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2010 Caesars Atlantic City WSOP Circuit – Event #7 Final Results

Thursday, March 11th, 2010

2009/2010 World Series of Poker Circuit
Caesars Atlantic City
Event #7
No Limit Hold’em
Buy-In: $1,000 (+80)
Total Entries: 196
Total Prize Pool: $190,120
March 9-10, 2010

Final Results:

1 Paul Vogel Merrick, NY $61,599

2 Keith Crowder Philadelphia, PA $32,320

3 Charles Croft Sumter, SC $19,012

4 Kenneth Packer Fayetteville, NC $15,210

5 David Zeitlin New York, NY $11,407

6 Bruce MacGregor Port Orange, FL $9,506

7 Anthony Tannoya Woodbridge, VA $7,605

8 Pedro Vicente Jersey City, NJ $5,704

9 Eugene Castro New York, NY $3,802

10 Dean Shultz $3,042

11 Adam Lippert $3,042

12 Howard Boltz $3,042

13 Jesse Chinni $2,662

14 Albert Riccobono $2,662

15 Michael Caswell $2,662

16 Joseph Pitti $2,281

17 Cuong Phung $2,281

18 Peter Lios $2,281

Paul Vogel Earns Well Deserved Victory

Amateur Poker Player from Merrick, NY Wins WSOP Circuit Event, $61,599 and Gold Ring at Caesars Atlantic City

Generous Tournament Structure at WSOP Circuit Continues to Gain Positive Feedback

2010 Caesars Atlantic City WSOP Circuit Event #7 Winner Paul Vogel

Atlantic City, NJ – Paul Vogel, a 42 year old information systems manager from Merrick, NY won his first major poker tournament today. He won the $1,000 (+80) buy in No Limit Hold’em tournament held at Caesars Atlantic City. Vogel collected the top cash prize totaling $61,599. He was also presented with his first gold ring, which is the ultimate token of achievement given out to all tournament champions who win WSOP Circuit events held around the country.

The father of five considers himself to be a recreational poker player. But he has aspirations of improving and doing big things in the game. Vogel plays online primarily. However, he has competed in the WSOP Main Event twice. This marked Vogel’s first major victory ever and was the biggest payday of his career, so far.

This marked the seventh of 12 WSOP Circuit events on this year’s Caesars schedule. The two-day tournament attracted 196 entrants. Most of the field was eliminated on day one, which clocked in at 14 hours. Four tables of survivors returned for day two which played another 18 hours. The top 18 finishers divided up prize money from a $190,120 prize pool.

Final table play began on a Wednesday night and was held inside the Palladium Arena at Caesars. There were no previous WSOP Circuit winners among the final nine, thus guaranteeing a first time champion. Paul Vogel arrived as chip leader and was in a comfortable position throughout the competition. He faced serious threats from various challengers, but never lost his chip lead at any point during the nine hour finale.

The low blinds (2,500-5,000) and average chip stack of 165,000 at the start gave all competitors plenty of time to be patient and wait for a hand. In fact, the tournament structures for all the tournaments played at Caesars this year have received overwhelmingly positive feedback from many players and postings at online poker forums. Tournament players have been given plenty of starting chips and blind increases have been incremental, allowing for skillful play to overcome the short-term luck factor which is a part of all tournaments. This has resulted in several lengthy final tables, which have lasted 8 to 10 hours on average.

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

Seat Player Hometown Chip Count

1 Anthony J. Tannoya Woodbridge, VA 140,000

2 Bruce F. MacGregor Port Orange, FL 293,500

3 Kenneth Packer Fayetteville, NC 130,000

4 David Zeitlin Brooklyn, NY 129,500

5 Brandon Croft Sumter, SC 271,500

6 Paul Vogel Merrick, NY 405,000

7 Keith Crowder Philadelphia, PA 275,500

8 Pete White Jersey City, NJ 135,000

9 Eugene Castro New York, NY 98,000

Final table player introductions can be seen here: http://www.twitvid.com/7507E

Players were eliminated in the following order:

Ninth Place: Castro Overthrown
Eugene Castro, a poker professional from New York City, was the first player eliminated. He was short stacked and got all his chips into the pot with the best hand. But his A J ended up losing to K J when a K flopped. Castro is the founder of an organization called Poker Player International. He has earned three major tournament victories, and has over 20 cashes in his tournament career. He finished in the money in last year’s WSOP Main Event held in Las Vegas. Ninth place paid $3,802.

Eighth Place: White Goes Dark
Pete White (a.k.a. Pedro Vicente), a recreational poker player from Jersey City, NJ was making his second final table appearance so far at this year’s Caesars series. He took fifth place in an event played just three days ago. This time, White finished in eighth place after being low on chips and moving in on a steal attempt. He was called by pocket 10’s which ended up scooping the pot. White added $5,704 to his poker bankroll and remains a player to watch for the remaining events to be played here in Atlantic City.

Seventh Place: Tannoya Out
Anthony J. Tannoya, a computer engineer from Woodbridge, VA went out in seventh place. He survived about two hours at the final table before finally running out of chips. The former Air Force serviceman flew away with $7,605 in prize money.

Sixth Place: Big Draw Misses
Bruce F. MacGregor, a land developer from Port Orange, FL was eliminated after he missed a monster draw, and went bust. MacGregor had A 10 suited and flopped a flush draw as well as a straight draw. But two bricks on the turn and river ended his tournament life. MacGregor, who is a Vietnam veteran, pocketed a nice score to the tune of $9,506. His previous tournament accomplishments include a win at a major event held in Costa Rica, as well as 14 other cashes in major tournaments throughout the U.S.

Fifth Place: Brooklyn Pro Can Fuggetaboutit
David Zeitlin, a poker pro from Brooklyn, NY took two beats late and lost most of his stack. He finally moved all in on what turned out to be his final hand, holding pocket 4’s. He was called by an opponent with A J, who caught an A. The pretty much ended Zeitlin’s night. The 36 year old pro collected $11,407.

Fourth Place: Packer Sent Packing
Kenneth Packer, a 39 year old self employed part-time poker pro from North Carolina, took a brutal beat on his final hand. His stack was slightly below average and after the chip leader made a raise, Packer moved all in with pocket K’s. He got a call, and looked to be in great shape to double up. But the board came with four clubs, and the chip leader’s Ac played to make the nut flush. Packer was disappointed with the result but could certainly be proud of the cash prize for fourth place, which amounted to $15,210. Packer noted that he mostly plays in cash games, and has been a winning player for the past ten years.

Third Place: Adult Nightclub Manager Gets Last Call
Brandon Croft, who manages an adult nightclub in South Carolina, was bounced from the final table when he tried to bluff on the river following a missed flush draw. He ran into Paul Vogel’s set of 5’s, who called the bluff instantly. Croft had battled for nearly three hours when play was at three handed, but finally succumbed to the temptation to try and steamroll his opponent, at what turned out to be the worst possible moment. This was Croft’s second final table appearance in a WSOP Circuit event at Caesars. He collected his biggest payday ever, at $19,012.

Second Place: Crowder Crushed
Keith Crowder, a 39 year old real estate investor from Philadelphia, PA was certainly a tough adversary. He was able to draw very close to even in chips at one point when play was heads up. In fact, the determined duo played nearly 100 hands together and battled for about three hours before Crowder ultimately lost his final hand holding A Q to a pair of 8’s. Crowder picked up a big draw after the flop, but missed twice, which gave the last pot of the night to Paul Vogel. Crowder’s take of the prize pool amounted to $32,320. He has previously made it to other final tables at major poker tournaments played elsewhere. But this was his best WSOP related finish, to date.

The final hand of the tournament can be seen here: http://www.twitvid.com/EBF44

First Place: Vogel Victorious
Paul Vogel, an information systems manager from Merrick, NY won a WSOP Circuit title for the first time and officially collected $61,599 in prize money.

An interview with Vogel moments after his victory can be seen here: http://www.twitvid.com/89390

The WSOP Circuit at Caesars Atlantic City continues through March 14. 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 Caesars Poker Room. The $4,900 (+250) Main Event starts on Friday, March 12th and will be a three day event.

This marks the fifth straight year that Caesars Atlantic City has been a part of the WSOP Circuit. This is the seventh WSOP Circuit stop of the 2009-2010 season following previous tournaments held in Chicago, Southern Indiana, Lake Tahoe, Harrah’s Atlantic City, Tunica, and Council Bluffs. Upcoming Circuit events will take place at Harrah’s Rincon, Harrah’s St. Louis, Caesars Las Vegas, and Harrah’s New Orleans.

2010 Caesars Atlantic City WSOP Circuit – Event #7 Final Results

2010 Caesars Atlantic City WSOP Circuit Events Schedule and Results

Executive Staff, World Series of Poker Circuit – Caesars Atlantic City

Joe Domenico – Senior Vice President and General Manager
Vice President of Table Games – Fred Niceta
Public Relations Specialist – Christopher Jonic
Table Games Manager (Poker) – Thomas McDonough III
Poker Pit Manager – Jake Devries

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2010 Caesars Atlantic City WSOP Circuit – Event #6 Final Results

Wednesday, March 10th, 2010

2009/2010 World Series of Poker Circuit
Caesars Atlantic City
Event #6
No Limit Hold’em
Buy-In: $500 (+60)
Total Entries: 210
Total Prize Pool: $101,850
March 8-9, 2010

Final Results:

1 Rohan Long Windsor, CT $32,592

2 Alexander Pawlyk New Brunswick, NJ $17,926

3 Juan Lopez Wilmington, DE $9,167

4 Joseph Cramer Carlisle, PA $7,130

5 Francis Sage Morton, PA $6,111

6 Carlos Alarcon Wayne, NJ $5,093

7 Mitchell Martin Las Vegas, NV $4,074

8 Willliam Groom Brooklyn, NY $3,056

9 Howard Wolper Atlantic City, NJ $2,037

10 Richard Hall Wilkes Barre, PA $1,222

11 Susheel Patelvenkat $1,222

12 Jonathan Poots $1,222

13 William Collins $1,019

14 Lucas Smith $1,019

15 Brian Pagano $1,019

16 Edward Berger $815

17 Bill Cashwell $815

18 Anthony Velasquez $815

19 Spencer Mensh $611

20 Dylan Drazen $611

21 Jinhiang Chin $611

22 John Hottenstein $611

23 Paul Nicholson $611

24 Clifton Meinweiseser $611

25 Thomas Cipriano $611

26 Jennifer Knopf $611

27 Sung Kim $611

What a Comeback!

Rohan Long Wins WSOP Circuit Event and First Gold Ring at Caesars Atlantic City

Jamaican-Born Recreational Player Survives Eight All-Ins and Overcomes 20 to 1 Chip Disadvantage in Thrilling Victory

Generous Tournament Structure at WSOP Circuit Continues to Gain Positive Feedback

2010 Caesars Atlantic City WSOP Circuit Event #6 Winner Rohan Long

Atlantic City, NJ – There’s a classic rock song made famous by Janis Joplin where the lyrics go, “Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose.” What the lyric means is, there’s a certain sense of emotional contentment that comes with being on a free roll, whether the situation is life or poker. Once you’ve committed yourself to the notion you can’t lose, in fact – you have won.

Rohan Long, a real estate broker from Windsor, CT knows the feeling all too well. He pretty much resigned himself to a middle of the pack finish at what was his first World Series of Poker Circuit final table recently. Long managed to survive far longer than either the cards or odds normally would have dictated. With each near miracle dealt from the deck, he gained the confidence and aggression necessary to overcome massive odds and ultimately pulled off a stunning upset victory.

Long survived at least eight all in situations when play was at three handed, and later heads up. Each time, he doubled his stack size up to the point where he ended up achieving the greatest comeback of the year of any player in a WSOP Circuit tournament. Once play became heads up versus a tough-minded online poker pro named Alex Pawlyk, Long pretty much summed up his feelings by announcing, “I’m on a complete free roll now. Nothing can stop me.”

In a sense, having Long in a complete care free zone made him the worst possible adversary for a skilled professional. Rather than the usual tense atmosphere that characterizes the later stages of many major poker tournaments, Long’s presence and attitude ended up creating a great comeback drama, which was unquestionably the most exiting final table of this year’s series at Caesars Atlantic City.

Long, who was born in Jamaica and now lives in Connecticut, won the $560 buy in No-Limit Hold’em tournament and collected the top cash prize totaling $32,592. He was also presented with his first gold ring, which is the ultimate token of achievement given out to all tournament champions who win WSOP Circuit events held around the country.

This marked the sixth of 12 WSOP Circuit events on this year’s Caesars schedule. The two-day tournament attracted 210 entrants. Most of the field was eliminated on day one, which clocked in at 14 hours. Four tables of survivors returned for day two which played another 10 hours. The top 27 finishers divided up prize money from a $101,850 prize pool.

Final table play began on a Tuesday night and was held inside the Palladium Arena at Caesars. There was only one previous WSOP Circuit winner among the final nine. Local poker player Howard Wolper arrived with the goal to win his second gold ring. But Wolper went out early, thus guaranteeing a first time champion. Meanwhile, Juan J. Lopez arrived as chip leader and was in a comfortable position throughout the competition until he crashed and burned in third place.

The low blinds (5,000-10,000) and average chip stack of nearly 250,000 at the start gave all the competitors plenty of time be patient. In fact, the tournament structures for all the tournaments played at Caesars this year have received overwhelmingly positive feedback from many players and online poker forums. Tournament players have been given plenty of starting chips and blind increases have been incremental, allowing for skillful play to overcome the short-term luck factor which is a part of all tournaments.

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

Seat Player Hometown Chip Count
1 Carlos Alarcon Wayne, NJ 100,500

2 Juan J. Lopez Wilmington, DE 454,000

3 Alex Pawlyk New Brunswick, NJ 300,000

4 Joe Cramer Carlisle, PA 48,000

5 Howard Even Wolper Atlantic City, NJ 65,000

6 Willie A, Groom Brooklyn, NY 84,000

7 Francis Sage Morton, PA 151,000

8 Mitchell Martin Las Vegas, NV 181,000

9 Rohan Long Windsor, CT 110,000

Final table player introductions can be seen here: http://www.twitvid.com/B7C57

Players were eliminated in the following order:

Ninth Place: Artist Gets No Respect
Howard Evan Wolper, an artist and semi-pro poker player from Atlantic City, was the first player eliminated. He was low on chips and managed to catch A K. But Rohan Long was dealt pocket 10’s, which ended up scooping the pot after Wolper failed to improve. Wolper has earned many awards for his work in the performance arts. He has also done well in poker, with four major tournament wins within a 13 month span, including back to back wins a few years ago. He won a WSOP Circuit gold ring in 2007 at Harvey’s Lake Tahoe. Wolper pocketed $2,037 in prize money.

Eighth Place: Groom Gets Divorced
Willie A. Groom, a scenic artist from Brooklyn, NY became the second creative personality within five minutes to make an exit. He was dealt A 9 and moved all in on what became his final hand. Unfortunately, Alex Pawlyk picked up pocket 9’s and made an obligatory call with a large chip advantage. Groom failed to hit an ace or improve and thus went out with a payout totaling $3,056. Groom would be the first of three consecutive players who were eliminated by Pawlyk.

Seventh Place: Las Vegas Player Gets Ripped
Mitchell Martin, a real estate investor from Las Vegas, NV took a tough beat on his final hand of the tournament. He was dealt A 10 and moved all in after the flop came with a ten high. But Alex Pawlyk woke up in the big blind with 4 3 and managed to flop two small pair. It was the perfect trap set up, which snapped shut on Martin’s chance for victory. Martin ended up going out in seventh place, which paid $4,074. Martin previously won a major tournament called the Ultimate Poker Challenge, held in Las Vegas.

Sixth Place: Online Poker Pro Busts
Carlos Alarcon, an online poker pro from Clifton, NJ made no attempt to hide his disgusted when his pocket 7’s were cracked on the turn by the chip Pawlyk’s K 9. When the fateful K fell, Alarcon ran away from the table with his hands over his face while his friends hurled off a slew of profanities. That pretty much ended Alarcon’s night. Nevertheless, Alarcon did collect $5,093 in prize money which now puts him in excess of $400,000 in tournament winnings.

