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| 2007 Caesars Atlantic City World Series of Poker (WSOP) Circuit Event Event #6 $300 Buy-in No Limit Hold'em Tournament Report |
| UltimatePokerForum.com The Ultimate Poker Site |
| Robert Zarzycki’s Poker Fantasy Fantasy Football Expert Wins 90 Grand at Caesars Atlantic City Poker Tournament |
Saturday Tournament Attracts Second-Largest Field in
World Series of Poker Circuit History
Atlantic City, NJ (March 11, 2007) – Fantasy sports and poker have a lot in
common. Both require the player to analyze a limited amount of public
information and make strategic decisions. Both are also subject to
fluctuations of luck. In poker, pockets aces is a great hand. But it does not
always win. And just as Peyton Manning might be a great fantasy football
quarterback, on some days he throws interceptions instead of
touchdowns.
Robert “Zmen” Zarzycki knows all of this. He is the author of “Drafting to
Win,” a primer on fantasy football. Mr. Zarzycki is the top ranked fantasy
football expert in the nation, having won a number of prestigious sports
league contests, including some sponsored by casinos in Las Vegas. To date,
his biggest win in fantasy football was $27,000. However, he won far more
than that playing tournament poker. Mr. Zarzycki won the top prize of
$90,075 at Caesars Atlantic City in the most recent World Series of Poker
Circuit event.
The $300 buy-in no-limit hold’em tournament (Event #6) attracted 1,155
players, making it the second-largest field in World Series of Poker Circuit
history. Only the recent Circuit event held at the Grand Tunica Casino-Resort
in Mississippi in January 2007 attracted more entries (with 1,345). Along with
the first event of this tournament series (with 1,106 entries), Caesars Atlantic
City can now lay claim to hosting two of the three largest fields ever on the
WSOP Circuit.
After 1,146 players were eliminated on days one and two over the 18
grueling hours of play, nine survivors took seats at the final table. Rob
Flesher started with a slight chip lead advantage over Mr. Zarzycki and the
rest of the field. Seating positions and chip counts began as follows:
Seat 1: Ivan Carter
Seat 2: Mike Wuest
Seat 3: “Scotch” Cranford
Seat 4: Mickey Meehan
Seat 5: Rob Flesher
Seat 6: Rich Johnson
Seat 7: Warren Wiggins
Seat 8: Mike Kalfa
Seat 9: Robert Zarzycki
Blinds began at 4,000-8,000 with a 1,000 ante. It didn’t take long for the
fireworks to begin. On the second hand of play, Ivan Carter played
aggressively and raised with 4-4. That turned out to be a big mistake.
Robert Zarzycki moved all-in with A-Q and had Mr. Carter covered easily. An
ace on the flop sealed Mr. Carter’s fate – which turned into a ninth-place
finish. Ivan Carter, a graduate of George Mason University Law School and
resident of Fairfax, VA collected $6,930 in prize money.
Warren Wiggins went out next. The electrician from Baltimore hoped to pull
off a shocking upset with his first tournament victory. Instead, he lost power
and ended up going out in eighth place. Low on chips, Mr. Wiggins moved all-
in with A-3 and was called by the chip monster Robert Zarzycki, holding A-K.
The dominant hand won (a king flopped), which meant the final table was
down to seven players. Meanwhile, Warren Wiggins ended up with $10,395
in earnings.
A battle between the two “Mikes” broke out when Mike Wuest made a move
with K-J of diamonds and ran head-first into Mike Kalfa’s K-K. Mr. Wuest had
far the worst of it and was drawing slim. He failed to improve which meant a
seventh-place finish. Mr. Wuest is a pool shooter who aspires to become a
professional poker player. He appears well on his way, with a nice cash of
$13,860 in this event.
