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Saturday, December 10, 2016 9:03 PM Local Time
Bell Gardens, Ca. (December 11, 2016) — Chris Burleson and his wife both cashed in the final preliminary event of the WSOP Circuit series at the Bicycle Hotel and Casino. Burleson not only outlasted his significant other, but also the entire field and earned his first live title in the $365 no-limit hold’em.
“It’s excellent,” said Burleson. “I’m looking forward to playing more.”
Burleson came out on top of a 214-entry field to win the ring and $16,050. His wife, Nova Rimassa also finished inside the money, finishing 16th for $820. The two have been playing poker for a long time and they are supportive of each other’s poker ventures.
After Rimassa busted out of the tournament, she spent the entire time on the rail watching her husband’s every move. When the final card was dealt, she was the first person to congratulate him and give him a big hug. It’s all part of their poker playing relationship.
“We are a husband and wife team,” said Burleson about their supportive relationship. “We’ve been getting close to making the final table together.”
Of course, as is the case with any relationship, one person is going to have the bragging rights. Burleson hopes his ring will be able to at least temporarily give those rights to him.
“She was making fun of me a little bit because she was six out of the last seven in the money,” said Burleson. “And I was only two out of the last seven. So I’m getting caught up.”
Burleson, who works in the Southern California area running a sales team for a beverage company, didn’t have an easy road to his first ring. He came into the final table as the chip leader, but had to navigate a final table that featured three-time ring winner TJ Thondup, the current Casino Champion leader James Hoeppner, and actor James Woods.
Along with the tough competition that he had to get through, he also had the added pressure of playing for, by far, the biggest cash of his poker career. Burleson’s career earnings before this event was just over $14,000. His win more than doubled his career earnings, but Burleson was kept his focus on the task at hand, rather than the boost to his bankroll.
“It was a good field,” he said of his competition. “I wasn’t thinking about the money. I was just thinking about the ring.”
Burleson doesn’t plan on leaving his job in sales any time soon, but he does plan to try and to try and ride this momentum into bigger and better things.
“Tomorrow, we will barrel into that and then see what happens,” said Burleson pointing to Day 1A of the $1,675 no-limit hold’em main event that was running simultaneously with his final table.
Burleson and Rimassa pretty much stick to the Los Angeles area when it comes to poker, playing lots of the smaller events in the city’s casinos. He said that the win might influence them to travel slightly further away in hopes of more success.
“We might come to some Vegas stops as well now.”
Saturday, December 10, 2016 1:05 PM Local Time
Cards are in the air for the final table of the $365 no-limit hold'em.
Saturday, December 10, 2016 1:37 AM Local Time
David Ostovich was eliminated in the final 20 minutes of play after they redrew for seats at the unofficial final table and the remaining nine players will return to play down to a winner on Saturday at 1 p.m.
Christopher Burleson will come into Saturday as the chip leader, but actor James Woods headlines the final table. Woods comes into the day near the bottom of the chip counts, but has plenty of poker experience and is vying for his first career Circuit ring. The Emmy Award winning actor has a WSOP final table appearance under his belt after finishing seventh in the $1,500 no-limit hold'em shootout in 2015, but this is his first WSOP Circuit final table.
James Hoeppner and TJ Thondup are also at this final table and finishing the series strong. Thondup is looking for his second ring of the series and four overall, while this is Heoppner's third final table of the series. Both are in contention for the Casino Champion title at this stop.
Complete chip counts for the final nine players can be found in the "Reports" tab above.
Friday, December 9, 2016 11:43 PM Local Time
The last preliminary event of the series is down to its final 10 players and the players remaining in the $365 no-limit hold'em are redrawing for seats at the unofficial final table. Chris Burleson is the chip leader at this point with one table remaining, sitting with 416,000 in tournament chips. Actor James Woods is also at the final table with 188,500 in chips, while TJ Thondup is in the hunt for his second ring of the series and James Hoeppner has secured a spot at his third final table of the series.
After one more player is eliminated, the final nine players will be credited with making an official WSOP Circuit final table. Everybody remaining is guaranteed a cash of at least $1,200, but everybody is within reach of the Circuit ring and the $16,050 that goes with it.
There is about 25 minutes remaining in the last level of the night with blinds of 2,500/5,000 and a 500 ante. Here is a look at the seating arrangement and chip counts for the final 10 players:
Seat 1: TJ Thondup - 90,000
Seat 2: Mike Meerkreebs - 355,000
Seat 3: James Hoeppner - 211,000
Seat 4: Steven Johnson - 137,500
Seat 5: Erich Karle - 205,000
Seat 6: James Woods - 188,500
Seat 7: David Ostovich - 55,500
Seat 8: Serj Markarian - 330,000
Seat 9: Chris Burleson - 416,000
Seat 10: Kao Saechao - 143,000
Friday, December 9, 2016 3:50 PM Local Time
With the start of level 7, blinds are now 200/400 with a 50 ante. Registration and re-entry has closed and there are 214 entries in the last event of the series before the start of the $1,675 no-limit hold'em main event.
The 214 entries generated a prizepool of $64,200 with the top 24 spots earning a payday. A min-cash is worth $595, but the winner will take home $16,050 and a Circuit ring. There are 108 players remaining and the payouts can be found in the "Prizepool" tab at the top of the page.
Friday, December 9, 2016 1:27 AM Local Time
The last event of the series before the main event and the high roller gets started on Friday. The $365 no-limit hold'em gets cards in the air at noon and here are the details:
- Players start with 10,000 in tournament chips
- Day 1 is scheduled for 18 levels
- Late registration and re-entry is open until the start of level 7 (~3:30 p.m.)
- Levels 1-12 are 30 minutes, before switching to 40-minute levels for the rest of the day.
- There is a 15-minute break after levels 3 and 6, a 10-minute break after levels 9 and 15, and a 45-minute dinner break after level 12
- The players who survive the day will return on Saturday at 1 p.m. to play down to a winner