DALE BEAUDOIN IS THE KING!
WSOP Circuit at Caesars Palace Las Vegas Reaches Midway Point – Six Events to Go

Las Vegas, NV (January 25, 20112) – Listen to how obnoxious this guy sounds….

He’s a former bartender.

He lists his current profession as “shipping tournaments.”

He calls for cards during the hand and then on the final hand somehow catches his miracle to win a gold ring event.

He carries his own jug of water around inside an old milk carton.

He’s a rabid fan of the New England Patriots.

What a __________________.  Readers are invited to fill in the blank.

Truth be told, the blank should be filled in with the following two words:  POKER CHAMPION

Dale Beaudoin is quite a poker player, proven by his most recent victory in the Six-Handed No-Limit Hold’em tournament which just wrapped up at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.   Beaudoin, a 24-year-old ‘something” from Bar Harbor, Maine (remember, he insists his profession is SHIPPING TOURNAMENTS) added $25,391 to his poker bankroll for the victory.  He was also presented with his first WSOP Circuit gold ring.

Maybe that SHIPPING TOURNAMENTS thing is true after all – making what amounts to half a year’s average salary for two days of “work.”

Beaudoin was a monster during the two-day duration of the tournament.  By his estimate, he busted as many as 30 players from the tournament.  He jokingly added afterward that had there been bounties on the players who were knocked out, he might have made twice the score.

But Beaurdoin had no complaints.  This was his second win and victory in three months.  Beaudoin won a tournament at the Venetian last November.  He’s certainly on a roll.

A fan of the NFL’s New England Patriots, Beaudoin put things into context.  After his victory he stated he loves the money, but was playing for the gold ring, which serves as a timeless memento to achievement.  He added that his next aspiration has nothing to do with poker.

“All that matters to me is the Patriots winning the Super Bowl,” he said, referring to his beloved team playing in the NFL’s title game coming up next week.

No matter how the big game turns out, New England is guaranteed at least one champion – and his name is Dale Beaudoin

……………

The World Series of Poker Circuit continued today at Caesars Palace Las Vegas.

Event #6 was a two-day $300 (+50) Six-Handed No-Limit Hold’em tournament, which attracted 349 entrants – pretty impressive for a mid-week event.

Play began on Tuesday at noon and concluded on Wednesday night.

The total prize pool came to $101,559.  The top 36 finishers were paid.  All players who cashed received WSOP Circuit National Championship ranking points – used to qualify for a seat in the season-ending championship, to be played in Las Vegas.

A full list of all players who cashed in Event #6 can be seen here.

Sixth place went to Dwight Johnson, a 57-year-old retired government worker from San Diego.  He previously worked for the U.S. Border Patrol and lays claim to four kids, five grandkids, and one ex-wife.  He’s played many WSOP Circuit events in the past, with this being his best showing so far.

Fifth place went to Dwight Johnson, a 24-year-old poker pro from Las Vegas, by way of Michigan.  He has previously cashed on the Heartland Poker Tour.  But this marked his first time in the money in a WSOP-related tournament.

Fourth place went to Yeping Shan, a 29-year-old sales director from Sherwood Park, Alberta (Canada).  He previously cashed in an event at the 2009 WSOP.  This was the best WSOP finish yet for the part-time player who was born in Shanghai, China.

Third place went to former WSOP Circuit gold ring winner Everett Carlton, from St. Paul, MN.  In fact, Carlton won his gold ring here at Caesars Palace two year ago.  He now has 10 WSOP cashes and a final table appearance top go along with a dozen WSOP Circuit in-the-money finishes.  His WSOP earnings alone amounts to nearly $300,000.

The runner up was another former WSOP Circuit gold ring winner -- Robert Newman, a 37-year-old retiree (no misprint) and former police officer from Bossier City, LA – which was the kick off spot of this year’s WSOP Circuit (Horseshoe Bossier City).  In fact, this say was Newman’s birthday.  He did not win, but did end up with a nice consolation birthday gift in the amount of $15,689.

With his victory, Beaudoin moved up alongside the four previous champions as the early leaders in this WSOP Circuit’s “Best All-Around Player” standings.  The player who accumulates the most overall points in Caesars Palace’s twelve combined gold ring tournaments receives a pre-paid entry into the $1 million 2011-2012 WSOP Circuit National Championship.  At least two players from this tournament series will qualify for the WSOP Circuit National Championship, which is classified as a WSOP gold bracelet event.  The other automatic qualifier will be the winner of Main Event championship (to be held Jan. 27-30).

