Donaldson Brown Wins Event #8 at WSOP Circuit Grand Casino Tunica

2007 Grand Casino Tunica
World Series of Poker
(WSOP) Circuit Event
Event #8
$500 No Limit Hold'em
Tournament Report

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2007 Grand Casino Tunica WSOP Circuit Event Report

Victory is Sweeter, the Second
Time Around
Donaldson Brown Tops Huge Field in
No-Limit Hold’em Event at Grand
Casino Tunica WSOP Circuit Event

Donaldson Brown

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Oil and Gas Investor from Texas joins elite poker company by
winning his second WSOP Circuit championship

Tunica, MS – One of the largest fields in the three-year history of the World
Series of Poker Circuits turned out at the Grand Tunica Casino-Resort. Event
#8 at this year’s Tunica series attracted a whopping 750 entries, generating
a prize pool totaling $363,750.

The winner was Donaldson Brown, a 40-year-old oil and gas investor from
Copper Canyon, Texas. If Mr. Brown’s name sounds familiar to poker players
in the Tunica area – it should. He won an event here at the Tunica Grand
Casino-Resort last year. His victory in the $500 buy-in no-limit hold’em event
this month makes him one of only five players in history who have won
multiple WSOP Circuit events.

Mr. Brown overcame long odds to win this time around. He arrived at the
final table fifth in the chip count, and was behind most of the way. After 715
players were eliminated during 14 hours of play on Day One -- 35 players
returned for Day Two. It took another three hours to play down to the final
nine. Seventy-two players received prize money. The seating positions and
starting chip counts began as follows:

Quang Tieu (a.k.a. “Ken T”) was lowest in chips. He busted out early, losing
to pocket jacks. Mr. Tieu, a 28-year-old business owner from New Orleans,
Louisiana, received $7,275 for ninth place.

Romanian-born John Marinca went out next. The 30-year-old poker player
now living in Atlanta, Georgia finished in eighth place. He collected $10,913
in prize money.

Scott Bell lost most of his chips with Q-J versus A-K. An ace flopped and that
left Mr. Bell with just 6,000 in chips. He went out a few hands later. Mr. Bell,
who works in sales and lives in Tuscaloosa, Alabama picked up $14,550 for
seventh place.

Peter Martin busted out next, holding pocket sixes. His pair lost to pocket
jacks, effectively ending his hopes of victory. Mr. Martin, who works in
marketing in Washington, DC has an impressive track record of tournament
finishes, especially those he has played online. Interestingly, he had a 200
to 1 side bet with a friend (for $20) that he would win this tournament. The
friend breathed a heavy sigh of relief ($4,000 was at stake) when Mr. Martin
was eliminated. His payout amounted to $18,188.

Jim Johnson took the worst beat at the final table. He was dealt 5-4 in the
blind and flopped a straight. He moved all-in against Dale Poynter on the
turn. Mr. Poynter had two pair and called. Incredibly, Mr. Poynter caught a
four-outer on the river and made a full-house to destroy Mr. Johnson’s
straight. Jim Johnson, a graphic designer from Birmingham, Alabama, earned
$21,825 in his first-ever final table appearance.

John Bradley, from Irving, Texas went out next. He was low on chips and
moved all-in with Q-J, which was called by Donaldson Brown, holding A-8. An
ace came on the flop which ended what hopes Mr. Bradley had of doubling
up. The 34-year-old dental technician drilled into the prize pool for a payout
of $25,463.

Third place went to Dale Poynter. He ran out of momentum late in the night
and nearly busted out on a straight draw. On the key hand, Mr. Poynter was
dealt J-9 and moved all-in to a flop of Q-10-3. His outside straight draw
missed completely. The eventual champ Mr. Donaldson ended up scooping
the sizable pot with an ace-high. A few hands later, Mr. Poynter with
considerably less chips, went out with a pair of jacks against Lyde Wagers’
pair of kings. Mr. Poynter, who has already cashed twice in Tunica this week
(he also made it to a final table at a WSOP Circuit event held at Caesar’s
Indiana last year), collected $29,100.

After Donaldson Brown doubled up on a big hand, holding A-6 versus Lyde
Wagers’ K-J (the board showed 6-5-3-8-Q giving Mr. Brown a pair of 6s), he
won the final hand of the night just a short time later. Mr. Brown was dealt A-
5. He moved all in and was called by the short-stacked Mr. Wagers with 9-8.
Mr. Donaldson turned an ace, and won the last hand of the tournament.

The runner up was Lyde Wagers from Louisville, Kentucky. He also enjoyed
success at Caesars Indiana last year on the WSOP Circuit (second in cashes
there in 2006). Mr. Wagers – true to his name – wagered a $500 entry in
this tournament and ended up making over 100 times that amount --
$51,471.

The winner was Donaldson Brown who admits proudly that poker has
become a big part of his life. With so much tournament success over the past
year, and $98,184 in prize money from this event alone -- who can blame
him? It’s no surprise that a man who was successful in his career as a
wildcatter in the oil and gas business in Texas would find a natural home at
the poker table.

Report by Nolan Dalla

To view a complete listing of results for Event #8 of the 2007 Grand
Casino Tunica WSOP Circuit Event, click on the link below:

2007 Grand Casino Tunica WSOP Circuit Results - Event #8

Tournament Director – Janis Sexton

Grand Tunica Poker Room Manager – Karen Kaegin

Seat 1
Seat 2
Seat 3
Seat 4
Seat 5
Seat 6
Seat 7
Seat 8
Seat 9

Donaldson Brown
Lyde Wagers
Peter Martin
John Bradley
Dale E. Poynter

101,000