After the final table of the Council Bluffs World Series of Circuit Main Event, Shiva Dudani made the decision to travel from his hometown of Des Moines, IA all the way to the Horseshoe Southern Indiana for the next Circuit Event. Dudani wanted to make a run at the WSOPC National Championship and he knew that the 75 points he earned for his runner up finish to Blair Hinkle would not be enough.
Entering the final table of the $350 ½ Pot Limit Omaha and ½ Pot Limit Hold ‘em event third in chips, he was in a position to gain valuable points to try and secure his spot in the $1,000,000 WSOPC Freeroll.
The chip counts going in to the final table were as follows:
1. Anne Austin 317,500
2. Justin Truesdell 221,500
3. Shiva Dudani 140,500
4. Bob Wildinson 98,000
5. Charlie Dawson 90,500
6. Ed Corrado 86,000
7. Brian Schwartz 74,000
8. Ahmad Raghebi 55,500
9. Shabtai Moria 36,500
Pot-Limit Omaha cash game specialist Anne Austin quickly added to her chip lead by knocking out Brian Schwartz in ninth place. During a round of PLO, Schwartz got all in with a pair of aces but was unable to catch up to Austin’s two pair.
Poker professional Justin Truesdell ran into almost an identical situation during the same round of PLO against Dudani. After a flop of , Dudani bet 16,500 only to have Truesdell raise the pot of 73,500. Dudani quickly repotted and Truesdell called all in. Truesdell showed for a pair of aces but Dudani turned up for two pair. The turn was the and the river came the . Dudani’s two pair held up to eliminate Truesdell in eighth place.
Dudani then eliminated a short stacked Ed Corrado during the PLHE round when his held against the of Corrado. Just moments later, Dudani eliminated Bob Wilkinson in sixth place after his held up against Wilkinson’s .
Shiva Dudani was not done with his mad rush of eliminations. About one hour after Wilkinson’s knockout, Shabtai Moria raised to 28,000 with only about 31,000 in chips behind. Dudani reraised enough to put Moria all in and he quickly made the call, showing . Dudani turned up , but got exactly what he needed on a board of . Moria was sent to the rail in fifth place and Dudani had more than half the chips in play with four players remaining.
On the very next hand, Charlie Dawson was all in with against the of Anne Austin. Austin’s hand held and suddenly we were three-handed.
As hot as Shiva Dudani had run in the first five hours of the final table, he ran just as cold for the next two. At one point, he was down to six big blinds when the unthinkable happened.
With the PLO blinds at 5K-10K and a board reading , Ahmad Raghebi checked to Anne Austin, who fired 32K. Raghebi announced a pot bet and before the dealer had even announced the bet amount, Austin declared a repot bet. Raghebi said he was all in and Austin quickly called, turning over for a flopped set of fours. However, Raghebi flipped up for a turned set of kings. A meaningless fell on the river and just like that, Austin was eliminated in third place.
What happened next was nothing short of amazing. Outchipped by an eleven to one margin, Shiva Dudani proceeded to win pots, build chips and, in less than 30 minutes, had taken over the chip lead.
Then, on a PLO board of , Raghebi checked to Dudani, who bet 40K. Raghebi then bet the pot only to be repotted by Dudani. Raghebi and Dudani got all the chips in the middle and Raghebi turned up for a set of nines. Dudani showed for the flopped nut flush. The turn came the and the river was the . Dudani’s flush held up to win the pot and eliminate Raghebi in second place.
From massive chip leader to short stack and back again, Shiva Dudani had done what he was unable to do at the Council Bluffs Main Event Final Table, take home the Circuit Ring. In addition, he had done exactly what he set out to do by coming to the Horseshoe Southern Indiana, acquire points for the WSOPC National Championship.
He is now clearly the front runner in the points race for the $1,000,000 WSOPC Freeroll. Dudani now has 125 points with the next closest non-qualified player only at 87.5 points. Even though it is only the second stop on the Circuit Series, Dudani has done everything he can to solidify his spot in Las Vegas.
Now the race is on…
Payouts at the final table were as follows:
1. Shiva Dudani $9,226
2. Ahmad Raghebi $5,702
3. Anne Austin $4,060
4. Charlie Dawson $2,949
5. Shabtai Moria $2,184
6. James Wilkinson $1,649
7. Ed Corrado $1,268
8. Justin Truesdell $993
9. Brian Schwartz $792
Play continues today at the Horseshoe with final day of Event #7, the $350 No-Limit Hold ‘em, as well as the start of Event #8, another $350 No-Limit Hold ‘em.
For the full schedule of events at the Horseshoe Southern Indiana Circuit, click here.
For more information about the WSOP Circuit National Championship, click here.