Thom Creel Wins World Series of Poker Circuit Bossier City Main Event for $144,537
The eighth stop on the 2013/2014 World Series of Poker Circuit schedule wrapped up its $1,675 Main Event on Monday night at the Horseshoe Casino in Bossier City, Louisiana. The tournament attracted 438 entries and created a prize pool of $657,000. After a long week of play, local player Thom Creel topped a stacked final table to win the $144,537 first-place prize and secure a spot in the season-ending National Championship.
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Thomas Creel | Monroe, LA | $144,537 |
| 2nd | Sean Small | Douglasville, GA | $89,319 |
| 3rd | Cord Garcia | Houston, TX | $65,266 |
| 4th | James Phelps | Eddy, TX | $48,460 |
| 5th | Jason Lang | Spring, TX | $36,542 |
| 6th | Daniel Lowery | Peter Pender, AR | $27,968 |
| 7th | Jeffrey Niedelman | Houston, TX | $21,270 |
| 8th | Rob Salaburu | San Antonio, TX | $17,108 |
| 9th | Susan Kattamuri | Irving, TX | $13,666 |
According to the WSOP live blog, final table action kicked off in Level 25 with the blinds at 12,000/24,000/4,000, and it didn’t take long for the first elimination to occur. It happened when Creel opened for 65,000 only to have 30-year-old Susan Kattamuri move all in for 481,000. Jason Lang then moved all in over the top for 485,000 and Creel folded.
Kattamuri: 9♥9♦
Lang: A♦A♥
Kattamuri was in dire straits, and she failed to improve as the board ran out a dry Q♣J♥3♥2♣5♠. Kattamuri, who was one of five women to cash in the Main Event, took home $13,666 for her ninth-place finish.
Not long after, action folded to Rob Salaburu, who may recall as a 2012 WSOP Octo-Niner, and he moved all in from late position for 414,000. Action folded to Cord Garcia, who was featured in PokerNews’ Circuit Grinder series, and he made the call from the big blind.
Garcia: K♥Q♣
Salaburu: A♣J♦
Garcia barely had his opponent covered, so the hand was essentially for his tournament life, too. According to the PokerNews Odds Calculator, Salaburu would double 59.87% of the time while Garcia had a 39.67% chance of coming from behind. The K♣9♠8♠ flop was disaster for Salaburu as Garcia found a king to take the lead in the hand. The 2♠ turn was no help to Salaburu, and he needed to find an ace on the river to stay alive — something that would happen a mere 6.82% of the time. Unfortunately for Salaburu, this was not one of those times as the 7♥ blanked. Salaburu was sent to the rail in eighth place for $17,108.
After Jeffrey Niedelman, a 52-year-old player from Houston, fell in seventh place for $21,720, circuit regular Daniel Lowery, who was at his fifth career WSOP Circuit final table, followed him out the door in sixth. In happened in Level 26 (15,000/30,000/5,000) when Sean Small opened for 60,000 and then called when Lowery shoved for around 825,000.
Lowery: Q♥5♥
Small: Q♣Q♠
It was a bad spot for Lowery, and he paid the ultimate price after the board ran out 9♥5♠2♦10♥A♣. Despite the loss, Lowery seemed to be in good spirits.
Thx once again for all the love! Made good money and had a great time this week with good friends! That's what I do this for! #Duma #blessed
— daniel lowery (@danmflowery)
Lang and James Phelps were the next to go in fifth and fourth place, respectively, and an intense three-handed battle occurred between Creel, Small and Garcia. In Level 28 (25,000/50,000/5,000), Small opened for 100,000 only to have Garcia three-bet all in. Small made the call and the cards were turned up.
Small: A♣Q♣
Garcia: K♦J♣
Garcia was at risk and in need of some help, which he got when the K♣8♦6♦ flop gave him a pair of kings. The 4♦ turn gave him a flush draw, which mean Small needed to catch a non-diamond ace to win the hand. Wouldn’t you know it, the A♥ spiked on the river to send Garcia out in third place for $65,266.
Small began heads-up play with a chip lead over Creel, but the local player slowly accumulated chips and pulled out to a lead of his own. The match lasted for a couple hours, but Creel eventually sealed the deal in Level 30 (40,000/80,000/10,000). It began with Creel opening for 250,000 only to have Small three-bet all in for approximately 2 million. Creel made the call and Small discovered the bad news.
Creel: 10♥10♠
Small: 2♦2♥
Small, who finished sixth in this year’s WSOP Event #1 Casino Employees for nearly $14,000, was in desperate need of a deuce, but it wasn’t in the cards as the board ran out Q♣8♠8♥6♣J♣. Small had to settle for $89,319 for his runner-up finish, while Creel, a retail grocery manager, captured the gold ring, $144,537 first-place prize, and a seat into this year’s National Championship.
The 2013/2014 WSOP Circuit Casino Lac-Leamy is taking place in Canada right now. You can find a recap from that Main Event upon its completion right here on PokerNews.com
*Photos courtesy of WSOP.com.
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PR & Media Manager for PokerNews, Podcast host & 2013 WSOP Bracelet Winner.