Down to six, Mickey Meehan was in trouble. He had started with over
500,000 in chips but slowly got blinded and anted away. Card dead and
down to just 100,000, he tried to steal holding the sub-par 9-6. But Rob
Flesher had pocket jacks and made an instant call. Mr. Meehan caught a six
on the flop for a pair, but that was the best he could do in what became his
final hand of the tournament. Mickey Meehan, a college student at Villanova
University, was playing in this, his first WSOP-related event. It was good for
sixth place and $17,325 in prize money.
About two hours into play, something happened which (to this writer’s
knowledge) has never happened at a WSOP Circuit table. Rich Johnson was
dealt 8-8 and moved all-in. Chip leader Rob Flesher called holding K-Q of
clubs. If ever a player was drawing dead to the stone-cold nuts, it was poor
Mr. Johnson. Bam! Bam! Bam! The flop came 10c-Jc-Ac for the ultimate in
poker overkill. The royal flush gave Mr. Flesher a 2 to 1 chip lead over the
remaining three. Meanwhile, all Rich Johnson could do was shake his head
and walk away. At least he had an interesting story to tell. Fifth place paid
$20,790. The Mensa member from the Bronx (New York) who works in music
management had also previously cashed at the East Coast Hold
Championships.
Play continued four-handed for the next 45 minutes. In an amazing turn of
events, Rob Flesher lost all of his chips in three big pots. First, “Mr. Royal”
lost the chip lead to Rob Zarzycki in a non-showdown hand. Mr. Flesher had
made a large bet on the turn and was re-raised all-in by his opponent. He
folded. Then, he lost more chips on another big hand to Mike Kalfa. Finally,
Mr. Flesher went out when his A-Q was cracked by Kalfa’s A-8. An eight came
on the river, which punctured Mr. Flesher’s chances of victory. The
Washington DC-based consultant received $24,255 for fourth place.
At three-handed, Mr. Kalfa and Mr. Zarzycki battled for the chip lead, with
“Scotch” Cranford hanging on in third place. The triumvirate got involved in a
number of confrontations, with each player taking turns holding the other’s
chips, at least temporarily. An hour later, Mike Kalfa took a bad hit when his
A-9 of hearts missed a flush draw versus Robert Zarzycki (A-K). That left Mr.
Kalfa short on chips. But he doubled up against Scotch on a key hand when
his pocket nines made a set. Roughly 40 hands after the three began their
battle, the chip stacks were back where they started.
That meant Scotch Cranford was the low man (again). He eventually
succumbed to the odds, losing on his final hand to Mr. Kalfa’s two-pair. The
31-year-old engineer from Annapolis, MD (who actually ordered and drank
several rounds of scotch as he played) cashed for $27,720, which was the
third-place payout. Cheers.
When heads-up play began, Mike Kalfa began with a 5 to 4 chip lead over
Robert Zarzycki -- 2,585,000 to 2,035,000. Blinds were 50,000-100,000. The
duo agreed to a deal which resulted in some unusually fast play in the final
stage of the tournament. The last hand was dealt out at 10 pm on a Sunday
night inside a busy Palladium Ballroom at Caesars. Robert Zarzycki dragged
what remained of Mr. Kalfa’s chips and the second-largest poker tournament
in WSOP Circuit history was finally over.
The runner up was Mike Kalfa. The 41-year-old New Jersey-based self-
described “investor” has won over a dozen tournaments within the last two
years. He agreed to a deal with his opponent which resulted in an official
payout of $47,815.
The newest poker champion is Robert “Zmen” Zarzycki, from Hewitt, NJ. He is
a 32-year-old poker pro and part-time author, having cashed previously for
$44,000 at last year’s World Series of Poker in Las Vegas. He received the
coverted gold ring presented to all WSOP Circuit event winners, plus an
official payout of $90,075.
For some people, fantasies do come true.
