The 2020 World Series of Poker Potawatomi $1,700 Main Event began with 524 entrants, but today just eight will return to play down to a winner who will walk away with a $151,284 first-place prize, a gold ring, and a seat into the 2020 Global Casino Championship.
James Pupillo leads the final table with a 3,365,000 chip stack. Pupillo, who finished fourth in September's WSOPC Potawatomi Main Event for $46,017, will be looking to improve on that finish and was able to pad his stack nicely in the final levels on Sunday night, including notching the final knockout of the evening, when his ace-king was able to hang on against the ace-queen of Fadi Hamad (9th - $14,514).
Cero Zuccarello (3,115,000) and Tsz Shing (2,930,000) join Pupillo as the only players above two-million. Marcus Yofon (1,775,000), who busted Javier Zarco (10th - $11,727) on the first hand of the unofficial final table, sits in the middle of the pack, while Ken Donarski (1,285,000), Mike Hartzheim (1,280,000), Day 1a chip leader Chris Roth (1,125,000), and John Gallaher (880,000) round out the remaining field.
Day 3 Seat Draw
Table
Seat
Name
Chip Count
Final
1
Chris Roth
1,125,000
Final
2
Mike Hartzheim
1,280,000
Final
3
Cero Zuccarello
3,115,000
Final
4
James Pupillo
3,365,000
Final
5
Ken Donarski
1,285,000
Final
6
Marcus Yofon
1,775,000
Final
7
Tsz Shing
2,930,000
Final
8
John Gallaher
880,000
Final Table Payouts
Position
Name
Hometown
Prize Money
1
TBD
$151,284
2
TBD
$93,498
3
TBD
$68,947
4
TBD
$51,484
5
TBD
$38,937
6
TBD
$29,829
7
TBD
$23,152
8
TBD
$18,209
9
Fadi Hamad
Danvers, Illinois
$14,514
The final table will kick off at noon local time on Monday at the start of Level 27 (25,000/50,000/50,000). Play will continue until a winner is crowned. Be sure to stay tuned right here to PokerNews as we determine which of the eight remaining players will walk out of Potawatomi Hotel and Casino with the title.
Marcus Yofon got his stack of around 1.4 million all in preflop and was flipping for his tournament life against Tsz Shing.
Marcus Yofon:
Tsz Shing:
Yofon needed to improve to stay alive, but instead, the flop came down to leave him drawing incredibly thin. The turn put out some chop options to a heart flush, but the river was of no consequence.
Shing took the pot with a set of eights and Yofon headed to the payout desk in eighth place to collect $18,209.
Mike Hartzheim raised to 125,000 from the cutoff and Cero Zuccarello called from the button. Both blinds folded and it was heads-up action to the flop, which came down .
Hartzheim continued for 175,000, Zuccarello called, and the dealer burned and turned the to pair the board.
Hartzheim moved all in for approximately 900,000 and Zuccarello snap-called.
Mike Hartzheim:
Cero Zuccarello:
Hartzheim had flopped top pair and a flush draw, and he made the latter when the peeled off on the river. Unfortunately for him, that same card gave Zuccarello aces full of sixes for the knockout.
For most of the WSOP Circuit Potawatomi Casino stop, Ken Donarski and Brett Reichard sat atop the points leaderboard in the race for "Casino Champ," which will award the top points finisher with a seat into the 2020 Global Casino Championship.
That all changed this weekend when 33-year-old Vishal Patel won back-to-back tournaments.
First, he topped a 190-entry field to win Event #12: $400 NLH One-Day for $15,272 and his first gold ring. The bodies at the final table fell one after another until it was Jim Kilarjian and Patel heads-up with Kilarjian holding a 2:1 chip advantage. Even though Patel was behind, a few cooler turned the tides and it was Kilarjian was in rough shape after calling Patel’s all-in bet with ace-rag while Patel held pocket kings. Kilarjian didn’t find an ace with the runout ending his night just short of victory once again while Patel captured his first ring.
