 The 2009-2010 World Series of Poker Circuit season is about to come to an end. This week's scheduled events taking place at Harrah's New Orleans will conclude the sixth successful year of WSOP Circuit events. The WSOP Circuit was initially launched in January 2005 in order to give as many players as possible an opportunity to participate in the world's biggest and most prestigious poker tournament series. WSOP Circuit events typically take place over two-week periods between October and May.
This season included tournaments held in Chicago (Hammond, IN), Southern Indiana, Lake Tahoe, Harrah's Atlantic City, Tunica, Council Bluffs, Caesars Atlantic City, Harrah's Rincon, Harrah's St. Louis, Caesars Palace Las Vegas, and Harrah's New Orleans.
This year's WSOP Circuit series awarded $20,209,935 in total prize money to all winners. With the prize money awarded at the WSOP in Las Vegas amounting to more than $174 million in 2009, all WSOP-related events together over the course of the last 12 months amounted to nearly $200 million in total prize money for winners.
Many players now travel around the WSOP Circuit regularly and play at multiple stops. Several of these players have established themselves at the Circuit's best players. Here are the top-ranked players of the 2009-2010 WSOP Circuit season, ranked in each of the major categories:
MOST GOLD RING WINS:
2 – Mark "Pegasus" Smith (Georgetown, KY)
2 – John "Cowboy" Land (Dallas, TX)
1 – (146 players)
MOST FINAL TABLE APPEARANCES:
5 – Mark "Pegasus" Smith (Georgetown, KY)
5 – Christopher Cardenas (Woodridge, IL)
5 – Michael Ashar (Vermilion, OH)
4 – Dwyte Pilgrim (Brooklyn, NY)
3 – (13 players)
MOST CASHES:
8 – Mark "Pegasus" Smith (Georgetown, KY)
8 – Michael Ashar (Vermilion, OH)
6 – Dwyte Pilgrim (Brooklyn, NY)
5 – (10 players)
It should also be noted that "Chicago Johnny" Nowak (Fairview, TX) set a record for the most cashes at one WSOP Circuit stop. He recently cashed five times alone at Harrah's New Orleans.
The top money winner of the season was Dan Livingston (Oak Forest, IL), with $291,749 in earnings. Livingston won the Main Event championship held in Chicago in October 2009. Runner up was Chris Klodnicki (Vorhees, NJ), who accumulated $281,277. Klodnicki won the Harrah's Atlantic City championship in December 2009.
Next season's WSOP Circuit schedule will be released sometime during the WSOP in Las Vegas. More locations and events are planned for 2010-2011 than ever before. So, stay tuned for more details about how to be a part of next year's excitement.
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by Nolan Dalla
 The top three finishers in the latest World Series of Poker Circuit tournament held at Harrah's New Orleans agreed to a deal. Ronnie Hoover, a 59-year-old retiree from Baton Rouge, LA ended up taking first place. His official payout amounted to $23,856. Hoover was also presented with his first WSOP Circuit gold ring, marking his first tournament victory.
Hoover has a few previous cashes on his poker resume, but nothing on the scale of winning a WSOP-related tournament. The runner up was Shimiron Preis, from St. Charles, LA. He was part of the deal made with third-place finisher Jahson "Class" Spence, from Yonkers, NY. The last hand of the tournament took place when Spence lost a big race holding AQ against pocket jacks, leaving him as the shortest stack. That's when the negotiating began, ending up with an agreement which ended the tournament much earlier than had been anticipated.
This was the 15th of 19 gold ring events on this year's Bayou Poker Challenge schedule. The $500 (+50) buy-in No-Limit Hold'em Shootout was played over two consecutive days during May 15th and 16th. The tournament attracted 198 entries.
The Shootout concept was simple. The "winner" was required to survive three consecutive tables. Sounds easy, but given the stiff competition, some of the matches went several hours. For instance, the second round match between third-place finisher Jahson Spence and two-time WSOP Circuit gold ring winner Alexandru Masek lasted five hours, heads up! Furthermore, since rounds could not begin until all matches were complete, the Day One competition lasted about 15 hours.
Among the twenty players who cashed was "Johnny Chicago" Nowak, who is originally from Chicago but now lives near Dallas. "Johnny Chicago" tied a WSOP Circuit record by cashing in his fifth tournament at this series, the most by any player ever at one single tournament stop. With the Main Event still to be played, "Johnny Chicago" now has a shot at making history. He says he plans to play in the Main Event, just for this reason.
