TRIFECTA!

Winning a trifecta is one of the hardest (but most profitable) feats to accomplish here at Harrah’s Chester Casino and Racetrack, but 33-year-old Omaha and mixed games specialist, Brent Keller did just that Tuesday evening.

Keller’s accomplishment was made not on the ponies but on the felt after he shipped his third Omaha ring event in WSOP Circuit Event #4, the $345 buy-in Omaha 8 event.

With the victory, Keller becomes the first and only player to have won three WSOPC titles in Omaha.

Keller originally hails from Long Island, NY and is a graduate of Penn State University, where he earned his degree in finance. He began playing in college and continues to do so now on a professional level.

Keller now lives in Horsham, PA about thirty minutes northeast of Chester. After previous ring wins in New Orleans and Hammond, IN, he was not about to let ring #3 slip away in his own backyard.

110 players ponied up the $345 buy-in, creating a total prize pool of $32,010. In addition to Keller, the event attracted other formidable Omaha specialists such as Allen Kessler and four-time WSOPC ring winner, Chris Reslock.

Ten players returned on day two to play it out for first place prize money and the ring. It only took a few hands before the tenth place finisher hit the rail, setting the stage for the official final table.

Official final table play resumed promptly at 2:00 pm with 4,000/8,000 blinds and 8,000-16,000 limits. The first elimination of the evening happened when Paul Zelikov moved all-in on a flop with A-K-3-4 vs. Tim Fiorvanti’s A-A-2-6. Zelikov was unable to make his straight on the board after two queens fell on the turn and river, sending him off early from the final table stage. Ninth place paid $781.

After the elimination of Doug McFarlane at the hands of Marc Saia, Fiorvanti moved all-in with and got two live calls from Brent Keller and Dale Pinchot. After a board of , Keller moved his live opponent off the hand, tabling . The fell on the river, giving Keller the hand with two pair and ending Fiorvanti’s tournament run. Fiorvanti is 24 years old from Commack, NY. He is a staff writer for Bluff Magazine and the poker website, Pokerati. For his seventh place finish, he picked up $1,251.

After doubling Dale Pinchot, Ray Jamison got his remaining stack all-in with against said benefactor who tabled . Pinchot scooped the pot after a board, sending Jamison to the rail in sixth place. Jamison is a 73-year-old retiree from Phoenixville, PA. He took home $1,627.

A few hands later, Pinchot claimed another bounty, scooping Bill Munley to end his ring bid. Munley is a 54-year-old real estate agent from Throop, PA. “Bumpereno” as he is called, pocketed $2,155.

Marc Saia was eliminated in fourth place all-in on the turn vs. Keller, who had made fours full. Keller’s hand held through the river, sending Saia packing in fourth place. Saia is 40 years old from Wayne, PA. Fourth place was worth $2,909.

All-in vs. Keller and Mark Wieczek, Pinchot saw his tournament day end when Wileczek moved Keller off the pot and showed broadway, which was good enough to take down the three-way pot. Pinchot is a 39-year-old real estate investor from Trenton, NJ. The married father of three collected $4,004 for his two-day effort.

Heads-up, Keller had about a 5-1 chip lead over Wileczek. Although short-stacked, Wileczek proved to be a formidable opponent, fighting his way to just a 2-3 deficit. As he’s proven twice before however, Omaha is Keller’s game and he would not be denied his third ring. After turning the tide decisively in his favor, Keller got Wileczek all-in with vs. his . The final board of the night came down , giving Keller his incredible third Omaha win.

For his runner up finish, WIleczek won $5,624. He is a 52-year-old married father of three from West Chester, PA.

Along with a third piece of WSOPC hardware, Keller was awarded $9,097 in prize money along with 50 big points toward a seat in the World Series of Poker Circuit National Championship. With a total of 125 points, Keller is in prime position for a seat to the nationally-televised, million-dollar freeroll bracelet event to be held May 27 at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.

In addition to the overall points race, he is also now tied for first in the all-around casino points race with previous ring winners, Rocco Luciano, Matt Lope and Burak Temel.

Still to come are six ring events. See the complete Harrah’s Chester schedule and previous results here. The WSOP Circuit at Harrah’s Chester runs through May 10^th. You can find the complete 2010/2011 WSOP CIRCUIT SCHEDULE here.