“It feels really good to get this win,” Payel said after his victory. “I had two close finishes last week, so I wanted to come back and give it another try.”
Those two close finishes are the only WSOP events Patel has played in and was a 12th-place finish in Event #3 and a 14th-place finish in Event #4.
“I just want to thank my wife for her support and letting me play.”
As if that wasn't impressive enough, Patel returned the following day and came out on top of a 255-entry field in Event #13: $400 NLH Double Stack, good for $18,873.
In that tournament, Patel got was heads up against ring winner DJ MacKinnon. Patel had a clear chip advantage over MacKinnon and started to steamroll him over as McKinnon didn’t win one hand in the first 20-minutes of the heads-up battle.
It wasn’t until MacKinnon was down to his last 500,000 chips where he found a little momentum after he cracked Patel’s pocket tens on the river holding ace-seven. MacKinnon then continued to win hand after hand until his ace-jack came up short to Patel’s pocket three’s.
“I can’t even describe how I’m feeling right now,” Patel stated. “My goal was to win one ring and hopefully win another a few years down the road but getting two rings back-to-back is unbelievable.”
The second victory catapulted Patel into the top spot for Casino Champion as he now has 120 points but still has a little sweat as Donarski is still in the hunt for Casino Champion and can take the number one spot if he finishes in second or third place in the Main Event.
Upon coming back from the break, there were about a half dozen all-in shoves from various players, none of which got called.
That all changed when action folded to Chris Roth on the button and he moved all in for his last 950,000. Cero Zuccarello was in the small blind and moved all in over the top, which prompted James Pupillo to get out of the way in the big.
Cero Zuccarello:
Chris Roth:
The board ran out and that was all she wrote for Roth.
Action folded to John Gallaher in the small blind and he just limped. Cero Zuccarello then moved all in for around 750,000 from the big and Gallaher snap-called.
John Gallaher:
Cero Zuccarello:
Zuccarello was in a bad spot and he didn't get so much as a sweat as the board ran out a dry .
Last September, James Pupillo finished fourth in the WSOPC Potawatomi Main Event for $46,017. Fate had the same finish in store for him again, though this time it was for $51,484.
In his final hand, Tsz Shing raised to 200,000 under the gun and called when Pupillo jammed for 1.255 million from the small blind.
Tsz Shing:
James Pupillo:
Pupillo was in a dominating position and he picked up a straight draw on the flop. Unfortunately for him, and his brother Nick on the rail, the dealer burned and turned the to pair Shing.
The river was a brick for Pupillo and he was sent out the door in fourth place yet again.
In the first hand of heads-up play, Tsz Shing raised the button to 450,000 and called when Ken Donarski jammed for right around 2 million.
Tsz Shing:
Ken Donarski:
Shing was way out in front and stayed there as the board ran out . Donarski had to settle for second place and $93,498 in prize money, though both men will walk away with seats into the 2020 Global Casino Championship.
The 2020 World Series of Poker Potawatomi $1,700 Main Event began with 524 entrants, and on Monday it was 35-year-old Philip Shing, who was visiting Milwaukee for the first time, coming out on top to capture the $151,284 first-place prize, a gold ring, and a seat into the 2020 Global Casino Championship.
It actually marked the second ring for Shing, who revealed that he only plays poker a couple of times a year. Back in 2015, he won the WSOP Circuit Foxwoods Event #3: $580 Six-Max NLH for $14,543 and his first gold ring.
“Honestly it hasn’t really kicked yet but I think it feels really good,” Shing stated after his win. “I only play three events a year due to work but I actually had a week off of work so I came here.”
He added: “The casino was great, the people were amazing and I just had a blast here at the final table so I will definitely be making this trip again ... As you can expect I’m exhausted at this point and I’m ready to go home and see my kids.”