The top 20 finishers divided a prize pool totaling $80,510. After 188 players were eliminated on the first day, final table play with ten players commenced on a Sunday afternoon. There were two prior WSOP Circuit gold ring winners among the final ten. Mike Raimon won last year's Six-Handed No-Limit Hold'em championship here at Harrah's New Orleans. Ed Corrado won a title three years ago at Harrah's Tunica.
Shimiron Preis, a poker pro from St. Charles, LA agreed to second place. He cashed four times in various WSOP Circuit events, including twice last month at Harrah's St. Louis. The former 36-year-old manager collected a nice official payout amounting to $14,540.
Ronnie Hoover, a retiree from Baton Rouge, LA was the winner of the 15th WSOP Circuit event. He officially collected $14,540 for first place, plus his first gold ring. He formally worked in sales and marketing. In his spare time, when he is not playing poker Hoover enjoys fishing and playing golf. This was Hoover's first major tournament victory.
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by Nolan Dalla
 The most recent World Series of Poker Circuit tournament held at Harrah's New Orleans won't set any attendance records. Even though the overall numbers through the first 14 events are up slightly over last year, the tournament which just concluded attracted only 13 players. Of course, there's a justifiable explanation for the low turnout. The buy-in was five-grand….as in five-thousand dollars.
In fact, this was the largest non-championship event ever held in the six-year history of the WSOP Circuit. While most gold ring tournaments are in the $300 to $1,000 range, organizers of the Harrah's New Orleans event wanted to try out a big buy-in tournament with the hope it could ignite greater interest and participation in a wider range of buy-in events in the future.
The 13 pioneers of Pot-Limit Omaha each forked over $5,000 and played a one-day tournament, which paid only the top two spots. This was the 14th gold ring event of 19 on this year's WSOP Circuit schedule at Harrah's New Orleans.
Players agreed to a deal when play reached three-handed. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The official tournament winner was William Benton, from Houston, TX. His official payout amounted to $37,830 which was not bad for what amounted to a ten-hour poker session. Benton was also presented with the coveted gold ring, awarded to all WSOP Circuit event winners. This was his first time to cash in a WSOP-related tournament, following two previous cashes at the Mid-South Classic two years ago.
The official runner up was Cameron New, from The Woodlands, TX. He had just one prior cash prior to this payout, which took place a few months ago in Las Vegas. Mr. New collected a nice consolation prize amounting to $25,220.
It's tough to predict if and when events of this size will be offered in the future. But one thing is for sure. Whether it's bigger buy-in tournaments, shootouts, heads-up tournaments, mixed games, or run of the mill No-Limit Hold'em events, Harrah's New Orleans has clearly demonstrated the willingness to take risks and try out new things. And for that, they should be applauded.
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by Nolan Dalla
 Daphne "Tweety" Turner made poker history tonight. She became the first woman in the six-year history of WSOP Circuit events to win two gold rings. Turner bulldozed her way to victory in the Mixed Game event, which requires mastery of seven forms of poker. Turner pocketed $6,727. But her win is likely to be remembered as being a record-setting accomplishment.
Turner's previous victory came exactly two years to the day when she won her first gold ring, here at Harrah's New Orleans. In that tournament, Turner became the first female to win an open WSOP Circuit in New Orleans. History repeated itself again on this night, with Turner's resounding, well-earned victory.
Perhaps most impressive about Turner's win was that it took place in a Mixed Game format. Indeed, Mixed Game events are becoming increasingly popular at many tournaments. The Mixed Game format is similar to H.O.R.S.E., except a wider variety of poker games are played. Instead of just five games played as with H.O.R.S.E., there are seven games included – Limit Hold'em, Omaha High-Low Split, Razz, Seven-Card Stud, Eight-or-Better, No-Limit Hold'em, and Pot-Limit Omaha. Some argue that Mixed Game tournaments are actually the supreme test of all-around poker skill, since there are so many different varieties of games. Note: By contrast, 60 percent of the H.O.R.S.E. menu is comprised of Stud games, and all play is limit. Mixed Game formats not only include two additional games, but Pot-Limit and No-Limit, as well.
This was the tenth gold ring event of 19 at this year's Bayou Poker Challenge, part of the WSOP Circuit schedule at Harrah's New Orleans. The $300 (+50) buy-in Mixed Game tournament was played over two consecutive days during May 12th and 13th. The tournament attracted 68 entries. The top eight finishers divided a prize pool totaling $19,788. After 60 players were eliminated on the first day, final table play began on a Thursday afternoon, with Turner ranked in second place according to the early chip count.
In fact, this final table included two former WSOP Circuit gold ring winners, Taylor and Allen Kessler who would end up locked in a heads-up showdown for a repeat victory. Michael Husar was also present, who won a WSOP Satellite event held at last year's Winter Bayou Poker Challenge, held at Harrah's New Orleans.
