WSOP & WPT Tournament Blog

2009/2010 World Series of Poker Circuit
Harrah’s New Orleans
Bayou Poker Challenge
Event #13
No Limit Hold’em
Buy-In: $300 (+40)
Total Entries: 498
Total Prize Pool: $139,768
May 14-15, 2010

Final Results:

1 “Big Pappa” Solomon Hamilton, GA $32,775

2 Huey Hulin St. Martinville, LA $20,266

3 Daniel Walsh Powder Springs, GA $12,579

4 Hengli “Henry” Tang Tallahassee, FL $10,133

5 John McNeal Franklinton, LA $8,246

6 Linda C. Kennedy Thomaston, AL $6,499

7 Seneca “Six of Spades” Easley Ft. Worth, TX $5,101

8 David Dao Elizabethtown, KY $4,053

9 William “Big Gravy” Ford Albuquerque, NM $3,005

10 Janice Randall Metairie, LA $1,956

11 John Thompson NA $1,956

12 Christopher Chandler Houston, TX $1,956

13 William Spangler Baton Rouge, LA $1,607

14 Michael Hebert Denham Springs, LA $1,607

15 Jeffrey Wyatt Bossier City, LA $1,607

16 Ryan Zachary Concord, NC $1,257

17 David Billings Glenmora, LA $1,257

18 Jonathan Hart Jackson, MS $1,257

19 Brenda Clayton Caroline, TX $978

20 Ludak Sisek NA $978

21 Michael McGuire Fresno, CA $978

22 Kevin Kaylor NA $978

23 Kelly Webb Knoxville, TN $978

24 George Hosek Mandeville, LA $978

25 Matthew Lawrence Tulsa, OK $978

26 Jesse Nzuela Brian, TX $978

27 James Martin Denham Springs, LA $978

28 Felix Beene NA $838

29 Randall Keating NA $838

30 Lacy Wills Port St. Lucy, FL $838

31 Angie Sanders New Orleans, LA $838

32 Travis Smith Mt. Herman, LA $838

33 Robert Thornhill New Orleans, LA $838

34 Andrew Mathis Fairfax, VA $838

35 Christopher Dupuy Baton, Rouge, LA $838

36 Gregory Benoit Lake Charles, LA $838

37 Stephen Danos Maurero, LA $698

38 Richard Guthrie New Orleans, LA $698

39 James Huddleston San Antonio, TX $698

40 Christopher Harris Kenner, LA $698

41 Kent Landry Patterson, LA $698

42 Stanley Hart Biloxi, MS $698

43 Donald Casey Metairie, LA $698

44 Robert March Boulder, CO $698

45 Richard Farrar Lanett, AL $698

Saturday Night Special in the Big Easy

“Big Pappa” Earns First Major Tournament Victory at Harrah’s New Orleans

2010 Harrah's New Orleans WSOP Circuit Event #13 Winner Big Pappa Solomon

New Orleans, LA – “Big Pappa” made an astounding comeback in the most recent World Series of Poker Circuit tournament, part of this year’s Bayou Poker Challenge series being played in The Big Easy. The Georgia senior not only overcome a massive chip disadvantage when the final table started – ranked eighth out of nine players – he ended up destroying his final two adversaries when play was at three handed and the tournament seemed all but over.

Indeed, when “Big Pappa” was locked into a three-handed match against the eventual runner up Huey Hulin and Dan Walsh (who would end up taking third), it appeared Huey Hulin would win his first major tournament victory. He had a massive stack size, in stark contrast to the other two players who were hanging on for dear life, seemingly with hopes of moving into second place. However, once Dan Walsh was eliminated, “Big Pappa” would end up catching every break possible en route to a head-shaking victory. Even those who watched and witnessed appeared dumbfounded that Hulinl did not win.

The beneficiary of a monster rush of good fortune late in the tournament was “Big Pappa,” a mystery man from Georgia who prefers to stay anonymous. The cagey winner pocketed $32,755 for first place, plus a WSOP Circuit gold ring. Meanwhile, Hulin was left wondering what went wrong while Dan Walsh was last scene muttering expletives to himself for yet another WSOP Circuit final table appearance, but non-win.

This was the 13th gold ring event of 19 on this year’s WSOP Circuit schedule at Harrah’s New Orleans. The $340 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em tournament was played over two consecutive days during May 14th and 15th. The tournament attracted 498 entries, which was the second-biggest turnout so far at this year’s Bayou series. The top 45 finishers carved up a prize pool totaling $139,768. After 489 players were eliminated over the first 16 hours of competition, final table play began on a Saturday afternoon. There were no prior WSOP Circuit gold ring event winners among the final nine players, which guaranteed a first-time champion.

Four players arrived at the final table with a decisive advantage over the remaining five short stacks. Hengli Tang, Dan Walsh, Huey Hulin, and Linda C. Kennedy each had the rest of the field outchipped by nearly 2 to 1 or more. But the massive number of chips in play and low blinds and antes meant that everyone had a chance to make a move – especially the player in the Three Seat nicknamed “Big Pappa.” It took more than 90 minutes for the first player to be eliminated.

