Peter Vitantonio Wins WSOP Circuit PBKC Main Event for $129,685; Heartbreak for Zarco
The 2015/2016 World Series of Poker Circuit Palm Beach Kennel Club Main Event attracted 393 entrants, which generated a $589,500 prize pool. In the end, Ohio poker pro Peter Vitantonio emerged victorious to capture the $129,685 first-place prize, his first gold Circuit ring, and a seat to the season-ending WSOP Global Casino Championship.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Peter Vitantonio | Wickliffe, OH | $129,685 |
| 2 | Javier Zarco | Madrid, Spain | $80,143 |
| 3 | Robert Lebeau | Tampa, FL | $58,561 |
| 4 | Michael Kelleher | Sandown, NH | $43,482 |
| 5 | Andrew Kelsall | Tampa, FL | $32,788 |
| 6 | Ellen Lambeth | Charlotte, NC | $25,095 |
| 7 | John Palace | Jupiter, FL | $19,489 |
| 8 | Ralph Massey | Chicago, IL | $15,351 |
| 9 | Steve Duncker | Palm Beach, FL | $12,262 |
Notable Finishes: Hank Sitton (10th - $9,927), John Dolan (15th - $8,147), David Diaz (18th - $6,779), Sterling Savill (28th - $3,690), and Aristoteles Neto (34th - $2,936)
According to updates from the event, Vitantonio began the final day of play second in chips behind Javier Zarco.
"I came in second [overall], but kind of just sat there for the first hour and didn’t do much," Vitantonio said after his win. "Then I got aces and doubled. Two hands later I got kings and doubled up and that was pretty much it."
The first hand mentioned actually happened during four-handed play when Zarco four-bet all in with ace-jack and Vitantonio snap-called with aces, which held. Two hands later, Vitantonio picked up pocket kings, checked a jack-high flop, and Mike Kelleher moved all in for roughly 53 big blinds. Vitantonio made the call and held against Kelleher's gutshot straight draw.
Fittingly, the tournament came down to Vitantonio and Zarco, albeit with the former holding a big chip lead. In what would ultimately be the final hand of the tournament, Zarco raised to 90,000, Vitantonio called, and the flop came down 3♠K♦6♣. Vitantonio checked, Zarco bet 80,000, and Vitantonio check-raised to 205,000.
Zarco made the call and then called a bet of 275,000 on the 9♣ turn. When the 2♦ completed the board on the river, Vitantonio moved all in and Zarco thought for a bit before calling off his remaining 1.1 million. Vitantonio rolled over the K♥3♦ for two pair, which bested the 8♥8♣ of Zarco.
Zacro finished as runner-up in a WSOP event for the fourth time – other notable second-place finishes included in the $1,675 Harrah's St. Louis Main Event last season and in this summer's $1,500 Millionaire Maker event to Adrian Buckley.
Meanwhile, Vitantonio was crowned champion and added $129,685 to his bankroll. Prior to the win, Vitantonio had $168,049 in live tournament wins, which included $47,950 for a runner-up finish in the 2014 World Poker Tour Lucky Hearts Open $560 No-Limit Deepstack; $28,048 for eighth in the WSOP Circuit Harrah's Cherokee Main Event earlier this year; and $15,000 for an 803rd-place finish in this year's WSOP Main Event.
Here is the list of gold ring winners from the Palm Beach Kennel Club, which as you can see includes a win by November Niner Josh Beckley:
| Event | Event | Winner | Field Size | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | $365 Monster Stack | Joshua Beckley | 317 | $22,349 |
| #2 | $365 HORSE | Matthew Ezrol | 57 | $6,412 |
| #3 | $580 NLH Re-Entry | Jonathan Abla | 615 | $64,575 |
| #4 | $365 NLH | John Vale | 98 | $8,821 |
| #5 | $365 NLH | Cody Pack | 107 | $9,630 |
| #6 | $365 PLO Hi-Low | Mark Smith | 91 | $8,192 |
| #7 | $365 NLH Six-Handed | Robert “Bobby” Hodson | 115 | $10,351 |
| #8 | $365 NLH | Alex Miller | 95 | $8,551 |
| #9 | $1,125 NLH | John DePersio | 100 | $30,000 |
| #10 | $1,675 NLH Main Event | Peter Vitantonio | 393 | $129,685 |
| #11 | $365 NLH | Josh Vizcarra | 83 | $7,968 |
| #12 | $365 One-Day NLH | Christian Rodriguez | 112 | $10,080 |
The WSOP Circuit continues from October 1-12 at Horseshoe Southern Indiana, followed by the Horseshoe Hammond stop in Chicago from October 15-26.
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PR & Media Manager for PokerNews, Podcast host & 2013 WSOP Bracelet Winner.