Greg Headrick arrived at the Final Table with a significant chip advantage over Turner. The remaining six players were outchipped by a wider margin. But the mixed game format and wide distribution of chips and low blinds and antes meant a long night of play was to be expected.
Allen "Chainsaw" Kessler, coming off his championship victory in the 2009 Winter Bayou Poker Challenge held here at Harrah's last December had a shot to capture his second gold ring. But Daphne Turner had other ideas and wiped out Kessler in a tough final heads-up battle that went 90 minutes. The final hand came when Turner ended up making a straight against Kessler's two pair.
The final hand of the tournament can be seen on video here: http://www.youtube.com/wsopdotcom
Allen Kessler, who is originally from Philadelphia and now lives in Las Vegas, has earned in excess of $1.5 million in tournament poker. He added another $5,155 to his resume of cashes with this second-place showing.
Daphne's cash prize totaled $6,727. Far more memorable was the WSOP Circuit gold ring she earned, becoming the first female player since the WSOP Circuit began in 2005 to win two open events. Turner's accomplishment is even more remarkable since she plays in few events when compared to many of her tournament rivals. Encouraged by her showing in this tournament, as well as a first-place finish at another tournament held recently in Las Vegas, Turner says she hopes to play in more future events, including the 2010 WSOP.
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by Nolan Dalla
 The poker world is pretty much divided into two camps, those who like re-buy tournaments and those who don't. Re-buy tournaments are attractive to many players because the prize pools are often two to three times the payout for a conventional freeze out tournament. The larger the number of re-buys, the bigger the prize money is for those who are fortunate enough to cash. The downside to re-buy tournaments is they can be expensive if things go bad. Re-buy tournaments also play differently, especially during the re-buy phase, which typically takes place during the first few levels. With the prospect of re-buys available, many players like to gamble early, and this increases variance, which is already part of the tournament equation.
The most recent World Series of Poker Circuit tournament held at Harrah's New Orleans was a No-Limit Hold'em event, with $100 re-buys during the first three levels. The tournament attracted 164 players, which was about the expected number for the midweek start. What blew everyone away was the number of re-buys, a whopping 656 reloads, which amounts to an average of four re-buys per player. On average, most poker re-buy tournaments have 1.5 to 2 re-buys per player. Indeed, to anyone who still doubts the poker action in New Orleans is not among the best in the country, just check out the numbers.
Note -- Video highlights of this tournament can be seen at YouTube here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJHv1X9g2JM
This was the ninth gold ring event of 19 on this year's WSOP Circuit schedule at Harrah's New Orleans. The $300 (+40) buy-in No-Limit Hold'em tournament was played over two consecutive days during May 13th and 14th. The top 18 finishers divided a prize pool totaling $106,206.
The winner was Lake Garner, from Hattiesburg, MS. He won his second WSOP Circuit gold ring, following a victory which also took place here at Harrah's New Orleans in 2007. Garner also won a major tournament held in Mississippi in 2005 and among his many accomplishments has cashed at the WSOP of in Las Vegas.
Garner, accompanied by his wife Michelle who sat near the final table for the duration, became well-known to fans of reality television when they jointly appeared on the popular program, "The Amazing Race." During the 2006 season, they traveled around the country together logging 72,000 miles. The Garners ended up finishing sixth.
This time, the outcome was far better, first place. Garner pocketed $28,144 and received his second WSOP Circuit gold ring. He also took just two re-buys, only half the tournament average.
Also among those who cashed, was two-time WSOP Circuit gold ring winner Johnathan Westra, who ended up with an 11th place finish. After 155 players were eliminated on the first day, final table play began on a Thursday afternoon. New Yorker Sholom Lipszyc arrived at the Final Table with a slight chip advantage over Lake Garner. The remaining seven players were outchipped by 2 to 1 or more. The final table was also notable for the appearance of "Johnny Chicago" Nowak, who was making this third top ten showing and fourth cash so far at this year's Bayou series.
Carl "Spanky" Guillot, an antique dealer from Baton Rouge, LA was the subject of one of the tournament's most interesting storylines. Spanky was down to just a round of blinds when play was with 17 players. He managed to squeak into the money. Then, he nursed a short stack for the better part of two days en route to a stunning second-place finish. Spanky was all-in a number of time at the finale, and managed to survive each time. When heads-up play began, Spanky was down by about a 7 to 1 margin and was offered a deal to take the runner up spot, to which he agreed. Second place officially paid $16,992.
