett Meridian, ID $14,912

14 Michael Rofman Houston, TX $14,912

15 Gordon Hammer Houma, LA $14,912

16 Robert Thornhill Spring, TX $13,048

17 Do Shin Choung Baton Rouge, LA $13,048

18 Eric Cloutier Lafayette, LA $13,048

“First the Bracelet, then the Ring”

Fred Berger Wins WSOP Circuit Main Event Championship at Harrah’s New Orleans

2002 WSOP Gold Bracelet Winner Adds to His Jewelry Collection with Gold Ring Victory

2010 Harrah's New Orleans WSOP Circuit Main Event Championship Winner Fred Berger

2010 Harrah's New Orleans WSOP Circuit Main Event Championship Winner Fred Berger

New Orleans, LA – The World Series of Poker uses a catchy slogan to promote its national tournament circuit. The popular slogan goes, “First the Ring, then the Bracelet.” The routine is for poker players to gain valauble tournament experience at various WSOP Circuit stops around the country, and then later come to Las Vegas and play in the WSOP to compete for poker’s ultimate prize – the gold bracelet.

Fred Berger has things backwards. The business owner from Slidell, LA won his gold bracelet at the 2002 WSOP. Eight years later, he won his first WSOP Circuit gold ring victory. Berger topped a tough field of 156 players at Harrah’s New Orleans and ultimately became the 2010 Bayou Poker Challenge champion. For his win, he received $197,584 in prize money, plus a pre-paid seat into the 2010 WSOP Main Event, to be played in Las Vegas. Berger was also presented with the coveted gold and diamond ring, awarded to all WSOP Circuit winners.

This was the final tournament of the 2009-2010 World Series of Poker Circuit season and the sixth Bayou Poker Challenge championship held at Harrah’s New Orleans. The Bayou series is held every May in the Crescent City and traditionally comes at the end of the eight-month long WSOP Circuit season. The $5,000 (+150) buy-in No-Limit Hold’em tournament was played over three consecutive days during May 17-19, 2010. The Main Event paid out the top 18 finishers, who divided a prize pool totaling $745,600.

The tournament officially began with a $10,000 donation given to the New Orleans Area Habitat For Humanity and “Project Full House,” which is a charitable partnership jointly supported by the World Series of Poker and Cabot Creamery Cooperative, from Vermont. Demonstrating the poker community’s support for good causes, poker players from around the country made donations at all eleven WSOP Circuit locations, with the pool of funds graciously handed over here in New Orleans.

The Main Event attracted several notable players, including multiple former WSOP gold bracelet winners. Among them was six-time WSOP title holder T.J. Cloutier, who is also a member of the Poker Hall of Fame. A local celebrity among those who entered was Paul Prudhomme, the world-famous New Orleans chef and connoisseur of Cajon-style cooking. After 87 players were eliminated on Day One, 69 players returned. During Day Two, players reached the prize money and played down to the final table.

The tenth place finisher was Jean “Prince” Gaspard, who won the 2009 Bayou Poker Challenge championship. He was on track most of the way to defend his title. However, Gaspard was eliminated at 4:30 am following a long Day Two holding pocket jacks, which ended up losing to pocket aces.

After winning a huge pot late on Day Two, Montana poker pro Ben Keiley arrived at the final table with a distinct chip lead over his closest threat, Ed Corrado, a retiree from Florida. Chander Jain, from Houston, started off play in third place. The remaining six players were each outchipped by margins of greater than 2 to 1. The eventual winner, Fred Berger started out in fifth place with about an average-sized stack.

The final table included a cross generational mix of players. Ranging in ages from 23 to 79, three generations of poker players competed for the Bayou Poker Challenge championship. The Day Three finale also attracted a large crowd of spectators. Among those who watched part of the final table action was former U.S. Senator Carol Moseley Braun, who previously represented Illinois and once sought for the Democratic presidential nomination. She was accompanied by local dignitaries, who also happen to be part of the local New Orleans poker scene.

