Atlantic City, NJ (December 8, 2009) – Mark “Pegasus” Smith made World Series of Poker history just after midnight by winning his fourth Circuit Event ring in Event #3 at Harrah’s Resort Atlantic City.
With his latest win, Smith ties Men “The Master” Nguyen for the most rings in WSOP Circuit event history. For Smith, the circuit events have been nothing short of free-for-all as he has made five final tables at four different circuits in the past year. As Nguyen would say, “All you can eat baby!”
What makes Smith’s accomplishment even more incredible is that the 57-year old public utility owner and thoroughbred racer only began playing poker in 2004.
“Five years ago, I never even heard of Texas Hold’em,” said Smith of his late induction to the game.
“A buddy of mine invited me to a home game. I went over there and had a nice time though they beat my brains out. But I went back and the more I went, the better I got.”
Event #3 was Smith’s first event of the Harrah’s Resort AC circuit. With play down to two tables, he found himself the short stack of his table, but managed to chip back up to the top of the leader board going into the final table which began shortly before 8:00 pm
Name |
Hometown |
Seat |
Chip Count |
Shaun Gonzalez |
Staten Island, NY |
1 |
950,000 |
Mark “Pegasus” Smith |
Georgetown, KY |
2 |
995,000 |
Andrew Robertson |
Raleigh, NC |
3 |
262,000
|
Jeffrey Vanchiro |
Queens, NY |
4 |
345,000 |
Steve Wenpetren |
Herndon, VA |
5 |
315,000
|
Dylan Mich |
West Caldwell, NJ |
7 |
806,000
|
John Shimansky Jr. |
Tuckerton, NJ |
6 |
970,000
|
Tim Crawford |
Virginia Beach, VA |
8 |
330,000 |
Andrew Badecker |
Vernon, CT |
9 |
645,000 |
Tim Crawford was the first elimination of the night. With blinds and antes at 3,000/12,000/24,000, Crawford led out from the big blind after a flop of . The small blind, John Shimansky re-raised all-in and Crawford made the call, showing . Shimansky turned over .
Things were looking rosy for the 32-year old produce manager from Virginia Beach, VA after a 6 hit the turn, but an ace on the river spoiled his run. Crawford took home $4,950.
Later in the tournament, Steve Wenpetren raised to 85,000 from middle position only to see Dylan Mich re-raise to 230,000. Wenpetren made the call and the flop came . Mich moved all-in with pocket kings but was dismayed when Wenpetren made the call, showing for the flopped set. The turn and flop did not help Mich, who had earlier taken a few hits to his stack.
Crippled to under 100k, he was eliminated a couple of hands later after his ducks could not hold up all-in against Andrew Robertson’s . The 24-year old former postal worker turned grinder received a parcel of $6,600 for eighth.
Robertson soon found himself on the other side of the coin when his own pocket pair failed to hold up all-in against the of Mark Smith. Robertson, who claims to have broken 22 bones in his life, suffered yet another setback when an ace hit the river. Seventh paid $8,250.
In sixth place was Andrew Badecker. A series of pre-flop raises and re-raises found him all-in with queens vs. the of Shaun Gonzalez. A flopped ace sealed it up for Badecker, who failed to improve on the turn or river. The 22-year old former salesman with over $300,000 in online poker earnings added another $9,900 to his bankroll for his efforts.
Wenpetren was next to be eliminated. After a flop of , he moved all in with and was well-ahead when Shimansky called with . But Shimansky hit his gutshot straight when a 10 came on the turn. Wenpetren, a former University of Maryland assistant golf coach and pro, took $11,550 back to the clubhouse for fifth.
With blinds and antes at 5k/20k/40k, fourth place went to Jeffrey Vanchiro. The Queens, NY native and 1994 Wyoming poker open champion moved his short stack all-in with pre flop and was called by Shimansky who turned over . Two clubs on the turn and a third on the river gave Shimansky the flush, ending Vanchiro’s run with a $13,200 payday.
Shimansky was next to be eliminated. The 50-year old entrepreneur re-raised Mark Smith’s 160,000 bet all-in. Smith called, showing which trumped Shimansky’s pocket sevens. The board was meaningless and Shimansky’s impressive run was over, paying him $14,850 for third.
While the details were not disclosed, a deal was made between the final two players, who agreed to play it out for the ring.
Heads up was between Gonzalez and Smith. Gonzalez, who earlier in the tournament took a massive stack from Smith, held a substantial chip lead over Georgetown native, however a big swing went Smith’s way after both players when all-in with Smith holding a 9 kicker over Gonzalez’s .
The final hand saw both players all-in after a flop of . Smith’s was dominated by Gonzalez’s . Gonzalez was riding high until a deuce on the river ended what was otherwise an amazing run for the 31-year old from Staten Island. Gonzalez officially took home $18,232 while Smith was inducted into WSOP Circuit history.
When asked about aspirations to play higher stakes tournaments, Smith insists that he is right at home at the WSOP Circuit Events.
“I love playing the circuit.” said Smith.
“Take Doug Carli. No one will be able to catch him for the most cashes, but now he’s two rings behind me. Maybe at some point in time, nobody will be able to catch me on the rings.”
Still to come are 14 more events and 27 nightly (single-day) satellites which begin at 3 pm and 7pm. The WSOP Circuit at Harrah’s Resort Atlantic City continues through December 20th.