Lake Garner (a.k.a. "Terry Lake Garner"), from Hattiesburg, MS collected the top prize of $28,144 and his second WSOP Circuit gold ring. Garner's previous win came in a $1,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold'em event held in May 2007. Garner has only three career cashes in WSOP Circuit play, but nevertheless also has two victories.
A short interview with Garner and his wife at tableside can be seen at the link posted above
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by Nolan Dalla
 The most recent World Series of Poker Circuit tournament concluded at Harrah's New Orleans today. The winner was Steve Grant, a 24-year-old part-time local poker player from New Orleans. Grant won $23,697 for first place, plus the coveted gold ring, presented to all WSOP Circuit winners.
Grant is currently working as a truck driver for a local wine and spirits company. However, he enjoys playing poker in his spare time and concentrates mostly on cash games. Grant had previously entered only a limited number of poker tournaments, but managed to cash a few times here in New Orleans back in 2007. He had two 12th-place finishes in tournaments held on the WSOP Circuit that year. Grant had not done much in tournaments since then, but sure came back in grand style with this showing, his first major tournament victory ever.
This was the seventh gold ring event (of 19) on this year's WSOP Circuit schedule at Harrah' New Orleans. Attendance at this year's tournament continues to be impressive. Attendance remains well ahead of last year's numbers. Through the conclusion of Event #8, overall tournament attendance is up 11 percent over the same point last year here at the WSOP Circuit.
The $500 (+50) buy-in No-Limit Hold'em tournament was played over two consecutive days during May 11th and 12th. The tournament attracted 195 entries. The top 18 finishers divided a prize pool totaling $89,425. After 186 players were eliminated on the first day, final table play began on a Wednesday afternoon.
The final table included Dwyte Pilgrim, who was shooting for his fourth WSOP Circuit gold ring. Pilgrim hoped to join Mark "Pegasus" Smith and Men "the Master" Nguyen as the all-time WSOP Circuit most gold ring winners (with four each). Pilgrim, who was the unofficial WSOP Circuit player of the year last season, ended up with a disappointing ninth-place finish, but still remains one of the Circuit's players to watch in future events.
Joseph Hebert arrived at the Final Table with a substantial chip lead. In fact, he was nearly 2 to 1 over his closest rival, Jeff Winget. The eventual winner, Steve Grant began play with about an average-sized stack. He took the chip lead when play reached five handed and was never in serious danger of losing his stack as play became shorter handed.
Joseph Hebert, from nearby Metairie, LA ended up in second place. He was short-stacked to Steve Grant throughout the final heads up match. He managed to double up once, but finally went out on a bad beat.
On the final hand, Hebert was dealt Ac Jh. Grant was dealt Ad 5s. Hebert raised pre-flop, and Grant moved all in. Hebert snap called then watched in horror as a five fell on the flop. Hebert caught no help from the deck and was left shaking his head looking at a final board that showed: 9s 5c 2d 9c Th. Grants pair of fives won the final hand of the tournament. For his fine effort, Hebert collected a nice consolation prize amounting to $14,308. This was his best showing ever in a poker tournament.
Steve Grant, who drives a truck for a wine and spirits company in New Orleans, motored away with the top prize in Event #7. He received $23,697 for first place, plus his first WSOP Circuit gold ring.
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by Nolan Dalla
 Sometimes a tournament winner comes out of nowhere. That's what happened today in the most recent World Series of Poker Circuit tournament, held at Harrah's New Orleans. Chris Gamboa, in his first recorded tournament cash ever, made it all look too easy. He outplayed several opponents with far more cashes and final table appearances en route to a commanding victory in the $500 No-Limit Hold'em tournament, which attracted 314 entries.
Gamboa is a 30-year-old professional poker player from Houston, TX. He previously worked as a shipping agent before taking up poker full time. This was only Gamboa's second WSOP-related tournament. It was quite a showing for someone who concentrates most of his time on cash games and possible indication of things to come for the player who expects to play in more tournaments in the future. Gamboa was rewarded handsomely, to the tune of $35,313 for first place. He was also presented with his first gold ring, the ultimate achievement for winning a WSOP Circuit tournament.
This was the second gold ring event (out of 19 tournaments) on this year's WSOP Circuit schedule at Harrah's New Orleans. The tournament was played over two consecutive days during May 9th and 10th. The top 36 finishers divided a prize pool totaling $147,140. After most of the field was eliminated on the first day, final table play began on a Sunday afternoon. There were no prior WSOP Circuit gold ring event winners among the final nine players, which guaranteed a first-time champion. Little did anyone know at the time when play began that not only would the top prize be won by a first-time winner, it would also be his first time to cash in a major poker tournament of any kind.