When Final Table play began at 6:00 pm, the nine finalists and their starting chip counts were as follows:

Seat Player Hometown Chip Count

1 Willie “Big Gravy” Ford Albuquerque, NM 463,000

2 David Dao Elizabethtown, KY 239,000

3 Seneca “Six of Spades” Easley Ft. Worth, TX 210,000

4 “Big Pappa” Solomon Hamilton, GA 155,000

5 Hengli Tang Tallahassee, FL 810,000

6 Dan Walsh Powder Springs, GA 897,000

7 Huey Hulin St. Martinville, LA 795,000

8 Mike McNeal Franklinton, LA 119,000

9 Linda C. Kennedy Thomaston, AL 790,000

Final table play lasted nearly six hours and ended at 11:45 pm. Players sung the blues in the following order:

Ninth Place: Willie “Big Gravy” Ford Goes “Boom, Boom”
Willie Ford, a.k.a. “Big Gravy” lasted about 90 minutes. He suffered the unfortunate trap feared by all Hold’em players of holding an over pair on an innocent-looking board, only to watch in horror when his all-in post-flop bet was snap called by a player holding a set. “Big Gravy’s” pocket nines ended up losing to pocket sevens when a seven came on board, leaving the player from Albuquerque, NM in ninth place, with $3,005.

Eighth Place: “The Thrill is Gone” for Dao
David Dao, a physician from Kentucky, was diagnosed with an eighth-place finish when his AJ ended up losing to pocket queens. This marked Dao’s 12th time to cash in a WSOP Circuit event. He has finished second three times, but has yet to win a gold ring. Dao was prescribed a payout amounting to $4,053, with some side effects of depression, for failing to win.

Seventh Place: “Six of Spades” is “Born Under a Bad Sign”
Seneca “Six of Spades” Easley, from Ft. Worth, TX earned his interesting moniker from riding in a motorcycle gang. His nickname seemed tailor-made for an aspiring WSOP Circuit champion, but the cards had no literary appreciation. Easley went out about two hours into play and settled for $5,101 in prize money. He previously cashed twice in tournaments held in Las Vegas, but this was his first WSOP-related in-the-money finish.

Sixth Place: “Lady Sings the Blues”
Linda C. Kennedy, a retired air traffic controller who now lives in Thomaston, AL started out the final table with a decent number of chips. She lasted about three hours during which she became short-stacked. Finally, Kennedy moved all in with A9 on what turned out to be her final hand. She was thrilled to get a call from one of the big stacks, who showed the dog hand 74 offsuit. But the puppy hand barked when a seven flopped, ending up biting Kennedy, who left the table with mixed feelings. Given her early stack size, she hoped to finish higher. But the $6,499 in prize money she received helped to soften the blow. Kennedy previously finished in second place in one of the WSOP Circuit tournaments held earlier this year at Harrah’s Tunica.

Fifth Place: “It’s a Cryin’ Shame,” Says Mike McNeal
Mike McNeal cold not have picked a worse time to try and make a move with a marginal hand. He was dealt KT and moved all in hoping to steal some chips. But he got called down by pocket aces. A ten flopped, giving the financial consultant from Franklinton, LA some hope. But that’s as far as McNeal improved, which resulted in his fifth place finish, worth $8,246.

Fourth Place: For Hengli Tang, “Out Goes the Light”
Hengli (Henry) Tang, from Tallahassee, FL began play with a healthy stack size. But he ran low on chips late in the competition. Tang moved all-in pre-flop with a tiny pair hoping to either steal a round of blinds and antes, or double up in a possible race. Unfortunately, Tang moved in with pocket deuces and got a call from a rival holding pocket sixes. Tang failed to hit a set or improve and ultimately went out in fourth place with $10,133.

Third Place: “They Sky is Crying” for Dan Walsh
Poor Dan Walsh. He can’t catch a break. Despite unquestionable dedication to the game, tons of hors spent playing poker, and obvious talent, Walsh can’t get a breakthrough victory. He lost three races early, which cut his stack size in half. Then, he held on for dear life for nearly three hours before finally taking a bad beat with A5 against Q7. A seven came, provoking a colorful filament of commentary from the occasionally-bombastic Georgia poker pro. Walsh ended up losing the pot and collected $12,579 for third place. Nevertheless, Walsh has enjoyed a good series, with a second place finish four days earlier in the No-Limit heads-Up tournament.

Second Place: Huey Hulin “Can’t Be Satisfied”
It’s hard to imagine what must have been going through Huey Hulin’s head after watching his chips magically disappear during the last 20 minutes of the tournament. It was as if the poker gods flipped a switch somewhere, cutting off all energy to the contractor from St. Martinsville, LA. First, Hulin watched helplessly when he was just one card away from victory, and “Big Pappa” ended up rivering a full-house. On the key hand, Hulin and “Big Pappa” both had flopped trip nines. Hulin had the better kicker. But “Big Pappa” brought down the hammer on the final card and spiked his miracle. After a few hands during which Hulin lost the chip lead, “Big Pappa” had his adversary all-in and ended up winning the tournament with king high. For his effort, Hulin received $20,266, which seemed about as satisfying as missing the lottery jackpot by one number. This was Hulin’s first time to cash in a WSOP Circuit event.

The two key heads-up hands can be seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ie10nKn80dw

First Place: “Big Pappa” Says — “Lets the Good Times Roll”
A Georgia man who goes by the nickname “Big Pappa” won $32,775. He also received a WSOP Circuit gold ring. He did not wish to have any publicity. Hence, the most mystifying of all tournaments that have taken place at this year’s Bayou Poker Challenge ended on a most fitting note — with the eventual champion just as enigmatic a figure as his win was inexplicable.