Final table player introductions can be seen in this short video clip:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VRgZTSX0H0

The nine finalists and their starting chip counts were as follows:

Seat Player Hometown Chip Count

1 Fred Berger Slidell, LA 298,500

2 Chander Jain Houston, TX 522,000

3 Joel Merwick Omaha, NE 262,000

4 Ben Keiley Missoula, MT 889,500

5 Jacob Naquin New Orleans, LA 183,500

6 Ed Corrado Naples, FL 575,000

7 Fernando Perez Mexico City, Mexico 127,000

8 Jared Ingles Baton Rouge, LA 126,000

9 Mike Beasley Hollywood, FL 446,500

Final table play began at 3:00 pm and ended at past midnight. Eight out of the nine finalists ended up singing the blues, in the following order:

Ninth Place: Jared Ingles Goes “Boom, Boom”
Jared Ingles lasted just one hand. As the shortest-stacked player, he tried to steal a round of blinds with a marginal hand, but got caught bluffing by a player holding AK. An ace flopped which basically ended Ingles’ shot of moving further up the money ladder. Jared Ingles, from Baton Rouge, LA now has nearly a dozen major cashes and about $200,000 in career tournament earnings at the ripe young age of 23. He collected $20,504 for ninth place.

Eighth Place: “The Thrill is Gone” for Chander Jain
Chander Jain, an IT consultant from Houston lost a race on what turned out to be his final hand, and went out in eighth place. Jain was dealt JJ and moved all-in. He got a call by AK and watched with disappointment as the flop brought an ace, turning his pocket pair from a small favorite into a huge underdog. The turn and river failed to bring the jack of salvation for Jain, who was forced to settle for a payout of $24,232. Interestingly, Jain was the 156th and final player to register for this tournament. His last-minute entry turned out to be a wise investment, indeed. Jain previously made another final table at a major tournament held earlier this year in Mississippi. He has won about $50,000 this year in live tournaments alone.

Seventh Place: Jacob Naquin is “Born Under a Bad Sign”
Jacob Naquin, who owns a convenience store in New Orleans was bagged up as the seventh place finisher. On his final hand, the 31-year-old part-time poker player took AJ up against pocket queens, with the predictable result. The big pocket pair won the pot, although a jack in the flop gave Naquin some hope. That’s as much improvement as Naquin would received, who ended up collecting $29,824. Naquin has several small cashes in various Bayou Poker Challenge events, dating all the way back to 2004.

Sixth Place: It’s a “Mean Ol’ World” says Joel Merwick
Joel Merwick was the player to beat during much of this tournament. He was the chip leader at end of Day One and maintained a healthy stack size throughout play, at least until about four hours into the final table when he took a nightmare beat on his final hand. Merwick had A2 and saw a flop with an ace and a deuce. He moved all-in with two pair and got a call from a rival with an ace (one pair). Unfortunately, one of the other cards paired on the river, and Merwick lost with kicker problems when both players ended up with two pair. Merwick, a 29-year-old entrepreneur from Omaha, NE had to settle for a sixth-place finish, which paid $37,280. Merwick also cashed in the 2005 WSOP Main Event, finishing 189th out of 5,619 players. This marked his sixth time to cash in a WSOP Circuit event.

Fifth Place: “It’s a Cryin’ Shame,” Says Fernando Perez
Originally from Belgium, Fernando Perez now lives in Mexico City and currently practices law. The attorney was short-stacked for five hours and finally busted out on a tough beat when his A9 lost to K9 of hearts, when the opponent made a heart flush. Perez, one of an emerging number of poker players from Mexico who have begun to play more tournaments, received a nice settlement totaling $46,600. Perez has one other cash in his tournament resume – at the 2008 WSOP in Las Vegas.

Fourth Place: For Ed Corrado, “Out Goes the Light”
Ed Corrado demonstrated that age is no barrier to playing with the best in the game. The 79-year-old retiree from Naples, FL had an average-sized stack most of the way, but lost many of his chips when he was bluffed out of a big pot by Fred Berger. That left him short-stacked. A few minutes later, Corrado moved all-in with A8 which got a call from pocket nines. The middle pocket pair held up, leaving Corrado on the rail with a fourth-place finish. Corrado collected a nice sum amounting to $59,648. Corrado now has nearly 30 major cashes, three wins, and several WSOP-related cashes on his record. He also final tabled last year’s Winter Bayou Poker Challenge, finishing in second place to Allen “Chainsaw” Kessler.