David Moyer, who ended up as the second-place finisher, arrived at the Final Table with a slight chip advantage over Shawn "Doc" Quillin and Brian Gabrielle. But the wide distribution of chips and low blinds and antes meant everyone was within striking distance of the chip lead.
David Moyer, an attorney from Luling, LA finished as the runner up. This was his second final table appearance at Harrah's New Orleans after coming in fourth in an event last year. Moyer also previously cashed in an Omaha High/Low event at the WSOP in Las Vegas. For second place, Moyer received a nice settlement which amounted to $21,703.
Moyer was down by more than 2 to 1 during the heads up match against Chris Gamboa. Moyer was not able to catch the crucial hand which might have enabled him to double up. He finally had enough of Gamboa's aggression and decided to make his final stand when he was down by about a 4 to 1 margin. Moyer was dealt Ah 3d. He hit a pair of 3s on the flop. On the turn, Gamboa moved all in on a semi-bluff and tabled Qh 8h, which gave him a flush draw and two overcards versus Moyer's pair of threes. Moyer called with what was the best hand at the time. But a third heart fell on the river, giving Gamboa a flush. The final board showed: 6c 5h 3s 9h 2h
The final hand of the tournament can be seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnPAWU_lb9c
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by Nolan Dalla
 This marks the sixth year of the Bayou Poker Challenge, which is held annually each May at Harrah's New Orleans. The two-week long tournament series is part of the World Series of Poker Circuit. The Bayou Poker Challenge is one of the South's largest and most prestigious poker tournaments. It has awarded in excess of $15 million in prize money since its creation.
The first major poker tournament ever at Harrah's New Orleans was called the "Cajun Poker Classic," which took place in early 2004. The three-day tournament attracted 536 players and inspired the casino to host more poker events. Later that year, the first Bayou Poker Challenge was held, which consisted of six tournaments.
Next, Harrah's New Orleans became a charter member of the World Series of Poker Circuits, which officially started play in 2005. Since then, New Orleans has hosted the final stop on the circuit each and every year, which takes place in mid-May just prior to the start of the WSOP at the Rio in Las Vegas. The first two WSOP Circuit championships held at Harrah's New Orleans were televised by ESPN and were among the most exciting tournaments broadcast at the time. They still occasionally appear in re-runs to this day.
WSOP Circuit events in New Orleans proved to be so successful that a second tournament series was created, starting in 2007. This became known as the "Bayou Winter Bayou Poker Challenge," which has since become a pre-holiday attraction. The December series is categorized as a World Series of Poker Satellite, since its Main Event winner earns an entry valued at $10,000 seat (plus expense money) into the WSOP championship, held the following year.
Bayou Poker Challenge results and statistics are included in the historical records of WSOP Circuit events. Each winner receives a gold ring, which is the customary prize awarded for a victory in most WSOP Circuit events. The Bayou Poker Challenge has proven to be a popular attraction for many poker players, who mostly come to the Crescent City from the states of Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, Alabama, and surrounding areas. The 2005 BPC consisted of eight events. The 2006 BPC had seen events. The 2007 series had 12 events. The 2008 BPC increased to 15 events. In 2009, there were 20 events. This year's Bayou Poker Challenge offers a full schedule of 19-events -- including a senior's event and a ladies event. In addition, this year's series from May 7-19 includes nightly $230 buy-in tournaments, which brings the total number of competitive events up to 33. This does not include dozens of mega- and single-table satellites, as well as live action (cash games) held inside the 23-table poker room which operates 24 hours a day.
For the very first time, this year's WSOP Circuit at Harrah's New Orleans will also offer its own version of the Tournament of Champions. All players to make it to the final table of any gold ring event are eligible to play in a freeroll for seats in the $5,000 buy-in Main Event. The mega-satellite freeroll will give away six seats in the championship event which will be played May 17-19.
All of the poker tournament action takes place inside the Harrah's New Orleans amphitheatre, which regularly hosts many of the most popular performers in music and entertainment. But in May, the real stars at Harrah's New Orleans are poker players.
PREVIOUS BAYOU POKER CHALLENGE CHAMPIONS:
2005 – Walter Chambers (Baton Rouge, LA)….259 players….won $787,340
2006 – Peter Feldman (Harper Woods, MI)….170 players….won $532,950 *
2007 – Lou "the Big Easy" Esposito (Glendale, NY)….346 players….won $516,801
2008 – Nick Ceci (Peachtree City, GA)….249 players….won $382,928
2009 – Jean "Prince" Gaspard (Evanston, IL)….167 players….won $211,722
* The buy-in for the championship event was $10,000 in 2006 and 2006. Since 2007, the buy-in has been $5,000.
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by Nolan Dalla
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