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

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

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

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

Tournament Director – Steve Frezer

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

2009/2010 World Series of Poker Circuit
Harrah’s New Orleans
Bayou Poker Challenge
Event #11
No Limit Hold’em
Buy-In: $1,000 (+70)
Total Entries: 216
Total Prize Pool: $204,370
May 13-14, 2010

Final Results:

1 Barry Hutter Sarasota, FL $49,559

2 Garrett Utt Atlanta, GA $30,655

3 Manelic “Manny” Minaya Tampa, FL $19,415

4 Jonathan Abla Athens, GA $15,838

5 Alexandru Masek San Diego, CA $12,773

6 Viet “Big Papa” Vo Houston, TX $10,218

7 Steven Jones Belton, TX $8,174

8 Anthony Hartofilis Palm Harbor, FL $6,642

9 Mitchell Franks Tupelo, MS $5,109

10 Andrew Malott Las Vegas, NV $3,576

11 Jason Morris Houston, TX $3,576

12 Tyler Smith Smithdale, MS $3,576

13 Ryan Enis Corinth, MS $3,065

14 Alex Olwine Daytom, OH $3,065

15 Richard Sasso Miami, FL $3,065

16 Gustavo “Snap Turtle” Galvao New York, NY $2,554

17 Sung Lee Atlanta, GA $2,554

18 Lawrence Lazar Kingwood, TX $2,554

19 Curtis Terry New Orleans, LA $2,043

20 Deric Williams Harvey, LA $2,043

21 Ricky Romero NA $2,043

22 Thai Cao Homer, LA $2,043

23 Roy Bell Laplace, LA $2,043

24 Shawn Hyde Birmingham, AL $2,043

25 Shawn Kraemer Houma, LA $2,043

26 Nancy “Trouble” Birnbaum Atlanta, GA $2,043

27 Rogelio Salinas San Antonio, TX $2,043

Barry Hutter Earns First Major Tournament Victory at Harrah’s New Orleans

Florida Poker Pro Takes Gold Ring in Marathon WSOP Circuit Event

2010 Harrah's New Orleans WSOP Circuit Event #11 Winner Barry Hutter

New Orleans, LA – The most recent World Series of Poker Circuit tournament attracted another strong turnout of 216 players. Each entrant posted a $1,000 entry fee in order to shoot for the opportunity to wear a gold ring. The prize pool exceeded $200,000 and due to some very competitive play was the longest tournament of any event held thus far at this year’s Bayou Poker Challenge.

Clocking in at more than 32 hours, the tournament became the supreme test of poker skill and physical endurance for those who endured the ride, as the yawning new champion was finally crowned at 5:40 am. By that time, a packed poker room at Harrah’s New Orleans had pretty much cleared out, leaving only the most die-hard and dedicated poker fans to watch the final table battle.

Inexplicably, a dozen brave souls watched the marathon from start to finish. They were obviously unaware of the multiplicity of sensory treats outside just steps away on Bourbon Street. Or perhaps, they really loved poker. Or maybe, they were hoping to leech a buy-in for the following day’s tournament. Who knows? The fact was, somebody finally won, a few railbirds cheered, and another long day of poker action at Harrah’s New Orleans finally came to a merciful end.

The winner was Barry Hutter, a 23-year-old poker pro from Sarasota, FL. He pocketed the sum of $49,559, his biggest recorded cash to date. Hutter primarily plays live in cash games but plans to play in more tournaments, and with good reason.

This was the 11th gold ring event of 19 on this year’s WSOP Circuit schedule at Harrah’s New Orleans. The $1,000 (+70) buy-in No-Limit Hold’em tournament was played over two consecutive days during May 13th and 14th. The top 18 finishers were paid.

Hutter arrived at the Final Table holding about a quarter of the total chips in play and was in a dominant pposition throughout. Accomplished tournament performers Manny Minaya and Alexandru Masek were close on the heels of Hutter. The remaining players needed to make major moves and pretty much failed in their attempts to pose serious threats to the biggest stacks.

When Final Table play began at 11:00 pm, the nine ironmen finalists and their starting chip counts were as follows:

Seat Player Hometown Chip Count

1 Jonathan Abla Athens, GA 312,500

2 Alexandru Masek San Diego, CA 453,000

3 Garrett Utt Atlanta, GA 98,000

4 Anthony Hartofilis Palm Harbor, FL 195,500

5 Steve Jones Belton, TX 234,500

6 Mitch Franks Tupelo, MS 73,500

7 Manny Minaya Tampa, FL 471,000

8 Barry Hutter Sarasota, FL 642,500

9 Viet “Big Papa” Vo Houston, TX 117,000

Final Table play lasted about six hours and ended as sun up. Players were eliminated in the following order:

Ninth Place: Mitch in the Ditch
Mitch Franks (not to be confused with Mitchell Frank, the famous music producer), went out quickly as the shortest stack. He pocketed $5,109 for two days of poker playing. Frank, a businessman from Tupelo, MS – the birthplace of Elvis — had previously finished deep in a few events at this year’s Delta Gold Poker Classic, held in Mississippi.

Eighth Place: Hartofilis Takes Eighth Place
Anthony Hartofilis (not to be confused with actor Anthony Hopkins), was the next player to exit. The poker pro from Palm Harbor, FL collected a nice payout totaling $6,642. This was his second recorded live tournament cash after one previous in-the-money finish at The Wynn Classic in Las Vegas. He also has a number of bigger cashes online.