Report by Nolan Dalla – World Series of Poker Media Director
To view the complete results for Event #6 of the 2007 WSOP Circuit
Event at Caesars Atlantic City, click on the link below:
2007 Caesars Atlantic City WSOP Circuit - Event #6 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
John Arthur – Harrah’s Atlantic City Poker Manager
World Series of Poker Circuit History
Atlantic City, NJ (March 11, 2007) – Fantasy sports and poker have a lot in
common. Both require the player to analyze a limited amount of public
information and make strategic decisions. Both are also subject to
fluctuations of luck. In poker, pockets aces is a great hand. But it does not
always win. And just as Peyton Manning might be a great fantasy football
quarterback, on some days he throws interceptions instead of
touchdowns.
Robert “Zmen” Zarzycki knows all of this. He is the author of “Drafting to
Win,” a primer on fantasy football. Mr. Zarzycki is the top ranked fantasy
football expert in the nation, having won a number of prestigious sports
league contests, including some sponsored by casinos in Las Vegas. To date,
his biggest win in fantasy football was $27,000. However, he won far more
than that playing tournament poker. Mr. Zarzycki won the top prize of
$90,075 at Caesars Atlantic City in the most recent World Series of Poker
Circuit event.
The $300 buy-in no-limit hold’em tournament (Event #6) attracted 1,155
players, making it the second-largest field in World Series of Poker Circuit
history. Only the recent Circuit event held at the Grand Tunica Casino-Resort
in Mississippi in January 2007 attracted more entries (with 1,345). Along with
the first event of this tournament series (with 1,106 entries), Caesars Atlantic
City can now lay claim to hosting two of the three largest fields ever on the
WSOP Circuit.
After 1,146 players were eliminated on days one and two over the 18
grueling hours of play, nine survivors took seats at the final table. Rob
Flesher started with a slight chip lead advantage over Mr. Zarzycki and the
rest of the field. Seating positions and chip counts began as follows:
Seat 1: Ivan Carter
Seat 2: Mike Wuest
Seat 3: “Scotch” Cranford
Seat 4: Mickey Meehan
Seat 5: Rob Flesher
Seat 6: Rich Johnson
Seat 7: Warren Wiggins
Seat 8: Mike Kalfa
Seat 9: Robert Zarzycki
Blinds began at 4,000-8,000 with a 1,000 ante. It didn’t take long for the
fireworks to begin. On the second hand of play, Ivan Carter played
aggressively and raised with 4-4. That turned out to be a big mistake.
Robert Zarzycki moved all-in with A-Q and had Mr. Carter covered easily. An
ace on the flop sealed Mr. Carter’s fate – which turned into a ninth-place
finish. Ivan Carter, a graduate of George Mason University Law School and
resident of Fairfax, VA collected $6,930 in prize money.
Warren Wiggins went out next. The electrician from Baltimore hoped to pull
off a shocking upset with his first tournament victory. Instead, he lost power
and ended up going out in eighth place. Low on chips, Mr. Wiggins moved all-
in with A-3 and was called by the chip monster Robert Zarzycki, holding A-K.
The dominant hand won (a king flopped), which meant the final table was
down to seven players. Meanwhile, Warren Wiggins ended up with $10,395
in earnings.
A battle between the two “Mikes” broke out when Mike Wuest made a move
with K-J of diamonds and ran head-first into Mike Kalfa’s K-K. Mr. Wuest had
far the worst of it and was drawing slim. He failed to improve which meant a
seventh-place finish. Mr. Wuest is a pool shooter who aspires to become a
professional poker player. He appears well on his way, with a nice cash of
$13,860 in this event.
Down to six, Mickey Meehan was in trouble. He had started with over
500,000 in chips but slowly got blinded and anted away. Card dead and
down to just 100,000, he tried to steal holding the sub-par 9-6. But Rob
Flesher had pocket jacks and made an instant call. Mr. Meehan caught a six
on the flop for a pair, but that was the best he could do in what became his
final hand of the tournament. Mickey Meehan, a college student at Villanova
University, was playing in this, his first WSOP-related event. It was good for
sixth place and $17,325 in prize money.
