| DECEMBER 10, 2009 - 7:52:11 PM PST |
MEN AT WORK |
by: WSOP Staff
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Atlantic City, NJ (December 10, 2009) – Poker is played by millions.
And while there are many who strive to make a living in poker, spending countless hours on online and live felts, the bulk of the poker playing community is your average Joe, who relies on his alarm clock to wake him in the early morning hours, punches a clock and puts in a full eight hours each day to support his family.
With time permitting and a bit of disposable cash on hand, these guys look to poker to provide a bit of solace from the daily grind and even to make a little profit.
The 2009/2010 World Series of Poker Circuit Events at Harrah’s Resort Atlantic City pays homage to these "weekend warriors" with four scheduled 1-day $230 buy-in turbo events.
With 25-minute blind levels, the single-day events give these more casual players a chance to make their marks in WSOP history.
As is such, the final table of event # 6 was more like career day, with players from a wide range of job fields such as carpenter, accountant, police officer, software engineer, banker and even stand-up comedian.
While the $230 turbos are one-day events, they are one-day events, which mean a grueling poker marathon that does not end until a winner is determined.
Software engineer, Michael Miale was eliminated in tenth, setting up the official final table at 1:37 am with blinds and antes at 5,000/25,000/50,000.
Ninth place went to Don Jones, a 28-year old accountant from Philadelphia. Jones ran his hand into Jeremy Cole’s A-10 and was eliminated after an ace hit the board. Jones left the table as happy one could be for ninth place.
"I love this game," he said.
Eighth place went to mortgage banker, Eric Miller who ran his pocket kings into the aces of Jeremy Cole.
Over the next couple of hours the bust outs came one by one. Among the casualties was seventh place finisher, Devin Rivera, a 24-year old police officer from Passaic, NJ and as stand up a guy you could meet. He plays occasionally at Harrah’s AC and "loves giving back to his hometown community."
56-year old carpenter Charles Jones, who "has a lot of bills" will hopefully pay a few down after his fifth place finish paid $9,798.
The final three players were Thao Thiem, a 29-year old professional poker player from Minneapolis, MN, 67-year old retired salesman, Nick Pompo and Clayton Fletcher, a 33-year old stand-up comic who headlines his own show in New York and whose stylings can be found at www.claytonfletcher.com.
"My mother’s a poker player too!" he quipped.
The laughter subsided a bit for Fletcher however after he was eliminated in third.
After a grueling 16 hours of play, the final two decided to chop it up. While the full details were not disclosed, it was agreed that Thiem would be the official first place winner and take the WSOP Circuit Event Ring.
Still to come are 11 more events and 21 nightly (single-day) satellites which begin at 3 pm and 7pm. The WSOP Circuit at Harrah’s Resort Atlantic City continues through December 20th.
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