Third Place: “They Sky is Crying” for Ben Keiley
After the top three players agreed to a deal, the next player to bust out was the early chip leader, Ben Keiley. On his final hand, the Montana poker pro tried to make a move pre-flop with K5 suited. But his all-in raise was called by Fred Berger, who tabled AJ. Keiley took a temporary lead on the hand when the five flopped. But an ace fell on the turn, and Berger surged back into the lead. Keiley failed to catch one of five outs on the river and ended up with an official payout amounting to $76,424. An interesting side note and lesson to all poker players regarding Keiley’s experience: At the end of Day One, Keiley was down to just 9,000 in chips, which amounted to about a round of blinds and antes. He even later said he almost flew home without completing the tournament. As it turned out, Day Two was huge for Keiley and he ended up making his biggest poker score ever.

Second Place: Mike Beasley “Can’t Be Satisfied”
Mike Beasley, a poker pro from Hollywood, FL, is enjoying the year of a lifetime. He cashed for half a million dollars in a recent tournament held in Connecticut. In his next major, Beasley came to New Orleans and ended up taking $119,296 for this effort, quite a consolation prize for a non-victory. Nevertheless, the experience was bittersweet for 46-year-old Beasley who was visibly disappointed that he did not win.

Beasley was outchipped by about a 5 to 1 margin when the final hand of the tournament was dealt out about 1:30 am. Beasley moved all in with Kh 7s. Berger called and showed Ad Tc. The board ran out Th 5s 3d 4s Jd which gave Berger the final pot of the tournament with a pair of 10′s.
First Place: Fred Berger Says — “Lets the Good Times Roll”
Low-key Fred Berger did not make a big scene following his victory. But he was clearly thrilled with the course of events and satisfied with how he played – thus embodying the mark of a true professional. Berger remarked afterward that his victory here in New Orleans was particularly special.

When asked about what he remembers most about winning his WSOP gold bracelet eight years ago, Berger recalled that he defeated Chris “Jesus” Ferguson in heads up play, and ended up winning the Pot-Limit Hold’em championship. Incredibly, it was the first WSOP tournament Berger had ever played – resulting in poker’s most coveted prize. Berger has since gone on to win more than $900,000 in various tournaments, including this payout which amounted to $197,584.

“I plan on giving ten percent of my winnings to charity,” Berger stated afterward. “That’s how I do things. The rest of the money – I’ll give it to (my wife). I hope she might stake me in a few future tournaments.”

Incredibly, Berger’s victory almost never happened. In fact, he almost won nothing at all. When the tournament still had 19 players on Day Two, once spot away from the money Berger moved all-in holding pocket 8s. He got an annoying call from a bigger stack, holding AK. Berger ended up winning the critical race and 24 hours later, he was the tournament champion.

On second thought, perhaps Berger is following the credo “First the Ring, then the Bracelet,” after all. With plans to play in the upcoming WSOP to be held in Las Vegas which begins next week, perhaps what Berger really means is “First the Ring, then the Bracelet – this year.”

An interview with Fred Berger and the final hand of the tournament can be seen at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfXdzYUgf-A

This year’s championship at Harrah’s New Orleans brings a fitting close to a WSOP Circuit season that was both entertaining and exciting. This year’s WSOP Circuit included tournaments held at Hammond Horseshoe (Chicago), Caesars Indiana, Harvey’s Lake Tahoe, Harrah’s Atlantic City, Harrah’s Tunica, Horseshoe Council Bluffs, Caesars Atlantic City, Harrah’s Rincon, Harrah’s St. Louis, Caesars Palace Las Vegas, and Harrah’s New Orleans. More than $20 million was awarded this season to more than two-thousand poker players who cashed in 150 official gold ring events.

2010 Harrah’s New Orleans WSOP Circuit Main Event Championship Final Results

2010 Harrah’s New Orleans WSOP Circuit Events Schedule and Results

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

Tournament Director – Steve Frezer

General Manager of Harrah’s New Orleans — Jim Hoskins
Vice President of Marketing – Sandie McNamara
Director of Table Games – Tosha Skipper
Shift Manager of Harrah’s New Orleans – Larry Barrett
Special Events Coordinator – Gretchen Holzhauser

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2010 Harrah’s New Orleans WSOP Circuit – Championship Event End of Day 2 Chip Counts

Wednesday, May 19th, 2010

2009/2010 WSOP Circuit Event – Harrah’s New Orleans
End of Day [2] Report: Event #17: No Limit Hold’em Championship
5/19/2010
Entries: 156
Remaining Players (at EOD): 9
Places Paid: 18
Buyin: 5,150.00
Prize Pool: 756,600.00

The final table for the last WSOP Circuit Main Event championship tournament of the 2009-2010 season is now set. Play will resume at 3:00 pm on Wednesday, May 19th.

