WSOP & WPT Tournament Blog

2009/2010 World Series of Poker Circuit
Harrah’s Rincon Casino and Resort
Event #4
No Limit Hold’em
Buy-In: $300 (+40)
Total Entries: 197
Total Prize Pool: $57,327
March 21-22 2010

Final Results:

1 Ethan van Klaveren Mountainview, CA $15,079

2 Chicago Ali Yousri Chicago, IL $9,258

3 Stephen Peterson Portland, OR $6,552

4 Troy Benjamin San Diego, CA $4,678

5 Keith Strebe Palm Desert, CA $3,743

6 Ron Moskokwitz San Diego, CA $2,809

7 Vincent Burgio West Hill, CA $1,875

8 Raymond McCabe Anaheim Hills, CA $1,519

9 Kelvin Goode Farmington, CT $1,290

10 Matthew Chang Rockville, MD $1,129

11 Wayne Johnson Escondido, CA $1,129

12 Shawn Lawrence Fairfield, CA $1,129

13 Sean Stewart Chino Hills, CA $929

14 Russell Higa Montobello, CA $929

15 Lars Torngren London, UK $929

16 Rod Dingler Temecula, CA $774

17 Timothy Kane Corona, CA $774

18 James Dipippo El Sobriante, CA $774

19 Ernest Rafanan Pacifica, CA $676

20 Matt Foist Mountainview, CA $676

21 Andrew Farnsworth San Diego, CA $676

Ethan van Klaveren Victorious at Harrah’s Rincon

San Francisco Part-Time Poker Player Wins First WSOP Circuit Gold Ring

2010 Harrah's Rincon WSOP Circuit Event #4 Winner Ethan van Klaveren

Valley Center, CA – The most recent tournament played at Harrah’s Rincon was filled with remarkable poker hands, amazing comebacks, and a surprise victory by a first-time winner. Ethan van Klaveren, a professional massage therapist from San Francisco, CA won the World Series of Poker Circuit event, along with his first championship gold ring. But it wasn’t just the victory that was memorable. It was the thrilling poker hands along the way, plus a couple of astounding comebacks by the final two players that should put this tournament in the history books.

At one point when play was down to the final eight players, Van Klaveren looked down and saw pocket kings. He moved all-in with the premium cards on what would become the most talked about hand of the tournament. One player was already all-in holding pocket Q’s. Incredibly, a third player called, and then a fourth player also called. One of the callers tabled pocket aces. In an astounding hand, pocket queens, versus pocket kings, versus pocket aces which were turned up and all-in. Then, the real drama started. Wham! A queen on the flop completely disrupted the Pavilion Arena, the locale of the final table played at Rincon. Things went from crazy to absolute bedlam moments later. Kaboom! A king fell on the turn, once again completely changing the outcome of the tournament and disrupting the expectations of the players. As if no one could take any more excitement, a harmless blank fell on the river, which meant van Klaveren’s pocket kings ended up making trips and he quadrupled up on a monster hand.

Indeed, it was the kind of night for Ethan van Klaveren.

Although the part-time poker player from San Francisco, CA ended up winning the tournament about four hours later, the trial and tribulation experienced the second-place finisher was just as amazing. Ali Yousri, a.k.a. “Chicago Ali” started at the final table as chip leader. But he took several early beats. At one point, he was down to a single 1,000-denomination chip, when the blinds were at 4,000-8,000. The true tale of poker legend Jack Straus in the 1982 World Series of Poker Main Event has been told many times, and Ali nearly pulled off an equally astounding feat. Starting with just one chip, he went on to win five consecutive pots when he was basically all-in and managed to come all the back to the point where he regained the chip lead when play was three-handed. It was an unthinkable turn of events for Ali to go from chip leader, down to a single chip, and then back to the chip lead, but that’s exactly what happened. The colorful poker personality, born in Egypt and now living in Chicago ended up finishing in second place.

The No-Limit Hold’em tournament, which is the fourth event of this year’s World Series of Poker Circuit stop in Southern California, was played at the Harrah’s Rincon Casino and Resort, near San Diego. The $340 buy in competition was played over two days during March 22-22, 2010. Van Klaveren ended up scooping the biggest prize of his young career, collecting a payout totaling $15,079. Van Klaveren was also presented with his first gold ring, the coveted award which is presented to all champions of WSOP Circuit tournaments held around the country. This was his first time to cash in a WSOP Circuit tournament.