Fifth Place: Sage Takes the Fifth
Francis Sage, a 21 year old college student from Morton, PA took a terrible beat and went out in fifth place. The University of Pittsburgh senior was dealt pocket A’s and moved all in. Rohan Long called the raise with pocket Q’s and pumped his fist in jubilation when the flop came Q88, good for a full house. Sage shook his head in disbelief and failed to hit one of the two remaining A’s in the deck. That meant Sage has to settle for $6,111 on his spring break vacation.

Fourth Place: Cramer Creamed
Joe Cramer, a restaurant owner from Carlisle, PA became short stacked and moved all in on his final hand with A J. Juan J. Lopez, who held the chip lead, made the call and tabled pocket 4’s. When a 4 flopped, Lopez suddenly had a set and Cramer was left drawing dead. That meant Cramer, playing at his first WSOP Circuit final table, ended up settling for $7,130.

Third Place: Juan J. Lopez Takes Third
Juan J. Lopez, the manager of a bail bonds business from Wilmington, DE appeared to be close to winning his first major tournament. But the Cuban born part time poker player suffered a late rush of misfortune, which ultimately resulted in a third place finish. Lopez exited when he was dealt A K and moved all in after an ace flopped. But Alex Pawlyk had A 2 on the critical hand, which best Lopez when the final board showed AQ287. The two pair scooped the largest pot of the tournament, knocking Lopez to the rail. Lopez, who made it into the money in a WSOP Circuit event held at Harrah’s Atlantic City last December, received a payout totaling $9,167.

Second Place: Online Pro Alex Pawlyk Gets Disconnected
Alex Pawlyk, from New Brunswick, NJ was the runner up. He played extremely well from start to finish, but was helpless to stop his final opponent’s onslaught. Pawlyk began heads up play with nearly a 15 to 1 chip advantage, but was slowly grinded away one hand at a time until he finally was at a slight disadvantage to Long. He ended up settling for an official payout amounting to $17,926.

A fun exchange between the final two players can be seen here: http://www.twitvid.com/B4392

The final hand of the tournament can be seen here: http://www.twitvid.com/5F51D

First Place: Rohan Long Wins
Rohan Long, a Jamaican born real estate broker who now lives in Windsor, CT enjoyed the greatest roller coaster ride of any player at the final table. He was all in several times, and managed to avoid elimination via some skillful play and catching an occasional miracle card which prolonged his stay in the finale. In fact, he survived no less than eight all in situations when play was three handed and heads up, each time connecting with the cards he needed to survive. When play was heads up, Long agreed to a deal with his final adversary and ended up winning the tournament with a pair of aces.

An interview with Rohan Long moments after his victory can be seen here: http://www.twitvid.com/21378

The WSOP Circuit at Caesars Atlantic City continues through March 14. 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 Caesars Poker Room. This marks the fifth straight year that Caesars Atlantic City has been a part of the WSOP Circuit. This is the seventh WSOP Circuit stop of the 2009-2010 season following previous tournaments held in Chicago, Southern Indiana, Lake Tahoe, Harrah’s Atlantic City, Tunica, and Council Bluffs.

2010 Caesars Atlantic City WSOP Circuit – Event #6 Final Results

2010 Caesars Atlantic City WSOP Circuit Events Schedule and Results

Executive Staff, World Series of Poker Circuit – Caesars Atlantic City

Joe Domenico – Senior Vice President and General Manager
Vice President of Table Games – Fred Niceta
Public Relations Specialist – Christopher Jonic
Table Games Manager (Poker) – Thomas McDonough III
Poker Pit Manager – Jake Devries

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2010 Caesars Atlantic City WSOP Circuit – Event #5 Final Results

Tuesday, March 9th, 2010

2009/2010 World Series of Poker Circuit
Caesars Atlantic City
Event #5
No Limit Hold’em
Buy-In: $300 (+40)
Total Entries: 451
Total Prize Pool: $131,241
March 7-8, 2010

Final Results:

1 Alexandru Masek San Diego, CA $39,372

2 Pietro Maniscalco Mount Olive, NJ $21,130

3 Kerry Small Ventnor, NJ $10,499

4 Marc Wilson St. Clairsville, OH $9,187

5 Brian Grodofsky Merrick, NY $7,874

6 Jack Sumner St. Augustine, FL $6,562

7 Stan Kayafas Flushing, NY $5,250

8 Kevin Murray Olney, MD $3,937

9 Florentino Deleon Manila, Philippines $2,625

10 Michael Boehme $1,444

11 James Myers $1,444

12 Naoki Takiguchi $1,444

13 Nectalier Gonzalez $1,181

14 Robert Blake $1,181

15 Richard Marchese $1,181

16 Cuong Phung $919

17 Hakima Mohammad $919

18 Gregory Graham $919

19 Mark Schoonmaker $656

20 Kevin Adler $656

21 Danny Alvarez $656

22 Brian Powers $656

23 Kevin Adler $656

24 Daniele Eocarelli $656

25 Arnold Carnevale $656

26 Evan Wallack $656

27 Robert Patterson $656

28 Charles Levin $525

29 Sreenivasa Kaki $525

30 Douglas Pitchford $525

31 Lana Miller $525

32 Yun Pham $525

33 Donald Miller $525

34 James Crouse $525

35 Adam Jacoby $525

36 Chris Reslock $525

37 John Panza $394

38 Nikolas Vlahos $394

39 Ralph Vanormer $394

40 Patrick Rush $394

41 Rizziero Osso $394

42 Eunice Arias $394

43 Thomas Levy $394

44 Paul Cheung $394

45 Thomas Bassing $394

Alexandru Masek Wins WSOP Circuit Event on Spring Break

San Diego Law Student Wins Gold Ring Number Two at Caesars Atlantic City

2010 Caesars Atlantic City WSOP Circuit Event #5 Winner Alexandru Masek

Atlantic City, NJ – Alexandru Masek is making poker look too easy. He just won his second World Series of Poker Circuit gold ring within a year’s time, and has future plans to accomplish much more. Eleven months after winning his first WSOP Circuit gold ring at Harrah’s Rincon in California, Masek traveled to the East Coast for the first time and pulled off an encore. With another major tournament in Los Angeles in February added to the mix, Masek now has three major wins on his resume since March 2009, an enviable record any poker player would crave.

Masek is a 25 year old college student. He is currently attending law school at the University of San Diego. Masek came to the WSOP Circuit event being held at Caesars Atlantic City during his Spring Break. While his peers populated the beaches and bars of Florida and elsewhere, Masek chose to pursue his poker passion instead and profited to the tune of nearly 40 grand. Not too many college kids in Daytona Beach can claim they pocketed enough money to pay tuition in just a week’s vacation.

Masek won the $340 buy in No-Limit Hold’em tournament and collected the top cash prize, which officially totaled $39,372. He was also presented with his second gold ring, which is the ultimate token of achievement given out to all tournament champions who win WSOP Circuit events held around the country. Masek’s previous victory took place in a $230 No-Limit Hold’em event held at Rincon. This was his fifth time to cash in a WSOP Circuit tournament.

This marked the fifth of 12 WSOP Circuit events on this year’s Caesars schedule. The two-day tournament attracted 451 entrants. Most of the field was eliminated on day one, which clocked in at 14 hours. Four tables of survivors returned for day two which played until a deal was reached when play became five handed. The top 45 finishers divided up prize money from a $131,241 prize pool.

Final table play began on a Monday night and was held inside the Palladium Arena at Caesars. The only previous WSOP Circuit winner among the final nine was Alexandru Masek. Masek arrived as the chip leader and was in a comfortable position throughout the competition. The low blinds (5,000-10,000) and average chip stack of nearly 300,000 from the start gave competitors plenty of play. The nine finalists and their starting chip counts were as follows:

Seat Player Hometown Chip Count

1 Jun DeLeon Joppa, Philippines 211,000

2 Alexandru Masek San Diego, CA 503,000

3 Pete Maniscalco Mount Olive, NJ 491,000

4 Marc Wilson St. Clairsville, OH 194,000

5 Stan Kayafas Flushing, NY 87,000

6 Kevin J. Murray Olney, MD 372,000

7 Kerry Small Ventnor, NJ 103,000

8 Brian Grodofsky Merrick, NY 424,000

9 Jack “Yellow Jacket” Sumner St. Augustine, FL 300,000

Final table player introductions can be seen here: http://www.twitvid.com/FB0E6

Players were eliminated in the following order:

Ninth Place: DeLeon Exits Early
Jun DeLeon, who is originally from The Philippines, went out quickly. He took pocket J’s up against K Q suited and lost his entire stack when his opponent made a spade flush. DeLeon had to settle for a payout totaling $2,625.

Eighth Place: Murray Dances Away
Kevin J. Murray, a professional poker player from Olney, MD took two wicked bad beats at the final table and lasted just 20 minutes. Murray’s fateful hand occurred when he was dealt A A and raised all in pre flop. He got a call from an opponent who held J J. When a J flopped, an exasperated Murray stood up, rolled his eyes, and staggered away from the table in disbelief. Murray, who has won several online tournaments, added $3,937 to his poker bankroll.

Seventh Place: Stan the Man
Stan Kayafas, a contractor from Flushing NY was playing in his first poker tournament ever. He managed to make it all the way to seventh place. Kayafas was severely short stacked during most of day two. In fact, he began the day with only a few blinds yet managed to move well into the money and made it to the final table. Kayafas’ good fortune finally ran out when he tried to make a move with a subpar hand, which was called by an opponent who made two pair. Kayafas could certainly be proud of his performance in his first and only live tournament, worth $5,250 in prize money.

Sixth Place: “Yellow Jacket” Gets Stung
Jack “Yellow Jacket” Sumner, an IT consultant from St. Augustine, FL was tortured most of the day by A Q. Sumner later said that he was dealt the marginal hand a dozen times at the final table, losing far more chips with the hand than he gained. Sumner lost most of his stack about midway into the finale when he moved all in with A Q pre flop and ran into pocket A’s. A short time later, Sumner was dealt A Q again, moved all in, and was called by an opponent with pocket 9’s. The pocket pair held up, which was the final stinger for “Yellow Jacket.” The Georgia Tech graduate, who now has two WSOP cashes and two WSOP Circuit cashes, collected $6,562.

Fifth Place: Grodofsky Takes the Fifth
After a deal was made between the final five players, Brian Grodofsky, a business analyst from Merrick, NY took fifth place and $7,874.

Fourth Place: Wilson Fourth
Marc Wilson, a factory worker from St. Clairsville, OH took fourth place and $9,187.

Third Place: Small Comes Up Big
Kerry Small, a real estate appraiser from nearby Ventnor, NJ was the third place finisher, worth $10,499.

Second Place: Big Brown is Runner Up
Pete Maniscalco, a UPS driver from Mount Olive, NJ drove away with second place prize money totaling $21,130. He previously took second place in another WSOP Circuit event.

First Place: Masek’s Second Victory
Alexandru Masek, from San Diego, CA earned his second WSOP Circuit gold ring. The law school student began playing poker in 2003. He has future plans to play in many major poker tournaments, including the WSOP in Las Vegas.

An interview with Alexandru Masek near tableside just moments after his win can be seen here: http://www.twitvid.com/58DFE

The WSOP Circuit at Caesars Atlantic City continues through March 14. 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 Caesars Poker Room. This marks the fifth straight year that Caesars Atlantic City has been a part of the WSOP Circuit. This is the seventh WSOP Circuit stop of the 2009-2010 season following previous tournaments held in Chicago, Southern Indiana, Lake Tahoe, Harrah’s Atlantic City, Tunica, and Council Bluffs.

2010 Caesars Atlantic City WSOP Circuit – Event #5 Final Results

2010 Caesars Atlantic City WSOP Circuit Events Schedule and Events

Executive Staff, World Series of Poker Circuit – Caesars Atlantic City

Joe Domenico – Senior Vice President and General Manager
Vice President of Table Games – Fred Niceta
Public Relations Specialist – Christopher Jonic
Table Games Manager (Poker) – Thomas McDonough III
Poker Pit Manager – Jake Devries

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2010 Harrah’s Rincon (San Diego) WSOP Circuit Events Schedule

Monday, March 8th, 2010

The 2009-2010 WSOP Circuit Tour will make a stop at Harrah’s Rincon Casino in San Diego, California from March 18th through March 29th, 2010.

There will be a total of 12 events including the $5,000 Buy-in WSOP Circuit No Limit Holdem Championship. This series of tournaments will also feature a $100 Buy-in Ladies No Limit Holdem event and a $1,000 Buy-in No Limit Holdem event.

To view the complete schedule of events click on the link below:

2010 Harrah’s Rincon WSOP Circuit Events Schedule

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2010 Caesars Atlantic City WSOP Circuit – Event #4 Final Results

Monday, March 8th, 2010

2009/2010 World Series of Poker Circuit
Caesars Atlantic City
Event #4
No Limit Hold’em
Buy-In: $600 (+60)
Total Entries: 392
Total Prize Pool: $190,120
March 6-7, 2010

Final Results:

1 John Hubiak Taylor, PA $58,937

2 William Daloisi Staten Island, NY $30,419

3 Joseph Siracusa Stony Point, NY $15,210

4 John W. Jones Fredericksburg, VA $13,308

5 Dennis Summers Charlottesville, VA $11,407

6 Mike Graybill Roanoke, VA $9,506

7 Michael Katz East Brunswick, NJ $7,605

8 Alan Sansone Clifton, NJ $5,704

9 Julian Manolio Maywood, NJ $3,802

10 John D’Anselmi Clarksburg, WV $2,281

11 Justin Bonita $2,281

12 Robert Infanzon $2,281

13 Ta Wey $1,901

14 Ronald Pento $1,901

15 Damon Sita $1,901

16 Salman Jaddi $1,521

17 John Russo $1,521

18 Dong Zhou $1,521

19 Yat Cheng $1,141

20 David Nixon $1,141

21 Harold Schmidt $1,141

22 Peter Karagiannis $1,141

23 David Kyi $1,141

24 Ian Searing $1,141

25 Scott Correll $1,141

26 Yousef Suleiman $1,141

27 Brian Hong $1,141

28 Marilyn Matthew $760

29 Sazan Lusha $760

30 Allan Proske $760

31 Bill Varga $760

32 Howard Wolper $760

33 Joseph Brooks $760

34 Paul Mattioda $760

35 Emilio Burgos $760

36 Frank Bonacci $760

John Hubiak Wins WSOP Circuit Event and $58,937 Top Prize

ICU Trauma Nurse from Pennsylvania Wins First Gold Ring at Caesars Atlantic City

2010 Caesars Atlantic City WSOP Circuit Event #4 Winner John Hubiak

Atlantic City, NJ – Some professions make poker seem rather unimportant, by comparison. Matters of war and peace and life and death put the game in its proper perspective that for as exciting as poker might be at times, it pales in contrast to life’s greatest challenges.

No one knows this better than John Hubiak. He is a 29 year old nurse who works in the intensive care unit of a trauma center. To say Hubiak works in a stressful environment on a daily basis would be an understatement. Indeed, the part-time poker player and full time medical professional from Taylor, PA often has the lives of strangers in his hands. His split second decisions can sometimes mean the difference between life and death.

Hubiak brought that depth of worldly experience and broader perspective to the poker table, and based on the most recent tournament results from the World Series of Poker Circuit at Caesars Atlantic City, it served him quite well. Hubiak won the $340 buy in No-Limit Hold’em tournament here and collected the top cash prize totaling $58,937. He was also presented with the coveted gold ring, which is the ultimate token of achievement given out to all tournament champions who win WSOP Circuit events held around the country.

This was the fourth of 12 WSOP Circuit events on this year’s Caesars schedule. The tournament attracted 392 entrants. Most of the field was eliminated on day one, which clocked in at 14 hours. Five tables of battle-tested survivors returned for day two and played another lengthy session, which lasted another 13 hours. The top 36 finishers divided prize money from a $190,120 prize pool. Among those who finished in the money was former gold ring winner Yat Cheng, who won this year’s inaugural Event 1, which completed just a few days ago. He came in 19th.