2010 Harrah's New Orleans WSOP Circuit Championship Event Day 2 Chip Leader Benjamin Keiley

2010 Harrah's New Orleans WSOP Circuit Championship Event Day 2 Chip Leader Benjamin Keiley

RANK PLAYER CITY / STATE / COUNTRY CHIP COUNT ROOM / TABLE / SEAT

1 Keiley, Benjamin 889500 Harrah’s NOR / 1 / 4

2 Corrado, Edward Naples, FL 576000 Harrah’s NOR / 1 / 6

3 Jain, Chander 522000 Harrah’s NOR / 1 / 2

4 Beasley, William Hollywood, FL, USA 446500 Harrah’s NOR / 1 / 9

5 Berger, Fred 298500 Harrah’s NOR / 1 / 1

6 Merwick, Joel New Orleans, LA 262000 Harrah’s NOR / 1 / 3

7 Naquin, Jacob 183500 Harrah’s NOR / 1 / 5

8 Perez, Fernando 127500 Harrah’s NOR / 1 / 7

9 Ingles, Jared 126000 Harrah’s NOR / 1 / 8

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2010 Harrah’s New Orleans WSOP Circuit – Championship Event Day 1 Chip Counts

Tuesday, May 18th, 2010

2009/2010 World Series of Poker Circuit
Harrah’s New Orleans
Bayou Poker Challenge
Event #17
No Limit Hold’em
Main Event Championship
Buy-In: $5,000 (+150)
Total Entries: 156
Total Prize Pool: $756,600
May 17-19, 2010

Day 1 of the $5,000 Championship Event at Harrah’s New Orleans concluded on May 17th. The chip leader at the end of day 1 is Joel Merwick with 151,800.

Some noteable names left include Jean Gaspard with 64,300 chips, Steve Brecher with 31,600 chips and Allen Kessler with 16,200 chips. Gaspard is the reigning champion as he won the $5,000 Championship Event at Harrah’s New Orleans in May 2009.

End of Day One Standings:

Player Name Chip Count Table Seat

Joel Merwick 151,800 57 4

Vhor Coelho 130,200 51 4

Ed Corrado 114,000 52 1

Eric Cloutier 102,000 53 3

Durham Chaney 100,100 52 8

Fernando Perez 97,300 54 5

Jimmy Tran 95,300 53 6

B.J. McBrayer 90,900 52 4

Lance Oliver 90,000 52 5

Jason Su 85,500 60 4

Patricia Dawn 83,200 57 5

Rodney Baseke 73,300 52 6

Bach Vu 72,400 60 1

Hamilton Reeves 70,300 61 8

James Jewett 69,400 51 8

J.D. Estilette 69,000 56 1

Jean Gaspard 64,300 51 1

Fred Berger 63,800 52 3

Barbara Smith 59,700 53 2

Daniel Lee 59,000 60 2

Gary Friedlander 58,900 61 3

Timothy Miles 58,200 52 2

Dan Walsh 57,800 61 7

Ben Thomas 55,000 57 9

Jeremy Gaubert 51,500 61 6

Mike Raimon 51,400 56 9

Mike Brownis 51,000 54 3

Chris Gamboa 50,200 56 5

Matt Brady 46,700 56 7

Jerome Moon 45,800 57 7

Frank Ferguson 45,800 60 6

Andrew Liporace 41,100 54 1

Brian Gambrielle 39,200 57 6

Mike Beasley 38,600 60 9

Harry McGowan 37,700 56 6

Chandler V. Jain 36,925 53 4

Joel Casper 36,700 57 8

Andy Philacack 35,000 54 7

Jared Ingles 33,800 51 6

Stanley Seelig 33,100 60 8

Howard Andrew 31,800 52 9

Steve Brecher 31,600 57 2

Shane Lewis 30,900 61 4

Doug Benedict 30,100 52 7

Jason Mann 30,000 54 8

Robert Thornhill 29,000 54 6

Chris Stephan 28,300 56 3

Don Norman 27,200 53 8

Chris McCutchum 27,200 51 7

Tony Vidmer 25,600 60 3

Dan Briteur 24,600 53 9

Ben Mintz 24,500 53 5

Harry Cullen 23,500 51 3

Martin Humphrey 23,200 51 9

Brian Senie 22,000 56 2

Gordon Hammer 20,700 53 7

Jacob Naquin 20,400 54 2

Jon Mazursky 20,100 57 1

Tim Davis 16,800 56 8

Allen Kessler 16,200 60 7

Jonathan Delatuente 15,500 56 4

Gabriel Andrade 14,900 61 2

Marty Williams 13,400 60 5

Daid Diaz 11,500 53 7

Ben Keiley 9,100 61 9

John R. Green, Jr. 8,000 51 2

Garrett Utt 6,400 54 9

Russ Miller Illegible 61 5

Paul Prudhomme Illegible 57 3

For a complete list of events and results through Event #16, click on the link below:

2010 Harrah’s New Orleans WSOP Circuit Event Schedule and Results

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2010 Harrah’s New Orleans WSOP Circuit – Event #16 Final Results

Monday, May 17th, 2010

2009/2010 World Series of Poker Circuit
Harrah’s New Orleans
Bayou Poker Challenge
Event #16
Pot-Limit Omaha with Re-Buys ($100)
Buy-In: $300 (+40)
Total Entries: 51
Number of Re-Buys: 262
Total Prize Pool: $40,255
May 15-16, 2010

Final Results:

1 Hamilton McGowan Eunice, LA $12,881

2 Tony “Tekk” Seunsom Houston, TX $8,051

3 Gene “Timberrrrr!” Timberlake Houston, TX $5,132

4 A.W. “Antony” Vidmer Nashville, TN $3,622

5 Gary Bolden St. Louis, MO $2,918

6 “Captain” Tom Franklin Gulfport, MS $2,415

7 Mark Gallagher Houston, TX $2,012

8 Joshua Fanguy Houston, TX $1,710

9 Michael Schneider NA $1,509

Gentlemen’s Agreement: Top Three Finishers Make Deal

Ricky McGowan Wins First Major Tournament Victory at Harrah’s New Orleans

2010 Harrah's New Orleans WSOP Circuit Event #16 Winner Hamilton McGowan

2010 Harrah's New Orleans WSOP Circuit Event #16 Winner Hamilton McGowan

New Orleans, LA – Fireworks were expected at the latest Bayou Poker Challenge tournament final table. Instead, the much-anticipated show ended up as a bust. It was a firecracker with a wet fuse. Not that anyone complained. The tournament’s top three finishers agreed to a deal and went on their merry ways. But anyone who was expecting to witness the most interesting final table of any held thus far at Harrah’s New Orleans departed with a bitter sense of disappointment. It was like watching the time trials of the Indianapolis 500, and then calling it a real car race.

Of course, deals are a big part of poker. And, it’s the player’s prerogative to negotiate deals amongst themselves. After all, players post the prize pools through their entry fees and once skill discernable differences become measured by razor-thin margins, sometimes altered by the turn of a single card, then it makes perfect sense to hammer out a deal.

That’s what Ricky McGowan, Tony “Tekk” Seunsom, and Gene “Timberrrr” Timberlake all did in World Series of Poker Circuit Event #16. McGowan got his piece. Seunsom got his. And, Timberlake took his. The final table might as well have been a bare carcass laying on the prairie after a pack of starving wolves had devoured all the meat. Oh, and McGowan ended up taking the gold ring. Let’s all hear it for the “winner!”

This was the 16th of 19 gold ring events on this year’s WSOP Circuit schedule at Harrah’s New Orleans. The $340 buy-in Pot-Limit Omaha tournament was played over two consecutive days during May 15th and 16th. The tournament attracted 51 entries. But the prize pool was bolstered by a whopping 262 re-buys, which amounted to more than four per player. The top nine finishers divided a prize pool totaling $40,255.

