 |  |  |  |  |
| 2007 Caesars Atlantic City World Series of Poker (WSOP) Circuit Event Event #1 $300 Buy-in No Limit Hold'em Tournament Report |
| UltimatePokerForum.com The Ultimate Poker Site |
| Joe Garcia, Corrections Officer, Locks Up First Place in Ceasars Atlantic City Inaugural |
Mammoth-Sized Tournament Attracts Second-Largest
Field in World Series of Poker Circuit History
New York State prison guard tops field of 1,106 players and
wins first major poker tournament
Atlantic City, NJ (March 6, 2007) – Winning a poker tournament is never
easy. The task is even more challenging when there are over a thousand
competitors, all with the same desire to win. Then, there are the emotional
challenges – such as losing big pots, taking bad beats, and otherwise trying
to remain focused no matter which cards are dealt out and what flops come.
Joe Garcia, from Highland, NY overcame all of this and more when he reigned
triumphant in his first major tournament victory. The 36-year-old corrections
officer locked up a top cash prize of $86,268 in the inaugural poker
tournament of this year’s World Series of Poker Circuit series at Caesars
Atlantic City.
A whopping 1,106 players entered the $300 buy-in no-limit hold’em
tournament – officially listed as Event #1. The thousand-plus field ranked as
the second-largest tournament in the three-year history of the WSOP Circuit.
Only the recent Circuit event held at the Grand Tunica Casino-Resort in
Mississippi in January 2007 attracted more entries (with 1,345).
The tournament was played over two grueling days. After 1,077 players had
been eliminated during 15 hours of play on Day One, the 29 survivors
returned for Day Two. Then, twenty more fell by the wayside, leaving the
nine finalists sitting at the final table. Pete Mavro started with the chip lead.
Joe Garcia ranked third. Seating positions and chip counts began as follows:
Seat 1: George Bronstein
Seat 2: Chris Steedle
Seat 3: Pete Mavro
Seat 4: Justin Wong
Seat 5: Joe Garcia
Seat 6: Clark Embrey
Seat 7: Craig Wallace
Seat 8: Aaron Belardo
Seat 9: Johnny “All-In” Blinn
Blinds started off at 15,000-30,000 with a 3,000 ante. Clark Embrey was the
shortest-stack. He doubled up on the second hand of play – a sign of things
to come during the duration of the six-hour finale. That left Chris Steedle in
lowest chip position. On his final hand, Mr. Steedle looked down and saw an
ace. He quickly moved all-in. Unfortunately, Mr. Steedle might as well have
been sprawled across the railroad tracks awaiting an oncoming freight train.
Three players to his left, Joey Garcia was dealt pocket aces, which held up
and decapitated Mr. Steedle’s A-8. The 22-year-old New Jersey local
collected $6,636 for ninth place.
Joe Garcia seized the chip lead a short time later, at the expense of Pete
Mavro. On a non-showdown hand, Mr. Garcia took down a 700,000 pot.
Down to just 320,000, Mr. Mavro then doubled up against Craig Wallace.
Two hours into play, Joe Garcia held a substantial chip lead with nearly
1,500,000 in his stack.
Justin Wong was not so fortunate. Getting low on chips, Mr. Wong tried to
make a move with K-9, which was called and covered by Craig Wallace --
holding A-K. An ace flopped, putting Mr. Wong out of the tournament. The
pro poker player and former musician, who has finished high in previous
Atlantic City poker tournaments, was serenaded to the tune of $9,954 for
eighth place.
Down to seven players, George Bronstein saw his hopes of victory vanish
when he went out in a three-way pot. Mr. Bronstein failed to win a hand of
any significance at the final table -- not what one might have expected from
the most experienced tournament player of the final nine. Mr. Bronstein, who
won a WSOP Circuit event at the Grand Tunica earlier this year and took
fourth place in the annual WSOP event in Las Vegas in a pot-limit event in
2006, went bust on an unseen hand. The popular Floridian who plays
regularly in Atlantic City collected $13,272 for seventh place.