Final table play began on a Sunday night inside the Palladium Arena at Caesars and ended at 1 am. The only previous WSOP Circuit winner among the final nine was Julian Manolio, who won a gold ring at Harrah’s Atlantic City two years ago. Alan Sansome, the table’s senior citizen at 70, arrived as chip leader. But all the players were within striking distance of victory, which made this finale an unpredictable affair. The low blinds (5,000-10,000) and average stack of nearly 300,000 in chips at the start of play meant all players at the table had time to wait it out for the best possible advantage. Play was cautious in the early going. The nine finalists and their starting chip counts were as follows:

Seat Player Hometown Chip Count

1 Michael “Katman” Katz East Brunswick, NJ 180,000

2 John W. Jones Fredericksburg, VA 327,000

3 William Daloisi Staten Island, NY 351,000

4 Juilian Manolio Maywood, NJ 384,000

5 Dennis Summers Charlottesville, VA 305,000

6 Alan Sansome Clifton, NJ 400,000

7 Mike Grayhill Roanoke, VA 340,000

8 John Hubiak Taylor, PA 324,000

9 Joseph A. Siracusa Stony Point, NY 395,000

Final table player introductions can be seen here: http://www.twitvid.com/EA2B0

Players were eliminated in the following order:

Ninth Place: No Second Ring for Manolio
Julian Manolio, from Maywood, NJ failed to capture his second WSOP Circuit gold ring this time, pushing all in on a bluff, but striking out on what became his final hand. He wad dealt 6 5 suited and made his fateful move, but ran into A Q. An A came on the flop, which all but ended Manolio’s chances of doubling up. Manolio’s cut of the prize pool amounted to $3,802.

Eighth Place: Early Chip Leader Busts
Alan Sansone became the second early chip leader within two days to bust out prematurely. Following in the footsteps of the previous event where the chip leader was the first player out, Sansone lost much of his stack and then finally exited with Q J which ran up against A J. The dominant hand won, leaving the corporate administrator from Clifton, NJ out in eighth place with $5,704.

Seventh Place: Katz Runs Out of Lives
Michael “Katman” Katz, a real estate appraiser from East Brunswick, NJ was eliminated when he moved all in with A 10, which lost to pocket 7’s. Katzman received $7,605. This was Katz’s first time to cash in a major poker tournament.

Sixth Place: Graybill Takes Bad Beat
Mike Graybill, a mortgage analyst from Roanoke, VA went bankrupt in what can only be described as an unusual bad beat. Graybill started his final hand with pocket 6’s and moved all in. He was called by an opponent holding A K, who barely had Graybill covered. Although neither an A nor a K fell on the board, the final sequence of cards showed two pair, 10’s and 9’s, which meant the A played as the fifth card. Graybill’s pocket 6’s bit the dust, thus putting the Virginian out on sixth place with $9,506.

Fifth Place: Sun Sets on Summers
Dennis Summers, from Charlottesville, VA went out in fifth place. He had a healthy sized stack late in the tournament but got trapped holding A J against A Q, which predictably lost. An ace flopped, but Summers couldn’t overcome his kicker problems. Although he had previously won other events held in Atlantic City, Summers had to settle for a middle of the pack finish a this final table, which paid $11,407.

Fourth Place: Keeping up with the Jones’
John W. Jones, a senior business analyst from Fredericksburg, VA was short stacked late in the tournament and made a bold move on what became his final hand. Jones was dealt A Q. After the flop gave him a gutshot straight draw, Jones decided he did not have enough chips to passively wait around for a better situation and decided instead to move all in on a semi-bluff. His adversary, John Hubiak, thought long and hard about his decision, then finally agreed to call with K 9, which amounted to top pair with a marginal kicker. “Good call,” Jones announced who subsequently failed to improve. Jones ended up with $13,308. An interesting side note is that Jones is a highly-accomplished juggler. In fact, he holds a number of world records juggling.

Key Moment: Daloisi Takes Worst Beat of the Night
William Daloisi dominated much of the action during the late stages of the tournament. However, Daloisi lost most of his chips on a brutal beat. The key hand of the tournament came when Daloisi was dealt pocket Q’s and he moved all in pre flop. John Hubiak mysteriously called with what most would say was a questionable hand in the situation, tabling K Q suited. However, Hubiak received some divine inspiration when he ended up making a diamond flush on the critical hand. That gave him the chip lead and put Daloisi on life support. Hubiak later explained his call by saying he misread his opponent’s strength in the situation, but added, “Even if I guessed wrong, I still figured that I had outs. So, I was comfortable making the call.” The outs got there, which essentially gave Hubiak the victory just moments later.

Third Place: Logger Gets Cut
Joseph A. Siracusa, a 31 year old logger from Stony Point, NY, ended up in third place. He was eliminated when he flopped a pair of Q’s, when the initial board showed Q77. After moving all in, John Hubiak instantly called and showed a 7, which was good for trips. Siracusa did not improve and ended up taking home $15,210 in prize money. Siracusa noted that he and his wife are expected a baby boy soon, so the cash prize comes at a good time.

Second Place: William Daloisi Agrees to Second Place
William Daloisi, a semi-pro poker player from Staten Island, NY leapfrogged into second place when the two far larger stacks went to battle, with Hubiak coming out on top. Once third place was decided, Daloisi agreed to a deal and accepted a second place finish. This was the second time Daloisi has cashed in a WSOP Circuit event. He officially pocketed $30,419.

First Place: Hubiak Wins
John Hubiak agreed to a deal and took first place. He officially collected $58,937 plus his WSOP Circuit gold ring. This also marked Hubiak’s first major tournament victory.

An interview with John Hubiak at tableside moments after his win can be seen here:

http://www.twitvid.com/D9B51

The WSOP Circuit at Caesars Atlantic City continues through March 14. 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 Caesars Poker Room. This marks the fifth straight year that Caesars Atlantic City has been a part of the WSOP Circuit. This is the seventh WSOP Circuit stop of the 2009-2010 season following previous tournaments held in Chicago, Southern Indiana, Lake Tahoe, Harrah’s Atlantic City, Tunica, and Council Bluffs.

2010 Caesars Atlantic City WSOP Circuit – Event #4 Final Results

2010 Caesars Atlantic City WSOP Circuit Events Schedule and Results

Executive Staff, World Series of Poker Circuit – Caesars Atlantic City

Joe Domenico – Senior Vice President and General Manager
Vice President of Table Games – Fred Niceta
Public Relations Specialist – Christopher Jonic
Table Games Manager (Poker) – Thomas McDonough III
Poker Pit Manager – Jake Devries

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2010 Horseshoe Council Bluffs WSOP Circuit – Event #20 Final Results

Monday, March 1st, 2010

2009-2010 World Series of Poker Circuit
Horseshoe Council Bluffs
Feb. 27
Event #20
No-Limit Hold’em
Buy-In: $300 + $45
Number of Entries: 329
Total Prize Money: $95,739

Final Results:

Place Name Hometown Prize

1. Steve Kats Omaha, NE $26,683

2. Danny Parde Lincoln, NE $15,318

3. Mark Fink Sioux Falls, SD $7,659

4 Michael Dreiger Omaha, NE $6,702

5. Scott Pape Omaha, NE $5,744

6. Duane Gerleman Ridgeway, IA $4,787

7. Mitchell Ricknell Pittsburg, KS $3,838

8. Jason Fennell Chicago, IL $2,782

9. Dave Muller Cedar Rapids, IA $1,915

10.Tony Treiber $1,149

11.Daniel Collier $1,149

12.Nicholas Srille $1,149

13.Gerald Walter $957

14.Daniel Roth $957

15.Dave Ward $957

16.Randal Simmons $765

17.Larry Nichols $765

18.Robert Conway $765

19.James Schertz $574

20.Gary Fleischman $574

21.John Nohr $574

22.Lyle Bryan $574

23.Jefferey Fielder $574

24.Kyle Schroeder $574

25 Kirk McKenzie $574

26 Carl Mellecker $574

27.Nathan Robda $574

28.Morgan Carr $383

29.Michael Albert $383

30.Michael Fong $383

31.Dennis Moffitt $383

32.Paul Hansen $383

33.Daniel Rinkel $383

34.Timoth Sciscoe $383

35.John Johnson $383

36.Cullen Oldham $383

Circulation Salesman Steve Kats, Playing Only His 2nd Tournament, Wins Event 20

Key Hand Comes in Heads-Up Match When he Makes an Inside Straight

2010 Horseshoe Council Bluffs WSOP Circuit Event #20 Winner Steve Kats

Council Bluffs, IA — Steve Kats, a circulation salesman for the Omaha World Herald, scored his first tournament cash by winning the 20th event of the WSOP Circuit tour at Horseshoe Council Bluffs, $300 no-limit hold’em. The win brought him $26,683 and a diamond-and-gold trophy ring. He came to the final table with a good chip and held it throughout, although Danny Parde came close to catching up during their heads-up match that lasted nearly an hour.

Kats, 27, is from Omaha and has been playing 10 years, mainly in home games and online. He played one tournament here last year, but only got to 90th place. He said he never got pocket aces throughout the tournament and had only half average until about four tables were left when he began moving up.

This event drew 329 players and the prize pool was $95,739. Play kicked off with blinds of 8,000-16,000 and 2,000 antes, 23 minutes on the clock. With 483,000 chips, Kats had a sizeable lead.

Here were the starting chip counts:

Seat Name Chip Count

1. Michael Dreiger 174,000

2. Duane Gerleman 130,000

3. Danny Parde 204,000

4. Dave Muller 32,000

5. Jason Fennell 78,000

6. Scott Pape 326,000

7. Mark Fink 330,000

8. Mitchell Ricknell 162,000

9. Steve Kats 483,000

9th place: On the first hand, Lowest-chipped Dave Muller pushed in his last 30,000 with A-6, called by Scott Pape with 6-4 A board of 9-7-5-2 gave Pape a double belly-buster straight draw (either an 8 or a trey), but he settled for a paired 4 to leave Muller ninth, worth $1,915. Muller, 46, is an eye surgeon from Cedar Rapids, IA. He’s had several Heartland Poker Tour cashes, and this is his first final table.

8th place: It didn’t take long to lose another player. We had a classic match-up: pocket queens for an all-in Jason Fennell, Ac-Kc for Kats. A board of 6c-8d-3c-4h gave Kats 15 ways to knock Fennell out, with a club, an ace, or a king. A jack of clubs rivered, and Kats’ flush gave Fennell, a 27-year-old army sergeant from Chicago, his discharge to eighth place, which paid $2,782.

7th place: With blinds of 10,000-20,000, Mitchell Ricknell found himself all in and in bad shape with A-10 against Kats’ A-Q. A board of 7-10-J-5-3 left both players with 10s, and Kats’ ace kicker was the decider as Ricknell took home $3,838. Ricknell, 49, from Pittsburg, Kansas, is self-employed. He won the Masters of Oklahoma tournament twice and played in a WSOP main event.

6th place: For the fourth time a player would go all in, and for the fourth time fail to get out. The victim this time was Duane Gerleman, ahead with A-Q against Mark Fink’s K-J. The flop was 10-3-2, and then Fink caught a fourth-street king to outrun Gerleman and leave him in sixth place, paying $4,787. This was the third final table in this tournament series for Gerleman, a 54-year-old farmer from Ridgeway, Iowa. His other cashes include a 23rd out of 2,240 entrants in the WSOP Seniors event two years ago.

Blinds jumped twice, to 12,000-24,000, before we had another all-in. This time it was Danny Parde, who had A-8 to Pape’s pocket kings. For the first time we had a survival when Parde paired his ace on the flop.

5th place: Scott Pape went out with pocket 10s when Kats flopped an ace to his A-6. Pape, 54, is a maintenance technician from Omaha who’s played weekly tournaments here for the last four years. He took out $5,774 for fifth.

4th place: Soon after, Michael Dreiger, 59, a programmer from Omaha, checked out fourth for $6,702 when his A-9 could not overtake Kats’ A-K. Last year he finished seventh in a similar event here.

3rd place: This event got heads-up when Mark Fink went out on a bad beat. He had A-J against Parde’s A-3. Both players were nearly even chips, but Parde just had his opponent covered. The board came K-3-7-9-5, and Parde’s paired trey knocked Fink out in third place, which paid $7,659. Fink is 30, from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and works in his family electrical contracting business. He has four Circuit and two WSOP cashes.

2nd place: The final match lasted just under an hour. Kats started with the lead, but Parde was never far behind as the chips went back and forth. With blinds now at 20,000-40,000 and 5,000 antes, the killer hand came down. The flop showed 8-7-3, and all the chips went in the middle. Parde, with Qc-8c, was in the lead with a paired 8, while Kats, with Jc-10h, had two overcards and an inside straight draw. A 9 turned to give Kats a straight, and Parde, drawing dead, was suddenly down to 80,000 chips. Parde was all in on the next hand with 9h-7h against Kats’ Ks-7s. A board of 4-2-8-Q-J didn’t make any difference, and Kats had his first big cash.

Parde, 33, a U.S. Postal Service mailman from Lincoln, Nebraska, was making his second Circuit final table. His second-place finish paid him $15,318. He also has a couple of cashes in the Poker Classic events here.

2010 Horseshoe Council Bluffs WSOP Circuit – Event #20 Final Results

2010 Horseshoe Council Bluffs WSOP Circuit Events Schedule and Results

– Max Shapiro

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

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2010 Harrah’s Tunica WSOP Circuit – Event #17 Final Results

Monday, February 8th, 2010

2009/2010 World Series of Poker Circuit
Harrah’s Tunica
Event #17
No-Limit Hold’em
Buy-In: $500(+50)
Total Entries: 234
Total Prize Pool: $108,090
February 5 – February 6, 2010

Final Results:

Finish Name City State Country Prize

1 Scott Meena Clairton PA USA $27,605

2 Ricky Daniel Franklin TN USA $16,884

3 Radwan Khuri Memphis TN USA $11,976

4 Michael Ashar Ft. Meyers FL USA $8,550

5 Benjamin Mintz Oxford MS USA $6,842

6 John Yancey Marvell AR USA $5,134

7 Eric Koffman Bay City MI USA $3,426

8 Corrie Wunstel Baton Rouge LA USA $2,778

9 Wayne Gatheright Walls MS USA $2,356

10 Johnnathan Cuevas Charlot NC USA $2,065

11 Michael Dunn Flint MI USA $2,065

12 Jeffrey Finlayson Boca Raton FL USA $2,065

13 Wilbur Futhey Crossville TN USA $1,697

14 Peter Clive St. Charles MO USA $1,697

15 Darrin Roth Mequon WI USA $1,697

16 Rose Cooney Collierville TN USA $1,416

17 Christopher Fisher Hot Springs AR USA $1,416

18 McDonald Ledbetter Monroe LA USA $1,416

19 Ray Martin Bargersville IN USA $1,232

20 Donald Harris Washington MO USA $1,232

21 Ross Farmer Glenwood AR USA $1,232

22 Michael Caruso Arvada CO USA $1,103

23 Michael Ratcliff Martinfield IN USA $1,103

24 Tory Major Atlanta GA USA $1,103

Fifty years after scooping his first pot, Scott Meena Wins Circuit Event #17 at Harrah’s Tunica

2010 WSOP Circuit Harrah's Tunica Event #17 Winner Scott Meena

TUNICA, MS – Scott Meena and his friends, brothers Daniel “Q” Rossi and Tommy “Tot” Rossi got their start playing high-stakes poker at a young age.

And for an 8-year-old growing up in 1960’s Pittsburgh, the stakes couldn’t be higher.

“It was about baseball cards man,” said Meena. “We’d play five card draw deuces and threes wild for shoeboxes full – the action would get up to a hundred cards sometimes.”

“The Roberto Clementes and Bill Mazeroskis were worth more cards and one Steelers card was worth five Chargers cards.”

Fifty years later, the three friends are still enjoying their favorite pastime at home games and casinos. The trio came down to Tunica to play at the World Series of Poker Circuit Events. Meena entered the $550 dollar buy-in event no-limit hold’em event #17, making it to the final table.

And for a 57-year-old self-employed carpenter living in present-day Pittsburgh, the stakes were pretty high — $27,605 first place prize and a coveted World Series of Poker Circuit Event ring.