Seventh Place: Steve Jones Goes Up, Up, and Away in His Beautiful Balloon
Steve Jones, who works as an investor and lives in Belton, TX (not to be confused with Steve Jones of the Sex Pistols – they are most assuredly not the same person) bombed out about 90 minutes into play. He collected $8,174 for a fine performance. Interestingly, Jones has spent nearly 30 years competing in hot air balloon events. He won the 1990 National Championship in a hot air ballooning and continues to compete regularly in events held around the world. Belton has also performed well in several poker events, including tournaments held at the Venetian and Bally’s in Las Vegas. He later revealed that he’s won more money recently in poker tournaments, although the view is not nearly as good as riding up in the clouds.

Sixth Place: “Big Papa” Busts
Viet Vo, a.k.a. “Big Papa” (not to be confused with “Big Papi” of the Boston Red Sox) went out with AJ against AQ. He was dominated on his final hand and struck out in sixth place. The Vietnamese-born x-ray technician who now lives in Houston, plays in a home game on weekends. He came here to New Orleans at the urging of friends and did not disappoint them by making it all the way to the final table. “Big Papi” received $10,218 in prize money.

Fifth Place: No Third Ring for Masek
Alexandru Masek (not to be confused with “Alexander the Great,” despite occasional flashes of supernatural poker talent) came up far short in his bid for a third gold ring victory. Masek won his first WSOP Circuit title last year in his hometown of San Diego. He won his second gold ring two months ago 3,000 miles away at Caesars Atlantic City. Masek was confident coming into this final table that he might earn his first southern poker victory but ran into serious trouble midway through the battle and ended up with a fifth-place finish. Masek pushed with a short stack on his final hand and failed to improve, resulting in a payout worth $12,773. “Alexander the Great” reported turned in his grave when he learned Masek had soiled his good name.

Fourth Place: Abla-Kadambra
Jonathan Abla (not to be confused with anyone related to Jessica Alba), took an unwanted early morning stroll away from the final table when he busted out about 4:30 am. Abla pushed on his final hand hoping to double up, but was unsuccessful. Abla, who is 24-years-old and is from Athens, GA had only cashed in a few small live tournaments before. He had a large following cheering him on at the final table, which probably meant he owed a big makeup figure (highly unlikely) or is a pretty good online player. His first WSOP-related cash was worth $15,838.

Third Place: Well-Known Pro “Manny” Minaya Takes Third
Players agreed to some kind of a deal when play went three handed. But the trio agreed to play it out for the gold ring. “Manny” Manaya (not to be confused with Minnie the Moocher) had the highest pedigree of any final table player given his numerous wins, cashes, and prize money earnings. Manaya, making his 13th WSOP Circuit cash in this event, ended up with $19,415 for third place. Manaya has also cashed 11 times at the WSOP in Las Vegas and has more than $1 million in career tournament earnings.

Second Place: Garrett Utt Takes Second
Garrett Utt (not to be confused with NBC newscaster Garrick Utley) calls himself the best no-limit player in the world. He might have to back off that statement after coming in second place. The 22-year-old jokester busted out on a bad beat when the final hand of the tournament was dealt.

Utt moved all in with Kd Kc. Barry Hutter had a small pair, and made the call with 4s 4d. Hutter had his opponent covered by about a 5 to 1 margin and watched as a four flopped. The final board ran Ad 6s 4c Tc Ah, giving Hutter a full house.

As the runner up, Utt collected $30,665. He also came in second place in a WSOP Circuit event held last year at Harrah’s Atlantic City. This marked his third time to cash in a WSOP-related tournament.

First Place: Barry Hutter Wins Big Money
Barry Hutter, not to be confused with anyone other than the winner, collected $49,559 and his first WSOP Circuti gold ring. The 23-year-old poker player resides in Sarasota, FL.

Video highlights of the day can be seen at: http://www.youtube.com/wsopdotcom

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

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

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

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

Tournament Director – Steve Frezer

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

2009/2010 World Series of Poker Circuit
Harrah’s New Orleans
Bayou Poker Challenge
Event #9
No Limit Hold’em with Re-Buys ($100)
Buy-In: $300 (+40)
Total Entries: 164
Total Rebuys: 656
Total Prize Pool: $106,206
May 12-13, 2010

Final Results:

1 Lake Garner Hattiesburg, MS $28,144

2 Carl “Spanky” Guillot Baton Rouge, LA $16,992

3 Chan Pelton College Station, TX $10,866

4 David Poleto New Orleans, LA $8,496

5 Mitchell Smith N. Miami Beach, FL $6,637

6 Rodney Baseke Mongomery, TX $5,310

7 Sholom Lipszyc New York, NY $4,248

8 Ismael “Jesus” Cabrera Atlanta, GA $3,451

9 “Chicago Johnny” Nowak Fairview, TX $2,920

10 Matthew Colvin Dallas, TX $2,389

11 Johnathan Westra Gainesville, TX $2,389

12 Larry Thomas Vacaville, CA $2,389

13 Larry Hirons Arlington, TX $2,124

14 Jacob Naquin New Orleans, LA $2,124

15 Teddy Conner New Orleans, LA $2,124

16 Nathanael Burdette Birmingham, AL $1,858

17 Brian Traster NA $1,858

18 John Tolefsen Houston, TX $1,858

“An Amazing Race” for Lake Garner

That’s No Misprint: 164 Players Make 656 Re-Buys

2010 Harrah's New Orleans WSOP Circuit Event #9 Winner Lake Garner

New Orleans, LA – The poker world is pretty much divided into two camps – those who like re-buy tournaments and those who don’t. Re-buy tournaments are attractive to many players because the prize pools are often two to three times the payout for a conventional freeze out tournament. The larger the number of re-buys, the bigger the prize money is for those who are fortunate enough to cash. The downside to re-buy tournaments is they can be expensive if things go bad. Re-buy tournaments also play differently, especially during the re-buy phase, which typically takes place during the first few levels. With the prospect of re-buys available, many players like to gamble early, and this increases variance – which is already part of the tournament equation.