Meanwhile, Clark Embrey (who had started off the day in ninth place), pulled
another rabbit out of his hat when he was all-in with the worst hand and
flopped a straight with A-5 versus Johnny Blinn’s A-10. That magic act gave
the chip dog some extra bite which would prove useful as more players
continued to bite the dust. In fact, losing that critical hand foreshadowed the
doom and gloom that was to befall Johnny Blinn. A few hands later, true to
his name, Johnny “All In” Blinn ran out of chips with pocket fours, which lost
to Craig Wallace’s pocket eights. “All In” Blinn, a swimming pool mechanic
(yes, there is such a thing) from New York backstroked away from the table in
sixth place, good for $16,590 in prize money.
Mr. Wallace’s roll continued when he busted out another player. In fact,
Wallace would play the role of grim reaper to the next four victims of
elimination. He was dealt K-K against Aaron Belardo’s J-J. The higher pair
held up which meant a fifth place finish for the poker pro from Rocky Point,
NY. Mr. Belardo, who has already made it to four final tables at major
tournaments since the start of the year, added $19,908 to his blossoming
poker bankroll – just in time for the spring season.
There was no stopping Craig Wallace. He had become an immovable force.
The previous hand had given Mr. Wallace the chip lead for the first time. He
added to his stack again when he flopped top pair and knocked out the early
chip leader, Pete Mavro. New Yorker Mavro was severely short-stacked and
moved all-in on a semi-bluff – his 6-5 connecting with a flop of J-7-4. He had
eight outs drawing to the straight, but missed, and Mr. Wallace’s pair of jacks
dragged what remained of Mr. Mavro’s chips. Pete Mavro, primarily a cash-
game player who lives in Queens, NY, stated afterward that he played in this
tournament because he had a miserable week in the side games. That
proved to be a wise decision, as he pocketed $23,226 for fourth place.
Three players remained and the money ladder jumps were severe. With
nearly $20,000 at stake (the difference between second and third place
money), play tightened up for a period. Clark Embrey, who might have been
a favorite on the television show “Survivor” based on his highs and lows at
this final table, doubled through two more times – both at the expense of
Craig Wallace. Although Mr. Wallace had about 2,700,000 in chips, Mr. Embry
was still in contention with about 700,000. Meanwhile, Joe Garcia had
slightly over 1,000,000. Blinds were at 40,000-80,000 with a 5,000 ante.
However, all good things eventually come to an end in the poker world and
when that happens, the ordeal means an open seat at the table and a long
unwelcome walk to the cashier. Clark Embrey found this out the hard way as
blinds and antes rapidly ate away at his dwindling stack. On his final hand,
he moved all-in with Q-10 and was a slight dog to Craig Wallace’s 2-2. Mr.
Embrey failed to improve. He was out. It was a remarkable tournament and
phenomenal day for Mr. Embrey, a 38-year-old firefighter from Washington,
DC. His flame was finally extinguished, but the end result was a payoff of
$26,544. He had started at the final table ninth in chips, and rocketed all the
way up to a third-place finish.
When heads-up play began, Craig Wallace enjoyed a 3 to 1 chip lead over
Joe Garcia. Then, things got really interesting. About 20 hands into play, Mr.
Garcia doubled through with pocket kings against Mr. Wallace who called the
all-in raise holding second pair. That put the two finalists into a virtual dead
heat.
Then, Mr. Wallace sadly found out what it was like to be on the other end of
a bust out. The final hand of the tournament was dealt when Mr. Wallace
had J-4 and flopped top pair. The flop showed J-8-3. Mr. Garcia had 8-5,
good for second pair. He called a large bet made by Mr. Wallace. The most
important card of the tournament was dealt out at precisely 10 pm on a cold
winter night on the Atlantic City shore when an innocent-looking five was
peeled from the deck. Unbeknownst to Mr. Wallace, that gave his adversary
two pair. Mr. Garcia moved all-in, Mr. Wallace called, and he was left drawing
to eight outs. The river card did not help Mr. Wallace, and the tournament
was over.
The runner up was Craig Wallace, a dispatcher from Newark, NJ. The 36-year-
old family man was proud of his accomplishment and could return to his wife
and two children in northern New Jersey with the knowledge he had played
outstanding poker for two days. Second place paid $45,788.
