THE FUTURE
First the Gold Bracelet, Then the Gold Ring

Former WSOP Gold Bracelet Winner Jordan Smith Wins Gold Ring and $43,740 Top Prize

Texan Jordan Smith Now Up to $1.7 Million in WSOP Earnings

Final Preliminary Tournament Before Main Event Concludes

Horseshoe Bossier City Area Hosting First-Ever WSOP Circuit Events through September 19th


Bossier City, LA (September 17, 2011) – The World Series of Poker Circuit has used a catchy marketing phrase in recent years which goes, “First the ring, then the bracelet.”  The idea behind the catchphrase is that players around the country have an opportunity to gain valuable tournament experience, potentially win a WSOP Circuit gold ring, and then take the confidence to Las Vegas to play in WSOP gold bracelet events.

Some notable players have proven the “First the ring, then the bracelet” concept.  Two years ago, Joseph Cheong won a gold ring at Harrah’s Rincon.  Months later, he made it to the November Nine, finishing in third place – good for $4,130,000 in prize money.  Last year, Sam Barnhart won a gold ring at Harrah’s Tunica.  Three months later, he won the WSOP Circuit National Championship and a gold bracelet.  He went on to finish 17th in this year’s Main Event.

Jordan Smith seems to have things backwards.  He won a WSOP gold bracelet in 2009.  Two years later, he has just won his first WSOP Circuit gold ring.  Smith defeated a field of 167 players in the $1,000 (+80) buy-in No-Limit Hold’em event.  He earned $43,740 in prize money.

Smith now has more than $1.7 million in WSOP-related earnings.  His impressive resume includes 20 WSOP cashes – including four this past year.  This was his third time to cash on the WSOP Circuit.

Smith is 27-years-old.  He resides in Tool, TX – which is south of Dallas.  Smith has been playing poker professionally for the past four years.  He was primarily an online player until the events of April 2011.  He now says he is contemplating moving outside of the Unites States to continue his livelihood.  However, in the meantime Smith says he intends to play in as many live events as possible.

No doubt, Jordan Smith will be a player to watch in the months and years ahead.  One expects he will continue to add to his jewelry collection.

……………

The inaugural WSOP Circuit at Horseshoe Bossier City has proven to be a big success.  Average turnout has been about 300 players per event -- an impressive number given this is the first year the Circuit has visited Northern Louisiana.  The tenth of 12 gold ring events was completed today, as another nice turnout showed up for the poker festival happening on the Red River.

Event #10 was a $1,000 (+95) buy-in No-Limit Hold’em tournament.  There were 167 entries, about what was expected for the Friday-Saturday competition.  The total prize pool came to $161,990.  The top 18 players were paid.  All players who cashed received WSOP Circuit National Championship ranking points.

A full list of all players who cashed in Event #10 can be seen at WSOP.COM

After most of the starting field was eliminated on Day One, two tables of 17 survivors returned for Day Two action.  Jordan Smith arrived at the final table with a sizable chip lead. 

When play began on Saturday at noon, the ten finalists and their starting chip counts were as follows:

Seat 1:  Ky MacPherson (Austin, TX) – 323,000 in chips
Seat 2:  Glen Goldsmith (Palestine, TX) – 76,000 in chips
Seat 3:  Richard Fitzgerald (Sioux Falls, SD) – 90,000 in chips
Seat 4:  Kasey Turner (Ft. Worth, TX) – 294,000 in chips
Seat 5:  Kirk Adams (Tallahassee, FL) – 198,000 in chips
Seat 6:  Rick Crandell (Albuquerque, NM) – 159,000 in chips
Seat 7:  James Price (Oklahoma City, OK) – 200,000 in chips
Seat 8:  Jordan Smith (College Station, TX) – 765,000 in chips
Seat 9:  Dan Sztenderowicz (Philadelphia, PA) – 282,000 in chips
Seat 10:  Lonny Hardcastle (Rockwall, TX) – 224,000 in chips

Final table play began at noon and ended at 2:30 pm – making the total duration about 2.5 hours – one of the fastest times in recent memory.  The official order of finish was as follows:

Tenth Place:  The first player eliminated was Jim Price, from Oklahoma City, OK.  He is a CPA, attorney, and business owner.  Price previously won the WSOP Advanced Academy Poker Tournament and has nearly a dozen major tournament cashes.

Ninth Place:  The ninth-place finisher was Glen Goldsmith, from Palestine, TX.  He is s medical doctor.

Eighth Place:  Richard Fitzgerald ended up in eighth place.  He is from Sioux Falls, SD.

Seventh Place:  Seventh place went to Kirk Adams.  He is a 32-year-old bartender from Tallahassee, FL.

Sixth Place:  Kasey Turner finished in sixth place.  He is a 37-year-old self-employed man from Fort Worth, TX and an avid golfer.

Fifth Place:  Daniel Sztenderowicz took fifth place.  He is a 24-year-old poker pro from Philadelphia, PA.  Sztenderowicz won a WSOP Circuit gold ring last season at Harrah's St. Louis.  For this finish, he earned $10,636 in prize money.

Fourth Place:  Lonny Hardcastle, from Rockwall, TX finished in fourth place.  He is self-employed.  This was his first time to cash in a WSOP-related tournament.  Fourth place paid $14,260.

Third Place:  Ky MacPherson took third place.  He is from Austin, TX.  MacPherson collected 419,457 in prize money.

Second Place:  Rick Crandell finished as runner up.  He is a 58-year-old business owner from Albuquerque, NM.  Second place paid $27,030.

The final duel of the tournament began with Crandell as a severe chip disadvantage to Jordan Smith.  Heads-up play lasted only about 15 minutes.  The final hand was a fitting exclamation point for Smith, who dominated this tournament from start to finish.  Here’s how the last hand played out:

Smith –    
Crandell –    
Flop –      
Turn –  
River –  

Under the circumstances, Crandell was trapped and never had a shot after the flop.  He correctly moved all-in with a premium pair, but got unlucky as Smith called and tabled the perfect hand.  The hand was over on the turn when Smith made a full house.  Crandell finished as runner up and Smith was declared the winner.

First Place:  Jordan Smith became the tenth WSOP Circuit champion of the new season.  He earned his first WSOP Circuit gold ring with a dominant victory at Horseshoe Bossier City.  First place paid $43,740.

With his victory, Smith moved into the top ten players as the chip leaders on the WSOP Circuit leader board.  The race to win the best all-around title here at the Horseshoe Bossier City series is heating up.  At present, Felicia Johnico still holds the top spot.  She has a first- and fourth place showing thus far, making her the player to beat.  Johnico is also the national leader – at least until someone posts multiple high finishes here at Bossier City and beyond. 

The player who accumulates the most overall points in the twelve gold ring tournaments receives a pre-paid entry into the $1 million 2011-2012 WSOP Circuit National Championship, to be held in Las Vegas, next May.  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.

There are two more gold ring events remaining in what is being billed as a “12 rings in 12 days” poker series.  The WSOP Circuit at Horseshoe Bossier City continues through September 19th.  This year’s schedule includes not only the gold ring events, but multiple second-chance tournaments (at 5 pm and 7 pm most days), single table and mega satellites, plus cash games going around the clock inside the Horseshoe Poker Room.

For further information about the WSOP Circuit National Championship, please click here.