2009 World Series of Poker Circuit - Council Bluffs

$5,150 Circuit Championship Main Event
Day: 3
Event Info

2009 World Series of Poker Circuit - Council Bluffs

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
a7
Prize
$113,020
Event Info
Buy-in
$5,000
Prize Pool
$313,950
Entries
67
Level Info
Level
16
Blinds
8,000 / 16,000
Ante
2,000

Final Table Approaching

Welcome back one more time to the Horseshoe Casino in Council Bluffs, Iowa for PokerNews' continuing coverage of the WSOP Circuit Championship Event.

The final table has been set, and our nine remaining players will return this afternoon to duke it out for all the glory. John McDonald stormed through the field on Day 2 to take a commanding chip lead. His open, aggressive style earned him a number of huge pots late in the day, and he is the proud owner of more than one third of the chips in play going into the final day.

The most-senior member of our final table, Dennis Meierotto, rode his stack up steadily yesterday as well, and he is the only one really challenging our chip leader at the moment. Online stud Evan "MacDaddy34" Panesis just squeaked over the 200,000-chip mark last night, and those three men are the only players with more than 100,000.

That being said, the structure still sets up great for the players. The 75-minute levels that we've been playing this week will jump to 90 minutes for the final table. Despite the runaway attempt by McDonald, it really still is anyone's game, and nothing will be settled until the final river card is dealt. Rest assured that each of the nine will be playing their "A" game today, with their eyes on the big prize. The lucky man who can outlast the other eight finalists will pocket $113,020, an $11,000 WSOP Main Event package, plus the priceless diamond-inlaid gold ring.

To that end, join us right back here at 2:00 local time as we crown our champion!

Seat 1: John McDonald (439,500)

John McDonald
John McDonald
Meet your chip leader.

John McDonald is a 38-year-old real estate investor from Marshall, Minnesota. Technically, he'd be an "amateur" player, but McDonald has thus far proven that he deserves to be taken seriously on the felt. Five years into his poker career, this circuit event is his first major tournament, but he has racked up a number of wins in smaller events.

He's the top dog right now; McDonald will start play with 439,500 in chips.

Tags: John McDonald

Seat 2: Dennis Meierotto (387,500)

Dennis Meierotto
Dennis Meierotto
Dennis "dennyddennis" Meierotto made some late surges last night to finish out Day 2 second in chips with 387,500. He was born in Iowa, but now resides in Kansas City, Missouri. A coin dealer by occupation, Meierotto has been playing poker for only three years. This WSOP Circuit final table will be Meierotto's biggest poker accomplishment and his largest cash to date.

Tags: Dennis Meierotto

Seat 3: Evan Panesis (203,000)

Evan "MacDaddy34" Panesis
Evan "MacDaddy34" Panesis
Evan "MacDaddy34" Panesis is a young online grinder who has come to Iowa from Overland Park, Kansas. Panesis has been playing for about five years, and he makes online poker his full-time occupation.

"MacDaddy34" begins the final table comfortably in third place. His 203,000 chips are more than double the fourth place stack.

Tags: Evan PanesisMacDaddy34

Seat 4: Ari Engel (92,000)

Ari "BodogAri" Engel
Ari "BodogAri" Engel
Ari "BodogAri" Engel is no stranger to the poker scene. He has put up solid performances both online and live. Originally from Toronto, Engel now calls Las Vegas, Nevada his home. At the young age of 25, Engel plays poker professionally. With many live cashes to his name, the largest came last year when he came in third place in the $2,000 Borgata Deep Stack Tournament in May. That finish netted him over $120,000.

Engel comes into today with 92,000 chips.

Tags: "BodogAri"Ari Engel

Seat 5: Joaquin Sosa (60,000)

Joaquin Sosa
Joaquin Sosa
Joaquin Sosa is with us this week from windy Chicago, Illinois. He is 49 years old, and he's been playing poker part-time for about five years. This is his first major final table, and this event has already been the highlight of his short poker career. By day, Sosa is a laboratory technician in his home town, playing poker mainly as a side hobby.

This game might become more than a hobby if Sosa can rack up a few more deep finishes like this one. He will begin play in the middle of the pack, sitting squarely on 60,000 chips.

Tags: Joaquin Sosa

Seat 6: Jeff Bryan (27,500)

Jeff Bryan
Jeff Bryan
Jeff Bryan is a 51-year old sales manager for a concrete equipment company hailing from Fort Calhoun, Nebraska. Bryan has been playing tournament poker for three years and this will be his ninth WSOP tournament cash. He cashed in the 2007 and 2008 Main Event at the WSOP, coming in 27th place in 2007. That finish earned him over $333,000.

Bryan has a wife Donna, who also played in the event here at the Horseshoe in Council Bluffs, along with five children, and three grandchildren. He enters today with 27,500 chips.

Tags: Jeff Bryan

Seat 7: Jeff Banghart (52,000)

Jeff Banghart
Jeff Banghart
Jeff "Mr. Rain" Banghart is one of our local guys from Omaha, Nebraska, and the home-field advantage has been working out well so far. By day, Banghart owns a lawn sprinkler company, but on nights and weekends, he hits the felt hard. At age 47, Banghart says he's already been playing poker for 35 years.

Banghart has excellent results when he crosses the river to come play in Council Bluffs. In 2007, he made the final table here at this same event, taking home $54,000 for his fourth-place showing. Now, he's back at it again in 2009. Banghart took down the first preliminary event of this circuit, pocketing $30,000 right out of the gate. A few days later, he would go deep once again, racking up another final table and a fifth-place score.

"Mr. Rain" knows his way around the online game as well. Each year from 2005 through 2007, Banghart has gone deep in the PokerStars Sunday Million at least once. His best score came in 2006 when he took down the whole thing, good enough to earn him nearly $190,000. All totaled, this grinder has more than $1,000,000 in total online winnings.

Banghart has some work to do today; he will start near the bottom of the pack with 52,000.

Tags: Jeff Banghart

Seat 8: Jesse Hale (77,000)

Jesse Hale
Jesse Hale
Jesse Hale enjoys jumping out of planes. In fact, skydiving is the 35-year old's profession and he's made the leap over 4,000 times. "Outside of jumping, I enjoy water and snow skiing, ATV riding, shooting, and flying," mentioned Hale, who is also an experienced pilot with over 1,000 hours of flying time.

He's admittedly accomplished losses in poker at the hands of the best and the worst players in the game and according to Hale, "I was prohibited from playing blackjack in Council Bluffs because I am the luckiest S.O.B. in the world!"

Hale comes into the final table with 77,000 chips.

Tags: Jesse Hale

Seat 9: Jeff Daubs (34,500)

Jeff Daubs
Jeff Daubs
Jeff Daubs is a part-time poker player originally from Plattsburgh, New York. Now a resident of Omaha, Nebraska, Daubs has the home court working for him as well. When he's not playing cards, Daubs is a software test engineer, but he's been dabbling with this game for about three years now. He'll start the final table with one of the short stacks, but his 34,500 chips are plenty to work with.

Tags: Jeff Daubs