The winner was Joe Garcia. He was cheered on by his wife, Danielle. She
was part of a huge crowd packed inside the Palladium Ballroom at Ceasars
who came to watch the final table. Mr. Garcia works as a prison guard at the
Shawangunk Federal Correctional Facility in Wallkill, NY. Mr. Garcia’s everyday
workplace is a maximum security prison, which certainly makes the challenges
of playing in a poker tournament seem trivial by comparison. But there was
nothing trivial about the $86,268 in cash he was paid for first place or the
gold ring he received which commemorated his first major victory.
Showing a much softer side than what one might expect either at the prison
or inside a poker room, Mr. Garcia was ecstatic in the aftermath of
tournament triumph. “I played this for my two girls,” he said. “I played this
for my wife Danielle, and Alexis and Madison. They made me play my best.”
Report by Nolan Dalla – World Series of Poker Media Director
To view the complete results for Event #1 of the 2007 Caesars Atlantic
City WSOP Circuit Event, click on the link below:
2007 WSOP Circuit Caesars Atlantic City - Event #1 Results
Executive Staff, World Series of Poker Circuit – Caesars Atlantic City
Vice President of Table Games – Fred Niceta
Director of Table Games – Paul A. Natello
Table Games Manager (Poker) – Thomas McDonough III
Poker Pit Manager – Jake Devries
Field in World Series of Poker Circuit History
New York State prison guard tops field of 1,106 players and
wins first major poker tournament
Atlantic City, NJ (March 6, 2007) – Winning a poker tournament is never
easy. The task is even more challenging when there are over a thousand
competitors, all with the same desire to win. Then, there are the emotional
challenges – such as losing big pots, taking bad beats, and otherwise trying
to remain focused no matter which cards are dealt out and what flops come.
Joe Garcia, from Highland, NY overcame all of this and more when he reigned
triumphant in his first major tournament victory. The 36-year-old corrections
officer locked up a top cash prize of $86,268 in the inaugural poker
tournament of this year’s World Series of Poker Circuit series at Caesars
Atlantic City.
A whopping 1,106 players entered the $300 buy-in no-limit hold’em
tournament – officially listed as Event #1. The thousand-plus field ranked as
the second-largest tournament in the three-year history of the WSOP Circuit.
Only the recent Circuit event held at the Grand Tunica Casino-Resort in
Mississippi in January 2007 attracted more entries (with 1,345).
The tournament was played over two grueling days. After 1,077 players had
been eliminated during 15 hours of play on Day One, the 29 survivors
returned for Day Two. Then, twenty more fell by the wayside, leaving the
nine finalists sitting at the final table. Pete Mavro started with the chip lead.
Joe Garcia ranked third. Seating positions and chip counts began as follows:
Seat 1: George Bronstein
Seat 2: Chris Steedle
Seat 3: Pete Mavro
Seat 4: Justin Wong
Seat 5: Joe Garcia
Seat 6: Clark Embrey
Seat 7: Craig Wallace
Seat 8: Aaron Belardo
Seat 9: Johnny “All-In” Blinn
Blinds started off at 15,000-30,000 with a 3,000 ante. Clark Embrey was the
shortest-stack. He doubled up on the second hand of play – a sign of things
to come during the duration of the six-hour finale. That left Chris Steedle in
lowest chip position. On his final hand, Mr. Steedle looked down and saw an
ace. He quickly moved all-in. Unfortunately, Mr. Steedle might as well have
been sprawled across the railroad tracks awaiting an oncoming freight train.
Three players to his left, Joey Garcia was dealt pocket aces, which held up
and decapitated Mr. Steedle’s A-8. The 22-year-old New Jersey local
collected $6,636 for ninth place.
Joe Garcia seized the chip lead a short time later, at the expense of Pete
Mavro. On a non-showdown hand, Mr. Garcia took down a 700,000 pot.
Down to just 320,000, Mr. Mavro then doubled up against Craig Wallace.
Two hours into play, Joe Garcia held a substantial chip lead with nearly
1,500,000 in his stack.
Justin Wong was not so fortunate. Getting low on chips, Mr. Wong tried to
make a move with K-9, which was called and covered by Craig Wallace --
holding A-K. An ace flopped, putting Mr. Wong out of the tournament. The
pro poker player and former musician, who has finished high in previous
Atlantic City poker tournaments, was serenaded to the tune of $9,954 for
eighth place.