After 45 players were eliminated on the first day, six-handed play began at 2:00 pm. The nine finalists and their starting chip counts were as follows:

Seat Player Hometown Chip Count

1 A.W. (Tony) Vidmer Nashville, TN 132,000

2 Gary Bolden St. Louis, MO 88,000

3 “Captain” Tom Franklin Gulfport, MS 69,000

4 Gene Timberlake Houston, TX 60,000

5 Tony “Tekk” Seunsom Houston, TX 240,000

6 Ricky McGowan Eunice, LA 140,500

“Some” players were eliminated in the following order:

Sixth Place: “Captain” Tom Franklin Given Honorable Discharge
Former WSOP gold bracelet winner “Captain” Tom Franklin busted out about an hour into play. His AAxx ended up losing to a straight. Franklin, a former Vietnam vet, won a gold bracelet in the Limit Omaha event at the 2009 WSOP. He now has $2.6 million in accumulated live tournament winnings. Franklin, who now lives in Gulfport, MS collected $2,415.

Fifth Place: Gary Bolden
Gary Bolden, a 31-year-old poker from the St. Louis area, ended up in fifth place. This was Bolden’s fourth WSOP Circuit cash and third final table appearance. He has also previously cashed at the WSOP in Las Vegas. Fifth place paid $2,918.

Fourth Place: Film Director Cut
Film director and screenwriter A.W. “Tony” Vidmer battled his way to a fourth-place finish. He lives in Nashville, ended up with $3,622 in prize money. Vidmer is best known in the poker world as the writer and director of the film “High Roller,” a biographical story of the late poker icon Stu Ungar. This marked Vidmer’s second time to cash at this year’s Bayou series, following a ninth-place finish in Event #12.

Third Place: “Timberrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr” — The Spirit of Competition Falls
Gene Timberlake, a longtime poker player and accountant from Houston, took third place. Timberlake was running over the table the previous day, but lost chips late and was short-stacked the entire duration of the final table. Timberlake, who has never won a poker tournament in his life, decided it was the best thing to work a deal. Timberlake now has innumerable final table appearances (notch one more mark on his belt), and zero wins. His resume currently shows about $350,000 in career tournament earnings, no doubt pumped up by a few extra thousand after collecting $5,132, the official payout for the third-place finisher.

Second Place: Tony “Tekk” Seunsom Takes Second – Again and Again and Again
Tony “Tekk” Seunsom plays poker for money. He made yet another deal and relinquished his opportunity to win a first WSOP Circuit gold ring, instead choosing to pocket some extra jack. He’s now got something like 563,912 second-place finishes, but who’s counting? The official meaningless figure Seunsom presumably collected amounted to $8,051.

First Place: “Ricky McGowan Wins!” “Ricky McGowan Wins!” “Ricky McGowan Wins!”
The closing moments of the latest WSOP Circuit tournament won’t rival Bobby Thompson’s so-called “shot heard ‘round the world” in the Dodgers-Giants playoff game, but the result of a three-way handshake was just the same as a blast into the left field bleachers. Ricky McGowan, from Eunice, LA collected a gold ring and could rightfully declare himself as the champion. So, McGowan ultimately gets his name in headlights for a day and the history books forever (well, the Internet forever), while a few also-rans could presumably take some satisfaction in their expert negotiating skills.

The WSOP Circuit at Harrah’s New Orleans continues through May 19th. This year’s schedule includes 19 gold ring events, along with multiple second-chance tournaments, single table and mega satellites, in addition to cash games going around the clock inside the Harrah’s New Orleans Poker Room. This marks the sixth straight year Harrah’s New Orleans has been a part of the WSOP Circuit. This is the 11th and final WSOP Circuit stop of the 2009-2010 season following previous tournaments held in Chicago, Southern Indiana, Lake Tahoe, Harrah’s Atlantic City, Tunica, Council Bluffs, Caesars Atlantic City, Harrah’s Rincon, Harrah’s St. Louis, and Caesars Palace Las Vegas.

2010 Harrah’s New Orleans WSOP Circuit – Event #16 Final Results

2010 Harrah’s New Orleans WSOP Circuit Event Schedule and Results

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

Tournament Director – Steve Frezer

General Manager of Harrah’s New Orleans — Jim Hoskins
Vice President of Marketing – Sandie McNamara
Director of Table Games – Tosha Skipper
Shift Manager of Harrah’s New Orleans – Larry Barrett
Special Events Coordinator – Gretchen Holzhauser

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