Previewing the 2011-2012 World Series of Poker Circuit Caesars Palace
January 27 2012, Chad Holloway
For the last week, the World Series of Poker Circuit has been taking place at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. The 12-event stop kicked off on Thursday, Jan. 19, and will be headlined by the $1,600 Main Event beginning on Friday, Jan. 27.
"Caesars Palace has always carried with it a special aura — whether we’re talking about gambling, entertainment, or poker,” said Andy Rich, Director of Poker Operations for Caesars Palace. “We’ve always been the 'where it’s at' in Las Vegas. Over the next 12 days, we’re rolling out the red carpet for thousands of poker players who are expected enter our events and play for a gold ring. As the saying goes, ‘you can’t get a hit if you don’t stand up to the plate and take swing.'"
While the stop has played host to the normal variety of tournaments — such as the popular no-limit hold’em re-entry, pot-limit Omaha, and six-handed variants — a new event premiered on the Las Vegas strip this week. Event #5, the $350 Ante-Only No-Limit Hold’em tournament, attracted 203 entrants to create a prize pool of nearly $60,000.
So, what is an ante-only event? Here's how the WSOP explains it:
“The game is relatively easy to both understand and play. Instead of two players always posting orbits of forced bets (the small blind and big blind), all players are required to post an ante on every single hand. Then, prior to the flop, the first player to the left of the button is required to bet what usually amounts to the smallest denomination chip in play. Action then flows around the table and players may fold, call, or raise. Thereafter, the game proceeds as usual, with the usual rounds of betting after the flop, turn, and river.”
The winner of the first-ever WSOPC Ante-Only tournament was Jeff “Dobie” Dobrin, who captured a gold ring in addition to the $15,357 first-place prize. Dobrin, 40, lives in Portland, Oregon, and plays poker full time. He defeated well-known poker personality Bryan Micon in heads-up play to capture the title.
This week, the PokerNews Live Reporting Team will be providing coverage of the Main Event. Here's a look at the WSOP Circuit Caesars Palace events completed thus far:
WSOP Circuit Caesar Palace Ring Event #1 No-Limit Hold’em
| Buy-in | Entrants | Prize Pool |
|---|
| $300+$50 | 482 | $140,262 |
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|
| 1 | Daniel Dizenzo | Sussex, NJ | $30,151 |
| 2 | Andrew Youngblood | Las Vegas, NV | $18,645 |
| 3 | Benjamin Palmer | Las Vegas, NV | $13,621 |
| 4 | Robert Whalen | Cudahy, WI | $10,097 |
| 5 | John Carreno | Los Angeles, CA | $7,594 |
| 6 | Steven Morgan | Somerdale, NJ | $5,793 |
| 7 | Jonathan Gerrick | Las Vegas, NV | $4,481 |
| 8 | Matthew Peters | Lake Stevens, WA | $3,516 |
| 9 | Kenika Terlep | Honolulu, HI | $2,798 |
WSOP Circuit Caesar Palace Ring Event #2 No-Limit Hold'em Re-Entry
| Buy-in | Entrants | Prize Pool |
|---|
| $300+$50 | 887 | $258,117 |
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|
| 1 | Aaron Klausman | Birmingham, AL | $50,329 |
| 2 | Paul Gibbons | Middleton, WI | $31,103 |
| 3 | Richard Dugger | Coronado, CA | $22,910 |
| 4 | Doug Lee | Calgary, AB, Canada | $17,098 |
| 5 | Robert Mercer | Las Vegas, NV | $12,926 |
| 6 | Edilberto Pina | La Quinta, CA | $9,899 |
| 7 | Larry Wright | McQueeney, TX | $7,676 |
| 8 | Daniel Wojcik | Newark, NJ | $6,027 |
| 9 | Richard Jackson | Key West, FL | $4,791 |
WSOP Circuit Caesar Palace Event #3 No-Limit Hold’em
| Buy-in | Entrants | Prize Pool |
|---|
| $500+$60 | 207 | $100,395 |
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|
| 1 | Gregory Hartwick | Bolton, ON | $26,106 |
| 2 | Kevin Calenzo | New Hartford, NY | $16,124 |
| 3 | Grantland Hillman | Oakland, CA | $11,643 |
| 4 | Andrew Rudnik | Johnstown, PA | $8,551 |
| 5 | Jason Kinder | Carrollton, TX | $6,388 |
| 6 | Ricky Crandell | Overland Park, KS | $4,854 |
| 7 | Daniel Savas | Temecula, CA | $3,750 |
| 8 | Adel Parvanehgohar | Chandler, AZ | $2,945 |
| 9 | Stuart Pfeifer | Los Angeles, CA | $2,349 |
WSOP Circuit Caesar Palace Ring Event #4 Pot Limit Omaha
| Buy-in | Entrants | Prize Pool |
|---|
| $300+$50 | 120 | $34,920 |
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|
| 1 | Gary Bolden | Las Vergas, NV | $10,477 |
| 2 | Tom Christopher | Rocheport, MO | $6,475 |
| 3 | Jonathan Tamayo | Humble, TX | $4,610 |
| 4 | Chris Back | Vancouver, BC | $3,349 |
| 5 | Scott Davies | Las Vegas, NV | $2,481 |
| 6 | Scott Silverman | Lone Pine, CA | $1,873 |
| 7 | Brian Swinford | Hoopeston, IL | $1,440 |