The most recent World Series of Poker Circuit tournament held at Harrah’s New Orleans was a No-Limit Hold’em event, with $100 re-buys during the first three levels. The tournament attracted 164 players, which was about the expected number for the midweek start. What blew everyone away was the number of re-buys – a whopping 656 reloads, which amounts to an average of four re-buys per player. On average, most poker re-buy tournaments have 1.5 to 2 re-buys per player. Indeed, to anyone who still doubts the poker action in New Orleans is not among the best in the country, just check out the numbers.

Note — Video highlights of this tournament can be seen at YouTube here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJHv1X9g2JM

This was the ninth gold ring event of 19 on this year’s WSOP Circuit schedule at Harrah’s New Orleans. The $300 (+40) buy-in No-Limit Hold’em tournament was played over two consecutive days during May 13th and 14th. The top 18 finishers divided a prize pool totaling $106,206.

The winner was Lake Garner, from Hattiesburg, MS. He won his second WSOP Circuit gold ring, following a victory which also took place here at Harrah’s New Orleans in 2007. Garner also won a major tournament held in Mississippi in 2005 and among his many accomplishments has cashed at the WSOP of in Las Vegas.

Garner, accompanied by his wife Michelle who sat near the final table for the duration, became well-known to fans of reality television when they jointly appeared on the popular program, “The Amazing Race.” During the 2006 season, they traveled around the country together logging 72,000 miles. The Garners ended up finishing sixth.

This time, the outcome was far better – first place. Garner pocketed $28,144 and received his second WSOP Circuit gold ring. He also took just two re-buys, only half the tournament average.

Also among those who cashed, was two-time WSOP Circuit gold ring winner Johnathan Westra, who ended up with an 11th place finish. After 155 players were eliminated on the first day, final table play began on a Thursday afternoon. New Yorker Sholom Lipszyc arrived at the Final Table with a slight chip advantage over Lake Garner. The remaining seven players were outchipped by 2 to 1 or more. The final table was also notable for the appearance of “Johnny Chicago” Nowak, who was making this third top ten showing and fourth cash so far at this year’s Bayou series.

When Final Table play began at 2:00 pm, the nine finalists and their starting chip counts were as follows:

Seat Player Hometown Chip Count

1 Chan Pelton College Station, TX 182,000

2 David Poleto New Orleans, LA 202,000

3 Mitchell Smith N. Miami Beach, FL 158,500

4 “Johnny Chicago” Nowak Fairview, TX 59,500

5 Carl “Spanky” Guillot Baton Rouge, LA 108,000

6 Rodney Baseke Montgomery, TX 204,000

7 Sholom Lipszyc New York City, NY 413,000

8 Jesus Cabrera Atlanta, GA 295,000

9 Terry Lake Garner Hattiesburg, MS 350,000

Final Table play lasted about five hours and ended at 7:00 pm. Players were eliminated in the following order:

Ninth Place: Third Final Table Appearance for “Johnny Chicago”
“Johnny Chicago” Nowak is having quite a Bayou series. This marked his fourth time to cash, through just nine events. Unfortunately, Nowak went out quickly when he moved all in with pocket fives, which lost to pocket tens. Nowak, who is originally from Chicago and now lives in Fairview, TX added $2,920 to his poker winnings this week, which now totals in excess of $14,000.

Eighth Place: Jesus Fails to Rise
Ismael “Jesus” Cabrera, who is originally from Havana, Cuba and now lives in Atlanta, went out in eighth place. He won two major events held in Mississippi during the last six months. This marked his fourth time to cash in a WSOP Circuit event. Eighth place paid $3,451.

Seventh Place: Sholom Says “Shalom”
Sholom Lipszyc, from New York City endured a frustrating two-hour run at the final table. The early chip leader gradually lost most of his stack and finally moved all in when short-stacked holding A3. He got called by pocket kings, which ended up scooping the pot. Lipszyc ended up collecting $4,248 in his first WSOP-related in-the-money finish.

Sixth Place: Baseke Puts on the Brakes
Rodney Baseke ran low on chips and tried to steal a round of blinds and antes. He picked a bad time to make a move and got a call by pocket tens. Baseke ended up missing a straight draw and lost to a full house. This was Baseke’s second time to cash at this year’s Bayou series. He took 35th place in the first event here, which attracted 572 players. For this finish, Baseke was paid $5,310.

Fifth Place: Mitch Smith Takes Bad Beat
Mitchell Smith liked what he saw when he picked up pocket aces, raised all-in, and got a call by the chip leader. Unfortunately the AA hit the much when the outmatched Q9 ended up connecting with two pair. Smith shook his head in disgust and walked away with $6,637 and a bad beat story. Smith now has 16 major cashes in various tournaments, including the 2008 WSOP Main Event.

Fourth Place: Poleto Plucked
David Poleto, a sports promoter from New Orleans, went out badly when his KJ was bested by K2. After the flop came K 8 2, Poleto moved all in with top pair and got an instant call from his opponent holding two pair. Another deuce on the river added insult to injury, giving his opponent a full house. Poleto, who owns a sporting adventure company called Gulf Coast Adventure Racing, jetted away with $8,496 in prize money.