Down to seven players, George Bronstein saw his hopes of victory vanish
when he went out in a three-way pot. Mr. Bronstein failed to win a hand of
any significance at the final table -- not what one might have expected from
the most experienced tournament player of the final nine. Mr. Bronstein, who
won a WSOP Circuit event at the Grand Tunica earlier this year and took
fourth place in the annual WSOP event in Las Vegas in a pot-limit event in
2006, went bust on an unseen hand. The popular Floridian who plays
regularly in Atlantic City collected $13,272 for seventh place.
Meanwhile, Clark Embrey (who had started off the day in ninth place), pulled
another rabbit out of his hat when he was all-in with the worst hand and
flopped a straight with A-5 versus Johnny Blinn’s A-10. That magic act gave
the chip dog some extra bite which would prove useful as more players
continued to bite the dust. In fact, losing that critical hand foreshadowed the
doom and gloom that was to befall Johnny Blinn. A few hands later, true to
his name, Johnny “All In” Blinn ran out of chips with pocket fours, which lost
to Craig Wallace’s pocket eights. “All In” Blinn, a swimming pool mechanic
(yes, there is such a thing) from New York backstroked away from the table in
sixth place, good for $16,590 in prize money.
Mr. Wallace’s roll continued when he busted out another player. In fact,
Wallace would play the role of grim reaper to the next four victims of
elimination. He was dealt K-K against Aaron Belardo’s J-J. The higher pair
held up which meant a fifth place finish for the poker pro from Rocky Point,
NY. Mr. Belardo, who has already made it to four final tables at major
tournaments since the start of the year, added $19,908 to his blossoming
poker bankroll – just in time for the spring season.
There was no stopping Craig Wallace. He had become an immovable force.
The previous hand had given Mr. Wallace the chip lead for the first time. He
added to his stack again when he flopped top pair and knocked out the early
chip leader, Pete Mavro. New Yorker Mavro was severely short-stacked and
moved all-in on a semi-bluff – his 6-5 connecting with a flop of J-7-4. He had
eight outs drawing to the straight, but missed, and Mr. Wallace’s pair of jacks
dragged what remained of Mr. Mavro’s chips. Pete Mavro, primarily a cash-
game player who lives in Queens, NY, stated afterward that he played in this
tournament because he had a miserable week in the side games. That
proved to be a wise decision, as he pocketed $23,226 for fourth place.
Three players remained and the money ladder jumps were severe. With
nearly $20,000 at stake (the difference between second and third place
money), play tightened up for a period. Clark Embrey, who might have been
a favorite on the television show “Survivor” based on his highs and lows at
this final table, doubled through two more times – both at the expense of
Craig Wallace. Although Mr. Wallace had about 2,700,000 in chips, Mr. Embry
was still in contention with about 700,000. Meanwhile, Joe Garcia had
slightly over 1,000,000. Blinds were at 40,000-80,000 with a 5,000 ante.
However, all good things eventually come to an end in the poker world and
when that happens, the ordeal means an open seat at the table and a long
unwelcome walk to the cashier. Clark Embrey found this out the hard way as
blinds and antes rapidly ate away at his dwindling stack. On his final hand,
he moved all-in with Q-10 and was a slight dog to Craig Wallace’s 2-2. Mr.
Embrey failed to improve. He was out. It was a remarkable tournament and
phenomenal day for Mr. Embrey, a 38-year-old firefighter from Washington,
DC. His flame was finally extinguished, but the end result was a payoff of
$26,544. He had started at the final table ninth in chips, and rocketed all the
way up to a third-place finish.
When heads-up play began, Craig Wallace enjoyed a 3 to 1 chip lead over
Joe Garcia. Then, things got really interesting. About 20 hands into play, Mr.
Garcia doubled through with pocket kings against Mr. Wallace who called the
all-in raise holding second pair. That put the two finalists into a virtual dead
heat.
