Main Event
Day 3 Started
2010-11 World Series of Poker Circuit - Horseshoe Southern Indiana
Main Event
Day: 3
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
2010-11 World Series of Poker Circuit - Horseshoe Southern Indiana
Buy-in
$1,500
Prize Pool
$416,160
Entries
289
Level
25
Blinds
10,000 / 20,000
Ante
3,000
Final Table Coverage Note
Before the final table begins, please be aware that due to WSOP media restrictions, PokerNews is only able to post once per hour. That said, we'll still be bringing you the most comprehensive coverage we can, except all of the information will be bottled into one hourly post that you can read and get a feel for what's went on in the past hour or so. We will be sure to break each giant post up with subtitles and timestamps so you can better follow along the action.
Final Table Bios
Seat 1: John Holder (825,000)
John Holder is from Scottsville, Kentucky. Looking up Holder’s tournament record, we can only find two cashes, one in 2003 and one in 2007. His first-ever cash came in August of 2003 when he took 14th in a $300 No-Limit Hold’em event at the Third Jack Binion Mid-America Poker Classic in Tunica. His finish was good for $1,875. The second cash came from another $300 No-Limit Hold’em event, but this time at the 2007 Midwest Regional Poker Championships. Holder final tabled that event and took eighth place for $2,174.
Holder will enter this final table today with 825,000 chips. That’s good enough for third place on the leader board, setting him up to go even deeper. This is already the largest cash of his career and first major final table, but it can only get better from here.
Seat 2: Kevin Calenzo (288,000)
Kevin Calenzo hails from New Hartford, New York and has just under $200,000 in live career tournament earnings.
Calenzo’s results date back to 2003. In August of 2004, he took second in an event at the Second Annual Empire State Hold’em Championships at Turning Stone for $7,560. After that, Calenzo doesn’t have another cash until 2008. In 2009, Calenzo has his best year yet, taking home over $70,000 in total winnings throughout the year. The big score that year came in the Deep Stack Extravaganza II Main Event in Las Vegas at The Venetian. The buy-in was $2,500 and Calenzo finished third for over $64,000, by far his largest cash to date.
A little over a year later, Calenzo was able to set another career high for his largest cash and this time it came with a victory. Calenzo won the $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em event at the 2010 Borgata Poker Open in Atlantic City during the month of September. He was awarded with $79,307.
What may be the biggest story with Calenzo is that he final tabled the WSOP Circuit event held in Council Bluffs in August this year. That was the first stop on the Circuit’s new tour and Calenzo finished in ninth place for $8,114. Making it to the final nine here in Indiana marks back-to-back Circuit Main Event final tables for Calenzo. He also finished in the money in a prelim event earlier here in Indiana and has earned a total of 40 National Championship leader board points. Making this final table has added 30 more points for Calenzo and he’ll be looking to improve upon that from here.
Calenzo comes into the final table with some work to be done. He sits in eighth place with 288,000 chips.
Seat 3: John Alfera (636,000)
John Alfera from Arnold, Pennsylvania will enter the final table right in the middle of the pack with 636,000 in chips.
On Alfera’s tournament record are four cashes for over $13,000 in career earnings. The largest cash he has on record if a fifth-place finish at a Circuit prelim event at Caesars Atlantic City in March of 2009. That finish was good for $9,870 and that means this final table isn’t his largest cash yet, unless he can money up at least one spot.
All four of Alfera’s cashes come in Atlantic City, meaning he’s broadening his poker horizons here in Indiana and doing so with a major final table. Prior to this event, Alfera finished in the money in two other Circuit events, with one being the aforementioned final table.
Seat 4: Joel Merwick (516,000)
Before the tournament even began, we ran into Joel Merwick in the fitness room of the hotel. He let us know he was playing the event and not look, he’s found himself at the final table. They say hard work translates into success and that’s what it looks like is happening here.
Merwick has over $100,000 in career earnings, much of which comes from WSOP-branded events. The first cash on his record is an in-the-money finish in the WSOP Main Event back in 2005. He finished in 189th place for $39,075. Although that’s his only WSOP cash, Merwick has 10 WSOP Circuit cashes. Out of those 10, five are final tables. Most of those final tables came in prelim events, but last season on the Circuit, Merwick final tabled the $5,000 WSOP Circuit Championship Event at Harrah’s New Orleans. He went on to finish in sixth place there for $37,280.