Third Place: Pelton Takes Third
Chan Pelton, a farmer from College Station, TX lasted about five hours but then finally ran into trouble when he moved all in with A5, which was called by the chip leader, holding 97 offsuit. The flop brought a nine, giving the opponent a pair of nines. Pelton failed to improve from that point forward and had to settle for a nice consolation prize amounting to $10,866. Pelton has a number of impressive cashes at tournaments held throughout the South. He now has nearly $150,000 in career tournament winnings.

Second Place: “Spanky” Agrees to Deal – Takes Runner Up Spot
Carl “Spanky” Guillot, an antique dealer from Baton Rouge, LA was the subject of one of the tournament’s most interesting storylines. Spanky was down to just a round of blinds when play was with 17 players. He managed to squeak into the money. Then, he nursed a short stack for the better part of two days en route to a stunning second-place finish. Spanky was all-in a number of time at the finale, and managed to survive each time. When heads-up play began, Spanky was down by about a 7 to 1 margin and was offered a deal to take the runner up spot, to which he agreed. Second place officially paid $16,992.

First Place: Lake Garner Wins Second Gold Ring!
Lake Garner (a.k.a. “Terry Lake Garner”), from Hattiesburg, MS collected the top prize of $28,144 and his second WSOP Circuit gold ring. Garner’s previous win came in a $1,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em event held in May 2007. Garner has only three career cashes in WSOP Circuit play, but nevertheless also has two victories.

A short interview with Garner and his wife at tableside can be seen at the link posted above.

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

2010 Harrah’s New Orleans WSOP Circuit – Event #9 Final Results

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

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

Tournament Director – Steve Frezer

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

2009/2010 World Series of Poker Circuit
Harrah’s New Orleans
Bayou Poker Challenge
Event #8
Heads-Up No Limit Hold’em
Buy-In: $300 (+40)
Total Entries: 116
Total Prize Pool: $33,756
May 11-12, 2010

Final Results:

1 Richard Toth Miskolc, Hungary $9,114

2 Dan Walsh Powder Springs, GA $5,738

3 Chong Walker New Orleans, LA $3,038

4 Barry Hutter Ft. Lauderdale, FL $3,038

5 Donald Hepfer Tulsa, OK $1,519

6 John Dolan Ft. Myers, FL $1,519

7 Henry Pena Houston, TX $1,519

8 Brian Fontana Slidell, LA $1,519

9 Michael Benton Lafayette, LA $843

10 Zachary Vandergriff New Orleans, LA $843

11 Ken Lennaard Sweden $843

12 Gary Bolden St. Louis, MO $843

13 Byron Higueros New Orleans, LA $843

14 Gabor Szamosi NA $843

15 Larry Hirons Ft. Worth, TX $843

16 Chad Tye Grand View, TX $843

Note: Due to the heads-up by round format, players actually finished by “round,” rather than by “order.” Other than the first- and second-place finishers, the remainder should be listed in groups. 3rd place and 4th place were a group. 5th place through 8th place were a group. And, 9th place through 16th place were a group.

Here’s the Heads-Up: Richard Toth Wins!

European Poker Star Earns First WSOP Circuit Victory

2010 Harrah's New Orleans WSOP Circuit Event #8 Winner Richard Toth

New Orleans, LA – Heads-Up No-Limit Hold’em has become a popular poker variant in recent years. The World Series of Poker has offered a gold bracelet in heads-up competition every year since 2006. The NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship also debuted a few years ago and has been a successful attraction for both players and poker fans alike. Heads-up play is also very popular online.

The most recent tournament held on the WSOP Circuit at Harrah’s New Orleans was a Heads-Up No-Limit Hold’em event. The tournament was won by one of Europe’s top poker pros, Richard Toth — from Miskolc, Hungary. He picked up the first place prize amounting to $9,114. More important perhaps for Toth was the gold ring he received, symbolizing his first-ever WSOP-related victory.

“I am thrilled to come here and win,” Toth said afterward. “I love it here in New Orleans. It is one of my favorite places. Great food, and the poker is good here, too.”

This marked Toth’s first win on U.S. soil after achieving great success in Europe and coming close to victory at the WSOP in Las Vegas. He previously won two tournaments held in Austria. He also finished second in a No-Limit Hold’em WSOP event in 2006 (worth $330,000). With this win, he now has in excess of $1 million in live poker tournament winnings.

This was the eighth gold ring event (of 19) on this year’s WSOP Circuit schedule at Harrah’s New Orleans. The $300 (+40) buy-in tournament was played over two consecutive days during May 11th and 12th. The top 16 finishers divided a prize pool totaling $33,746.

The tournament was initially set up to accommodate 64 players, similar in format to the NCAA college basketball championship brackets (a.k.a. “March Madness”). However, due to increased player interest and participation, the field was expanded to 116 players and another round of play was added. A few of players received a first-round bye due to the odd starting number (Note: The bye was determined by a random draw). Players were required to win a series of Heads-Up freezeouts, which were single-elimination during the first five rounds. Only the winners of each match advanced to the next round. The champion was required to win either 8 or 9 matches, depending on if he received a bye. Once play reached the final four, the heads-up competition became the best two-out-of three matches.

The Heads-Up finale pitted two poker pros against each other. Richard Toth (Miskolc, Hungary) faced off against Dan Walsh (Powder Springs, GA).