The Rossi brothers were on hand to root their childhood buddy on as he sat down to the final table with the chip lead.

Name Hometown Seat Chip Count

Wayne Gatheright Walls, MS 1 265,000

Mike Ashar Vermilion, OH 2 255,000

Scott Meena Clairton, PA 3 378,000

Ricky Daniel Franklin, TN 4 273,000

Radwan “Doc” Khuri Memphis, TN 5 348,000

Johnny Yancey Marvell, AR 6 102,000

Eric Koffman Bay City, MI 7 226,000

Ben Mintz New Orleans, LA 8 230,000

CorrieWunstel Baton Rouge, LA 9 232,000

Ninth Place
Final table play began shortly before 4:00 pm with blinds and antes at 5,000/10,000/2,000. Wayne Gatheright suffered a beat from Johnny Yancey who was all-in with pocket threes vs. Gatheright’s pocket 10’s. A river 4d completed the straight for Yancey for the double-up.

Down in chips, it was pocket tens that sent Gatheright to the rail. All-in pre flop with Ac-Kh against Mike Ashar’s pocket pair, the board came queen-high. Gatheright’s second final table of the 2009/2010 Tunica Circuit Events earned him $2,356.

Eighth Place
Corrie Wunstel was all-in with K-J against Scott Meena’s pocket queens. Queens held and Wunstel was escorted to the payout table to collect $2,778 for eighth.

Seventh Place
All-in from the small blind, Eric Koffman got a call from Scott Meena who limped-in from early position with pocket 10’s. Koffman’s pocket fours were all but beat after Meena spiked a 10 on the flop. No running fours on the turn or river meant the end of Koffman’s tournament. The 35-year old property manager from Bay City, MI collected $3,426 for seventh place.

Sixth Place
With blinds and antes at 8,000/16,000/3,000 Yancey got it all in from the small blind with Js-Qs while Radwan Khuri called from the big with As-4h. Yancey flopped top pair jacks but the turn came Ac. After a river five, Khuri doubled up, leaving Yancey with only 20,000.

Yancey was eliminated the next hand with 8s-5h vs. Ben Mintz’s pocket nines. Yancey is a 49-year old farmer from Marvell, AR. He reaped $5,134 for his sixth place finish.

Fifth Place
Mintz made it 38,000 to go pre-flop and got calls from Meena and Rickey Daniel. After a 2d-5s-Kc flop, Meena moved all-in. Daniel folded, leaving Mintz with a decision.

After tanking a few minutes, Mintz declared, “Either you need two outs or I need two outs,” before making the call. Mintz was left looking for a single out after turning over pocket jacks to Meena’s Ks-Js. No jack hit the turn or river and Mintz’s run was over.

Mintz’s fifth final table appearance earned him $6,842.

Fourth Place
Blinds moved up to 10,000/20,000 and after a bad run of cards, Mike Ashar was all-in with his remaining chips with As-6c. Meena called with Q-J suited. The flop paired Meena’s queen and blanks hit the turn and river, eliminating Ashar in fourth.

Ashar is a 62-year old retired Colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves and now practices law in his hometown of Vermilion, OH. He also owns a stable of show horses and ponies. Ashar’s second 2009/2010 Harrah’s Tunica Circuit Event final table resulted in a $8,550 payday.

Third Place
Khuri was the third place finisher. “Doc” as he is known in poker circles, is a practicing psychiatrist from nearby Memphis, TN. In event #4 of the Circuit Events here at Tunica, Khuri placed fifth out of 800. He pocketed $11,976 in his third career WSOP Circuit Event final table.

Second Place
Heads up play saw Meena with about a 4-1 chip lead over Daniel. Daniel picked up a few pots to narrow the margin to 3-1 after doubling up just before the dinner break.

After the players returned, Meena extended an offer that would have ended the match-up right then and there. Daniel initially refused, but after losing a few 25,000 brown chips, decided to take the deal.

Daniel officially earned $16,884 for second place while Meena took home the gold ring and an official $27,605 first place prize.

“I feel good,” said Meena after the win. “That kid (Daniel) is a great player, I think he might be a better player than me and that I just got better rush of cards than he did.”

Meena had two cashes at last year’s Circuit Event at Harrah’s New Orleans and is focusing on building a bankroll to support both his contracting business and his career on the felt.

He says that he takes his childhood experiences with him to the felt as an adult.

“It was meaningful back then when you’re eight or nine years old playing five card draw with deuces or threes wild for those cards.”

Still to come are 2 more events and single-day non-ring $125, $230 and $340 buy-in events which begin at 4 pm and 7pm. The WSOP Circuit at Harrah’s Tunica runs through February 10th.

2010 Harrah’s Tunica WSOP Circuit Event #17 Final Results

2010 Harrah’s Tunica WSOP Circuit Events Schedule and Results

Ty Stewart – Director, Sponsorship and Licensing, WSOP
Craig Abrahams – Director, Broadcasting and New Media, WSOP
Seth Palansky – Communications Director, WSOP

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

Bill Wright – General Manager
Jimmy Sommerfeld –Tournament Director
Bill Bruce – Assistant Tournament Director
Patrick Collins – Public Relations Manager

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

Sunday, February 7th, 2010

2009/2010 World Series of Poker Circuit
Harrah’s Tunica
Event #16
No-Limit Hold’em
Buy-In: $400(+40)
Total Entries: 196
Total Prize Pool: $70,648
February 4-February 5, 2010

Final Results:

Finish Name City State Country Prize

1 John Land Dallas TX USA $18,579

2 Brian Niekerk Kingston TN USA $11,410

3 Terry Crosby Memphis TN USA $8,075

4 Shawn Johnston Robinsonville MS USA $5,765

5 Matthew Lawrence Tulsa OK USA $4,613

6 Wayne Philpot Sanford FL USA $3,462

7 Christopher Gray Atlanta GA USA $2,310

8 Scott Uithoven Belden MS USA $1,872

9 Gary Lucht Cissna Park IL USA $1,590

10 John Sarrica Altomonte Springs FL USA $1,392

11 James Quick Decatur TN USA $1,392

12 William Hedden Franklin NC USA $1,392

13 Curtis Smith Ringgold GA USA $1,144

14 Stanley Haythorne Toledo OH USA $1,144

15 Scott Monteath Eads TN USA $1,144

16 Brandon Garner Jackson TN USA $954

17 William Neal Murfreesboro TN USA $954

18 Micheal Woods Las Vegas NV USA $954

19 Peter Clive St. Charles MO USA $834

20 Mark Smith Georgetown KY USA $834

21 Chris Hight Charleston IL USA $834

John “Cowboy” Land Wrangles Circuit Event Win at Harrah’s Tunica

John Land is the winner of WSOP Circuit Event #16 at Harrah’s Tunica

2010 WSOP Harrah's Tunica Event #16 Winner John Land

TUNICA, MS – “Cowboy,” as he is known in poker circles, was primarily a cash game player, but started playing tournaments a few years ago. Land made his way through the 196 player field into a final corral of nine players.

Name Hometown Seat Chip Count

Scott Uithoven Belden, MS 1 125,000

Shaun Johnston Tunica, MS 2 141,000

Gary Lucht Cissna Park, IL 3 76,000

Terry Crosby Memphis, TN 4 227,000

Brian Niekerk Kingston, TN 5 146,000

Christopher Gray Atlanta, GA 6 168,000

Matt Lawrence Tulsa, OK 7 540,000

Wayne Philpot Sanford, FL 8 176,000

John “Cowboy” Lands Dallas, TX 9 373,000

Ninth Place
Final table play started shortly before 3:30 pm with blinds and antes at 5,000/10,000/2,000. UTG, Gary Lucht raised preflop to 30,000 with Ac-Qd. Wayne Philpot raised to 100,000 and Lucht moved all-in.

Philpot quickly called, turning over pocket aces. The board came Jh-7c-7h-8s-9c, resulting in a ninth place finish for Lucht. Lucht is a 62-year old farmer from Cissna Park, IL. He collected $1,590.

Eighth Place
Blinds and antes moved up to 8,000/16,000/3,000. A few hands into the level, Terry Crosby moved all-in from the big blind after Scott Uithoven limped-in from the button. Uithoven got in his remaining chips with Qc-10h. Crosby turned over Ac-Ks. The jack-high board helped neither player, sending Uithoven to the payout table in eighth place. Eighth paid $1,872.

Seventh Place
Christopher Gray was the sixth place finisher. The 42-year old landlord from Atlanta, GA earned $2,310 for his two-day run.

Sixth Place
Crosby made it 50,000 to go from the button before Philpot re-raised all-in. Crosby called, showing As-Ks while Philpot flipped over Jd-Qc. A 10-4-8 flop followed by a 10 and 3 on the turn and river ended Philpot’s tournament run. Sixth place paid $3,462.

Fifth Place
Soon after, Matt Lawrence was all-in from the big blind and got a call from Land from the small. Lawrence’s As-10s was unable improve over Land Ad-Kc on a jack-high board, busting Lawrence out in fifth. Lawrence is a 26-year old poker player from Tulsa, OK. He cashed in the 2009 World Series of Poker Main Event and twice at Fiesta al Lago. He picked up $4,613 for fifth.

Fourth Place
With play down to four runners, the blinds and antes moved up to 10,000/20,000/3,000. Shaun Johnston moved his remaining chips all-in with Ah-Qs and got a call from Brian Niekerk, who turned over Ac-Ks. The board came ten high, missing both players and eliminating Johnston. Johnston is a poker tournament director from Tunica, MS. He collected $5,765 for fourth place.

Third Place
Terry Crosby was the third place finisher after Niekerk’s pocket nines held against his A-4 all-in. The retired pilot from Memphis, TN earned $8,075 for his third place finish.

Second Place
With seven men down, Cowboy was at substantial chip disadvantage in the one-on-one showdown against Niekerk, but was able to double-up through his opponent with pocket nines. The final hand of the night came with Niekerk all-in with Jc-6h vs. Land with pocket queens. The flop came 7h-Kd-5s.

Though it appeared it was all but over, Land refused a congratulatory handshake from Niekerk.

“Naw man, don’t jinx me,” he cautioned.

But after a deuce of diamonds on the turn, formalities were permitted and the two men shook hands as a benign 3c hit the river.

“Man, this is awesome, I can’t believe it,” said Land after his win.

Even though he’s from Dallas, TX and wears the defining wide-brimmed hat, the former construction company owner says that he didn’t get the name cowboy from tending cattle.

“I’m as GQ as they come,” said Land of his nickname. “This is just my good luck hat and people just started calling me cowboy.”

Still to come are 3 more events and single-day non-ring $125, $230 and $340 buy-in events which begin at 4 pm and 7pm. The WSOP Circuit at Harrah’s Tunica runs through February 10th.

2010 Harrah’s Tunica WSOP Circuit Event #16 Final Results

2010 Harrah’s Tunica WSOP Circuit Events Schedule and Results

Ty Stewart – Director, Sponsorship and Licensing, WSOP
Craig Abrahams – Director, Broadcasting and New Media, WSOP
Seth Palansky – Communications Director, WSOP

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

Bill Wright – General Manager
Jimmy Sommerfeld –Tournament Director
Bill Bruce – Assistant Tournament Director
Patrick Collins – Public Relations Manager

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Borgata Winter Open 2010 Championship Event End of Day 3 Chip Counts

Thursday, February 4th, 2010

Borgata Winter Open 2010
CHAMPIONSHIP EVENT
Event 20 – $3300+ $200 No Limit Hold’em
January 31 – February 5
766 Entries $2,527,800 Total Buy-In

End of Day 3 Chip Counts:

1. MATTHEW MATROS (BROOKLYN, NY): 1,978,000

2. WILLIAM CHILDS (ALEXANDRIA, VA): 1,797,000

3. THOMAS MARCHESE (BOONTON, NJ): 1,523,000

4. WADE WOELFEL (MANKATO, MN): 1,464,000

5. ROSS MALLOR (NEW YORK, NY): 1,417,000

6. JEFFREY MADSEN (LAS VEGAS, NV): 1,291,000

7. AL GRIMES (MILLER PLACE, NY): 1,260,000

8. DONALD BOIVIN (ANNAPOLIS, MD): 1,190,000

9. ERIC BLAIR (WEST HARTFORD, CT): 1,000,000

10. CHAN PELTON (COLLEGE STAT, TX): 991,000

11. JONATHAN HAMILTON (WARWICK, NY): 967,000

12. DAVID FOX (CORAM, NY): 898,000

13. JOSEPH WERTZ (MONTOURSVILLE, PA): 821,000

14. SIROUS JAMSHIDI (BROOMALL, PA): 782,000

15. JOSHUA MANCUSO (MANDEVILEE, LA): 668,000

16. NICHOLAS KAMEN (SCARSDALE, NY): 646,000

17. JOHN ALEXANDER (MONTSVILLE, NJ): 611,000

18. IGOR TIGUY (BOSTON, MA): 451,000

19. JOHN LAROCHELLE (PROVIDENCE, RI): 447,000

20. ANTHONY CAMPAGNA (MANORVILLE, NY): 442,000

21. ROBERT MCLAUGHLIN (WASHINGTON, DC): 400,000

22. DAVID CAIRNS (TORONTO, CAN): 380,000

23. DAVID WILLIAMS (SYKESVILLE, MD): 374,000

24. THEODORE GOLDBERGH (NEW YORK, NY): 341,000

25. RICHARD AUSTIN (LANSDALE, PA): 333,000

26. MICHAEL JUDGE (BENSALEM, PA): 322,000

27. BERNARD COLLINS (BAYVILLE, NJ): 201,000

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Borgata Winter Open 2010 – Event #23 Final Results

Thursday, February 4th, 2010

Borgata Winter Open 2010
Event 23 – $300+ $50 No Limit Hold’em
February 3
276 Entries $82,800 Total Buy-In

Final Results:

Borgata Winter Open 2010 Event 23 Winner Steven Macchia<

1. STEVEN MACCHIA (WOOD RIDGE, NJ): $24,095

2. WILLIAM KLEVITZ (SEAFORD, NY): $13,654

3. SACHIN RAMRAKHANI (FORT LEE, NJ): $7,510

4. CAESAR CARNEVALE (NUTLEY, NJ): $5,622

5. MIGUEL MORALES (NORTH BERGEN, NJ): $4,819

6. JIMMY BORN (CLARKSVILLE, MD): $4,016

7. CAULFIELD SEAN (BOSTON, MA): $3,213

8. DANIEL CHAN (NEW YORK, NY): $2,409

9. RONALD REEVES (JERSEY CITY, NJ): $1,607

10. FRANK WALKER (ROCKAWAY PARK, NY): $1,044

11. MAREK PAZOWSKI (KINNELON, NJ): $1,044

12. GIUSTI DANIEL (ABSECON, NJ): $1,044

13. JOHN LEAMY (WESTBROOK, CT): $884

14. ONOFRIO REINA (ELIZABETH, NJ): $884

15. HOWARD CRASH (WESTON, CT): $884

16. JOSEPH LOPRESTI (CARTERET, NJ): $723

17. JAY HYNDS (ROATAN, HOND): $723

18. PATRICIA BARSANTI-CHOU (METUCHEN, NJ): $723

19. GARY ZITA (BLOOMINGDALE, NJ): $602

20. MATTHEW MAZZEO (E WILLISTON, NY): $602

21. WILLIAM BEASLEY (HOLLYWOOD, FL): $602

22. ROBERT PERRY (HIGHLAND BEACH, FL): $602

23. FRANK GIUNTA (COLLEGEVILLE, PA): $602

24. MARK MORITZ (SECAUSES, NJ): $602

25. ALLIE PRESCOTT (MEMPHIS, TN): $602

26. DEMETRIOS SISKOS (OLNEY, MD): $602

27. RAMY ABDELHAMID (BETHPAGE, NY): $602

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2010 Harrah’s Tunica WSOP Circuit – Event #13 Final Results

Thursday, February 4th, 2010

2009/2010 World Series of Poker Circuit
Harrah’s Tunica
Event #13
No-Limit Hold’em
Buy-In: $300(+40)
Total Entries: 180
Total Prize Pool: $46,980
February 1-February 2, 2010

Final Results:

Finish Name City State Country Prize
1 Larry Hicks Mt. Vernon IL USA $12,792
2 Alvin Laser Houston TX USA $7,883
3 David Clough Murphysboro IL USA $5,567
4 David Taylor Magnolia AR USA $3,975
5 Nathan Foust Cullman AL USA $3,181
6 Michael Warren Tullahoma TN USA $2,387
7 Michael Eise Troy MO USA $1,593
8 Steven Pionk Hernando MS USA $1,292
9 Rogers Patterson Bryant AR USA $1,095
10 Mickey Munlin Pontotoc MS USA $958
11 Chad Stephens Cullman AL USA $958
12 Scott Kahoun Lagrange Park IL USA $958
13 Christopher Nash Dallas TX USA $789
14 Rufus Yates New Iberia LA USA $789
15 Benjamin Klein St. Louis MO USA $789
16 John Laurel Rowlett TX USA $658
17 Victor Tiller Shelbyville TN USA $658
18 Jonathan Baldwin Covington GA USA $658

2010 Harrah's Tunica WSOP Circuit Event #13 Winner Larry Hicks

Separation of Powers

Former state legislator defeats prominent Arkansas attorney heads-up to win Circuit Event #13 at Harrah’s Tunica

TUNICA, MS – Larry Hicks, a former member of the state of Illinois House of Representatives, outlasted 179 opponents to take down event #13 of the 2009/2010 World Series of Poker Circuit Events at Harrah’s Tunica.