In the first stop on this season’s tour in Council Bluffs, Merwick cashed three times including a 24th-place finish in the Main Event. Merwick has 72.5 points on the National Championship leader board and sits in sixth place for players who have yet to automatically qualify. Adding at least another 30 points here for this final table, that moves Merwick up to second place behind Shiva Dudani. That should give Merwick an excellent chance at making the National Championship in Las Vegas at the end of the season.
Merwick comes into the final table with 516,000 in chips and sits in sixth place out of the final nine remaining. He is from Lincoln, Nebraska.
Seat 5: Charles “Woody” Moore (1,233,000)
Charles “Woody” Moore has over $800,000 in career tournament earnings and plenty of on-the-felt experience. He’s done well to turn that experience into chips here in Indiana, entering the final table as a big chip leader with 1,233,000 in chips.
It’s a little confusing when trying to track down Moore’s records, as numerous databases have him listed under ‘Charles Moore’ and ‘Woody Moore’ and then under duplicates of that name as well from different hometowns. It happens, but here are some of his career highlights.
In 1995, Moore final table the $1,500 Limit Hold’em event at the WSOP, placing third for $79,800. In February of 2008, Moore raked in over $625,000 for placing third in the LA Poker Classic WPT event. That final table included Phil Ivey, Quinn Do, Nam Le, Scott Montgomery and Phil Hellmuth – quite the colossal lineup. That same year, Moore took ninth in a $1,500 Seven-Card Stud event at the WSOP for over $11,000.
On the first stop in this season on the WSOP Circuit, Moore made the final table and went on to finish in fifth place for $21,795. He joins Kevin Calenzo from that final table on this one as well.
Moore has 52.5 National Championship points. He’s almost surely to jump at least a couple of spots given his big lead on the rest of the players, but anything can happen in tournament poker. One thing that’s for certain is Moore knows how to play the big stack. Throughout the day yesterday and into the night, he constantly applied big, big pressure to his opponents with power poker. Many times, he made the players at his table play for every single one of their chips and that made the players uneasy. We’ll see if it’s more of the same today for this final table.
Seat 6: Jorge Solorzano (506,000)
Jorge Solorzano doesn’t have much information on record for his poker career. In fact, we can’t find anything on him. We do know that Solorzano comes from Louisville, Kentucky. After Day 1 of the Main Event here in Indiana, Solorzano emerged as the chip leader. He’s been able to ride that big stack all the way to the final table and will enter the last day of play with 506,000 in chips. That’s good enough for seventh on the leader board.
Seat 7: Kris Bradshaw (251,000)
The smallest stack at the final table belongs to Kris Bradshaw. Bradshaw is one of the younger guys at the final table and comes from Scottsville, Michigan.
The only cash we can find on record from Bradshaw came here in Indiana at this WSOP Circuit event. In the seventh event, a $350 No-Limit Hold'em event, Bradshaw took 16th place. He won $1,264 and is doing much better than that in this event. He's already made the final table and is guaranteed over $9,000. Although he may not have any records just yet, this could be the start of something if Bradshaw can overcome the short stack and run it up to a victory. Even without doing so, he's already earned some much needed points towards the National Championship.
Bradshaw comes into the day with 251,000 chips, 37,000 less than Kevin Calenzo.
Seat 8: Mike Foster (850,000)
Mike Foster from Chicago, Illinois is another young gun at the final table. Even though he’s very young, Foster has two scores over $40,000 on his record and a WSOP Circuit gold ring to his name.
With over $95,000 in career tournament winnings, Foster won $45,580 after taking down a side event at the Bellagio Cup in 2006. His Circuit win came in 2008 at the Horseshoe Hammond where Foster won the $1,100 No-Limit Hold’em event. That win was worth $40,275.
In this season’s Circuit tour, Foster already has two cashes and that’s got him a total of 20 National Championship points. Both those cashes were here in Indiana in prelim events. Foster cashed in the $350 No-Limit Hold’em event and then final tabled another $350 No-Limit Hold’em event, finishing in sixth place for $4,423.
