$2,200 High Roller Day 1 | 2019 World Series of Poker Circuit Harrah's Las Vegas

12-19-2019 02:42 UTC-7

Fred Conforti Bags Top Stack as 30 Advance Through to Day 2

Anthony Thompson

Level 12 : 800/1,600, 1,600 ante

The first day of the $2,200 High Roller at the World Series of Poker Circuit Harrah's Las Vegas has come to an end after twelve levels of play. During the day, 77 entries were attracted to the biggest buy-in tournament of the series and only 30 players have made it through to Day 2.

Leading the way is Fred Conforti who had a late run at the end of the night to bag the top stack with (158,500). Following closely behind Conforti is Andrew Kaplan (137,000), Barbara Visher (131,500), WSOP bracelet winner Bob Slezak (119,000), and Pavel Milanov (115,500) round out the top five stacks.

Some players who bought in but fell short include Arkadiy Tsinis, Ben Keeline, Mark Liedtke,Blake Battaglia, and Kyung Min Lee. But they don’t have to despair, the late registration and re-entry period will remain open until the start of Day 2.

The 30 remaining players will return to the felt at 2 p.m. local time on Thursday, December 19 to continue to battle it out until a winner is crowned. Play will continue with at the beginning of Level 13 which features a small blind of 1,000, big blind of 2,000, and big blind ante of 2,000. The level duration will be 40 minutes each.

The PokerNews live reporting team will be here to cover covering all the action until a winner is crowned in the High Roller at the end of the day. Don’t miss out on the updates so make sure to return right here.

Tags: Andrew Kaplan Arkadiy Tsinis Barbara Visher Ben Keeline Blake Battaglia Bob Slezak Fred Conforti Kyung Min Lee Mark Liedtke

12-19-2019 01:50 UTC-7

Christina Hill Claims First Ring in Event #7: $400 H.O.R.S.E

Anthony Thompson

Level 12 : 800/1,600, 1,600 ante

While PokerNews is here offering live updates from the Main Event and High Roller, we’d be remiss if we didn’t tell you about the full schedule of side events that have been playing out over the past week at the World Series of Poker Circuit Harrah's Las Vegas.

In Event #7: $400 H.O.R.S.E, 120 runners created a $39,600 prize pool that was paid out to the top 18 players. Among those to cash but fall short of the final table were Adam Dembowski (10th- $915), Jeffrey Neeman (11th - $784), Haresh Thaker (12th - $784), Andrew Suszczyk (14th - $696), Michael Pope (16th - $641) and Jason Seitz (18th - $615).

In the end, it was Texas native Christina Hill who collected every chip in play to capture her first ring along with a $10,956 payday.

Hill started Day 2 in the middle of the pack with 20 players remaining. She said she played tight, which is a little different than her normal game. It paid off and helped her reach the final table. She was short-stacked throughout much of the final table. When she got heads up against Ryan Caskey, she was the short stack.

Then things changed, "I got on an incredible rush. He had me out chipped big time," said Hill.

The stud games came up in the rotation and Hill said she was hit by the deck hard, which resulted in a quick heads up battle leaving Hill as the final competitor standing. Caskey's runner-up prize amounted to $6,765.

"I don't think I made any mistakes today," said Hill. "I'm proud of that."

"I love when there are mixed games tournaments because they are not around that often,” said Hill. “I take any opportunity I can to play in those and try to get better."

This marked Hill's second career World Series of Poker cash. Her first was in 2009 at the Caesar's Palace Circuit in a No-Limit Hold'em event.

Final Table Results

Place	Player	Hometown	Prize
1	Christina Hill	Dallas, Texas	$10,956
2	Ryan Caskey	Sugar Land, Texas	$6,765
3	Shirley Rosario	Downey, California	$4,641
4	Ronald Schiffman	Bensalem, Pennsylvania	$3,277
5	Robert Gray	Henderson, Nevada	$2,383
6	Rafael Concepcion	Las Vegas, Nevada	$1,787
7	Stephen Brach	Lubbock, Texas	$1,383
8	Ben Tang	Mesa, Arizona	$1,106
9	Nancy Robertson	La Crescenta, California	$915

12-19-2019 01:38 UTC-7

Wayne Keller Wins $250 Seniors Event

Anthony Thompson

Level 12 : 800/1,600, 1,600 ante

While PokerNews is here offering live updates from the Main Event and High Roller, we’d be remiss if we didn’t tell you about the full schedule of side events that have been playing out over the past week at the World Series of Poker Circuit Harrah's Las Vegas.

