2009/2010 World Series of Poker Circuit
Harrah’s Rincon Casino and Resort
Event #3
No Limit Hold’em
Buy-In: $500 (+50)
Total Entries: 151
Total Prize Pool: $73,235
March 20-21, 2010
Final Results:
1 Bernie Yang Atlanta, GA $20,065
2 Jason Jacintho San Diego, CA $13,585
3 Michael Souza San Diego, CA $9,059
4 Derek Sanders Laguna Beach, CA $6,474
5 James Eubank Houston, TX $5,178
6 Alexandru Masek San Diego, CA $3,881
7 Larry Turley Nuevo, CA $2,585
8 Farhad Karimi San Diego, CA $2,102
9 Kenton Taylor El Centro, CA $1,780
10 Jake Flores Harlingen, TX $1,560
11 Lubomir Podolsky San Diego, CA $1,560
12 Matthew Chang Rockville, MD $1,560
13 Riggs Thayer San Diego, CA $1,282
14 David Frantik San Diego, CA $1,282
15 Timothy Kane Corona, CA $1,282
Bernie Yang Dominates No-Limit Hold’em Tournament at Harrah’s Rincon
Taiwanese-Born Doctoral Student Wins WSOP Circuit Gold Ring
2010 Harrah's Rincon WSOP Circuit Event #3 Winner Bernie Yang
Valley Center, CA – Bernie Yang won the most recent World Series of Poker Circuit tournament played at the Harrah’s Rincon Casino and Resort. He completely dominated the last half of the competition, a $500 (+50) buy-in No-Limit Hold’em event. Yang was never in serious danger of losing this chip lead at anytime during the last eight hours of the tournament, which was played over two days during March 20-21, 2010. In fact, some opponents might argue, most who watched Yang’s superior performance agreed that he deserved to win.
Yang, who resides in Atlanta, GA was born in Taiwan. He attended college at Georgia Tech, where he earned his Masters Degree in electrical engineering. Yang is now pursuing a Ph.D., although he admits he has recently taken some time off to play poker, mostly online. He is currently working an internship in the San Diego area, yet in uncertain about his next career move.
Yang ended up scooping the biggest prize of his young career, a payout totaling $20,065. Yang was also presented with his first gold ring, the coveted award which is presented to all champions of WSOP Circuit tournaments held around the country. This was Yang’s first time to cash in a WSOP Circuit tournament. He has previously cashed at a few tournaments held in Las Vegas and Los Angeles.
Final Table play began on a Sunday night and was held inside The Pavilion at Rincon. Two prior WSOP Circuit event winners sat amongst the final nine players. Alexandru Masek, who won his second career gold ring just two weeks at Caesars Atlantic City, arrived at the final table with an average sized stack. He ended up finishing sixth. Michael Souza, who won his gold ring back in 2005 during the WSOP Circuit inaugural season at Bally’s Las Vegas, arrived ranked second in chips. He went out in third place. The chip leader was Yang, who won a wire to wire victory that lasted about five hours.
When Final Table play began at 2:15 pm, the nine finalists and their starting chip counts were as follows:
Seat Player Hometown Chip Count
1 Alexandru Masek San Diego, CA 121,500
2 Freddy “Rocky” Karimi San Diego, CA 98,000
3 Kenton Taylor El Centro, CA 75,500
4 Derek W. Sanders Laguna Beach, CA 38,500
5 Michael Souza San Diego, CA 245,000
6 Jason D. Jacintho El Cajon, CA 62,500
7 Larry Turley Nuevo, CA 88,000
8 Bernie Yang Taiwan 351,000
9 James Eubank Houston, TX 151,000
Final Table player introductions can be seen here: http://www.twitvid.com/7CFB0
Players were eliminated in the following order:
Ninth Place:
Kenton Taylor, an accountant from El Centro, CA was eliminated about an hour into play. He moved all in with Js Jc but got a call from James Eubank, who tabled Ks Kc. The flop made things interesting, which was As Tc Kh. Even though Eubank flopped a set of kings, Taylor essentially had four outs to make a straight. But the 2h and 7s fell on the turn and river, giving Eubank the pot. Meanwhile, Kenton Taylor collected $1,780 for ninth place.
Eighth Place: “Rocky” Rocked
Fred “Rocky” Karimi had a decent sized stack, but took two horrendous beats, ultimately going out in eighth place. First, Karimi flopped top two pair, but lost half his stack when his opponent hit a miraculous gutshot straight on the river. A few hands later, Karimi had pocket aces cracked, which lost to AQ when two queens fell. Karimi, a poker pro from San Diego, CA went out a short time later and ended up pocketed in a less than satisfying $2,102 in prize money.