Foster comes into the final table second in chips behind Charles “Woody” Moore. The youngster is looking up at his elder and is about 400,000 chips behind with 850,000 in his stack.
Seat 9: Brian McKain (677,000)
Brian McKain is from Scottsburg, Indiana and has a good amount of cashes on record dating back to September of 2004. McKain has over $240,000 in career winnings and has cashed in 13 WSOP-branded events.
Back in 2004, McKain won a $300 No-Limit Hold’em event at the Fall Poker Classic in Shakopee for over $25,000. He followed that up with an 11th-place finish at the Jack Binion World Poker Open WPT event in Tunica, winning over $52,000. In 2007, McKain won his first WSOP Circuit gold ring at Caesars Indiana. He took down the $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em event for over $70,0000, his largest score on record.
McKain’s only WSOP cash was in 2009 in the $3,000 H.O.R.S.E. event. He took 20th in that event for $8,782. McKain has 10 cashes in events other than Hold’em, proving he isn’t just a two-card specialist.
He’ll enter the day fourth in chips with 677,000.
WSOP-C National Points Implications
Heading into the final table of the World Series of Poker Circuit Southern Indiana Main Event, the Event Leaderboard has already been determined. Kevin Manley has wrapped up the title of WSOP-C Southern Indiana Event points leader with 87.5, meaning he has claimed a seat at the $1,000,000 Freeroll National Championship in May. Although the Event Leaderboard has taken shape, today’s final table could have major implications on the National Leaderboard.
Shiva Dudani, who took 17th in this event and brought his point total to 145, currently sits atop the leaderboard. His next closest opponent, Jeffrey Epstein, trails by 57.5 points, which gives Dudani a seemingly insurmountable lead. However, Joel Merwick has position himself to overtake Dudani if he can finish in second place (if he finishes in first he will automatically qualify for the National Championship and will no longer need to compete on the leaderboard). Merwick currently sits with 72.5 points but is guaranteed at least 30 points today, which will be enough to thrust him into second place on the leaderboard. If he finishes as runner-up, he will earn 75 points and bring his total to 147.5, etching Dudani out of the top spot by just 2.5 points.
Here is how the points will be awarded to the final table:
1st . . . 100 points
2nd . . . 75 points
3rd . . . 60 points
4th . . . 55 points
5th . . . 50 points
6th . . . 45 points
7th . . . 40 points
8th . . . 35 points
9th . . . 30 points
Level: 25
Blinds: 10,000/20,000
Ante: 3,000
Fireworks: Merwick, Solorzano and Alfera Hit the Rail in First Level!
Here's a recap of the action from the first 75-minute level of the day. The blinds were 10,000-20,000 with a 3,000 ante for this entire level.
First Big Hand - 1:40 PM
The day started of with a decent pot when Jorge Solorzano raised from the hijack and Mike Foster reraised from the button. After a call there was about 140,000 in the pot and a flop of 
.
Solorzano checked to Foster who fired out 120,000. Solorzano called and then checked the 
on the turn.
Foster continued to be aggressive and bet 150,000, enough to take down the pot and increase his stack to 1.1 million. Meanwhile, Solorzano dropped to 300,000.
Double Up - 1:49 PM
Jorge Solorzano moved all in for his last 329,000 from early position and action folded around to Kevin Calenzo on the button who called off his remaining 255,000.
Calenzo: 
Solorzano: 
The board ran out 
and Calenzo doubled to 520,000 while Solorzano was left with just 75,000.
Joel Merwick Eliminated in 9th Place ($9,164) - 1:55 PM
Mike Foster raised to 55,000 under the gun only to have Joel Merwick move all in from the cutoff for 290,000. Charles "Woody" Moore quickly called from the button and Foster got out of the way. Merwick, who revealed 
, was in big trouble against the 
of Moore.
That all changed as the flop came down 
. Merwick hit his set and was in good shape to double. The 
on the turn gave Moore a straight draw and chop outs, but it was the 
on the river that sent gasps of disbelief throughout the room. Moore took down the pot to increase his stack to 1.5 million while Merwick became the 9th place finishes. His performance will earn him 30 points in the National Circuit points race, bringing him to 102.5, and put him in second place.