In Event #6: $250 NLH Seniors, 219 seniors created a $43,800 prize pool that was paid out to the top 33 players. Among those to cash but fall short of the final table were Aaron Morris (11th- $730), James Rolling (13th - $615), Jeffrey Paulson (16th - $531), Michael Johnson (19th - $470), Dennis Jones (24th - $426) and John Ernst (28th - $379).

In the end, it was Nevada native Wayne Keller who collected every chip in play to capture his first ring along with a $10,301 payday.

Final Table Results

Place	Player	Hometown	Prize
1	Wayne Keller	Mesquite, Nevada	$10,301
2	Robert Webb	Las Vegas, Nevada	$6,357
3	Nick Coukos	Richmond Hill, Ontario	$4,509
4	Wilbern Hoffman	Lubbock, Texas	$3,262
5	Harlen Miller	Bismark, North Dakota	$2,409
6	Aaron Scheff	Tucson, Arizona	$1,817
7	Richard Munro	Bell Canyon, California	$1,399
8	Jeffrey Cookson	Milton, Ontario	$1,102
9	James Worley	Spicewood, Texas	$887

Tags: Aaron Morris Dennis Jones James Worley Michael Johnson Richard Munro Wayne Keller

12-19-2019 00:58 UTC-7

Steve Foutty Secures Sixth Ring in Event #5: $400 No-Limit Hold'em Bounty

Anthony Thompson

Level 11 : 600/1,200, 1,200 ante

While PokerNews is here offering live updates from the Main Event and High Roller, we’d be remiss if we didn’t tell you about the full schedule of side events that have been playing out over the past week at the World Series of Poker Circuit Harrah's Las Vegas.

In Event #5: $400 NLH Bounty, 86 entries created a $19,780 prize pool that was paid out to the top 13 players. Among those to cash but fall short of the final table were Joris Springael (10th- $464), Nghi Tran (11th - $464), Lloyd Yamada (12th - $464), and John Nowak (13th - $444).

In the end, it was Las Vegas native Steve Foutty who collected every chip in play to capture his first ring along with a $6,042 payday.

This is Foutty’s third ring in the 2019-2020 Circuit season. Before this season, it had been four years since his last Circuit victory. Despite the hot streak, Foutty insists he’s not doing anything differently. “Just continuing to grind,” he said.

Now that he’s a member of the six-ring club, only 17 players are ahead of him on the all-time rings list.

Final Table Results

Place	Player	Hometown	Prize
1	Steve Foutty	Las Vegas, Nevada	$6,042
2	Gerald Cunniff	Saint Paul, Minnesota	$3,732
3	Alfred Atamian	Mission, Texas	$2,478
4	Paula Murphy	Hallandale Beach, Florida	$1,711
5	Gary Pagel	Oshkosh, Wisconsin	$1,230
6	Dean Yoon	Fullerton, California	$923
7	Maury Solano	El Paso, Texas	$723
8	Peter Dirksen	San Francisco, California	$594
9	Daniel Hummer	Cincinnati, Ohio	$511

Tags: Daniel Hummer John Nowak Joris Springael Lloyd Yamada Maury Solano Nghi Tran Peter Dirksen Steve Foutty

12-19-2019 00:18 UTC-7

Mark Liedtke Claims First Ring in Event #4: $400 No-Limit Hold'em Monster Stack

Anthony Thompson

Level 10 : 500/1,000, 1,000 ante

While PokerNews is here offering live updates from the Main Event and High Roller, we’d be remiss if we didn’t tell you about the full schedule of side events that have been playing out over the past week at the World Series of Poker Circuit Harrah's Las Vegas.

In Event #4: $400 NLH Monster Stack, 225 runners created a $74,250 prize pool that was paid out to the top 34 players. Among those to cash but fall short of the final table were Patrick Testoni (11th - $1,233), Robert Cote (13th- $1,037), Nicholas Haynes (18th - $893), Brenda DeWitt (21st - $787), and Brian Green (23rd - $711).

In the end, it was Virginia native Mark Liedtke who collected every chip in play to capture his first ring along with a $17,309 payday.

“It feels pretty good,” he said after the event. This is Liedtke’s 40th career Circuit cash, and he’s come close to victory before, but until today always fell short of a ring. “I got second twice this year,” he recalled. “And a couple other final tables.”