Hicks was among a strong final group of ten players which included 2009 World Series of Poker Event #28 bracelet winner, Mike Eise and the winner of the 2009/2010 Harrah’s Tunica Seniors Circuit Event, Rogers Patterson.

The chip counts of the final ten players were as follows:

Name Hometown Seat Chip Count
Mickey Jason Munlin Pontotoc, MS 1 199,000
Steve Pionk Hernando, MS 2 52,000
Nathan Foust Cullman, AL 3 158,000
Rogers Patterson Bryant, AR 4 195,000
Alvin Laser Houston, TX 5 209,000
Mike Eise St. Louis, MO 6 170,000
David Taylor Magnolia, AR 7 236,000
Michael Warren Tullahoma, TN 8 156,000
David Clough Murphysboro, IL 9 122,000
Larry Hicks Mt. Vernon, IL 10 302,000

Ninth Place
After the elimination of Mickey Jason Munlin in tenth place, Rogers Patterson moved all-in with A-Q after a Jd-10s-10h flop and got a call from Mike Eise who flopped a set with 9s-10c. Blanks hit on the turn and river, sending the Seniors Event champion out in 9th. Patterson collected $1,095.

Eighth Place
Steve Pionk was eliminated after running pocket kings into Alvin Laser’s pocket aces. The jack-high board was no help to Pionk resulting in a $1,292 eighth place finish.

Seventh Place
Eise moved his remaining stack all-in with Qs-9s and got a call from David Taylor, who turned over pocket jacks. The sans spade A-7-5-9-8 board ended Eise’s tournament run. He collected $1,593.

Since winning his first WSOP gold bracelet and the nearly $640,000 first place prize, Eise says that he has since been playing a lot of poker and working on his St. Louis-based poker radio show, “All-In Poker Radio” on www.tapthefelt.com

“Life’s been great,” said Eise of past six months since he won the bracelet.

“I was laid off from my job but I haven’t looked back. I play poker all the time now, have cashed in the WPT and WSOP and am working on my show.”

Sixth Place
Michael Warrren moved all-in on the button with Ah-10c and got a call from David Clough. Clough turned over pocket kings. Warren was unable to improve on the board and was escorted to the payout table to collect $2,387 for sixth.

Fifth Place
After an over hour-long five-way stalemate, the remaining players struck a deal. Details were not disclosed but the five played on for the Circuit Event ring. Soon after play resumed, Nathan Foust was eliminated after his K-8 suited failed to improve against Larry Hicks pocket 2’s. Fifth officially paid $3,181.

Fourth Place
David Taylor was the fourth place finisher. Taylor is a business owner from Magnolia, AR. He officially earned $3,975.

Third Place
David Clough was eliminated in third place after moving all-in with Kh-2d on a king-high flop. Hicks made the call, turning over pocket aces. Clough bricked the turn and river, sending him to the payout table. The official third place prize was $5,567

Second Place
Heads-up action was between Hicks and Laser with Hicks holding a monstrous chip lead over his opponent.

In the final hand, Hicks was all-in with A-10 off vs. Laser’s 9-10 offsuit. The jack-high flop followed by a 6s turn and 10c river was the end of the tournament. Laser officially earned $7,883 for second place.

Laser is a 64-year old attorney from Houston, TX who has practiced law in Little Rock, AR for over 30 years. This was his first major tournament cash.

Hicks is a retired US Army helicopter pilot who completed a number of tours of duty during the Vietnam War. In the early 80’s, he was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives, a seat he held for 12 years.

Hicks went into the private sector after his career in politics. He began playing poker ten years ago. The 62-year old was delighted by the most recent highlight of his storied life.

“I’m overjoyed to have finally won an event,” said Hicks.

“It’s one of those goals that you set out to accomplish and when you finally do it’s a wonderful feeling.”

Still to come are 6 more events and single-day non-ring $125, $230 and $340 buy-in events which begin at 4 pm and 7pm. The WSOP Circuit at Harrah’s Tunica runs through February 10th.

2010 Harrah’s Tunica WSOP Circuit Event #13 Final Results

2010 Harrah’s Tunica WSOP Circuit Events Schedule and Results

Ty Stewart – Director, Sponsorship and Licensing, WSOP
Craig Abrahams – Director, Broadcasting and New Media, WSOP
Seth Palansky – Communications Director, WSOP

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

Bill Wright – General Manager
Jimmy Sommerfeld –Tournament Director
Bill Bruce – Assistant Tournament Director
Patrick Collins – Public Relations Manager

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Borgata Winter Open 2010 – Event #21 Final Results

Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010

Borgata Winter Open 2010
Event #21 – $400 + $50 No Limit Hold’em
209 Entries
$83,600 Total Buy-In
$2,508 Dealer Tip
$81,092 Prize Money

Final Results:

Borgata Winter Open 2010 Event #21 Winner Michael McCarty

PLACE NAME FROM WINNINGS
1 MICHAEL MCCARTY HIGHLAND PARK, NJ $24,328
2 DONALD FREEMAN STAR, NC $13,786
3 FRANK DAGOSTINO FRANKLIN, TN $7,582
4 ROBERT ISRAELI SHORT HILLS, NJ $5,676
5 DAMON FERRANTE PARSIPPANY, NJ $4,866
6 VINCENT LEE HOUSDEN STANLEY, VA $4,055
7 PETER RIPLEY BURTONSVILLE, MD $3,244
8 JOSHUA RAMCHANDANI SEWELL, NJ $2,433
9 WILLIAM KISSER BROOKLYN, MD $1,622
10 MARINKO MATURA FRANKLIN SQ, NY $1,054
11 DANIEL PATTERSON OAKLAND, NJ $1,054
12 NEIL PATEL YARLEY, PA $1,054
13 LUCAS SMITH NEW YORK, NY $892
14 ADAM GREEN NEW YORK, NY $892
15 MIKE ARZOUMANIDIS WEST BABYLON, NY $892
16 RAID ETAYIYIM BROOKLYN, NY $730
17 PATRICIA BARSANTI-CHOU METUCHEN, NJ $730
18 SALVATORE ACCARD DIX HILLS, NY $730
19 DEAN SHELLHAMER BREINIGSVILLE, PA $608
20 HENRY DOIBAN STATEN ISLAND, NY $608
21 VITALY KOVYAZIN BROOKLYN, NY $608
22 JOHN MASON LOWELL, MA $608
23 DAVID PEVZNER JACKSON HTS, NY $608
24 ASA BERGER CHALFONT, PA $608
25 HENRY BAJER MECHANICSVILLE, VA $608
26 SAMUEL BREHM FROSTBURG, MD $608
27 ROBERT HELMICK GLEN BURNIE, MD $608

*Total prize pool reduced by 3% for dealer tip pursuant to a new law enacted by the State of New Jersey

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2010 Harrah’s Tunica WSOP Circuit – Event #11 Final Results

Monday, February 1st, 2010

2009/2010 World Series of Poker Circuit
Harrah’s Tunica
Event #11
No-Limit Hold’em
Buy-In: $550(+40)
Total Entries: 210
Total Prize Pool: $96,450
January 30-31, 2010

Final Results:

2010 Harrah's New Orleans WSOP Circuit Event #11 Winner Herbert Tapscott

Finish Name City State Country Prize
1 Herbert Tapscott Hartselle AL USA $25,369
2 Michael Sanders Pottsville AR USA $15,577
3 Lisa Farmer Atlanta GA USA $11,024
4 Michael Jordan Brandon FL USA $7,870
5 Charlie Dawson Owensboro KY USA $6,298
6 Erik Badgley Dewitt MI USA $4,726
7 Robert Meyer Lawrence KS USA $3,154
8 Rose Cooney Collierville TN USA $2,556
9 Brett Connally Bulverde TX USA $2,170
10 Mark Cooney Collierville TN USA $1,900
11 George Williams Glenwood IL USA $1,900
12 Frances Roche Germantown TN USA $1,900
13 Gary Bentley Killen AL USA $1,562
14 Richard Smreker St. Louis MO USA $1,562
15 Dale Atchison Mountain Grove MO USA $1,562
16 William Van Pelt Houston TX USA $1,302
17 Frederick Smith Loganville GA USA $1,302
18 Mitchell Franks Tupelo MS USA $1,302
19 Thomas Pullens Picayune MS USA $1,138
20 Robert Muriel Nashville TN USA $1,138
21 Lenol Clark Trenton GA USA $569
22 Thaire Daley Ridgeland SC USA $569

Herb Tapscott Takes Down Event #11 at Harrah’s Tunica

A wife makes final table while husband barely misses the cut

TUNICA, MS – While 162 women were playing in the ladies event at the Harrah’s Tunica event center, two found their place at the $550 buy-in event #11 final table. The first females to make the final table so far at the 2009/2010 Harrah’s Tunica Circuit Event, Lisa Farmer and Rose Cooney were poised to make it a true ladies’ night.

Cooney’s husband Mark just missed making the final nine, which would have made them the first husband and wife in WSOP Circuit Event history to accomplish the feat. Mr. Cooney’s elimination set the final table stage.

Name Hometown Seat Chip Count
Charlie Dawson Owensboro, KY 1 390,000
Michael Jordan Tampa, FL 2 240,000
Erik Badgley Hendersonville, TN 3 130,000
Brett Connally San Antonio, TX 4 125,000
Robert Meyers Lawrence, KS 5 110,000
Rose Cooney Collierville, TN 6 90,000
Herb Tapscott Decatur, AL 7 360,000
Lisa Farmer Atlanta, GA 8 190,000
Michael Sanders Russellville, AR 9 170,000

Ninth Place
With blinds and antes at 4,000/8,000/1,000, Brett Connally made it 32,000 to go preflop from early position before Herb Trapscott re-raised all-in. Connally made the call with pocket fives, but was far behind Trapscott’s pocket queens. The king high board was no help to Connally and he was out. The 23-year old student cashed for $2,170.

Eighth Place
Mrs. Cooney was eliminated after moving all-in with her remaining 56,000. Unfortunately it was bad timing, as she ran her Kh-Qd into an opponent’s pocket aces. Cooney took home $2,556 for eighth.

Seventh Place
Earlier in the match, Robert Meyers took a horrendous beat from Michael Sanders after Sanders caught runner runner full house. Meyers was left nursing just a few big blinds. Shortly after doubling back up to 100,000, Meyers moved all-in with Ad-Kc and was called by Charlie Dawson with pocket 3’s. Treys held strong for Dawson, busting Meyers in seventh. Meyers works in commercial real estate and owned a rare book store. He picked up $3,154.

Sixth Place
Erik Badgley, a 32-year old engineer and host of Rounders Radio’s “The Daily Grind” poker radio show, moved his remaining stack all-in with Kc-10h and got a call from Sanders, who showed Ks-Qs. The 8-high board was no help to either player, ending Badgley’s run. Sixth paid $4,726.

Fifth Place
Dawson, was the next player eliminated after his pocket sixes failed to hold all-in against Sanders’ Q-8 suited. Dawson is a real estate investor. His sixth WSOP Circuit final table appearance earned him $6,298.

Fourth Place
Michael Jordan, a retired officer with the NYPD, was eliminated in fourth place after moving all-in with Kc-8h vs. Tapscott’s Ah-6d. This was Jordan’s fourth WSOP Circuit final table. He earned $7,870.

Third Place
Lisa Farmer played a strong final table and had a good chance of winning it all. But after taking a few hits to her stack, she failed to double up on an all-in, resulting in a third place finish. The married mother of two from Atlanta, GA picked up her fifth Circuit Event cash for $11,024.

Second Place
With blinds and antes at 10,000/20,000/3,000, heads up was between Sanders with 700,000 chips against Tapscott, who had a 1.7 million chip stack. In the final hand of the tournament, Sanders was all-in with pocket nines vs. Tapscott with pocket fours. Tapscott flopped a set before blanks hit the turn and river.

Sanders earned $15,577 for second while Tapscott took home $25,369 first place prize and the WSOP Circuit Event gold ring.

“I feel really good,” said Tapscott after his first major tournament win. “This event was very entertaining; there were a lot of good players here today.”

Tapscott owns a finance company and has had a number of major tournament cashes since 2003. He describes his playing style as passive and says he will be playing in some more events through the rest of the series.

Still to come are 8 more events and daily single-day non-ring $125 and $230 buy-in events which begin at 4 pm and 7pm. The WSOP Circuit at Harrah’s Tunica runs through February 10th.

2010 Harrah’s Tunica WSOP Circuit – Event #11 Final Results

2010 Harrah’s Tunica WSOP Circuit Events Schedule and Results

Ty Stewart – Director, Sponsorship and Licensing, WSOP
Craig Abrahams – Director, Broadcasting and New Media, WSOP
Seth Palansky – Communications Director, WSOP

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

Bill Wright – General Manager
Jimmy Sommerfeld –Tournament Director
Bill Bruce – Assistant Tournament Director
Patrick Collins – Public Relations Manager

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2010 Harrah’s Tunica WSOP Circuit Event #2 Results

Saturday, January 23rd, 2010

2009/2010 World Series of Poker Circuit
Harrah’s Tunica
Event #2
No-Limit Hold’em
Buy-In: $300 (+40)
Total Entries: 293
Total Prize Pool: $79,863
January 21-22, 2010

Final Results:

Place Name City State Country Prize
1 Jonathan Elliott Hixson TN USA $19,401
2 James Mink Houston TX USA $11,804
3 Houston White Madison TN USA $8,402
4 Kevin Buck Lockport IL USA $6,006
5 Joshua Kassinger Dexter MO USA $4,800
6 Jeffrey Houston Fort Madison IA USA $3,602
7 Donald Holford Norris IL USA $2,404
8 Jack Armstrong Berlington IA USA $1,949
9 Joseph Mcarthur Palatine IL USA $1,653
10 Melvin Mckinney Counce TN USA $1,446
11 John Hyde Birmingham AL USA $1,446
12 Jelle Simon Watertown MA USA $1,446
13 James Nickell Batavia OH USA $1,190
14 Paul Harris St. Louis MO USA $1,190
15 Safar Turkmani Silvis IL USA $1,190
16 James Davis Jackson TN USA $990
17 Douglas Odom Dawsonville GA USA $990
18 Jefferson Morrill Nashville TN USA $990
19 Emmit Humphrey Metamorer MI USA $871
20 Matthew Stahl Chattanooga TN USA $871
21 Paul Demario Grand Rapids MI USA $871
22 Nicholas Gorman Marshfield MA USA $775
23 John Erwin Crossroads AL USA $775
24 Joseph Alvey Southaven MS USA $775
25 Matthew Blair Florence AL USA $703
26 Raymond Drown Versailles KY USA $703
27 Richard Smith Dallas GA USA $703
28 Stephen Kummer Garland TX USA $639
29 Todd Chew Indianola IL USA $639
30 Samuel King Oklahoma City OK USA $639

Jon Elliott Wins Event #2 in His First Circuit Event Cash

Remaining eight players strike deal, but decide to play for the ring

2010 Harrah's Tunica WSOP Circuit Event #2 Winner

TUNICA, MS – Jonathan Elliott, a 35-year old chemical operator from Soddy Daisy, TN is the newest owner of a Circuit Event gold ring after winning the $340 buy-in no-limit hold’em event #2 of the World Series of Poker Circuit Events at Harrah’s Tunica.

