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.