Final Table play began on a Monday afternoon. There were no prior WSOP Circuit gold ring event winners amongst the final nine players, thus guaranteeing a first-time champion. “Chicago Ali” arrived at the Final Table as the chip leader. But Ali lost his advantage early to Troy “Cowboy” Benjamin and later to Stephen Peterson, who were viable forces during most of the seven hour finale. Ethan van Klaveren also jumped into contention after he won the huge pot with pocket kings and acquired some chips.

When Final Table play began at 2:10 pm, the nine finalists and their starting chip counts were as follows:

Seat Player Hometown Chip Count

1 Ethan van Klaveren San Francisco, CA 125,000

2 Ray “Mac the Knife” McCabe Anaheim Hills, CA 159,000

3 Keith Strebe Palm Desert, CA 159,000

4 Vince Burgio West Hills, CA 97,000

5 Stephen Peterson Portland, OR 199,000

6 Ron “Skwitz” Moskowitz San Diego, CA 84,000

7 Kelvin “CK the Great” Goode Farmington, CT 120,000

8 Chicago Ali Chicago, IL 334,000

9 Troy “Cowboy” Benjamin San Diego, CA 220,000

Final Table player introductions can be seen here: http://www.twitvid.com/80E0D

Players were eliminated in the following order:

Tenth Place: Chang Chunked
Matthew Chang, an employee of the federal government from Rockville, MD was terminated in tenth place. He was lowest in chips when play was ten-handed and moved all-in on his last hand with Kh Qd. His raise was quickly called by an opponent with Ac Kc. The board came As Ah 7d Js 4s, which meant an early exit for Chang. He collected $1,129.

Ninth Place: “CK the Great” Tells a Great Bad Beat Story
Nine-handed play lasted for two hours. Then, Kelvin “CK the Great” Goode picked up a great hand on which to move all-in when he was dealt As Ad. Goode made his move with pocket aces and got a call from Troy “Cowboy” Benjamin, who had plenty of chips and could fade the smallish raise. Goode appeared headed for a double up, but the table ran Jd 6d 8h 4s Td, which ended up making two pair for Benjamin. Goode, who is a musician from Farmington, CT collected $1,290 for ninth place.

Eighth Place: “Mack the Knife” Sliced and Diced
Ray “Mac the Knife” McCabe, who owns a successful health food company called “Egg Whites International” scrambled and beat 189 other players, but could not fry the final seven. McCabe arrived in the finale with a healthy stack size, but he went out after he gradually became low on chips. He moved in with Ks Qc, which lost to As Qs. The final board made no pair for either player, so the As played as the highest card. McCabe, who has five WSOP cashes on his record and also chopped last year’s championship in the seniors event played at Rincon, received $1,519 for eighth place.

Seventh Place: Former WSOP Gold Bracelet Winner Ousted
Vince Burgio, a poker pro from West Hills, CA was the only former WSOP gold bracelet winner in the final nine. He doubled up early and appeared to be headed for a showdown with one of the nigger stacks. But Burgio ultimately went out when he took Jh Jd up against two players, and lost. On the hand, Troy “Cowboy” Benjamin had As Ks. Stephen Peterson had 8h 8s. An ace on the turn killed off Burgio and the final board showed Td 3d 2h Ah 4h. Burgio, who was one of the top tournament players of the 1990s, collected $1,875 in prize money.

Sixth Place: Moskowitz Blitzed
Ron “Skwitz” Moskowitz, from San Diego, lasted a good while nursing a short stack, but finally had to play a hand when he was desperately low on chips. He tried to steal a round of blinds and antes with 9d 6d but got called by Stephen Peterson, who tabled Qc 7d with a much bigger stack. The board came Kh 7s 2s Qh 2d which made two pair for Peterson. That put Moscowitz out of the tournament in sixth place with $2,809.

Fifth Place: Strebe Strung
Keith Strebe, from Palm Desert, CA lasted for five hours before finally exiting in fifth place. On his final hand, Strebe was dealt Td 9c. After the flop came Kh Ts 2d, Strebe moved all in holding a pair of tens. But “Chicago Ali” made a quick call and showed Ks 6h, good for top p air. Strebe failed to improve from that point forward and settled for $3,743 in prize money. This was his second time to cash in a WSOP Circuit event.