Event #2 attracted a field of 293 players vying for a first place prize of $19,401 and the ring.

Elliott was the chip leader coming into the final table and maintained his lead for much of the evening.

Name Hometown Seat Chip Count
Jeff Houston Fort Madison, IA 1 70,000
Jim Mink Houston, TX 2 378,000
Joe McArthur Palatine, IL 3 115,000
Houston White Nashville, TN 4 450,000
Jonathan Elliott Soddy Daisy, TN 5 647,000
Donald Holford Norris, IL 6 540,000
Kevin Buck Lockport, IL 7 185,000
Jack Armstrong Burlington, IA 8 270,000
Josh Kassinger Dexter, MO 9 372,000

Ninth Place
Shortly after tripling up his 34k stack to 118k with pocket aces, Joe McArthur was the first elimination after moving all-in pre-flop with Ad-3s. Kevin Buck was the benefactor after calling with As-8c. An 8 on the turn left McArthur drawing dead. Ninth place paid $1,653.

Eighth Place
After about an hour of final table play, the eight remaining players stuck a deal during the break. While details were not disclosed, they decided to play it out for the ring.

Halfway through the next level, a monster hand developed when Jack Armstrong moved all-in pre-flop. Josh Kassinger and Donald Holford made the call and saw a flop of 10c-8c-9c. Holford moved all-in with As-Ks and Armstrong made the call turning over a flopped set of 8’s. Armstrong was far ahead of both of his opponents with 9s-9d.

After a 10h on the turn came the whammy.

An 8d on the river gave Kassinger quads, sending Holford out in 7th and a dismayed Armstrong to the rail in 8th. 7th and 8th places officially paid $2,404 and $1,949 respectively

Sixth Place
The sixth place finisher was Jeff Houston. All-in, Houston was eliminated after his Ah-6c was outflopped
by Jim Mink’s Kc-9c. The 50-year old farmer from Iowa officially collected $3,602.

Fifth Place
Joshua Kassinger was the next player escorted to the payout table. After seeing his stack dwindle to just over 150,000, Kassinger moved all-in with Kc-Jd and was unable to improve on Houston White’s Ah-6h. Kassinger took home $4,800 for fifth

Fourth Place
A few hands after players returned from dinner break, Kevin Buck moved all-in with pocket 10’s. Mink made the call with A-K suited. An ace on the flop and blanks on the turn and river ended Buck’s tournament run. Buck is a 32-year old musician whose music can be heard at www.kevinmbuck.com. Fourth place officially paid $6,006.

Third Place
Houston White was eliminated in third place after his pocket 10’s were unable to hold up against Kassinger’s Ac-Qh. The 24-year old from Nashville was officially picked up $8,402

Second Place
Heads-up play began shortly before 10:00 pm with Elliott holding nearly a 5-1 chip lead over Mink. With blinds and antes at 20,000/40,000/5,000, mink raised pre-flop to 80,000 and Elliott moved all-in. Mink made the call with his remaining chips, turning over A-2 suited. Elliott showed A-K. The jack-high board missed both players, giving Elliott his first Circuit Event ring and an official payout of $19,401. Mink officially took home $11,804 for second.

“Yeah a bit disappointed, I really wanted that ring,” said Mink, an oilfield consultant from Houston, TX who has been chasing his first Circuit Event ring since 2005. This was his third Circuit final table appearance.
Mink’s WSOP history was in stark contrast to Elliott’s, whose win also marked his first Circuit Event cash ever.

“I’m stoked,” said Elliott. “I’ve been playing Hold’em about seven years, but this is my first Circuit cash.”

Still to come are 17 more events and daily (single-day) non-ring $230 and $340 buy-in events which begin at 4 pm and 7pm. The WSOP Circuit at Harrah’s Tunica runs through February 10th.

Ty Stewart – Director, Sponsorship and Licensing, WSOP
Craig Abrahams – Director, Broadcasting and New Media, WSOP
Seth Palansky – Communications Director, WSOP

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

R. Scott Barber – General Manager
Jimmy Sommerfeld –Tournament Director
Bill Bruce – Assistant Tournament Director
Patrick Collins – Public Relations Manager

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2009 World Series of Poker Official Results – Event #2 – 40th Annual No Limit Holdem

Monday, June 1st, 2009

2009 World Series of Poker
Final Results
Event # 2
Buy In $40,000
Date 5/31/2009
Game No Limit Hold’em
Number of Entries 201
Net Prize Pool $7,718,400
First Place Prize $1,891,012
Players to Cash 27

In the Money Finishers:

1 Lunkin, Vitaly $1,891,018 Moscow Russia
2 Haxton, Isaac $1,168,565 Las Vegas NV
3 Raymer, Greg $774,927 Releigh NC
4 Stern, Dani $548,315 New York NY
5 Bonomo, Justin $413,165 Las Vegas NV
6 Torelli, Alec $329,730 Orange County CA
7 Veldhuis, Alexander $277,939 Rotterdam The Netherlands
8 Schwartz, Noah $246,834 Bay Harbor FL
9 Forrest, Ted $230,317 Las Vegas NV
10 Guaga, Antanas “Tony G” $172,120 Melbourne Australia
11 Lehr, Keith $172,120 Shreveport LA
12 Marafioti, Matthew $172,120 Toronto ON, Canada
13 Townsend, Brian $128,665 Santa Barbara CA
14 Rast, Brian $128,665 Las Vegas NV
15 Baker, David $128,665 Rochester Hills MI
16 Doshi, Suresh $96,171 Las Vegas NV
17 Hamagami, Clark $96,171 Vancouver BC, Canada
18 Glantz, Matthew $96,171 Lafayette Hill PA
19 Black, Andrew $71,858 Dublin United Kingdom
20 Channing, Neil $71,858 Maide Vale United Kingdom
21 Chiu, David $71,858 Rowland Heights CA
22 Kassela, Frank $71,858 Rossville TN
23 Robl, Andrew $71,858 Las Vegas NV
24 Pham, David $71,858 Cerritos CA
25 Mizzi, Sorel $71,858 Toronto ON, Canada
26 Tran, Justin $71,858 Sacramento CA
27 Rousso, Vanessa $71,858 Las Vegas NV

2009 World Series of Poker Gold Bracelet Winner Event #2 Vitaly Lunkin

Tournament Highlights:

The Winner

The 2009 World Series of Poker Special 40th Anniversary Championship is Vitaly Lunkin, from Moscow, Russia.

Lunkin is a 38 year-year-old business manager and poker player. His first occasion to cash in a poker tournament was in 2003. Aside from
attending the WSOP the previous two years, most of Lunkin’s past poker
success has taken place in Russia.

This was Lunkin’s second WSOP-gold bracelet victory. At the 2008 WSOP, Lunkin won the $1,500 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em championship (Event #39), where he pocketed $628,417.

Incredibly, the two WSOP events won by Lunkin were very different. Last year’s victory came in a massive field of 2,706 players. This year’s title came in what must be considered the toughest No-Limit Hold’em tournament in history. The mega-sized buy-in ($40,000) mandated that just about every player in the field of 201 was at a world-class level.

Lunkin is married and has two children.

Lunkin has been playing poker since 2001.

“This was the most difficult tournament of my life,” Lunkin said through a Russian translator in a post-tournament interview.

“When I was young, we did not have poker,” Vitaly said about growing up in the former Soviet Union. When asked about his reaction to coming to Las Vegas and winning more money in the past two years than most people earn in a lifetime, Vitaly was quite diplomatic. “I think we don’t have this barrier (between our countries) anymore. “Poker is one of the things that helped our countries come together.”

Lunkin collected $1,891,018 for first place. He was also awarded his second WSOP gold bracelet

Lunkin’s victory came on the same day another player won his second WSOP gold bracelet. In an event which concluded about an hour earlier, Thang Luu won the $1,500 buy-in Omaha High-Low title, after winning the same event last year.

The massive cash prize for first place at nearly $1.9 million rocketed Lunkin into 34th place on the all-time WSOP money winner’s
list, one spot ahead of Chris Moneymaker. He now has $2,534,032 in three WSOP cashes.

The Players

The final table was comprised of players from three different nations – The Netherlands, Russia, and the United States.

Only one former WSOP Main Event champion made it to the final table, Greg “Fossilman” Raymer (2004).

Only three former WSOP gold bracelet winners made it to the final table, Ted Forrest (5 wins), Vitaly Lunkin (1 win), and Greg Raymer (1 win).

The runner up was Isaac Haxton, from Las Vegas, NV. Haxton started heads-up play against his Russian adversary as chip leader, but was unable to close out the victory. His nickname is “Ike.” Haxton, who holds a degree in philosophy from Brown University, now has nine WSOP cashes and three final table appearances. He cashed three times last year. However, this was Haxton’s biggest poker win, as $1,168,565 was paid to the second-place finisher.

The third-place finisher was 2004 WSOP Main Event champion Greg Raymer. He was the chip leader during much of the 11-hour finale. When Raymer was eliminated late in the event, he received a rousing standing ovation. Raymer waved gracefully to the crowd as a true champion, obviously disappointed with the final result, but proving once again that he can play No-Limit Hold’em with the best in the world.

The final table was a memorable experience for Raymer. While engaged in one of the toughest final table battles of his life, Raymer was simultaneously entered in the “Champions Invitational,” which was being played in an adjacent area. The “Champions Invitational” was a competition of all the former living WSOP Main Event winners. Raymer was gradually blinded down while he remained at the final table. When Raymer busted out at about 11 pm, he transferred to the other tournament, only to bust out on the very first hand. It was still an impressive performance by the former patent attorney from North Carolina. Raymer’s cut of the prize pool amounted to $774,927.

The fourth-place finisher was Dani Stern, from New York, NY (Note: Name is pronounced “Donny”). He cashed in last year’s No-Limit Heads-Up championship.

The fifth-place finisher was Justin Bonomo, From Las Vegas, NV. Bonomo has joined the ranks of those players considered to be among the best of the game who have yet to win a gold bracelet. Bonomo was the runner up in the $5,000 buy-in Mixed Hold’em event at last year’s WSOP. He also won the WSOP Circuit championship (gold ring) two months ago at Caesars Palace Las Vegas.

The sixth-place finisher was Alec Torelli, from Orange County, CA,

The seventh-place finisher was Alexander “Lex” Veldhuis, a.k.a.
“RaSZi,” from Rotterdam, Holland.

The eighth-place finisher was Noah Schwartz, from Miami Beach, FL.

The ninth-place finisher was Ted Forrest, from Las Vegas, NV. His bid for a sixth-gold bracelet came up short, as he was eliminated about 35 minutes into play at the final table.

Finishing in tenth place was the bombastic Lithuanian-born Antanas Guaga, a.k.a. “Tony G.”

Former WSOP gold bracelet winner Keith Lehr finished in 11th place.

Three-time WSOP gold bracelet winner David Chiu finished in 21st place.

Former WSOP gold bracelet winner David Pham finished in 24th place.

The unfortunate 28th-place finisher (the “bubble”) was Niel Chriss, from New York, NY. The difference in 28th and 27th place was $71,858.

Among the 201 entrants were former WSOP champions – Greg Raymer, Joe Hachem, Doyle Brunson, Chris “Jesus” Ferguson, Chris Moneymaker, and Johnny Chan.

Odds and Ends

The tournament began with WSOP President and Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack and WSOP Tournament Director Jack Effel placed at center stage. Effel revealed to the crowd how the Special 40th Anniversary No-Limit Hold’em Championship was initially created. Effel stated that he and his wife Alicia were sitting down to dinner at their Las Vegas home several months ago when Effel asked what the WSOP might do to commemorate the tournament’s 40-year anniversary. Alicia Effel contemplated the idea and suggested a new $40,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em championship might be added to the schedule. This was taken to Jeffrey Pollack and summarily approved by the WSOP Players Advisory Council.

Pollack introduced the defending 2008 WSOP Main Event champion, Peter Eastgate, who received a warm ovation from the crowd, and was bestowed with the “Shuffle Up and Deal” honors. Pollack said of Eastgate’s championship reign: “He has served with a quiet dignity and style that has done the WSOP proud. He is a terrific champion.”

Prior to the start of the event, the tournament room was filled with popular music from the year 1970. Since this is the 40th anniversary of the WSOP, much of the music and memories that his year’s series will flashback to the earlier era. The three songs played as background music prior to the start were “American Woman” by The Guess Who, “Instant Karma” by John Lennon and the Plastic Ono Band, and “Cecilia” by Simon and Garfunkel.

The event was filmed by ESPN. This is one of four primary broadcasts on this year’s WSOP schedule which will air in the next few months.

A massive crowd filled the Amazon Ballroom and ESPN stage area from start to finish. Crowd were even larger due to the “Champions Invitational,” which started on the day the 40th Annual No-Limit Hold’em Championship ended.

In ESPN’s customary post-tournament interview with Norman Chad asking questions, Vitaly Lunkin used a translator. However, the first question was memorable. Chad asked Lunkin (in English) how he felt to win his first WSOP gold bracelet. Unfazed by the question he did not understand, Lunkin rattled off several lines in Russian. After a long-winded answer that few members of the audience understood, Chad deadpanned. “So, it was a good thing?” Chad’s response brought more laugher to a good-natured finale.

There were nearly a dozen Russian supporters cheering for Lunkin at the final table. Members of the Russian poker team (www.jokerteam.ru) were out in full force, waving Russian flags and singing songs which helped inspire Lunkin’s victory.

On the day following his victory, Lunkin is/was honored at the official WSOP gold bracelet ceremony. The national anthem of Russia was played inside the tournament room – a WSOP first.

Vitaly Lunkin is one of only three Russians to win WSOP gold bracelets. The others are Alexander Kravechenko and Ralph Perry.

The debate is now on as to which Russian player is the best – with Vitaly Lunkin, Alexander Kravchenko, and Ivan Demidov (last year’s WSOP Main Event runner up) as the likely three top choices.

The Event

This was the first-ever $40,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em Championship. The $40,000 figure was selected in accordance with the
WSOP’s 40th anniversary which is taking place this year.

This was the largest prize pool in WSOP history for any non-Main Event tournament. The total prize pool amounted to a whopping
$7,718,400.

Most observers (and the winner) considered this event to be the toughest No-Limit Hold’em tournament ever held. While huge
tournaments such as WSOP Main Events require unmatched stamina, skill, and even some luck, this tournament required a completely different skill set.

Mega buy-in poker tournaments have been held sporadically in recent years. But none has attracted nearly as many players nor has created anywhere close to the size of the prize pool.

Six players of the 201 won their buy-ins via satellites.

The tournament was played over a four-day period. This was due to a structure which allowed players a great amount of play. Virtually everyone in the tournament complimented the structure and conduct of the tournament.

The tournament began with 201 entries, surpassing many estimates of a modest turnout. Day One lasted 13 hours and ended with 89 survivors.

The End Day One chip leader was Bruno Fitoussi, from Paris, France. Many eyes were also on the second-place survivor, 2003 WSOP champion Chris Moneymaker. However, neither Fitoussi nor Moneymaker made it into-the-money.

Players reached the prize money (27th place) late on Day Two. Day three began with 23 players.

Day Three was relatively short, lasting only about six hours. The 23 survivors played down to the final nine.

On Day Four, Isaac Haxton arrived at the final table on as the chip leader. After several hours of tribulation, he ended up with the chip lead over Vitaly Lunkin when heads-up play began. But after about 90 minutes of trading chips back and forth, Lunkin prevailed.