| 8 | Brent Carter | Oak Park, IL | $1,128 |
WSOP Circuit Caesar Palace Event #5 Ante Only No-Limit Hold'em
| Buy-in | Entrants | Prize Pool |
|---|
| $300+$50 | 203 | $59,073 |
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|
| 1 | Jeffrey Dobrin | Portland, OR | $15,357 |
| 2 | Bryan Micon | Las Vegas, NV | $9,488 |
| 3 | David Delaney | Long Lake, MN | $6,851 |
| 4 | David Neal | Maple Valley, WA | $5,031 |
| 5 | Jackson Kimball | Clarkston, MI | $3,759 |
| 6 | Carlos Herrejon | Mexico | $2,856 |
| 7 | Conrad Monica | Hemet, CA | $2,206 |
| 8 | Ferdinand Quelle | Brandon, MB, Canada | $1,733 |
| 9 | Scott Permann | Tampa, FL | $1,383 |
WSOP Circuit Caesar Palace Ring Event #6 No-Limit Hold’em Six Handed
| Buy-in | Entrants | Prize Pool |
|---|
| $300+$50 | 349 | $101,559 |
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|
| 1 | Dale Beaudoin | Bar Harbor, ME | $25,391 |
| 2 | Robert Newman | Bossier City, LA | $15,689 |
| 3 | Everett Carlton | St. Paul, MN | $10,888 |
| 4 | Yeping Shan | Sherwood Park, AB, Canada | $7,648 |
| 5 | Brett Kodet | Clay, MI | $5,436 |
| 6 | Dwight Johnson | San Diego, CA | $3,909 |
| 7 | Addy Litfin | Saratoga Springs, NY | $2,843 |
| 8 | Robert Bland | Kamuela, HI | $2,843 |
| 9 | Steve Gross | Las Vergas, NV | $2,091 |
WSOP Circuit Caesar Palace Ring Event #7 No-Limit Hold’em
| Buy-in | Entrants | Prize Pool |
|---|
| $500+$60 | 187 | $90,695 |
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|
| 1 | Blake Kelso | Las Vegas, NV | $23,583 |
| 2 | Ho Suk Lee | Honolulu, HI | $14,567 |
| 3 | Sam Barnhart | Little Rock, AR | $10,518 |
| 4 | David Curre | Fairport, NY | $7,724 |
| 5 | Oliver Feldmann | Frankfurt, Germany | $4,385 |
| 6 | Brian Bumpas | Long Beach, CA | $4,385 |
| 7 | George Saca | Sacramento, CA | $3,387 |
| 8 | Jeremy Burleson | Stanley, NC | $2,660 |
| 9 | Barry Washington | Corvallis, OR | $2,122 |
With several events yet to be determined, the race for the WSOP Caesars Palace Casino Champion is still up for grabs. Whoever captures that title, along with the eventual winner of the Main Event, will automatically qualify for the Second Annual $1 Million National Championship. That event is limited to 100 players, and so far only the following players have qualified:
National Championship Qualifiers
| Player | Qualified |
|---|
| David Nicholson | Horseshoe Bossier City Main Event Winner |
| Chris Gamboa | Horseshoe Bossier City Casino Champion |
| Robert Castoire | Horseshoe Southern Indiana Main Event Winner |
| Mark “Pegasus” Smith | Horseshoe Southern Indiana Casino Champion |
| Bob Chow | Horseshoe Hammond Main Event Winner |
| Drazen Ilich | Horseshoe Hammond Casino Champion |
| Gene Dudek | IP Biloxi Casino Champion |
| Jerry Monroe | IP Biloxi Main Event Winner |
| Michael Rosenbach | Lake Tahoe Casino Champ |
| Bryan Schultz | Lake Tahoe Main Event Champion |
| Tuan Phan | Harrah’s AC Main Event Winner |
| Hao Le | Harrah’s AC Casino Champ |
| Freddy Deeb | Bicycle Casino Main Event Winner |
| Huy Quach | Bicycle Casino Champ |
| Raja Kattamuri | Choctaw Casino Champ |
| Abraham Araya | Choctaw Main Event Champion |
In addition to the qualifiers, players who earn enough points on the National Leaderboard will be able to buy in to the National Championship:
WSOPC National Leaderboard Top Ten*
| Player | Points | Rings | Cashed | Earnings |
|---|
| David Clark | 137.5 | 1 | 6 | $47,015 |
| Daniel Lowery | 120 | 0 | 5 | $238,921 |
| Alexandru Masek | 117.5 | 1 | 5 | $125,015 |
| Robert Newman | 115 | 1 | 4 | $45,619 |
| Matthew Chang | 112.5 | 1 | 6 | $23,149 |
| Orna Haynes | 110 | 0 | 4 | $53,349 |
| Felicia Johnico | 110 | 1 | 5 | $22,620 |
| Justin Gardenhire | 107.5 | 1 | 3 | $120,243 |
| Russell Ivy | 107.5 | 0 | 5 | $68,208 |
*Leading up to the WSOP Circuit Caesars Palace stop.
Don’t miss your chance to qualify for the National Championship. There are still plenty of opportunities to play, including any of the remaining stops on the WSOP Circuit schedule.
Remaining 2011-2012 WSOPC Schedule
| Event | Location | Dates |
|---|
| Circuit Event | Harrah’s Tunica | Feb. 2 - 13, 2012 |
| Circuit Event | Palm Beach Kennel Club | Feb. 16 - 27, 2012 |
| Circuit Event | Caesars Atlantic City | March 1 - 12, 2012 |
| Circuit Event | Harrah’s Rincon | March 15 - 26, 2012 |
| Circuit Event | Horseshoe Council Bluffs | March 29 - April 9, 2012 |
| Circuit Event | Harrah’s St. Louis | April 12 - 23, 2012 |
| Circuit Event | Harrah’s Chester | April 26 - May 7, 2012 |
| Circuit Event | Harrah’s New Orleans | May 10 - 21, 2012 |
*Photo courtesy of Eric Harkins and ImageMasters.
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