Fourth Place: “Cowboy” Bucked
Troy “Cowboy” Benjamin, a heavy equipment operator from San Diego, started the Final Table ranked second in chips. He took over the chip lead for a short time a few hours into play. But Benjamin was unable to sustain his advantage and went out in the late hour with Kc 6c which ended up missing a club draw. “Chicago Ali” had 9s 9h and had to fade two clubs on the flop, which ended up making only a four-card flush for Benjamin. The board ended up showing Jc 4c 3d 5d 8d, which gave Ali the big pot with pocket nines. Benjamin, who finished in 12th place in an event at the 2005 WSOP in Las Vegas and has done well in other tournaments since then, added $4,678 to his poker bankroll.

Third Place: Piano Player Hits a Sour Note
Stephen Peterson, a musician from Portland, OR had a reasonable shot at victory, but went card dead late. He finally moved all-in with 5s 5c after Ethan van Klaveren had put in a raise with 9s 9c. The bigger pocket pair (nines) held up, giving van Klaveren the pot. Board went: As Ts This marked Peterson’s third time to make the final table of a major poker tournament and was his highest finish ever in a WSOP-related event. He collected $6,552 in prize money.

Second Place: “Chicago Ali Goes All-In”
“Chicago Ali” experienced one of the most incredible days in tournament poker in quite some time. It’s hard to imagine any player at a major tournament anywhere that went from being chip leader, then down to a single chip, and then back to chip leader, followed by second place finish. That’s exactly what happened to the 53-year-old businessman who was born in Egypt. “Chicago Ali” received $9,258 for his second place finish.

The last hand came when Ali was dealt Tc 3h. After the flop came Ts 5d 4s, Ali moved all-in. Van Klaveren called and showed Qs Td. He had the best kicker. Ali needed help. The last two cards came Th followed by the 8s giving both players three-of-a-kind, with 10’s. But Van Klaveren won with the better kicker.

The final hand of the tournament can be seen here: http://www.twitvid.com/3B6A7

First Place: Ethan van Klaveren Wins
Ethan van Klaveren was absolutely thrilled with his victory. He received $15,079 in prize money. But he said the victory was really amazing because he had always hoped to win a WSOP event. Van Klaveren says he hopes to play in more events and win another WSOP tournament in the future.

An interview with van Klaveren at tableside just moments after his win can be seen here: http://www.twitvid.com/64A71

The WSOP Circuit at Harrah’s Rincon continues through March 31st. This year’s schedule includes 12 gold ring events, along with multiple second-chance tournaments, single table and mega satellites, in addition to cash games going around the clock inside the Rincon Poker Room. This marks the sixth straight year that Harrah’s Rincon has been a part of the WSOP Circuit. It is one of only three Harrah’s resorts which hosted a WSOP Circuit every year. This is the eighth WSOP Circuit stop of the 2009-2010 season following previous tournaments held in Chicago, Southern Indiana, Lake Tahoe, Harrah’s Atlantic City, Tunica, Council Bluffs, and Caesars Atlantic City.

2010 Harrah’s Rincon WSOP Circuit – Event #4 Final Results

2010 Harrah’s Ricnon WSOP Circuit Events Schedule and Results

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

Janet Beronio – General Manager
Robert Livingston – Assistant General Manager and VP of Operations
Jill Barrett – VP of Finance
Lee Torres – Director of Marketing
John Sebastian – Director of Casino Operations
Michelle Becker – Table Games Supervisor
Elizabeth Liemandt – Public Relations Manager
Alexia Alsop – Poker Room Manager
Tom Mendenhall – Table Games Manager
Jimmy Sommerfeld – Tournament Director
Bill Bruce – Assistant Tournament Director

2009/2010 World Series of Poker Circuit
Harrah’s Rincon Casino and Resort
Event #3
No Limit Hold’em
Buy-In: $500 (+50)
Total Entries: 151
Total Prize Pool: $73,235
March 20-21, 2010

Final Results:

1 Bernie Yang Atlanta, GA $20,065

2 Jason Jacintho San Diego, CA $13,585

3 Michael Souza San Diego, CA $9,059

4 Derek Sanders Laguna Beach, CA $6,474

5 James Eubank Houston, TX $5,178

6 Alexandru Masek San Diego, CA $3,881

7 Larry Turley Nuevo, CA $2,585

8 Farhad Karimi San Diego, CA $2,102

9 Kenton Taylor El Centro, CA $1,780

10 Jake Flores Harlingen, TX $1,560

11 Lubomir Podolsky San Diego, CA $1,560

12 Matthew Chang Rockville, MD $1,560

13 Riggs Thayer San Diego, CA $1,282

14 David Frantik San Diego, CA $1,282

15 Timothy Kane Corona, CA $1,282

Bernie Yang Dominates No-Limit Hold’em Tournament at Harrah’s Rincon

Taiwanese-Born Doctoral Student Wins WSOP Circuit Gold Ring

2010 Harrah's Rincon WSOP Circuit Event #3 Winner Bernie Yang

Valley Center, CA – Bernie Yang won the most recent World Series of Poker Circuit tournament played at the Harrah’s Rincon Casino and Resort. He completely dominated the last half of the competition, a $500 (+50) buy-in No-Limit Hold’em event. Yang was never in serious danger of losing this chip lead at anytime during the last eight hours of the tournament, which was played over two days during March 20-21, 2010. In fact, some opponents might argue, most who watched Yang’s superior performance agreed that he deserved to win.

Yang, who resides in Atlanta, GA was born in Taiwan. He attended college at Georgia Tech, where he earned his Masters Degree in electrical engineering. Yang is now pursuing a Ph.D., although he admits he has recently taken some time off to play poker, mostly online. He is currently working an internship in the San Diego area, yet in uncertain about his next career move.

Yang ended up scooping the biggest prize of his young career, a payout totaling $20,065. Yang was also presented with his first gold ring, the coveted award which is presented to all champions of WSOP Circuit tournaments held around the country. This was Yang’s first time to cash in a WSOP Circuit tournament. He has previously cashed at a few tournaments held in Las Vegas and Los Angeles.

Final Table play began on a Sunday night and was held inside The Pavilion at Rincon. Two prior WSOP Circuit event winners sat amongst the final nine players. Alexandru Masek, who won his second career gold ring just two weeks at Caesars Atlantic City, arrived at the final table with an average sized stack. He ended up finishing sixth. Michael Souza, who won his gold ring back in 2005 during the WSOP Circuit inaugural season at Bally’s Las Vegas, arrived ranked second in chips. He went out in third place. The chip leader was Yang, who won a wire to wire victory that lasted about five hours.

When Final Table play began at 2:15 pm, the nine finalists and their starting chip counts were as follows:

Seat Player Hometown Chip Count

1 Alexandru Masek San Diego, CA 121,500

2 Freddy “Rocky” Karimi San Diego, CA 98,000

3 Kenton Taylor El Centro, CA 75,500

4 Derek W. Sanders Laguna Beach, CA 38,500

5 Michael Souza San Diego, CA 245,000

6 Jason D. Jacintho El Cajon, CA 62,500

7 Larry Turley Nuevo, CA 88,000

8 Bernie Yang Taiwan 351,000

9 James Eubank Houston, TX 151,000

Final Table player introductions can be seen here: http://www.twitvid.com/7CFB0

Players were eliminated in the following order:

Ninth Place:
Kenton Taylor, an accountant from El Centro, CA was eliminated about an hour into play. He moved all in with Js Jc but got a call from James Eubank, who tabled Ks Kc. The flop made things interesting, which was As Tc Kh. Even though Eubank flopped a set of kings, Taylor essentially had four outs to make a straight. But the 2h and 7s fell on the turn and river, giving Eubank the pot. Meanwhile, Kenton Taylor collected $1,780 for ninth place.

Eighth Place: “Rocky” Rocked
Fred “Rocky” Karimi had a decent sized stack, but took two horrendous beats, ultimately going out in eighth place. First, Karimi flopped top two pair, but lost half his stack when his opponent hit a miraculous gutshot straight on the river. A few hands later, Karimi had pocket aces cracked, which lost to AQ when two queens fell. Karimi, a poker pro from San Diego, CA went out a short time later and ended up pocketed in a less than satisfying $2,102 in prize money.

Seventh Place: Turley Toasted
Larry Turley found out the hard way that pocket kings are always vulnerable, especially when an opponent holds an ace. Turley was dealt Kd Kh on what turned out to be his final hand. He raised all in and was called by the chip leader, Bernie Yang, who showed Ah Qc. Things looked good for Turley after the flop, but an ace on the river ruined his hoped, resulting in elimination. The final board showed Ts 9h 4d Ac 7s which meant Yang’s pair of aces added to his chip advantage. Turley, a retired U.S. Air Force veteran who has made several final tables as small tournaments played in the region, received $2,585.