Then, Mr. Wallace sadly found out what it was like to be on the other end of
a bust out. The final hand of the tournament was dealt when Mr. Wallace
had J-4 and flopped top pair. The flop showed J-8-3. Mr. Garcia had 8-5,
good for second pair. He called a large bet made by Mr. Wallace. The most
important card of the tournament was dealt out at precisely 10 pm on a cold
winter night on the Atlantic City shore when an innocent-looking five was
peeled from the deck. Unbeknownst to Mr. Wallace, that gave his adversary
two pair. Mr. Garcia moved all-in, Mr. Wallace called, and he was left drawing
to eight outs. The river card did not help Mr. Wallace, and the tournament
was over.
The runner up was Craig Wallace, a dispatcher from Newark, NJ. The 36-year-
old family man was proud of his accomplishment and could return to his wife
and two children in northern New Jersey with the knowledge he had played
outstanding poker for two days. Second place paid $45,788.
The winner was Joe Garcia. He was cheered on by his wife, Danielle. She
was part of a huge crowd packed inside the Palladium Ballroom at Ceasars
who came to watch the final table. Mr. Garcia works as a prison guard at the
Shawangunk Federal Correctional Facility in Wallkill, NY. Mr. Garcia’s everyday
workplace is a maximum security prison, which certainly makes the challenges
of playing in a poker tournament seem trivial by comparison. But there was
nothing trivial about the $86,268 in cash he was paid for first place or the
gold ring he received which commemorated his first major victory.
Showing a much softer side than what one might expect either at the prison
or inside a poker room, Mr. Garcia was ecstatic in the aftermath of
tournament triumph. “I played this for my two girls,” he said. “I played this
for my wife Danielle, and Alexis and Madison. They made me play my best.”
Report by Nolan Dalla – World Series of Poker Media Director
To view the complete results for Event #1 of the 2007 Caesars Atlantic
City WSOP Circuit Event, click on the link below:
2007 WSOP Circuit Caesars Atlantic City - Event #1 Results
Executive Staff, World Series of Poker Circuit – Caesars Atlantic City
Vice President of Table Games – Fred Niceta
Director of Table Games – Paul A. Natello
Table Games Manager (Poker) – Thomas McDonough III
Poker Pit Manager – Jake Devries
282,000
182,000
939,000
324,000
627,000
155,000
851,000
490,000
582,000
182,000
939,000
324,000
627,000
155,000
851,000
490,000
582,000
Ultimate Poker Forum Home
Online Poker Room Reviews
Poker Strategy Articles
Poker Discussion Forum
WSOP Articles
World Series of Poker
WSOP Circuit Events
2006 WSOP Results
Poker Odds Calculator
Free Poker Room
Private Tournaments
Freeroll Tournaments
World Poker Tour
WPT Articles
Online Poker Tools
Ultimate Poker Store
WPT Television Schedule
WPT Season 5 Results
WPT Season 4 Results
WPT Season 3 Results
WPT Season 2 Results
WPT Season 1 Results
Poker Supplies
Daniel Negreanu's Blog
Poker RSS Feeds
Poker Books
Poker Chips
Poker Tables
Poker Tournament Blog
Tom Sangenito's Blog
WSOP Articles Blog
General Poker Information
WSOP Gallery of Champions
WSOP History
Poker Articles
Site Map
Contact Us
Poker & Casino Links
Poker Advertising
Link Exchange
About Us
Online Poker Room Reviews
Poker Strategy Articles
Poker Discussion Forum
WSOP Articles
World Series of Poker
WSOP Circuit Events
2006 WSOP Results
Poker Odds Calculator
Free Poker Room
Private Tournaments
Freeroll Tournaments
World Poker Tour
WPT Articles
Online Poker Tools
Ultimate Poker Store
WPT Television Schedule
WPT Season 5 Results
WPT Season 4 Results
WPT Season 3 Results
WPT Season 2 Results
WPT Season 1 Results
Poker Supplies
Daniel Negreanu's Blog
Poker RSS Feeds
Poker Books
Poker Chips
Poker Tables
Poker Tournament Blog
Tom Sangenito's Blog
WSOP Articles Blog
General Poker Information
WSOP Gallery of Champions
WSOP History
Poker Articles
Site Map
Contact Us
Poker & Casino Links
Poker Advertising
Link Exchange
About Us
Site Directory
 | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  |
 | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  |