Jorge Solorzano Eliminated in 8th Place ($11,486) - 2:00 PM
John Alfera raised to 55,000 from middle position and Jorge Solorzano called all in for his last 23,000.
Alfera: 
Solorzano: 
The 
flop put a dagger in Solorzano's heart and the on the turn officially ended his tournament. The was put out on the river for good measure as Solorzano was eliminated in 9th place.
Bradshaw Shoves On Alfera's Button Raise - 2:10 PM
From the button, John Alfera raised to 55,000. Kris Bradshaw moved all in from the big blind for 230,000 and action fell back on Alfera. He tanked for a bit and then folded, showing the 
and saying, "I've played with you too long." Bradshaw showed the and won the pot.
Calenzo with Some Preflop Aggression - 2:12 PM
John Holder raised to 65,000 from middle position before Kevin Calenzo reraised to 152,000 from the next seat. "How much is that?" asked Charles "Woody" Moore from the button when action got to him. After he got the count verified by the dealer, Moore folded. Action moved back around the table through the blinds to Holder. He also released his hand and Calenzo won the pot to push his stack to about 785,000.
Alfera Doesn't Make the Call - 2:33 PM
From the button, John Holder raised to 50,000. John Alfera tank-called from the big blind and the two saw the flop of 
roll out after Alfera had checked in the dark. Holder checked behind on the flop to see the fall on the turn.
Alfera fired 60,000 and Holder made the call before the 
fell on the river. Alfera checked and Holder fired 80,000. After a minute or so in the tank, Alfera gave it up, leaving himself with 430,000 in chips. Holder improved to 1.02 million.
John Alfera Eliminated in 7th Place ($14,616) - 2:45 PM
John Holder raised to 80,000 from the cutoff only to have John Alfera make it 200,000 from the small blind. Holder made the call as the flop came down 
. Alfera led out for 250,000, leaving himself just 169,000 behind, and Holder waited a minute before moving all in.
Alfera snap-called and flipped over 
. However, he was visibly distraught when Holder flipped over for a flopped set. The on the turn changed nothing and Alfera needed an ace on the river. It was not meant to be as the was revealed. Alfera was eliminated from the tournament in 7th place as Holder vaulted to around 1.5 million.
A short time later, players were given their first 10-minute break of the day. Here are the counts at the break.
John Holder - 1,660,000
Charles "Woody" Moore - 1,369,000
Mike Foster - 914,000
Kevin Calenzo - 909,000
Brian McKain - 617,000
Kris Bradshaw - 317,000
Level: 26
Blinds: 12,000/24,000
Ante: 4,000
McKain Eliminated, Bradshaw Doubles Then Slips Again, Holder and Moore Remain Big Stacks
Here's a recap of the action from the second level of play at the final table where the blinds were 12,000-24,000 with a 4,000 ante.
Brian McKain Eliminated in 6th Place ($18,885) - 3:10 PM
Charles "Woody" Moore raised to 90,000 from the hijack and Brian McKain moved all in for 490,000 more from the small blind. Moore was clearly perplexed by the huge shove but counted out the chips and made the call nonetheless.
McKain:
Moore: 
The 
flop gave McKain a pair of tens but he still needed help. Unfortunately for him, the turn was the giving Moore a straight. McKain could only hope to chop the pot but couldn't do it as the 
fell on the river. McKain was eliminated in 6th place while Moore reclaimed the chip lead.
Threes Good for Calenzo - 3:17 PM
Mike Foster raised from the cutoff seat to 60,000. Kevin Calenzo made the call from the small blind and the two saw the flop come down . Both players checked and the 
paired the board on the turn. Both checked again.
The river completed the board with the and both players tapped the table once more, checking it down. Calenzo announced "two pair" and showed the 
to win the pot.
Bradshaw All In with Moore - 3:22 PM
From the cutoff seat, Charles "Woody" Moore raised to 80,000. Kris Bradshaw was in the small blind and reraised all in for 237,000. Moore made the call.
Both players tabled 
and the board ran out 
and chopped up the action.
