Stateline, NV (November 14, 2009) – Every poker table at Harvey’s Lake Tahoe was filled to capacity on Saturday night. There were mega-satellites running. One hundred women played in the annual Ladies Poker Championship. There were more than a dozen action-packed cash games. And, the finale of the $340 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em tournament (Event #16) was played to completion.
The last tournament of this year’s WSOP Circuit series prior to the Main Event attracted a strong field of 302 players, generating $87,882 in prize money. The top 36 finishers collected payouts. All the action took place over a two-day period inside the Harvey’s Lake Tahoe poker room and special events area, which is part of this year’s only WSOP Circuit stop in Northern Nevada.
The tournament winner was Joe Giannone, from Citrus Heights, CA, which is located in the Sacramento area. Giannone, aged 70, is originally from Brooklyn, NY. He gambles for a living and owns a small piece of a casino in Panama City, Panama.
This was Giannone’s first WSOP Circuit victory. He has also cashed six times at the WSOP in Las Vegas. Giannone became the second player in his 70s to win this week here at Lake Tahoe. Three days ago, 77-year-old Jack Larson won an event.
When final table play began, two players held a dominant position over the remaining seven finalists. Tony Solis (with 330,00) and Mark Moskowitz (with 301,000) held nearly half of the total chips in play. However, it was Solis rather than Moskowtiz who ended up being a major force. Eventual winner Giannone started play at the final table ranked seventh in chips.
Three hours later when heads-up play began, Solis was down about 2 to 1 in chips to Giannone. In fact, Giannone was just one card away from a victory celebration on two occasions. But two miraculous river-card catches saved Solis from elimination. The first miracle took place when the two finalists ended up splitting the pot both with ace-kickers, after the board made two pair.
A few hands later, Solis scooped a monster-sized pot and seized the chip lead when the board (again) showed two pair and Solis held the only ace -- which played as the kicker. It was an ugly ten minutes for Giannone, who had to be frustrated after having his rival down to a few outs two times, and losing his advantage.
But Giannone destroyed Solis on the key hand of the tournament when he was dealt J-10 to Solis’ 10-7. After the flop came 10-8-4, Giannone was all-in holding the best hand and doubled up, as Solis failed to improve. The final hand of the tournament came just a short time later when Solis was desperately short on chips and failed his final double up attempt.
“It’s a relief to win,” Joe Giannone said matter-of-factly, following his victory.
“I had (Tony Solis) all-in three times and he caught what he needed. So, it was a relief to win the tournament. Anytime you win in poker, it’s good.”
The runner up was Tony Solis, who is self-employed and lives in Oakland, CA. He enjoyed two cashes at this year’s WSOP, and also cashed earlier this week at Harvey’s. Solis came close to victory, but had to settle for second place, which paid $13,841.
Finishing in third place was Kevin O’Sullivan. He finally ran out of steam when his A-J lost to Joe Giannone’s pocket threes. O’Sullivan picked up several draws during his final hand, but bricked the final card to end up in third place. O’Sullivan, a writer and music manager from Lafayette, CA collected $9,272. His previous tournament cashes include three in-the-money finishes at the WSOP in Las Vegas.
The fourth-place finisher was Elizabeth Elwell, a local poker player from South Lake Tahoe, CA. Elwell lost most of her chips on a huge hand against Kevin O’Sullivan. She moved all-in with 5-5, which lost to pocket aces. Elwell was eliminated just a short time later and received a nice payout worth $6,240.
An interesting side note was the tradeoff which occurred between Elwell and another successful tournament player, named Mark Bonsack. The previous day, Elwell was down to just a round of blinds after losing a big pot to Bonsack. Always the gentleman, Bonsack announced that he would give Elwell five percent of his winnings in this tournament. Elwell reciprocated half-jokingly, by offering Bonsack back five percent. As it turned out, Elwell staged a remarkable comeback and cashed for six-grand. Bonsack also took a little sugar from the prize pool.
Paul Carey, a firefighter and paramedic from Park City, UT, finally expired in fifth place. Carey moved all-in with A-8 on his final hand, but lost to Tony Solis’ A-K – which ended up making two pair. Carey received a nice payout totaling $4,658.
The sixth-place finisher was Mark Moskowitz, who was one of the early chip leaders. He tried to steal a round of antes and blinds from the button, holding K-9. But Tony Solis woke up in the big blind with pocket sixes, which ended up scooping the pot. Moskowitz, who works in venture capital and lives in San Rafael, CA, received $3,691 in prize money.
Jaime Rascon, who is originally from Tijuana, Mexico finished in seventh place. His final hand was an emotional roller coaster. Rascon was dealt K-9 suited and – getting low on chips -- decided to move all-in. Kevin O’Sullivan called the raise with 6-6.
The flop came with three blanks – no help. But Rascon caught a nine on the turn to take a temporary lead. The river was a heartbreaker for Rascon, as one of the two remaining sixes was peeled from the deck, giving O’Sullivan trip sixes. Rascon, hoping to become the first WSOP Circuit champ from Mexico to ever win at Harvey’s Lake Tahoe, settled for seventh place and $2,768.
Vincent Phu took eighth place. He flopped two pair with J-9 on his final hand, when the board showed J-10-9. But Mark Moskowitz held 7-8, good for a jack-high straight. Phu needed to catch a jack or a nine, but missed completely. He ended up with a payout totaling $2,065.
The ninth-place finisher was Dustin “Doc” Williams, from Shelby, NC. He came to the final table as one of the shortest-stacks and lasted only about 20 minutes. Williams, who works in finance, ended up adding $1,494 to his poker portfolio.
With 16 events now completed at this year’s WSOP Circuit at Harvey’s, the tournament series has attracted more than 2,600 entries and has awarded more than $1.3 million in total prize money. Still to come is the WSOP Circuit Main Event championship, which takes place Nov. 15-17.