Here are the six winners from Caesars Palace’s WSOP Circuit gold ring events, which have been completed so far:

Event #1 – Dan Di Zenzo defeated 482 players ($350 NLHE) and won $30,151
Event #2 – Aaron Klausman defeated 887 players ($350 NLHE) and won $50,329
Event #3 – Gregory Hartwick defeated 207 players ($560 NLHE) and won $26,106
Event #4 – Gary Bolden defeated 120 players ($350 PLO) and won $26,106
Event #5 – Jeff Dobrin defeated 203 players ($350 ANTE-NLHE) and won $15,357
Event #6 – Beaudoin defeated 349 players ($350 6-NLHE) and won $10,888


With the first six tournaments wrapped up, there are still six more gold ring events remaining in what is being billed as a “12 rings in 12 days” poker series.  The WSOP Circuit at Caesars Palace continues through January 30th.  This year’s schedule includes not only all the gold ring events, but multiple second-chance tournaments, single table and mega satellites, plus cash games going around the clock inside the action-packed Caesars Palace poker room

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MORE ABOUT THE WSOP CIRCUIT AT CAESARS PALACE


This marks the seventh consecutive year that Caesars Palace Las Vegas is hosting the widely-popular World Series of Poker Circuit, which is currently in the midst of its most successful season.  Attendance is currently running about 20 percent ahead of last year (which set a record).

Caesars Palace is already home to many of the game’s most popular and exciting poker events – including the Caesars Classic, NBC Heads-Up Poker Championship, and last year’s inaugural WSOP Circuit National Championship.  However, between the dates of January 19-30, the primary focus will be on 12 gold ring tournaments with the $1,600 buy-in Main Event coming January 27-30.

“Caesars Palace has always carried with it a special aura -- whether we’re talking about gambling, entertainment, or poker,” said Andy Rich, Director of Poker Operations for Caesars Palace.  “We’ve always been the ‘where it’s at” in Las Vegas.  Over the next 12 days, we’re rolling out the red carpet for thousands of poker players who are expected enter our events and play for a gold ring.  As the saying goes, ‘you can’t get a hit if you don’t stand up to the plate and take swing.” 

This marks the first time ever that the WSOP Circuit has come to Las Vegas so early in the season.  In previous years, WSOP Circuit events have taken place in April.  However, with so many exciting activities happening in Las Vegas early in the year, more players than ever before will have the opportunity to participate in a WSOP Circuit event, many for the first time.
 
To encourage more players to give the WSOP Circuit a try, Caesars Palace is offering $70 buy-in Turbo Super Satellites, with $50 re-buys each morning starting at 10 am.  These Turbo Super Satellites will be held prior to the start of gold ring events (most of which start at noon).  The dailies will guarantee at least ten seats to be given away for that day’s event.  In short, it’s a less expensive way for many players to come in early and win a seat for a gold ring event at a fraction of the cost.

In addition, daily No-Limit Hold’em tournaments (non-gold ring events) take place most days at 9 am ($70 entry fee, with 3,000 in starting chips), 7 pm ($110 entry fee, with 10,000 in starting chips) and 10 pm ($85 entry fee, with 7,500 in starting chips).  The bottom line is – no poker room in Las Vegas (or anywhere for that matter) will host more tournaments over the next 12 days.  Moreover, cash games will be running inside the poker room around the clock.
 
Caesars Palace boasts one of the most luxurious poker rooms in the game.  The multi-million dollar facility located adjacent to the world-famous sportsbook and Pure nightclub has a special tournament room, which is adorned with the portraits of many of poker’s most legendary players.   
 
This is the ninth WSOP Circuit stop of the season, following previous tournaments held in several other locations throughout the U.S.  The 2011-2012 season includes a total of 18 WSOP Circuit stops.

All tournament players become eligible to compete in the WSOP Circuit National Championship, which takes place at season’s end.  The top 100 players who qualify based on a points system will compete in a nationally-televised championship, which is expected to be played in late May.  Two guaranteed seats will be awarded at Caesars Palace and will go to the “Best All-Around Player” and the Main Event champion.

In previous year’s, some very notable names have won gold rings at Caesars Palace and added to their legacy as the best players in the game.  Previous WSOP Circuit Main Event Champions crowned at Caesars Palace include:

2006 – John Spadavecchia
2007 – Cory Carroll
2008 – Allen Cunningham
2009 – Justin Bonomo
2010 – Andrew Lichtenberger
2011 – Christopher Johnson

The complete WSOP Circuit schedule at Caesars Palace can be seen here.