 Kevin Marcus is a 25-year-old accounting student from Massapequa, New York whose normal style of play is tight. But two situations presented itself in today's H.O.R.S.E. tournament, the fourth ring event of the WSOP Circuit tour at Horseshoe Council Bluffs, that allowed him to bully his way to victory, earning $6,885 and a diamond-encrusted gold trophy ring.
The first came the night before, with nine players left, one away from the final table. Playing a hand against Betty Davidson, he had her down to 2,000 on the river and was pretty sure he had her beat with two pair. But he just checked. Was he playing partners with her? No, not exactly. There were two other short stacks at the table, he was the chip leader, and he knew they were trying to make the final table and he could bully them and steal blinds and antes if play were to continue. He did just that, and was able to considerably build his stacks.
At the final table, he went down a lot in early action. Then with six players left and sensing that two short stacks were trying to move up another notch or two, he began pushing them around, picking up 20,000 or 30,000 chips six or seven times in a row, and moved up from 300,000 to 450,000 chips, After that he was unstoppable. "It only works when you're a big stack," he explained.
Marcus began playing poker 13 years ago with friends. He prefers tournaments, but ends up playing mostly cash games because of the underground clubs in New York. He has one prior small cash in Atlantic City. Asked for any final thoughts, he exclaimed "Let's go, Islanders!" cheering on his favorite New York hockey team.
This event drew 75 players with a $31,825 prize pool. Play commenced in a razz round at level 16 with five hands left and 20:34 on the clock. Antes were 2,000, the bring-in 4,000, blinds 5,000-10,000, and limits 10,000-20,000. Marcus was now well in front with 246,000 chips, nearly 2-1/2 times as much as anyone else. And Davidson (at least due in part to Marcus' strategy) became the first lady to grace a final table in any of the noon or 4 p.m. events thus far.
The two remaining players went on break, returning for their final match-up, with Marcus holding a 425,000 to 325,000 chip advantage over Cutler. Play started in an Omaha round and ended during stud high play. On the final hand, Cutler, reading his opponent as weak, raised all in on fifth street holding (4-7) Q-5-7, and was surprised when Marcus, showing 5-3-A, turned up 5-3 for two pair. Marcus didn't improve when a king and six were dealt to him, but neither did Cutler when he got a 10 on sixth street and a 6 on the river. For second, Cutler, 52, whose nickname is "Chgocut," picked up $4,260. He is a CPA from Vernon Hills, Illinois who learned poker as a kid in home games and has been playing professional-level tournaments since 2006. Cutler has a WPT bracelet at the Bellagio in $1,500 no-limit, a $225,000 final table cash in $2,000 no-limit at the WSOP, and a H.O.S.E. title at the Majestic Star in Indiana. The father of four children, he also likes golf and movies.
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by Max Shapiro
 David Finney, a dispatcher for a wholesale fuel company, started today's final table last in chips with only 175,000, well under half average. But by carefully picking and choosing his spots, he worked his way up and finally won the second ring event of the WSOP Circuit tour at Horseshoe Council Bluffs, $300 no-limit hold'em. "You can't be too aggressive when you're the short stack forever," he explained. Victory brought him $22,879 and the coveted diamond and gold trophy ring. He had plenty of time to be patient, because the final table lasted close to eight hours, largely due to the new structure giving players lots of room with plenty of chips and slowly escalating blinds.
Finney, 48, is from Council Bluffs and plans his vacation time to play tournaments at his "home casino." He's been playing poker for six years, splits his poker time between cash games and tournaments, and three years ago won a second-chance event here.
This event drew 350 players and the prize pool was $101,850. Twenty-five players returned on day two. It took two hours to lose 15, and then another hour to lose one more and get to the final table of nine. Action started with blinds of 6,000-12,000 and 2,000 antes, 37:27 left on the clock at level 25. Brian Brashaw had the lead with 716,000 in chips.
In heads-up, Finney had around 2.1 million chips to 1.4 million for Roth.
Blinds were now 6,000-12,000. On the last hand, the flop showed 9s-6h-7c.Making top pair with 9c-8s, Finney bet 500,000 and Roth, later explaining that he lost his patience, moved in with Kh-Qc. He couldn't hit anything when a 5h turned and a 6c rivered, and Finney had hit an outside straight for the win. Roth, getting $14,141 for second, is a 57-year-old corn and bean farmer from Ravenna, Nebraska who's played eight years. He's had a cash in the last two Circuits here. His hobby is golf.
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by Max Shapiro
 The seventh season of the WSOP Circuit tour, revamped, improved, and pumped up with new and attractive added features, made its eagerly awaited first-stop debut here at Horseshoe Council Bluffs. And with the schedule moved up from February to August, even the weather was much better. This stop will be offering 33 events, including H.O.R.S.E. and Omaha tourneys.
Winner of the first ring event, after a six-hour final table, was Jeff Epstein of Omaha, who owns the Omaha Sports Academy, a youth basketball center. He’s won numerous small tournaments online, but this is his first live cash. On the final hand he flopped a draw to a royal flush, missed, but settled for a straight. The win brought him $20,411, along with a diamond-encrusted gold trophy ring. Epstein, who with his father also operates a paper recycling plant, began playing online five years ago.
Epstein, describing himself as a tight-aggressive player, said the final table was tough, with constant raising. "I just tried to keep my wits about me, played patiently and tried to get my money in at the right time," he said. He also paid tribute to thd "great staff and great tournament."
Major changes in the Circuit tour include:
•Standardized structures and payouts for all events, with the main event buy-in lowered from $5,000 to a more affordable $1,500. (However, four of the 12 or more regional Circuit championships will have $10,000 buy-ins along with national TV coverage.)
•A cumulative ranking system throughout the season, with points awarded for each open ring event.
•A season-ending National Championship tournament for 100 players who automatically qualify via cumulative rankings or performance-based criteria. This tournament will be at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas prior to the WSOP and will have a $1 million prize pool with a WSOP gold bracelet for the winner. The "Casino Champion" points leader and championship event winner for each Circuit event earn seats. The other two ways to qualify are by making the final table at any of the four regional championships and by accumulating enough points at all the Circuit stops to be in the top 36.
This event drew 300 players who generated a prize pool of $85,050. Day one of this event ended with 27 players still left, and they returned the next day to play down to the final table. Leading in chips with 880,000 was Danny Walker.
Action began with blinds of 3,000-6,000 and 2,000 antes, playing hour levels. After 45 minutes, there were three all-in survivals with everyone still around. The players then took a short break, returning to blinds of 8,000-16,000 and 3,000 antes.
In heads-up, Epstein enjoyed close to a 6-1 chip lead over his final opponent. On the last hand, Epstein held Kc-Jc to Kh-10h for Bower. A flop of Ks-10c-Qc gave Epstein a paired king and a draw to a royal flush. He bet 80,000 and Bower moved in with kings and 10s. Then Epstein pulled ahead when a 9h on the turn gave him a straight. Bower could still win by making a full house or split if a jack a\gave him the same straight, but a 6d ended the evening. For second, Bower took home $12,615. Bower is a 29-year-old engineer from Des Moines, Iowa who started playing in home games nine years ago. He has a Prairie Meadows win to his credit.
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by Max Shapiro
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