Liedtke is primarily a cash game player. Tournaments are “more of a fun thing for me,” he said

Final Table Results

Place	Player	Hometown	Prize
1	Mark Liedtke	Manassas, Virginia	$17,309
2	Michael Macarle	Phoenix, Arizona	$10,683
3	Brad Jarrett	Orlando, Florida	$7,595
4	Kyle Birdwell	Fort Worth, Texas	$5,506
5	Nathaniel Adams	Salt Lake City, Utah	$4,072
6	Thomas Kornechuk	Auburn, Washington	$3,074
7	Saad Ghanem	Laurel, Maryland	$2,369
8	Jesse Jones	Springfield, Missouri	$1,864
9	Trygve Leite	Oslo, Norway	$1,500

Tags: Brenda DeWitt Brian Green Jesse Jones Mark Liedtke Nicholas Haynes Patrick Testoni Robert Cote Saad Ghanem Trygve Leite

12-18-2019 23:21 UTC-7

Riali Bluffs Lee and Eclipses 100k in the Process

Anthony Thompson

Level 9 : 400/800, 800 ante

Nick Riali opened for 2,300 from the cutoff and was called by Kyung Min Lee on the button.

The flop fell and Riali check-called Lee's 2,500 bet.

The turn brought the and Riali check-raised Lee's 4,700 bet to 16,500.

Lee quickly called and watched the complete the board on the river.

Riali moved all in putting Lee at risk and Lee folded while Riali showed as he raked in the chips.

Player	Chips	Progress
Nick Riali	103,000	53,200
Kyung Min Lee	27,400	-7,600

Tags: Nick Riali Kyung Min Lee

12-18-2019 23:15 UTC-7

Jon Aldalur Wins First Ring In Event #3: $600 No-Limit Hold'em

Anthony Thompson

Level 9 : 400/800, 800 ante

While PokerNews is here offering live updates from the Main Event and High Roller, we’d be remiss if we didn’t tell you about the full schedule of side events that have been playing out over the past week at the World Series of Poker Circuit Harrah's Las Vegas.

In Event #3: $600 NLH, 188 runners created a $100,000 prize pool that was paid out to the top 29 players. Among those to cash but fall short of the final table were David Larson (11th - $1,705), Benjamin Craig (15th- $1,449), Mark Liedtke (21st - $1,198), Joshua Turner (24th - $1,062), and Ryan Dodd (25th - $977).

In the end, it was United Kingdom native Jon Aldalur who collected every chip in play to capture his first ring along with a $24,298 payday.

Aldalur hails from Spain. He and his girlfriend are in the midst of an extended vacation to New York, and Aldalur took a few days to come to Las Vegas to play the WSOP Circuit for his birthday. Coming here on his own took a little convincing – “She was doubting,” he admitted with a slight smile.

“I’m in shock,” a joyful Aldalur said after securing his victory.

Aldalur is a recreational player who works in commercial auto sales. But he’s a fairly serious amateur. “I play a lot of tournaments,” he said. “I just like to play poker.”

Final Table Results

Place	Player	Hometown	Prize
1	Jon Aldalur	Tolosa, Spain	$24,298
2	Steven Potashnick	San Diego, California	$15,010
3	Alex Dickson	Keizer, Oregon	$10,573
4	Ansel Smith	Plano, Texas	$7,599
5	Barbara Visher	-	$5,585
6	Rizzloe Jones	Roeland Park, Kansas	$4,199
7	Michael Souza	San Diego, California	$3,232
8	Peter Dailey	Oakland, California	$2,548
9	Isaiah Black	Mililani, Hawaii	$2,058

Tags: Benjamin Craig David Larson Joshua Turner Mark Liedtke Michael Souza Ryan Dodd

12-18-2019 22:59 UTC-7

Petten Sets-Up McKeehen for Double

Anthony Thompson

Level 8 : 300/600, 600 ante

Joe McKeehen opened for 1,500 from early position and was called by Paul Petten from late position.

The flop fell and McKeehen continued for 1,200, Petten called.

The came on the turn and McKeehen fired out once again, this time for 4,200. Petten raised all in for 21,800 and McKeehen called.

Paul Petten:
Joe McKeehen:

Petten flopped a set of fours but McKeehen was still live drawing to Broadway.

McKeehen needed a ten to fall on the river but it came the to give Petten the double up.

