Council Bluffs, IA (April 5, 2012)—The action continued at Horseshoe Council Bluffs with the completion of Event #7. Brian Boyanovsky is the series’ most recent champion, beating out a sizeable mid-week field of 255 entrants.
The win marked Boyanovsky’s first WSOP Circuit cash and it awarded him almost $20,000 in prize money.
“It feels great,” Boyanovsky said. “I was kind of tired before but I feel great now.”
The two-day tournament took more than 20 hours to complete and ran into the early morning hours of Thursday. Additionally, Boyanovsky had to outlast a tough field that included Drazen Ilich (13th) and Kenny Milam (19th).
Ilich is an 18-time WSOP casher and two-time Circuit champion. He placed seventh in the $1,000,000 WSOP Circuit National Championship last year and secured a pre-paid seat to 2012’s national championship after a dominating performance in Hammond, IN. Milam has 11 WSOPC career cashes and three final tables.
“I think I just got lucky,” Boyanovsky would later say about the quality of competition he beat.
Prior to becoming a grain farmer in his hometown of Marathon, IA, Boyanovsky lived in Las Vegas where he supported himself through his card play. Currently Boyanovsky is semi-retired.
“Maybe I’ll play a little more poker now,” Boyanovsky said.
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The final table began at 5:15 p.m. local time and finished shortly after midnight. Boyanovsky began the last leg of play toward the upper half of the chip counts. The field stacked up as follows:
| Seat 1 |
Lee Gardner |
Topeka, KS |
165,000 |
| Seat 2 |
Giacomo Parisi |
Iowa Falls, IA |
199,000 |
| Seat 3 |
David Cummins |
Gainesville, TX |
77,000 |
| Seat 4 |
Drew Dumanski |
Richardson, TX |
697,000 |
| Seat 5 |
Daniel Blakeman |
Houston, TX |
399,000 |
| Seat 6 |
Shawn Meyer |
Davenport, NE |
146,000 |
| Seat 7 |
Cameron Shonka |
Omaha, NE |
182,000 |
| Seat 8 |
Richard Phillips |
Omaha, NE |
110,000 |
| Seat 9 |
Leo Whitt |
New York, NY |
308,000 |
| Seat 10 |
Brian Boyanovsky |
Marathon, IA |
245,000 |
Tenth Place: The tenth place finisher was Richard Phillips. He is a 55-year-old accountant from Omaha, NE. This was his second cash at the 2011/2012 Circuit stop in Council Bluffs and he earned $1,351.
Ninth Place: Each of David Cummins’ three Circuit cashes have come at a different stop this year. His most recent in-the-money finish came when he placed ninth in Event #7. It marked his first career final table and he won $1,664.
Cummins is married with four children and six grandchildren. He resides in Gainesville, TX.
Eighth Place: Daniel Blakeman followed up a third place finish at the WSOPC Main Event in Tunica with a victory in a $1,080 No-Limit Hold’em event in Atlantic City. In all, the 34-year-old professional poker player has recorded four final tables and six cashes on the Circuit tour this year. His eighth place finish awarded him $2,080.
Seventh Place: Making his first WSOP cash was Giacomo Parisi. Parisi is a 51-year-old paramedic from Iowa Falls, IA. He earned $2,642.
Sixth Place: The tournament’s sixth place finisher was Walter Gardner. He is a 40-year-old roofing contractor from Topeka, KS. He earned $3,410.
Fifth Place: Shawn Meyer was eliminated in fifth. This was his sixth career WSOP cash and second Circuit final table. He is 44 and resides in Davenport, NE. His finish awarded $4,475.
Fourth Place: This was Drew Dumanski’s third final table of 2011/2012. In February he recorded a runner-up finish in a $555 No-Limit Hold’em event at the Palm Beach Kennel Club. He never got his chance at redemption, finishing fourth and earning $5,973 in Event #7.
Dumanski is 21-years-old and resides in Dallas, TX.
Third Place: This was Cameron Shonka’s first ever WSOP cash. His stack got crippled when he and Leo Whitt got all the chips in the middle on an eight-high flop. Shonka was well ahead of Whitt, holding versus Whitt’s -- but a three on the river put an end to that and Whitt’s two pair scooped the pot. Shonka would battle back and even contended for the chip lead again, but in the end he came up short, finishing third and earning $8,116.
Shonka is a 22-year-old poker professional from Omaha, NE.
Second Place: With more than $150,000 in WSOP career earnings over the course of 20 cashes as well as seven final tables and a ring victory, Leo Whitt was arguably the most decorated player at the final table. His attempt to join the elite list of multiple ring winners will have to wait another day. He finished second earning $11,233.
First Place: The title of champion went to 55-year-old semi-retired grain farmer Brian Boyanovsky.
The win was Boyanovsky’s first WSOP Circuit cash. He resides in Marathon, IA an earned $18,178.
WSOP Circuit events continue at Horseshoe Council Bluffs through April 10. The Main Event will take place April 7.
About Horseshoe Council Bluffs: Horseshoe Council Bluffs, located only a few miles from Omaha, NE, is Iowa’s largest casino. It opened in March 2006 after receiving an $86 million renovation and expansion. The property now features roughly 100,000 square feet of gaming space and boasts the title of Iowa’s only land-based, full-service casino. In addition to the most popular tables and slots, Horseshoe Casino features live greyhound racing and simulcast thoroughbred racing, giving it the broadest array of wagering options in the region. This is the sixth year the property has hosted a World Series of Poker Circuit event.
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