Two Big Stacks Collide - 3:24 PM
From under the gun, Charles "Woody" Moore raised to 80,000. Mike Foster flatted on the button and then John Holder reraised to 210,000 from the small blind. Moore called and Foster got out of the way, leaving the two largest stacks at the table to do battle.
The flop came down 
and Holder was up first. He fired out 180,000 and almost immediately Moore announced a raise to 400,000. Holder thought for a bit, mumbled something about Moore having a set of sixes and then mucked his hand. Moore took the pot without showing and retook the chip lead on this hand.
More Checking Down with Calenzo - 3:30 PM
Kevin Calenzo was in the cutoff seat and raised to 56,000. His only customer was Charles "Woody" Moore from the button and the two saw a flop of 
. They both quickly checked to see another ten on the turn, the . Both quickly checked again. The river was the and once again, both players quickly checked.
Moore showed the , but was outdone by the that Calenzo held and he won the pot.
Bradshaw Working the Short Stack - 3:35 PM
Kris Bradshaw has been the shortest stack in the tournament for a while. His only move is really the all-in shove. He shoved a little bit ago with , only to have Charles "Woody" Moore call with the same hand and chop up the pot. This time, Bradshaw shoved from the button for 209,000. Both the blinds folded and Bradshaw picked up the pot to move to 265,000 in chips.
On the very next hand, Moore raised from under the gun to 80,000 and Bradshaw moved all in from the cutoff seat for 261,000. Moore hemmed and hawed over his decision before eventually making the call, claiming that he didn't want to double up Bradshaw.
Bradshaw:
Moore:
This one wasn't too exciting as the flop rolled out 
to give Bradshaw a flush. There would be no runner-runner antics on this one as the turn was the 
and the river the , allowing Bradshaw to double up to 578,000 in chips.
Foster Takes One on the Flop - 3:39 PM
Mike Foster raised to 60,000 from the cutoff seat. He was called by John Holder on the button and Charles "Woody" Moore called from the big blind. The three players saw the flop come down and Moore checked to the preflop aggressor. Foster fired 160,000 and that was good enough to win the pot.
One for Calenzo - 3:42 PM
From the button, Kevin Calenzo raised to 56,000. Kris Bradshaw was in the small blind and able to make the call this time as he has some new found chips thanks to doubling through minutes before this hand. The flop came down and both players checked to see the fall on the turn. Bradshaw check-folded fourth street to a bet of 81,000 from Calenzo.
Holder Adds a Couple Hundred Thousand - 3:44 PM
John Holder raised to 96,000 under the gun and Charles "Woody" Moore made the call from the button as did Mike Foster from the big blind. The flop came down 
and Holder fired out 300,000. It was enough to take it down as both his opponents quickly mucked.
Holder Shows - 3:58 PM
On the flop of 
, a bet of 131,000 was laid out in front of John Holder as Kevin Calenzo sat in the tank. "Will you show this one?" asked Calenzo before mucking his hand. Holder did just that, he showed the 
and raked in the chips.
Bradshaw Shoving Some More - 4:02 PM
After Charles "Woody" Moore raised to 56,000 from the cutoff seat, Kris Bradshaw moved all in for roughly 460,000 from the button. The two blinds and Moore all folded, giving Bradshaw an additional 112,000 chips.
Foster Takes Some Biscuits from Bradshaw - 4:06PM
Kris Bradshaw had raised up the action from the cutoff seat. He made it 52,000 to go. Mike Foster paused on the button and then made the call. Just these two players saw the flop and the first three community cards came down 
.
On the flop, Bradshaw fired a continuation bet worth 70,000. Foster made the call and the turn card added the to the board. Both players checked and the river card completed the board with the . Bradshaw checked again. Foster fired out 160,000 with a tall stack of chips. Bradshaw made the call, but mucked his hand with his head down when he saw Foster turn up the for trip kings.
After the hand, Foster stacked back up to 850,000 while Bradshaw dropped to 265,000 and went back on the short stack.
The players are now on another 10-minute break before returning to action.