Player	Chips	Progress
Paul Petten	51,200	36,700
Joe McKeehen	27,100	-31,100

Tags: Joe McKeehen Paul Petten

12-18-2019 21:07 UTC-7

Haresh Thaker Wins Event #2: $400 No-Limit Hold'em

Anthony Thompson

Level 6 : 200/400, 400 ante

While PokerNews is here offering live updates from the Main Event and High Roller, we’d be remiss if we didn’t tell you about the full schedule of side events that have been playing out over the past week at the World Series of Poker Circuit Harrah's Las Vegas.

In Event #2: $400 NLH, 219 runners created a $75,000 prize pool that was paid out to the top 34 players. Among those to cash but fall short of the final table were Michael Hanelin (11th - $1,243), Mike Shin (17th - $904), Jason Seitz (20th - $797), Arkadiy Tsinis (27th - $668), and Melissa Bryne (33rd - $604).

In the end, it was United Kingdom native Haresh Thaker who collected every chip in play to capture his first ring along with a $17,520 payday.

Thaker survived a final table that included five-time WSOP Circuit ring winner Steve Foutty and he also survived a grueling three-handed battle against Jaime Edmondson Longoria and Ryan Dodd that lasted more than two hours long.

Thaker's only other career World Series of Poker cash came in 2014 when he finished in 8th place and just two spots shy of the final table in the $1,500 10-Game Mix 6-Handed event at the World Series of Poker at the Rio.

As soon as Thaker was pushed the final winning pot, he max late-registered in Event #3: $600 No-Limit Hold'em to try to keep his winning momentum going. Event #3 also missed its guarantee by a few thousand dollars.

Final Table Results

Place	Player	Hometown	Prize
1	Haresh Thaker	London, United Kingdom	$17,520
2	Ryan Dodd	Runnemede, New Jersey	$10,823
3	Jaime Edmondson Longoria	Ft. Lauderdale, Florida	$7,676
4	Steve Foutty	Las Vegas, Nevada	$5,555
5	Isidro Sifuentes	Houston, Texas	$4,102
6	Victor Pang	Foster City, California	$3,093
7	Sterling Lopez	Anchorage, Arkansas	$2,383
8	Jared Kingsbury	Portland, Oregon	$1,876
9	Jeffrey Davis	Oakland, California	$1,510

Tags: Arkadiy Tsinis Haresh Thaker Jason Seitz Jeffrey Davis Melissa Bryne Michael Hanelin Mike Shin Ryan Dodd Steve Foutty

12-18-2019 18:46 UTC-7

Joe Walters Captures First Ring in Event #1: $250 No-Limit Hold'em

Anthony Thompson

Level 3 : 100/200, 200 ante

While PokerNews is here offering live updates from the Main Event and High Roller, we’d be remiss if we didn’t tell you about the full schedule of side events that have been playing out over the past week at the World Series of Poker Circuit Harrah's Las Vegas.

In Event #1: $250 NLH, 362 runners created a $72,400 prize pool that was paid out to the top 55 players. Among those to cash but fall short of the final table were Steve Foutty (11th - $1,075), James Nortier (13th- $886), Anthony Cirrito (19th - $634), Joseph Young (27th - $505), and Chris Wallace (36th - $436).

In the end, it was Missouri native Joe Walters who collected every chip in play to capture his first ring along with a $14,838 payday.

Walters won his first World Series of Poker Circuit ring for taking down the opening event at the Harrah's Las Vegas World Series of Poker Circuit. Walters also has the honor of calling himself the first Harrah's Las Vegas Circuit ring winner this decade. The last time the WSOP Circuit was at this property was in 2005.

"It feels good," said Walters. "It was my goal at the beginning of the year to earn a ring."

This marks Walters third Circuit cash of the season and fourth of his career. He made a deep run at the new Ameristar St. Charles stop in September in a $600 No-Limit Hold'em event, but fell just short of the final table, finishing in 11th place for $1,292.

Final Table Results

Place	Player	Hometown	Prize
1	Joe Walters	Lee's Summit, Missouri	$14,838
2	Mark Liedtke	Manassas, Virginia	$9,192
3	April Beard	Park City, Utah	$6,649
4	Michael Souza	San Diego, California	$4,884
5	Michael Macarle	Phoenix, Arizona	$3,645
6	Whitney Langwell	Eugene, Oregon	$2,769
7	Michael Senter	Las Vegas, Nevada	$2,129
8	John Robertson	Las Vegas, Nevada	$1,667
9	Robert Wido	Lindenhurst, Illinois	$1,328

Tags: Joe Walters Joseph Young Michael Senter Michael Souza Robert Wido Steve Foutty