The final table lasted 167 hands and lasted 11 hours and 10 minutes.

The final hand came when Vitaly Lunkin won with pocket aces.

The tournament officially began on Thursday, May 27th at 12:06 pm. The tournament officially ended on Monday, June 1 at 1:36 am.

WSOP Statistics

Through the conclusion of Event #2, the 2009 WSOP has attracted 1,119 entries. $8,108,100 in prize money has been awarded to winners.

There is still time to get a seat into the 2009 World Series of Poker Main Event.

Sign up at UltimateBet Poker and download the free software to play in 2009 WSOP Satellite Tournaments

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2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Event #1 Final Results

Friday, May 29th, 2009

2009 World Series of Poker
Final Results
Event # 1
Buy In $500
Casino Employees Event
Date 5/27/2009
Game No Limit Hold’em
Number of Entries 866
Net Prize Pool $389,700
First Place Prize $83,833
Total Spots Paid Out 81

FINAL RESULTS:

Name Prize City State/Country
1 Cohen, Andrew $83,833 Las Vegas NV
2 Peterson, Paul $51,787 Las Vegas NV
3 Kuhn, Casey $33,923 Coralville IA
4 Yasui, Grant $23,483 Waipahu HI
5 Elpidio, Dulay $17,127 Las Vegas NV
6 Rooney, Robert $13,125 Oakland CA
7 Mcavoy, John $10,545 Gilbert AZ
8 Boleski, Ferdinand $8,865 Las Vegas NV
9 Porter, Sam $7,782 Bullhead City AZ
10 Williams, Jonathan $5,502 Dupont WA
11 Chavez, Cesar $5,502 Las Vegas NV
12 Fernandez, Osmel $5,502 Las Vegas NV
13 Vonalst, Jeffrey $4,087 Pahrump NV
14 Medrano, Aaron $4,087 Las Vegas NV
15 Karli, Felix $4,087 Zurich Switzerland
16 Duangrudeesawat, Jesse $3,152 Las Vegas NV
17 Adler, Alan $3,152 Bakersfield CA
18 Rafaele, Tuni $3,152 Billings MT
19 Donahue, Stephanie $2,474 Long Beach CA
20 Hecht, Daniel $2,474 Las Vegas NV
21 Lan, Alex $2,474 Las Vegas NV
22 Ludwick, Steven $2,474 Henderson NV
23 Liu, Sang $2,474 Las Vegas NV
24 McNeel, Ryan $2,474 Las Vegas NV
25 Harris, John $2,474 Las Vegas NV
26 Abrahim, Amen $2,474 El Cajon CA
27 Devlin, Joe $2,474 Las Vegas NV
28 Sanders, Jodie $2,045 Mentone CA
29 Tran, Phi $2,045 Stockton CA
30 Houghtaling, Lesley $2,045 Maricopa AZ
31 Hillis, David $2,045 Normal IL
32 Bell, Clayton $2,045 Las Vegas NV
33 Sergeant, Theanne $2,045 Las Vegas NV
34 Zakaria, Ramy $2,045 Spring Valley CA
35 Armstrong, John $2,045 Bullhead City AZ
36 Sallot, Stephen $2,045 Albuquerque NM
37 Pettit, Matthew $1,745 Las Vegas NV
38 Beddow, Christopher $1,745 Sterling Heights MI
39 Quintanilla, Cavin $1,745 Torrance CA
40 Sanchez, Stephen $1,745 Las Vegas NV
41 Zhen, Cai $1,745 Melbourne FL
42 Buccieri, Adam $1,745 Las Vegas NV
43 Trinidad, Angelito $1,745 Las Vegas NV
44 Karakaskyan, Tigran $1,745 Henderson NV
45 Platt, Charles $1,745 Silsbee TX
46 Mason, Robert $1,512 Oad View CA
47 Day, Ming $1,512 Miami FL
48 Fischer, David $1,512 Cheektowaga NY
49 Lopez, Michael $1,512 Stockton CA
50 Ouellette, Michael $1,512 Las Vegas NV
51 Surbeck, Aaron $1,512 Hoquiam WA
52 Alper, Thomas $1,512 Los Angeles CA
53 Baverman, Dayne $1,512 Las Vegas NV
54 LaLaw, Wern $1,512 Sacramento CA
55 Bergida, Barry $1,328 Yuma AZ
56 Price, Daniel $1,328 Henderson NV
57 Gardner, Sunshine $1,328 West Wendover NV
58 Haughey, Richard $1,328 Las Vegas NV
59 Ghrist, Randi $1,328 Henderson NV
60 Petersen, Brian $1,328 Las Vegas NV
61 Parker, Matthew $1,328 Burnaby BC, Canada
62 Marcus, Edward $1,328 Las Vegas NV
63 Salonek, Aaron $1,328 Belle Plaine MN
64 Bartlett, Stanley $1,145 Snohomish WA
65 Silverstein, Marshall $1,145 Oceanside CA
66 Maxwell, Robert $1,145 Pismo Beach CA
67 Presley, Frank $1,145 Denver CO
68 Baptista, Robert $1,145 Pomona CA
69 Patton, Mary $1,145 Las Vegas NV
70 Gaw, Bruce $1,145 Santa Fe NM
71 Stroud, Timothy $1,145 Montecito CA
72 Carbajal, Guadalupe $1,145 Las Vegas NV
73 Bakunowicz, James $974 Longview WA
74 Brown, David $974 Hemet CA
75 Suk, Geoffrey $974 St. Catharines ON, Canada
76 Jankowski, Guy $974 Wellington FL
77 Girdpool, Thanva $974 Las Vegas NV
78 O’Mara, Robert $974 Mea AZ
79 Kelley, Tyrone $974 N. Las Vegas NV
80 Avery, Colton $974 Denton TX
81 Cloutier, Jean $974 Montreal QC, Canada

2009 World Series of Poker Event #1 Winner

2009 World Series of Poker Presented by Jack Link’s Beef Jerky
Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino
Las Vegas, Nevada

Official Report
Event #1
Casino Employees Championship
No-Limit Hold’em
Buy-In: $500
Number of Entries: 866
Total Net Prize Pool: $389,700
Number of Places Paid: 81
First Place Prize: $83,833
May 27-28, 2009

Tournament Highlights:

The Winner

The 2009 World Series of Poker “Casino Employees Champion” is Andrew Cohen, from Las Vegas, NV. Cohen is originally from New York.

Cohen is a 39-year-old bartender. He works at The Palms Casino, inside the Nine steakhouse. Cohen is married and has one child, a daughter who was born last December.

“The one thing that I always wanted – for any poker player, this is it,” Cohen remarked in reference to winning the first WSOP gold bracelet of 2009. “I told all these guys here, it’s not about the money to me, and I’m not even a rich guy. I’m a bartender. And, I don’t care about the money. You can always get money. It’s the bracelet that counts.”

Cohen plays regularly in Las Vegas poker tournaments, mostly nightly events spread at various Strip casinos. He has done well recently, with three consecutive cashes. But this was his biggest poker victory, by far.

Cohen was moved emotionally by his victory. He was unable to contain his enthusiasm at various points during the post-tournament interview and took a few seconds to regain his focus on questions asked by reporters.

Cohen called his wife moments after winning. He stated that she was crying at their Las Vegas home. “She knows how much the gold bracelet means to me. Life doesn’t get much better than today,” he said.

Cohen is close friends with Alex Outhred, who is an instructor at the WSOP Academy. Outhred remarked afterward: “Andrew played flawlessly. He just played flawless all night long. This is the stuff you teach and you see it actually happen – it’s even better to see it come out so perfectly in the end.” Cohen also wanted to note the contribution of his friend, poker player Floyd Lewis.

Cohen came into this year’s WSOP planning to enter five events – three $1,500 buy-in events and a $1,000 buy-in event. He had just enough bankroll ($5,000) to cover a select number of modestly-priced tournaments. Cohen now says he will likely add the $10,000 buy-in Main Event to his future plans.

Cohen collected $83,833 for first place. He was also awarded his first WSOP gold bracelet. The bracelet is/was to be presented at a special ceremony held at center stage held the following day. Cohen is/was the first gold bracelet winner to be honored in this way, which will include the winner’s national anthem.

The Players

The final table was comprised of nine players, which included the following occupations:

Poker Dealers (4)
Casino Games Dealers (2)
Bar Back (1)
Floorman (1)
Bartender (1)

Two of the nine players at the final table were born in The Philippines. The remaining seven players were born in the United States.

The runner up was Paul Peterson, from Las Vegas, NV. He is a bar back who works at the Mandalay Bay Casino in Las Vegas. “Don’t tell them where I work, because I called in sick today,” Peterson joked to the media.

Interestingly, in a tournament filled with poker dealers, it was a bartender and bar back who ended up as the top two finishers.

The third-place finisher was Casey Kuhn, from Bettendorf, IA. He is a casino games dealer formally employed at the Riverside Casino and Golf Resort in Iowa.

The fourth-place finisher was Grant Yasui, originally from Waipahu, HI. He now works as a poker dealer at Fitzgerald’s in Downtown Las Vegas.

The fifth-place finisher was Jun Dulay, from Las Vegas, NV. He now works at The Mirage as a blackjack dealer.

The sixth-place finisher was Bobby Rooney, from Oakland, CA. He is a Floorman at The Oaks Card Club in Emeryville, CA. Rooney previously cashed at the 2005 Aussie Millions poker tournament in Australia.

The seventh-place finisher was John McAvoy, from Chandler, AZ. He is a poker dealer at the Gila River Casino at Wild Horse Pass. This was McAvoy’s first time to play in a WSOP event.

The eighth-place finisher was Ferdinand Boleski, from Las Vegas, NV. He is a table games dealer.

The ninth-place finisher was Sammy Porter, from Bullhead City, AZ. He is a poker dealer at Harrah’s Laughlin.

The defending champion was Jonathan Kotula (Las Vegas, NV). He did not enter this year’s event.

Odds and Ends

The tournament kicked off in grand style with WSOP President and Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack and WSOP Tournament Director Jack Effel standing at center stage. The center stage platform is positioned at the center of the Amazon Ballroom at the Rio Convention Center, which holds 160 of the tournament’s 295 tables.

During his introduction, Jack Effel thanked the tournament players, who are all casino employees. He stated, “It’s you who are out there spreading the word about the World Series of Poker which keeps the players coming back again and again. Thank you!”

During his introduction, Jeffrey Pollack noted “Jack Effel is the best tournament director on the planet,” which brought a rousing ovation. Effel and his staff have worked tirelessly for months refining and some say perfecting the schedule and structures to the players’ benefit.

Jeffrey Pollack, speaking to the large gathering of casino employees and poker players stated, “Without you, the WSOP would not be possible. You make it happen.”

While exiting the stage, Jeffrey Pollack casually remarked to that he had difficulty sleeping the night before, in great anticipation for the opening of the 2009 WSOP. Summing up the thoughts and feelings of millions of poker players around the world he stated, “Last night felt like Christmas Eve.”

Next, Jeffrey Pollack introduced 11-time WSOP gold bracelet winner and 1989 world champion Phil Hellmuth to the crowd, who was bestowed with the “Shuffle Up and Deal” honors. Hellmuth made it clear that he supports the new rules in effect for this year’s WSOP. He also joked with the crowd that he occasionally gets out of line, “but never, ever with the dealers – only the other players,” he said. Although Hellmuth’s introduction brought a predictable mix of cheers and boos from the good natured crowd, his comments were favorably received.

Prior to the start of the event, the tournament room was filled with popular music from the year 1970. Since this is the 40th anniversary of the WSOP, much of the music and memories that his year’s series will flashback to the earlier era. The three songs played as background music prior to the start were “American Woman” by The Guess Who, “Instant Karma” by John Lennon and the Plastic Ono Band, and “Cecilia” by Simon and Garfunkel.

The 2009 WSOP officially opened for business one day prior to the start of this tournament, on May 26th. While the biggest poker event in the world was underway at the Rio, less than a quarter-mile away at Harrah’s sister property, President Barack Obama was speaking to a gathering at Caesars Palace Las Vegas.

The Event

The first Casino Employees Championship was held at the 2000 WSOP. It was actually called the “Dealers World Poker Championship” at the time, since the tournament was open only to casino dealers (the following year, all casino employees became eligible). That inaugural event attracted 109 entries and was won by Dave Alizadeh, from Las Vegas.

Casino employees were given their own poker tournament, which became a gold bracelet event from the first year forward. The tournament was added to the WSOP schedule to honor the efforts and commit of poker dealers and all casino employees who help make the WSOP so successful.

The Casino Employees Championship is included amongst all official WSOP records and statistics. However, it is not an open event, since there are restrictions on entry. The event is generally grouped with the Seniors World Championship and Ladies World Championship, which are non-open events but which are still coveted titles afforded the same distinction as all gold bracelet tournaments.

From 2000-2003, the championship was a Limit Hold’em tournament. Since 2004, the championship has been a No-Limit Hold’em tournament.

The largest turnout in history for this event occurred in 2006, when 1,232 casino employees participated.

Last year, the tournament was held towards the end of the WSOP (Event #55). However, this year the tournament returned to its traditional spot on the schedule as the opening event of the WSOP.

The tournament was played over a two day period. The prize money was reached at the conclusion of the first day, which lasted 14 hours. The 81 in-the-money survivors continued play on Day Two, which lasted nearly 12 hours.

The End Day One chip leader was Zurich Karli, from Zurich Switzerland. He ended up finishing in 15th place.

Andrew Cohen (Las Vegas, NV) arrived at the final table with a slight chip lead. However, he lost his advantage about an hour into final table play. He regained the lead when his pocket kings scooped a big pot and essentially dominated play in the final two hours.

The final table lasted about 4 hours and 20 minutes.

The final hand took place when Paul Peterson re-raised all-in with ace-queen. Andrew Cohen called with pocket sixes. “I knew it was either a race situation or I had a big lead,” Cohen said later. The board failed to improve either hand, which meant the pocket sixes won the last pot of the tournament.

Although Cohen held a 5 to 1 chip advantage over Peterson when heads-up play began, he was modest about how the final hand was played out. “I got lucky on the last hand to win the race,” he said. “And you know how important it is to win the races.”

The tournament officially began on Wednesday, May 27th at 12:06 pm. The tournament officially ended on Friday, May 29th at 1:52 am.

WSOP Statistics

Through the conclusion of Event #1, the 2009 WSOP has attracted 866 entries. $389,700 in prize money has been awarded to winners.

The 2009 World Series of Poker’s title sponsor is Jack Link’s Beef Jerky. For more information, visit: www.jacklinks.com

World Series of Poker President and Commissioner – Jeffrey Pollack

Vice President of Sponsorship and Licensing — Ty Stewart

Vive President of Broadcasting and New Media – Craig Abrahams

Director of Communications – Seth Palansky

Regional Vice President of Specialty Gaming — Howard Greenbaum

WSOP Events Manager — Angele Marshall

WSOP Marketing Manager – Elizabeth Anne Hill

WSOP Tournament Director – Jack Effel

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The 2009 World Series of Poker Kicks off at Rio in Las Vegas

Friday, May 29th, 2009

The 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) began on May 27th. The first event is a $500 buy-in Casino Employees No Limit Holdem tournament. Event #2 is the 40th Annual No Limit Holdem tournament which features a $40,000 buy-in.

Event #1 is a two day event and Event #2 is a four day event. Results for each of these tournament will be posted as soon as results become available.

The 2009 WSOP Main Event will begin on July 3rd and will run through July 15th when the tournament gets down to 9 players. The final table players will become the next November Nine and will resume play in November of 2009.