The first match went to Toth, who defeated Walsh in about 30 minutes. He enjoyed a chip advantage most of the way and won the final hand of the match with 9s 9c against Walsh’s 3s 3d. Walsh was visibly disgusted with the situation and became even more repulsed when a nine flopped, giving Toth top set. Walsh watched helplessly as the board ran out: 9d 5s 2c 3s Th.

Score it 1-0 in favor of Toth.

Walsh made a strong comeback in the second match and won in about 45-minutes time. He had his opponent all-in on a few occasions, and finally evened the score by scooping the key pot with a club flush. On that hand, Walsh was dealt Kc 5c. Toth had As 8d. Walsh had his opponent all in and was drawing to a flush and a pair with two clubs on board. A third club fell on the river as the final board showed 3c 2c 2h 6s 9c.

Walsh and Toth were tied 1-1 going into the decisive game.

The third and final match went to Toth. The finale lasted only about 20 minutes. In fact, the last hand was an absolute nightmare for Walsh who simply could not get away from a hand that would have likely won any other heads-up match. On the final hand of the tournament, Toth was dealt 5c 4d. Walsh was dealt Ac 5s. Toth finally put his opponent all-in on the river and Walsh was delighted to call holding top set and top kicker. But Walsh showed a full house with the board of: Qd 5d 4s 5h Kh.

Tournament highlights and an interview with the winner can be seen here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1N_qj28SU0M

Runner Up: Dan Walsh
The runner up was Dan Walsh, a poker pro from Powder Springs, GA. He is 34-years-old and previously worked in IT. He made two final tables at last year’s WSOP Circuit held at Harrah’s New Orleans, including fifth place in the championship event. Second place paid $5,738.

First Place: Hungarian Pro Takes Heads-Up Championship
The winner Richard Toth is a 31-year-old poker pro from Miskolc, Hungary. He holds a B.A. in political science, but has been a full-time poker pro for the past several years. He plays mostly in Europe and has more than a dozen cashes in majors held in several different countries. He won the most recent WPT championship held in Slovakia, and took third place in the EPT’s Copenhagen championship. Toth has also cashed ten times at the WSOP in Las Vegas. He also cashed for the second time at this year’s WSOP Circuit series in New Orleans after coming in 18th-place in a precious event. Toth’s first American win paid $9,114 and his first WSOP Circuit gold ring.

An interview with Toth at tableside, moments after his win can be seen at the link above.

Attendance at this year’s tournament at Harrah’s New Orleans continues to run ahead of last year’s numbers. Through the conclusion of Event #8, overall tournament attendance is up 11 percent over the same point last year.

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

2010 Harrah’s New Orleans WSOP Circuit – Event #8 Final Results

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

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

Tournament Director – Steve Frezer

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

2009/2010 World Series of Poker Circuit
Harrah’s New Orleans
Bayou Poker Challenge
Event #7
No Limit Hold’em
Buy-In: $500 (+50)
Total Entries: 195
Total Prize Pool: $89,425
May 11-12, 2010

Final Results:

1 Steve Grant New Orleans, LA $23,697

2 Joseph Hebert Metairie, LA $14,308

3 Edward Freking, III Clute, TX $9,166

4 James “Red” Miller Notasulga, AL $7,154

5 Jeff Winget Wattonville, IL $5,589

6 Samuel “J.R.” Bailey New Orleans, LA $4,471

7 Stephen Cook Springfield, IL $3,577

8 Stephen Danos Marrero, LA $2,906

9 Dwyte Pilgrim Brooklyn, NY $2,459

10 Robert Schorr Henderson, NV $2,012

11 Mark Utterback San Antonio, TX $2,012

12 Kenneth Smith Jacksonville, FL $2,012

13 Steven Jones Belton, TX $1,788

14 Ralph Shannon Atlanta, GA $1,788

15 Bradley Hicks Birmingham, AL $1,788

16 Joshua Mancuso Mandeville, LA $1,564

17 Bobby Binsky Hollywood, FL $1,564

18 Michael Trahan Lafayette, LA $1,564

Steve Grant Takes Gold Ring and $23,697 Cash Prize

Three-Time Gold Ring Winner Dwyte Pilgrim Makes the Final Table, but Finishes Ninth

2010 Harrah's New Orleans WSOP Circuit Event #7 Winner Steve Grant

New Orleans, LA – The most recent World Series of Poker Circuit tournament concluded at Harrah’s New Orleans today. The winner was Steve Grant, a 24-year-old part-time local poker player from New Orleans. Grant won $23,697 for first place, plus the coveted gold ring, presented to all WSOP Circuit winners.

Grant is currently working as a truck driver for a local wine and spirits company. However, he enjoys playing poker in his spare time and concentrates mostly on cash games. Grant had previously entered only a limited number of poker tournaments, but managed to cash a few times here in New Orleans back in 2007. He had two 12th-place finishes in tournaments held on the WSOP Circuit that year. Grant had not done much in tournaments since then, but sure came back in grand style with this showing, his first major tournament victory ever.

This was the seventh gold ring event (of 19) on this year’s WSOP Circuit schedule at Harrah’ New Orleans. Attendance at this year’s tournament continues to be impressive. Attendance remains well ahead of last year’s numbers. Through the conclusion of Event #8, overall tournament attendance is up 11 percent over the same point last year here at the WSOP Circuit.

The $500 (+50) buy-in No-Limit Hold’em tournament was played over two consecutive days during May 11th and 12th. The tournament attracted 195 entries. The top 18 finishers divided a prize pool totaling $89,425.
After 186 players were eliminated on the first day, final table play began on a Wednesday afternoon.