Final Table Results
Position
Name
Hometown
Prize Money
1
Philip Shing
Brooklyn, New York
$151,284
2
Ken Donarski
Willow Brook, Illinois
$93,498
3
John Gallaher
Lebanon, Tennessee
$68,947
4
James Pupillo
Gilbert, Arizona
$51,484
5
Cero Zuccarello
Madison, Wisconsin
$38,937
6
Chris Roth
Waukesha, Wisconsin
$29,829
7
Michael Hartzheim
Little Chute, Wisconsin
$23,152
8
Marcus Yofon
Las Vegas, Nevada
$18,209
9
Fadi Hamad
Danvers, Illinois
$14,514
Final Table Action
The first final table casualty was the result of a classic flip when Marcus Yofon failed to get there with ace-king suited against Shing’s pocket eights.
Not long after, Mike Hartzheim bowed out in seventh after flopping top pair with a flush draw. He got it in on the turn against Cero Zuccarello, who was ahead with aces up. The ace of diamonds on the river gave Hartzheim his flush, but it was no good as it also filled up Zuccarello.
Chris Roth took his leave after jamming with nine-seven only to run into Zuccarello’s kings, and then the latter followed him out the door after running into kings himself after John Gallaher had limped with them from the small blind.
James Pupillo, who back in September finished fourth in the same tournament, got unlucky losing with ace-jack to the ace-eight of Shing all in preflop after an eight spike on the turn. That resulted in back-to-back fourth-place finishes for Pupillo, this one good for $51,484.
After Gallaher was dispatched in third place – the result of losing with queen-jack to Shing’s ace-jack – it took just one hand of heads-up play to crown a winner. Ken Donarski was at a 6:1 chip disadvantage and three-bet jammed with jack-eight. Shing called with ace-jack and held to nab by far the biggest score of his career.
Donarski Wins Casino Championship
The WSOP Circuit Potawatomi Casino Championship race was a tight one. Donarski had the early lead only to see Brett Reichard pass him up. Then, Vishal Patel took down the last two events on the schedule to win back-to-back rings and take the lead. Reichard’s elimination from the Main Event meant he was out of the running, but Donarski remained.
He needed to finish third or better to claim the title, so by finishing in second place he locked up the stop’s second seat into the 2020 Global Casino Championship. It was the cherry on top of an excellent series for Donarski, who finished fifth in Event #1: $400 NLH for $5,409 and then won Event #5: $400 NLH for $13,127 and his second gold ring.
Tournament
Entries
Prize Pool
Winner
Prize
Event #1: $400 NLH
313
$103,290
Darin Utley
$22,642
Event #2: $400 Pot-Limit Omaha
164
$54,120
Kyle Klett
$13,723
Event #3: $400 NLH Multi-Flight
983
$324,390
James Gregg
$54,155
Event #4: $400 NLH Tubro
257
$84,810
Jorden Helstern
$19,019
Event #5: $400 NLH One-Day
155
$51,150
Ken Donarski
$13,127
Event #6: $400 NLH 6-Handed
224
$73,920
Todd Sladek
$17,630
Event #7: $600 NLH 8-Hnaded
162
$83,430
Brett Reichard
$21,611
Event #8: $400 Monster Stack
610
$201,300
Jason Farkas
$38,039
Event #9: $1,125 NLH
151
$151,000
Sam Cosby
$39,250
$250 Ladies Event NLH
69
$13,800
Kyna England
$4,436
Event #10: $1,700 Main Event
524
$793,860
Philip Shing
$151,284
Event #11: $250 NLH One-Day
366
$73,200
Josh Clanton
$15,374
Event #12: $400 NLH One-Day
190
$62,700
Vishal Patel
$15,272
$250 Seniors Event #1
311
$62,200
Scott Weinstein
$13,642
$250 Seniors Event #2
266
$53,200
Scott Reilly
$11,835
Event #13: $400 NLH Double Stack
255
$84,150
Vishal Patel
$18,873
The World Series of Poker Circuit continues this week at Hard Rock Tampa. The PokerNews Live Reporting Team will be on-site later this week to offer live updates from both high rollers as well as that stop’s $1,700 Main Event.