To view a complete schedule of events and results for the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) click on the link below:

2009 World Series of Poker Schedule and Results

There is still time to win a seat into the 2009 WSOP Main Event. Sign up at UltimateBet Poker and play in satellite tournaments where you can win a seat into the 2009 WSOP Main Event. To download the free software at UltimateBet Poker click on the link below:

2009 WSOP Main Event Seats at UltimateBet Poker

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2009 WSOP Circuit Tour – Harrahs Rincon San Diego – Event #8 Official Results

Saturday, March 28th, 2009

2009 World Series of Poker Circuit
Harrah’s Rincon (San Diego)
Event #8
No-Limit Hold’em
Buy-In: $400 (+50)
Total Entries: 153
Total Prize Pool: $59,364
March 26-27, 2009

Final Results:

1 Christopher Tryba Las Vegas, NV $14,844
2 John “All-In Finn” Finnigan Portland, OR 9,498
3 John Leo San Diego, CA 5,936
4 John “Cowboy” Land Dallas, TX 4,987
5 Lance Oliver Roseville, CA 4,155
6 David “Four Racks” Luttbeg San Diego, CA 3,562
7 Habib Khanis San Diego, CA 2,968
8 Tony Vu Dallas, TX 2,375
9 Josh Harbarger Las Vegas, NV 1,781
10 Craig Breenan San Clemente, CA 1,187
11 Rod Schrock San Diego, CA 1,187
12 Charles Rowan S. Lake Tahoe, CA 1,187
13 Clifton Allen Camarillo, CA 1,009
14 Marc Mesttovich Mantica, CA 1,009
15 Robert Buckenmayer Poway, CA 1,009
16 Scott Lyle Santee, CA 890
17 Benise Molloy La Jolla, CA 890
18 William Carlton Chula Vista, CA 890

Tryba Triumphs!

Las Vegas Poker Pro Christopher Tryba Wins Latest WSOP Circuit Tournament at Harrah’s Rincon

John “All-In Finn” Finnigan Makes Another Final Table Finishes Second (Again)

Christopher Tryba 2009 WSOP Circuit Tour Harrahs Rincon Event #8 Winner

Harrah’s Rincon (March 25, 2009) – The goal of every poker player should be to improve. It’s not really as important what level one is playing at today. What’s far more important is how one is playing tomorrow, then next week, then next month, and so on. Indeed, poker players who consistently improve their performance are those who end up surviving the longest. They usually end up winning tournaments and the most money.

Christopher Tryba is a case study in self-improvement. This year alone, he has already cashed four times. His first cash was 16th place at the Southern Poker Championship in Biloxi, MS, followed by an eighth-place finish a week later at the same tournament. The following month, Tryba took third place at the LA Poker Classic. And now in March, he won a World Series of Poker Circuit gold ring, his first ever, after playing several years in the series. Tryba triumphed in the most recent WSOP Circuit event, held at the Harrah’s Rincon Casino and Resort, near San Diego.

The $400 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em tournament attracted 153 entries, generating $59,364 in prize money. The top 18 finishers collected payouts. All the action took place over a two-day period inside Rincon Pavilion Showroom.
After 144 players were eliminated on day one, nine survivors took their seats at the finale table. John “All-In Finn” Finnigan, making his second final table appearance at this year’s Rincon series, began play as the chip leader. But Las Vegas poker pro Christopher Tryba was close on his heels and ended up defeating rival Finnigan in a heads-up showdown. The top nine finishers were as follows:

9th Place – Josh Harshbarger did not last long. He was severely short stacked and hoped to double up and jump back into contention. But Harshbarger ended up losing to John Leo’s full house. The Las Vegas poker player earned a payout totaling $1,781.

8th Place – Tony Vu, from Dallas, was the next tournament casualty. He moved all-in with K-Q and was called by Habib Khanis, holding A-5. The ace-high held up, which meant an eighth-place finish for Vu – which paid $2,375.

7th Place – A short time later, Habib Khanis went from the terminator to the terminated. He was all-in with pocket kings and looked to be in great position to move up close to the chip lead. But he was called by Chris Tryba, holding A-10. The final board was a complete nightmare for Khanis — K-5-2-3-4. Tryba’s ace played which made for a straight, knocking out Khanis. The San Diego poker player received $2,968 in prize money.

6th Place – David “Four Racks” Luttbeg went to “No Racks” when he moved all-in with a pair of what turned to be not-so-lucky sevens. “Cowboy” woke up in the blind with pocket aces and re-raised all-in. Luttbeg, drawing slim, failed to catch his two outer, which meant a sixth-place finish. Luttbeg, who has made over 30 final table appearances at various tournaments (including the Ultimate Poker Challenge, World Poker Tour, and others including WSOP Circuit events) was paid $3,562 for sixth place.

5th Place – A short time later, Lance Oliver (holding J-J) moved all-in with a re-raise from the small blind. Chris Tryba called and tabled A-10. An ace on the turn knocked out Oliver, who ended up in fifth place. The poker pro from Roseville, CA earned $4,155

4th Place – The foursome battled back and forth more than an hour before the next elimination. That came when John “Cowboy” Land was low on chips and called from the blind with a weak hand. “All-In Finn” Finnigan ended up making aces-full-of-queens, which put “Cowboy” out to pasture. The Dallas business owner and poker player collected $4,987 for fourth place.

3rd Place – Jon Leo was knocked out in third place when he lost a battle of the blinds. Leo re-raised all-in from the big blind with Q-J and “All-In Finnigan,” who had his opponent covered in chips, called with K-10. the final board showed 10-7-2-9-10, giving Finnigan trip tens. Meanwhile, the retired local recreational poker player from San Diego, collected $5,936 for third place.

2nd Place – When heads-up play began, “All-In Finn” Finnigan and Christopher Tryba were just about dead even in chips. The duo waltzed back and forth across the felt for about 15 minutes, during which Tryba seized the chip lead. Then, the biggest hand of the tournament ultimately decided the outcome in Tryba’s favor.

On what turned out to be the tournament’s final hand, Tryba initially made a small pre-flop raise, and Finnigan called. The flop came A-3-2, with all clubs. Tryba flopped the stone-cold nuts, holding the K-7 of clubs. The sneaky Tryba gave his opponent a free card. When another club fell on the turn (now showing four clubs on baord), Finnigan moved all-in holding the jack of clubs. Tryba called and let out a joyous, “oh, yeah!” Both players held a flush, but Tryba had the better hand with the king of clubs. That meant Finnigan came up just short again in his quest for victory, after finishing second in a Rincon event held four days ago.

The Portland-based small business owner could be quite proud of what was his second runner-up finish. Indeed, if there was an award for “Best All-Around Player” for this tournament series, Finnigan would clearly be in the lead. “All-In Finn” collected another nice paycheck, this time for $9,498.

1st Place – The winner was Christopher Tryba. He won $14,844 and his first WSOP Circuit gold ring. The 41-year-old pro has now cashed 45 times at major events, all since 2003. This marks his third major victory. Tryba’s previous wins came at the Binion’s Poker Classic and the Scotty Nguyen Poker Challenge, both which came last year.

With eight events now completed at Harrah’s Rincon, the tournament has now attracted more than 3,500 total entries and has awarded in excess of $800,000 in total prize money. Still to come are six more gold ring events and three nightly “Daily Double” tournaments which begin at 4 pm. The WSOP Circuit at Harrah’s Rincon continues through April 1st.

Jeffrey Pollack – Commissioner, WSOP
Ty Stewart – Director, Sponsorship and Licensing, WSOP
Craig Abrahams – Director, Broadcasting and New Media, WSOP
Seth Palansky – Communications Director, WSOP

Executive Staff, World Series of Poker Circuit – 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 Becket – Table Games Supervisor
Elizabeth Liemandt – Public Relations Manager
Alexia Alsop – Poker Room Manager
Jimmy Sommerfeld – Tournament Director
Bill Bruce – Assistant Tournament Director

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2009 WSOP Circuit Tour Harrahs Rincon – 3/26 Daily Double Results

Saturday, March 28th, 2009

2009 World Series of Poker Circuit
Harrah’s Rincon (San Diego)
Daily Double Tournament (4 pm)

Buy-In $200 (+30)
Game H.O.R.S.E.
Number of Entries 124
Net Prize Pool $24,056
First Place Prize $6,255
Places Paid 8

Official Results

1 Keith Watkins San Diego, CA $6,255.00
2 Paramjit Gill Diamond Bar, CA 5,052
3 Diana Forman Temecula, CA 3,849
4 Sven Arntzen Las Vegas, NV 2,646
5 Karen Pezzuto Corona, CA 1,924
6 Merlita Newcomer Escondido, CA 1,684
7 Chuck McCormick Oceanside, CA 1,443
8 Terry Anderson Bayville, NJ 1,203

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2009 WSOP Circuit Tour at Harrahs Rincon San Diego – Event #7 Official Results

Friday, March 27th, 2009

2009 World Series of Poker Circuit
Harrah’s Rincon (San Diego)
Event #7
No-Limit Hold’em
Buy-In: $300 (+40)
Total Entries: 195
Total Prize Pool: $56,745
March 25-26, 2009

Final Results:

1 Adam Hannula San Diego, CA $14,185
2 Nicholas Manganaro Omaha, NE 9,079
3 Steven Monheim Pittsburgh, PA 5,675
4 Yasha Terlissi Toronto, ON (Canada) 4,767
5 Thomas Hover Blue Diamond, NV 3,972
6 David Kruger Salter, MO 3,405
7 Thao “Scratch” Thiem Minneapolis, MN 2,837
8 Stacy Kimbrel Omaha, NE 2,270
9 Michael Hook El Cajon, CA 1,702
10 Brett Schwertley Omaha, NE 1,135
11 Jonathan Bergstrom San Diego, CA 1,135
12 Robert Wilkinson Redonmdo Beach, CA 1,135
13 Sean Westra Laguna Beach, CA 965
14 Jerry Nelner Calgary, AB (Canada) 965
15 Ashley Souza San Diego, CA 965
16 Craig Brennan San Clemente, CA 851
17 Ray Blodgett Riverside, CA 851
18 Matthew Poucher Poway, CA 851

Adam Hannula – From Worst to First!

26-Year-Old San Diego Business Owner Makes Dramatic Final Table Comeback and Wins First Poker Tournament Ever

Hannula starts the final table lowest in chips, then wins WSOP Circuit gold ring

Adam Hannula 2009 WSOP Circuit Tour Harrahs Rincon Event #7 Winner

Harrah’s Rincon (March 26, 2009) – It’s intimidating enough to sit down at the final table of a major poker tournament and play for what amounts to thousands of dollars in prize money. But when the player is making his first-ever final table appearance in a World Series of Poker-related event, the pressure is even more so. Complicate matters by giving the player the lowest stack at the table and the task ahead might seem daunting, if not impossible.

But Adam Hannula wasn’t intimidated. He didn’t feel pressure. He wasn’t even concerned by having the fewest chips of any of the final nine players. Hannula simply played his best game, made wise strategic decisions, and then outlasted and ultimately pulled off the biggest upset of any player at this year’s WSOP Circuit series at Harrah’s Rincon. Hannula, a 26-year-old business owner booked a win worth $14,185. He was also presented with a gold ring, the ultimate prize given out on the WSOP Circuit.
The $300 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em tournament won by Hannula attracted 195 entries, generating $56,754 in prize money. The top 18 players collected payouts. In an interesting anomaly, three of the top ten finishers were from Omaha, Nebraska. All had come to Rincon separately, yet managed to take three of the top money spots. All the action took place over a two-day period inside the Rincon Pavilion Showroom.

After 186 players were eliminated on the first day, nine survivors took their seats at the final table. David Kruger, visiting Rincon from his home in Missouri, started day two with the chip lead. The top nine finishers were:

9th Place – Just a few hands into action, Michael Hook busted out when he made top pair, but ended up losing to trip jacks. Hook was dealt Q-8. He moved all-in after the turn showed Q-J-2-J. But Nick Manganaro had J-8, good for three jacks – which scooped the sizable early pot. Hook, who works as a police sergeant in El Cajon, CA, was playing in his first WSOP event ever. He collected $1,702 for ninth place, a nice start to his poker tournament career.

8th Place – Three hands later, Stacy Kimbrel became the next tourney casualty when he moved his short-stack in with A-5 suited against Thomas Hover’s A-Q suited. Kimbrel’s hand was dominated from the start and failed to improve, which meant an eighth-place finish for the poker dealer from Omaha, NE. Kimbrel received a payout totaling $2,270.

7th Place – Five minutes later, Thao “Scratch” Thiem was scratched-off the final table faster than a losing lottery ticket when he lost two consecutive pots. First, Thiem lost much of his stack to Hannula. Then, he busted out holding K-4 against David Kruger’s K-Q when the higher hole cards played and scooped the pot. Thiem, who has made 12 final tables at various tournaments over the past year and has over $100,000 in prize money earnings, added $2,837 to his poker bankroll.

6th Place – David Kruger suffered a miserable hour at the final table. The early chip leader never seemed able to generate the momentum needed to close out victory. First, Kruger got trapped for most of his chips when he tried to steal a pot, which was snapped called by Yasha Terlissi — who just so happened to be sitting on the stone-cold nuts. Terlissi had A-Q of diamonds and could hardly contain his delight when three diamonds flopped. Joy turned to ecstasy when Kruger moved all-in hoping to steal the pot. Terlissi feasted on Kruger’s aggression like a starving wolf, which left the early chip leader with the lowest stack. He went out a few hands later. Kruger, who has made four previous WSOP Circuit final tables including a second-place finish earlier this year at Council Bluffs (Iowa), earned $3,405 for sixth place.

5th Place – Thomas Hover came to the final table with the most experience of any player. He seized the chip lead early but lost a heartbreaking race holding Q-Q against A-K (an ace flopped) which very likely ruined his chances for victory. Hover then went out holding A-5 against Hannula’s A-K. Hover, who has 30 cashes in major tournaments (all since 2006), including eight in-the-money finishes in WSOP-related events collected $3,972 for fifth place.

4th Place – Play tightened up considerably when play became four-handed. In fact, the quartet battled for an hour before the next elimination. That came when Yasha Terlissi moved all-win with A-Q suited and was called by Hannula, holding pocket nines. The middle pair held up, which knocked Terlissi out in fourth place. The project manager from Toronto, Ontario received $4,767.

3rd Place – Steven Monheim went out in third place when he moved all-in with K-Q against Hannula’s A-Q. Monheim’s hand was dominated and he failed to improve, which ended the tournament for the 24-year-old poker player. Monheim, from Pittsburgh, PA, received $5,675 in prize money.

2nd Place – When heads-up play began, Hannula enjoyed a 3 to 2 chip advantage over Manganaro. The players battled for about a dozen hands during which Manganaro seized the chip lead. Then, the most decisive hand of the tournament took place when Hannula got all his money in with pocket nines, against Manganaro’s pocket queens. It couldn’t get much better than that for Manganaro, holding a dominant overpair. But a nine on the flop was a dramatic reversal of fortune for both players. Hannula caught his magic card (good for trip nines), which left Manganaro low on chips.

The final hand of the tournament was even more brutal for Manganaro. He moved all-in with pocket jacks. Hannula called the raise and tabled Q-10. As though he could do no wrong in the finale, the final board showed K-10-8-7-A, giving Hannula a straight. The event was over and while Hannula received applause and congratulations from well-wishers, Manganaro walked the death plank to a disappointing second-place finish. The 27-year-old poker pro from America’s heartland in Omaha, NE received $9,079.

1st Place – The tournament winner was Adam Hannula, who lives in San Diego. He has previously cashed in a few small tournaments in the area. But this marked his biggest payday ever and his first victory. Hannula is a graduate on the University of San Diego, where he played both college football and basketball. In fact, he says he loves sports. While his alma mater continues to enjoyed mixed success on the court and the gridiron, Hannula ultimately won his own championship – playing poker.
With seven events now completed at Harrah’s Rincon, the tournament has now attracted more than 3,393 entries and has awarded in excess of 765,745 in total prize money. Still to come are six more events and three nightly daily double tournaments which begin at 4 pm. The WSOP Circuit at Harrah’s Rincon continues through April 1st.

Jeffrey Pollack – Commissioner, WSOP
Ty Stewart – Director, Sponsorship and Licensing, WSOP
Craig Abrahams – Director, Broadcasting and New Media, WSOP
Seth Palansky – Communications Director, WSOP

Executive Staff, World Series of Poker Circuit – 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 Becket – Table Games Supervisor
Elizabeth Liemandt – Public Relations Manager
Alexia Alsop – Poker Room Manager
Jimmy Sommerfeld – Tournament Director
Bill Bruce – Assistant Tournament Director

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