Seventh Place: Turley Toasted
Larry Turley found out the hard way that pocket kings are always vulnerable, especially when an opponent holds an ace. Turley was dealt Kd Kh on what turned out to be his final hand. He raised all in and was called by the chip leader, Bernie Yang, who showed Ah Qc. Things looked good for Turley after the flop, but an ace on the river ruined his hoped, resulting in elimination. The final board showed Ts 9h 4d Ac 7s which meant Yang’s pair of aces added to his chip advantage. Turley, a retired U.S. Air Force veteran who has made several final tables as small tournaments played in the region, received $2,585.
Sixth Place: No Third Gold Ring for Masek
Alexandru Masek’s quest for a third WSOPC gold ring fell short when he lost his last chips with As 7h. He moved all in and was called by Bernie Yang, who showed 9c 9s. The board came Qs Jh 6c 3h Kd which meant Yang’s pocket 9’s played. Masek, who is a law student from San Diego, CA added $3,881 to his impressive record in WSOP Circuit events.
Fifth Place:
James Eubank lost a critical pot early with AK against AA and was never able to recover. He was low on chips throughout and finally ran out of luck about two hours into play when he moved all in with Js 9s hoping to steal a round of blinds and antes. However, he was called in three spots and the three players proceeded to check it down all the way to the river. The final board showed Qh 6s 4d 7h 5c which gave Eubank nothing, and he thus became the fifth place finisher. Eubank, from Houston, TX received a payout totaling $5,178.
Fourth Place: Sanders Loses Race, Goes Out Fourth
Derek W. Sanders survived a few all ins before finally losing a race to the chip leader. On his final hand, Sanders was dealt 4c 4h and moved all in. Yang called and showed Ah Qs. The board came Kd 9s 8c 3d Qh, which gave Yang the pot on the river. Sanders, from Laguna Beach, CA collected $6,475.
Third Place: Souza Finishes Third
Michael Souza, a poker pro from San Diego, CA finished in third place. He was eliminated after three-handed play lasted for two hours. However, Souza became short stacked and moved all in with Kh Qc, which got a call from Jason D. Jacintho, holding Ac 6s. The board ran Jc 4c 2d 3s 4h, which meant Jacintho’s Ac played as the high card. Meanwhile, Souza had to settle for a payout totaling $9,059. He now has several WSOP-related cashes and final table appearances, including three straight cashes in the WSOP Main Event (from 2006-2008).
Second Place: Jacintho Finishes as Runner Up
When heads up play started, Bernie Yang had Jason D. Jacintho covered by about a 5 to 1 margin. It took only about 20 minutes for the final hand to be dealt. That came when Yang limped with As Ah and watched with delight as Jacintho moved all in pre-flop with Qh 8h. Yang practically beat his rival into the pot with his chips and when the board came Tc 4h 4s Jc Kh, that gave Yang the last pot of the tournament and his first major live tournament victory. The runner up was Jason D. Jacintho, who played extraordinary poker over two days. He arrived at the Final Table as a low stack, but managed to crawl all the way up to second place. Jacintho, who is a graduate student at UC-San Diego as well as teaches organic chemistry, collected a nice score amounting to $13,585. He has also down well in other tournaments played in the region. But this marked his best WSOP-related finish ever.
The final hand of the tournament can be seen here: http://www.twitvid.com/473A8
First Place: Yang Takes the Ring
Bernie Yang, a 24-year-old college student from Atlanta, GA, won the tournament and $20,065. He has previously won a few big online tournaments. But this marked his biggest cash in a live tournament. An interview with Yang at tableside just moments after his win can be seen here: http://www.twitvid.com/E38B2
The WSOP Circuit at Harrah’s Rincon continues through March 31st. This year’s schedule includes 12 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 Rincon Poker Room. This marks the sixth straight year that Harrah’s Rincon has been a part of the WSOP Circuit. It is one of only three Harrah’s resorts which hosted a WSOP Circuit every year. This is the eighth 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, and Caesars Atlantic City.
2010 Harrah’s Rincon WSOP Circuit – Event #3 Final Results
2010 Harrah’s Rincon WSOP Circuit Events Schedule and Results
For more information, please contact:
Nolan Dalla (WSOP Media Director) at (702) 358-4642
e-mail: nolandalla@aol.com
Or visit our official website: www.wsop.com
Executive Staff, World Series of Poker Circuit – Harrah’s Rincon
Janet Beronio – General Manager
Robert Livingston – Assistant General Manager and VP of Operations
Jill Barrett – VP of Finance
Lee Torres – Director of Marketing
John Sebastian – Director of Casino Operations
Michelle Becker – Table Games Supervisor
Elizabeth Liemandt – Public Relations Manager
Alexia Alsop – Poker Room Manager
Tom Mendenhall – Table Games Manager
Jimmy Sommerfeld – Tournament Director
Bill Bruce – Assistant Tournament Director
