H.O.R.S.E. Whisperer David Diiorio Captured Third WSOPC Ring
PokerNews is in town to live report both the $3,250 High Roller and $1,700 Main Event here at the World Series of Poker Circuit Thunder Valley, but that is just one of the gold ring events that will have played out by the end of the series.
In Event #5: $400 H.O.R.S.E., 68 runners created a $22,400 prize pool that was paid out to the top 11 players. Among those to cash but fall short of the final table were Arish Nat (11th - $583), Donna Blevins (10th - $630), and Alan Bittikofer (9th - $630).
In the end, David Diiorio beat Brendon Thomson after five hours of heads-up play to win the title, $7,125 in prize money, and hit third gold ring. It marked Thomson’s second runner-up finish of the stop after taking second to David Valdez in the $400 PLO event.
“It feels great, because I played against a super good opponent heads-up, so to be able to come out with the win feels really great,” said the Rhode Island native after the win. It was Diiorio’s second HORSE ring after winning that event at the Lake Tahoe stop back in 2012.
“At first, I just wanted to run him over, but as we got even stacks I had to play the cards and use my skills to beat him that way,” said Diiorio, a former commercial fisherman who now players poker full time. “I kind of specialize in Stud and I know that a lot of the other guys don’t play Stud. So, I was waiting for the Stud rounds to really get it all in. I know that he is a top-notch Omaha player, so I tried taking advantage of the Stud rounds.”
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | David Diiorio | Placerville, California | $7,125 |
| 2 | Brendon Thomson | Sacramento, California | $4,404 |
| 3 | Braden Murphy | Folsom, California | $2,918 |
| 4 | Danny Woolard | Ventura, California | $2,015 |
| 5 | Jeff Lennon | N/A | $1,453 |
| 6 | Tom Tseng | Sacramento, California | $1,096 |
| 7 | Daniel Price | Henderson, Nevada | $866 |
| 8 | AJ Fernandes | Las Vegas, Nevada | $720 |