CHAINSAW KESSLER LIVES UP TO HIS NAME AT LODGE CASINO
Black Hawk, Colo. (March 26, 2013) — Allen “Chainsaw” Kessler won Event 11 at The Lodge Casino Monday night. The victory came in a $580 No-Limit Hold’em tournament and awarded Kessler $20,859, his second WSOP Circuit gold ring and 50 points toward the WSOP National Championship Presented by Southern Comfort 100 Proof.

“This was really a hard-fought battle,” Kessler said. “We had some really good players at the final table. I’m very happy with my play.”

If you have a Twitter account or are involved in running poker tournaments in any way, chances are you’ve already heard of the one they call “Chainsaw”, but in case not, here’s a slight overview. The always-outspoken Kessler is a traveling pro with more than $1.1 million in career earnings at the WSOP alone. His Event 11 victory marks just his second WSOP Circuit title but his 18th WSOP-related final table.

Kessler is a staple on the tournament Circuit, but says he is less driven by dollars and trophies than by the familiar faces he sees at each stop.

“The people in [Colorado] are really nice,” Kessler said. “[Tournament director Dennis Jones] and his staff are really nice… $20,000 isn’t going to make or break my life. I just enjoy coming to the tournaments and playing and seeing all the people I know.”

Kessler began Day 2 of the tournament with 481,500 in chips. The next closest stack belonged to Jonathan Alfonso with 333,000. By the time they reached a final table, those stacks evened out and Alfonso’s stack of 463,500 was slightly ahead of Kessler’s 400,000.

But that didn’t matter in the long run. Alfonso was eliminated seventh and Kessler hung around to best Brian Green in a two-hour heads-up match.

Joining Kessler at the final table was Casino Championship contender Krzysztof Stybaniewicz. Stybaniewicz recorded two previous final table appearances, finishing second and fifth for a total of 62.5 points. With Alfonso’s elimination in seventh, Stybaniewicz was guaranteed 22.5 points and the Casino Championship lead. Stybaniewicz exited sixth, bringing his total points earned to 85, slightly ahead of the eventual champion Chris Parsons. But alas, Parsons finished ninth in Event 12, earning 15 points and edging out Stybaniewicz by mere 2.5 points for Casino Championship honors.

Kessler’s victory awarded him 50 points toward the National Championship and bumped his total to 95. Kessler hinted at the fact we may see him at more WSOP Circuit stops going forward as he pursues a berth in the season-ending championship to take place in New Orleans May 22-24.

Event 11 was the 11th of 12 gold ring events on the WSOP Circuit schedule at The Lodge Casino. The $580 No-Limit Hold’em event attracted 149 entries. The total prize pool came to $74,500 and the top 15 players were paid.

1st: Allen Kessler - $20,859
2nd: Brian Green - $12,893
3rd: Adam Zschau - $9,307
4th: Kyle Smith - $6,838
5th: Ronald Segni - $5,112
6th: Krzysztof Stybaniewicz - $3,887
7th: Jonathan Alfonso - $3,005
8th: Timothy Campbell - $2,360
9th: Paul Tyree - $1,884
 
Full results available on WSOP.com.