The final table included Dwyte Pilgrim, who was shooting for his fourth WSOP Circuit gold ring. Pilgrim hoped to join Mark “Pegasus” Smith and Men “the Master” Nguyen as the all-time WSOP Circuit most gold ring winners (with four each). Pilgrim, who was the unofficial WSOP Circuit player of the year last season, ended up with a disappointing ninth-place finish, but still remains one of the Circuit’s players to watch in future events.

Joseph Hebert arrived at the Final Table with a substantial chip lead. In fact, he was nearly 2 to 1 over his closest rival, Jeff Winget. The eventual winner, Steve Grant began play with about an average-sized stack. He took the chip lead when play reached five handed and was never in serious danger of losing his stack as play became shorter handed.

When Final Table play began at 3:00 pm, the nine finalists and their starting chip counts were as follows:

Seat Player Hometown Chip Count

1 J.R. Bailey New Orleans, LA 115,000

2 Jeff Winget Wattonville, IL 304,000

3 Dwyte Pilgrim Brooklyn, NY 210,000

4 Steve Grant New Orleans, LA 259,000

5 Stephen “Snackie” Danos Marrero, LA 74,000

6 Stephen Cook Springfield, IL 81,000

7 Edward Freking III Clute, TX 62,000

8 Red Miller Notasulga, AL 241,000

9 Joseph Hebert Metairie, LA 488,000

Note: Chip counts (above) were taken when play was ten-handed. The 10th-place finisher was Robert “Cat Chaser” Schorr, who sat down with 105,000 in chips. Official final tables are comprised of only nine players.

Final Table play lasted about six hours and ended at 8:00 pm. Players were eliminated in the following order:

Ninth Place: No Fourth Gold Ring for Dwyte Pilgrim
Brooklyn-native Dwyte Pilgrim had chips when play started, but nothing went right for the three time gold ring winner who achieved his last WSOP Circuit victory just two months ago at Harrah’s Rincon (San Diego). Pilgrim lost a few early pots and went out quickly, ended up with $2,459 in prize money. It should be noted that Pilgrim holds the record for the player with the most cashes, final tales, and wins of any player on the WSOP Circuit over the past two seasons.

Eighth Place: “Snackie’s” Chips Become a Nice Snack
Stephen “Snackie” Danos was one of three low stacks and went out about a half hour into play when his QT lost a race against 77. Snackie’s chips were gobbled up and he had to settle for $2,906. This marked his third time to cash in a WSOP Circuit event.

Seventh Place: Cook Fried
Another short-stacked player was Stephen Cook. The small business owner from Springfield, IL has played in several poker events throughout the Midwest. He cashed in an event at the 2007 WSOP in Las Vegas. This was his first cash in a WSOP Circuit event – worth $3,577.

Sixth Place: Somebody Shot J.R.
J.R. Bailey, a local player from New Orleans, picked up AQ on what turned out to be his final hand. He ran into AK, which had him dominated. Both players caught an ace, but Bailey was in kicker trouble all the way. He ended up busting out in sixth place, which paid $4,471.

Fifth Place: Winget Flies Away
Jeff Winget, a poker dealer from Wattonville, IL made a nice run. But he ended up losing most of his chips late and went out holding A6 against AK. A six failed to materialize on his last hand, leaving Winget with a nice finish in this tournament, worth $5,589 in prize money. Winget’s previous cashes include a tournament last month at Harrah’s St. Louis as well as a major tournament held in Tulsa, OK.

Fourth Place: Red Miller Sees Red
James “Red” Miller picked up pocket 6s on his final hand. He moved all in hoping to double up, but ran into pocket aces. Miller failed to improve and went out after about three hours of poker playing in the finale. Miller, who is self employed and lives in Notasulga, AL earned a nice payout totaling $7,154. This marked his first time to cash in a WSOP-related tournament.

Third Place: Freking Dethrowned
Edward Freking III, a 26-year-old part-time poker player from Clute, TX took a bad beat late in the tournament when he moved all in with AQ, and got a call from A4. Unfortunately, a four flopped, leaving Freking drawing slim. He missed on the turn and river and ultimately had to settle for a third place payout a few hands later, worth $9,166. Freking, who cashed in a previous WSOP Circuit event held at Harrah’s Tunica (2009) enjoyed what was his highest WSOP-related cash ever.

Second Place: Hebert Finishes as Runner Up
Joseph Hebert, from nearby Metairie, LA ended up in second place. He was short-stacked to Steve Grant throughout the final heads up match. He managed to double up once, but finally went out on a bad beat.

On the final hand, Hebert was dealt Ac Jh. Grant was dealt Ad 5s. Hebert raised pre-flop, and Grant moved all in. Hebert snap called then watched in horror as a five fell on the flop. Hebert caught no help from the deck and was left shaking his head looking at a final board that showed: 9s 5c 2d 9c Th. Grants pair of fives won the final hand of the tournament. For his fine effort, Hebert collected a nice consolation prize amounting to $14,308. This was his best showing ever in a poker tournament.

First Place: Steve Grant Wins First Major!
Steve Grant, who drives a truck for a wine and spirits company in New Orleans, motored away with the top prize in Event #7. He received $23,697 for first place, plus his first WSOP Circuit gold ring.

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

2010 Harrah’s New Orleans WSOP Circuit – Event #7 Final Results

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

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

Tournament Director – Steve Frezer

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