About two hours into play, something happened which (to this writer’s
knowledge) has never happened at a WSOP Circuit table. Rich Johnson was
dealt 8-8 and moved all-in. Chip leader Rob Flesher called holding K-Q of
clubs. If ever a player was drawing dead to the stone-cold nuts, it was poor
Mr. Johnson. Bam! Bam! Bam! The flop came 10c-Jc-Ac for the ultimate in
poker overkill. The royal flush gave Mr. Flesher a 2 to 1 chip lead over the
remaining three. Meanwhile, all Rich Johnson could do was shake his head
and walk away. At least he had an interesting story to tell. Fifth place paid
$20,790. The Mensa member from the Bronx (New York) who works in music
management had also previously cashed at the East Coast Hold
Championships.
Play continued four-handed for the next 45 minutes. In an amazing turn of
events, Rob Flesher lost all of his chips in three big pots. First, “Mr. Royal”
lost the chip lead to Rob Zarzycki in a non-showdown hand. Mr. Flesher had
made a large bet on the turn and was re-raised all-in by his opponent. He
folded. Then, he lost more chips on another big hand to Mike Kalfa. Finally,
Mr. Flesher went out when his A-Q was cracked by Kalfa’s A-8. An eight came
on the river, which punctured Mr. Flesher’s chances of victory. The
Washington DC-based consultant received $24,255 for fourth place.
At three-handed, Mr. Kalfa and Mr. Zarzycki battled for the chip lead, with
“Scotch” Cranford hanging on in third place. The triumvirate got involved in a
number of confrontations, with each player taking turns holding the other’s
chips, at least temporarily. An hour later, Mike Kalfa took a bad hit when his
A-9 of hearts missed a flush draw versus Robert Zarzycki (A-K). That left Mr.
Kalfa short on chips. But he doubled up against Scotch on a key hand when
his pocket nines made a set. Roughly 40 hands after the three began their
battle, the chip stacks were back where they started.
That meant Scotch Cranford was the low man (again). He eventually
succumbed to the odds, losing on his final hand to Mr. Kalfa’s two-pair. The
31-year-old engineer from Annapolis, MD (who actually ordered and drank
several rounds of scotch as he played) cashed for $27,720, which was the
third-place payout. Cheers.
When heads-up play began, Mike Kalfa began with a 5 to 4 chip lead over
Robert Zarzycki -- 2,585,000 to 2,035,000. Blinds were 50,000-100,000. The
duo agreed to a deal which resulted in some unusually fast play in the final
stage of the tournament. The last hand was dealt out at 10 pm on a Sunday
night inside a busy Palladium Ballroom at Caesars. Robert Zarzycki dragged
what remained of Mr. Kalfa’s chips and the second-largest poker tournament
in WSOP Circuit history was finally over.
The runner up was Mike Kalfa. The 41-year-old New Jersey-based self-
described “investor” has won over a dozen tournaments within the last two
years. He agreed to a deal with his opponent which resulted in an official
payout of $47,815.
The newest poker champion is Robert “Zmen” Zarzycki, from Hewitt, NJ. He is
a 32-year-old poker pro and part-time author, having cashed previously for
$44,000 at last year’s World Series of Poker in Las Vegas. He received the
coverted gold ring presented to all WSOP Circuit event winners, plus an
official payout of $90,075.
For some people, fantasies do come true.
Report by Nolan Dalla – World Series of Poker Media Director
To view the complete results for Event #6 of the 2007 WSOP Circuit
Event at Caesars Atlantic City, click on the link below:
2007 Caesars Atlantic City WSOP Circuit - Event #6 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
John Arthur – Harrah’s Atlantic City Poker Manager
222,000
450,000
796,000
516,000
841,000
80,000
327,000
300,000
800,000
450,000
796,000
516,000
841,000
80,000
327,000
300,000
800,000
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