Chip Counts
Charles "Woody" Moore - 2,100,000
John Holder - 1,675,000
Kevin Calenzo - 1,100,000
Mike Foster - 575,000
Kris Bradshaw - 275,000
Level: 27
Blinds: 15,000/30,000
Ante: 4,000
Kris Bradshaw Eliminated; Calenzo Makes Some Moves
Foster Doubles Through Holder - 4:40 PM
Action folded to Mike Foster on the button and he raised to 75,000. John Holder reraised from the small blind to 225,000 and Foster responded by moving all in for 322,000 more. Holder tanked for a couple minutes before making the call and showing . Not a bad hand but not as good as Foster's . The board ran out and Foster doubled to around 1.1 million
Jacks for Calenzo - 4:48 PM
We picked up the action on the flop with the board reading . John Holder checked to Kevin Calenzo and he fired 77,000. Holder folded and Calenzo showed the with a smile.
Bradshaw Squeezes - 4:53 PM
From the button, Kevin Calenzo raised to 66,000. Charles "Woody" Moore called from the small blind and then Kris Bradshaw squeezed all in from the big blind for 388,000. Calenzo let it go and then Moore followed suit.
Calenzo Starts to Slip - 4:57 PM
From the cutoff seat, Kevin Calenzo raised to 66,000. Mike Foster made the call out of the big blind and off to a heads-up flop they went.
The flop came down and Foster checked. Calenzo fired 56,000 and Foster made the call to bring them to fourth street where the was added. Foster checked and Calenzo checked behind.
The river card was the and Foster paused for a few moments before firing out a bet worth 200,000. Calenzo tanked for a couple minutes and then folded his hand. He dropped back to one million in chips. Foster increased to 1.21 million.
Calenzo Slips Some More - 5:00 PM
On the flop of , John Holder checked to Kevin Calenzo. He checked behind to see the 
come on the turn. Holder checked again and Calenzo didn't check behind this time. Instead, he fired out 86,000. Holder made the call.
The river card was the and Holder checked once more. Calenzo fired 101,000 and Holder stuck out the chips to match him. Calenzo tabled the , but his two pair was no good against the for Holder to make a heart flush.
Calenzo dropped to about 750,000 after this hand while Holder built back to 1.27 million.
Another Loss for Calenzo - 5:04 PM
From the button John Holder limped in. Kevin Calenzo completed from the small blind and Charles "Woody" Moore checked in the big blind. The three players saw a flop come down {9c] and action checked to Holder on the button. He fired out 55,000 and Calenzo made the call. Moore folded.
The turn card put the on board and Calenzo was up first. He fired 87,000 before Holder raised to 237,000. Calenzo began mumbling about Holder having limped big on the button and then folded his hand.
More chips were pushed away from Calenzo as he saw his stack slide to below 600,000.
Kris Bradshaw Eliminated in 5th Place ($24,782) - 5:18 PM
Kris Bradshaw moved all in from the cutoff for 418,000 and Kevin Calenzo quickly called from the big blind. Bradshaw revealed and was in bad shape against the of Calenzo.
Bradshaw rose from his seat as the flop came , bringing him one step closer to the door. The 
on the turn changed nothing and neither did the on the river. Bradshaw was eliminated in 5th place while Calenzo chipped up to 1.1 million. "Get that ring, Frodo," Chris Tryba told his friend as he raked in the pot.
"Draw is No Good" - 5:40 PM
John Holder limped and Kevin Calenzo raised to 97,000 on the button. Charles "Woody" Moore was in the small blind and made the call as Holder got out of the way. The flop came down and Moore bet out 200,000. Calenzo moved all in for 837,000 more and Moore seemed surprised. "Really," he exclaimed, "I have all the draws in the world."
"Draw is no good," Calenzo responded. Moore showed the and tossed his cards into the muck.
Last Hand of the Level - 5:54 PM
The last hand of the level saw Charles "Woody" Moore raise to 90,000 from the small blind. Mike Foster then made it 250,000 to go from the big blind and Moore made a quick call. The flop came down and Moore grabbed two stacks of grey, worth 300,000, and pushed them in the pot. Foster, who had a total of 690,000 behind, tanked for a solid five minutes before letting the hand go.
Here are the chip counts at the break.
Charles "Woody" Moore - 2,100,000
John Holder - 1,700,000
Kevin Calenzo - 1,425,000
Mike Foster - 650,000