Sixth Place: No Third Gold Ring for Masek
Alexandru Masek’s quest for a third WSOPC gold ring fell short when he lost his last chips with As 7h. He moved all in and was called by Bernie Yang, who showed 9c 9s. The board came Qs Jh 6c 3h Kd which meant Yang’s pocket 9’s played. Masek, who is a law student from San Diego, CA added $3,881 to his impressive record in WSOP Circuit events.

Fifth Place:
James Eubank lost a critical pot early with AK against AA and was never able to recover. He was low on chips throughout and finally ran out of luck about two hours into play when he moved all in with Js 9s hoping to steal a round of blinds and antes. However, he was called in three spots and the three players proceeded to check it down all the way to the river. The final board showed Qh 6s 4d 7h 5c which gave Eubank nothing, and he thus became the fifth place finisher. Eubank, from Houston, TX received a payout totaling $5,178.

Fourth Place: Sanders Loses Race, Goes Out Fourth
Derek W. Sanders survived a few all ins before finally losing a race to the chip leader. On his final hand, Sanders was dealt 4c 4h and moved all in. Yang called and showed Ah Qs. The board came Kd 9s 8c 3d Qh, which gave Yang the pot on the river. Sanders, from Laguna Beach, CA collected $6,475.

Third Place: Souza Finishes Third
Michael Souza, a poker pro from San Diego, CA finished in third place. He was eliminated after three-handed play lasted for two hours. However, Souza became short stacked and moved all in with Kh Qc, which got a call from Jason D. Jacintho, holding Ac 6s. The board ran Jc 4c 2d 3s 4h, which meant Jacintho’s Ac played as the high card. Meanwhile, Souza had to settle for a payout totaling $9,059. He now has several WSOP-related cashes and final table appearances, including three straight cashes in the WSOP Main Event (from 2006-2008).

Second Place: Jacintho Finishes as Runner Up
When heads up play started, Bernie Yang had Jason D. Jacintho covered by about a 5 to 1 margin. It took only about 20 minutes for the final hand to be dealt. That came when Yang limped with As Ah and watched with delight as Jacintho moved all in pre-flop with Qh 8h. Yang practically beat his rival into the pot with his chips and when the board came Tc 4h 4s Jc Kh, that gave Yang the last pot of the tournament and his first major live tournament victory. The runner up was Jason D. Jacintho, who played extraordinary poker over two days. He arrived at the Final Table as a low stack, but managed to crawl all the way up to second place. Jacintho, who is a graduate student at UC-San Diego as well as teaches organic chemistry, collected a nice score amounting to $13,585. He has also down well in other tournaments played in the region. But this marked his best WSOP-related finish ever.

The final hand of the tournament can be seen here: http://www.twitvid.com/473A8

First Place: Yang Takes the Ring
Bernie Yang, a 24-year-old college student from Atlanta, GA, won the tournament and $20,065. He has previously won a few big online tournaments. But this marked his biggest cash in a live tournament. An interview with Yang at tableside just moments after his win can be seen here: http://www.twitvid.com/E38B2

The WSOP Circuit at Harrah’s Rincon continues through March 31st. This year’s schedule includes 12 gold ring events, along with multiple second-chance tournaments, single table and mega satellites, in addition to cash games going around the clock inside the Rincon Poker Room. This marks the sixth straight year that Harrah’s Rincon has been a part of the WSOP Circuit. It is one of only three Harrah’s resorts which hosted a WSOP Circuit every year. This is the eighth WSOP Circuit stop of the 2009-2010 season following previous tournaments held in Chicago, Southern Indiana, Lake Tahoe, Harrah’s Atlantic City, Tunica, Council Bluffs, and Caesars Atlantic City.

2010 Harrah’s Rincon WSOP Circuit – Event #3 Final Results

2010 Harrah’s Rincon WSOP Circuit Events Schedule and Results

For more information, please contact:
Nolan Dalla (WSOP Media Director) at (702) 358-4642
e-mail: nolandalla@aol.com
Or visit our official website: www.wsop.com

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

Janet Beronio – General Manager
Robert Livingston – Assistant General Manager and VP of Operations
Jill Barrett – VP of Finance
Lee Torres – Director of Marketing
John Sebastian – Director of Casino Operations
Michelle Becker – Table Games Supervisor
Elizabeth Liemandt – Public Relations Manager
Alexia Alsop – Poker Room Manager
Tom Mendenhall – Table Games Manager
Jimmy Sommerfeld – Tournament Director
Bill Bruce – Assistant Tournament Director