OUTFOXED! ALEX FOXEN WINS FIRST GOLD RING
Alex Foxen, Boston College Football Player, Wins Gold Ring in First-Ever WSOP Circuit Entry

New Orleans, LA (May 16, 2012) – The World Series of Poker Circuit at Harrah’s New Orleans will soon be making an announcement.  It’s “Last Call.”

The final “shot” for poker players is fast approaching.  Poker players have only a few more days remaining – which includes just six more poker tournaments – to try and lock up a guaranteed seat in the WSOP Circuit National Championship.  The New Orleans series reached the midway point today, which leaves just five more days remaining on the season’s schedule.

The sixth gold ring event on the Harrah’s New Orleans series was completed today.  Victory in the Six-Handed No-Limit Hold’em competition went to Circuit newcomer Alex Foxen, a full-time college student from Cold Springs Harbor, NY.  Proving that it’s never too late to jump into the nation’s premier poker tour, he collected a nice cash prize totaling $22,421.  Foxen was also presented with one of the coveted WSOP Circuit gold rings – his first.

Although he’s new to live tournament poker, Foxen is certainly used to the pressure of competing at a high level.  He is a college football player for Boston College.  Foxen is a junior tight end.  His stats are listed as 6’ 4” and 245 pounds.  Indeed, Foxen towered over everyone in this tournament.   

See college player profile at:  http://espn.go.com/college-football/player/_/id/480682/alex-foxen

Incredibly, this was the first WSOP-related event Foxen has played.  So, his record is perfect – at least for now.

Also of note was Peter Ipplolito’s sixth-place finish.  He recently won his third gold ring two weeks ago at Harrah’s Philadelphia, and hoped to join an exclusive club of just four other players in history who have won four or more WSOP Circuit titles.  However, Ippolito was no match for Foxen and his other rivals and went out early at the final table.  

The runner up spot went to Adam “BIC” Zschau, from Normal, IL.  He got his nickname because he usually wears a Bic pen above his ear.  He has now cashed three times this year on the Circuit.  Zschau has cashed twice earlier this year at the Chicago Poker Classic.

Peter Sullivan took third place, which means he now has a shot of qualifying for the National Championship.  This was Sullivan’s ninth time to cash this season.  Perhaps most impressive was that this was Sullivan’s fourth time to cash in a Six-Handed event this season, more than any other player.

Fourth place went to popular sidekick Preston Derden, who was clearly the crowd favorite.  The 65-year-old retiree from Houston has been playing in WSOP Circuit events from the very first season.  This marked his 13th time to cash and was his best showing in three years, when he took second place twice in two events played at Harvey’s Lake Tahoe.

Brandon Bowyer took fifth place, which was something of a disappointment.  Bowyer, from Murrieta, CA arrived at the final table as chip leader, but ran into trouble early and had to settle for the mixed blessing of another final table appearance, without a victory.  This was his third time to play at a final table in a WSOP Circuit event.

With his victory, Foxen moves into serious contention in this WSOP Circuit’s “Best All-Around Player” standings.  The (one) player who accumulates the most overall points in Harrah’s New Orleans’ twelve combined gold ring tournaments receives a pre-paid entry into the 2011-2012 WSOP Circuit National Championship.  

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.  The other automatic qualifier will be the winner of Main Event championship (to be held May 19-22).

With the sixth tournament wrapped up, there are only six more gold ring events remaining in what is being billed as a “12 rings in 12 days” poker series.  The WSOP Circuit at Harrah’s New Orleans continues through May 21st.

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The sixth of a dozen gold ring tournaments began on Tuesday with Event #6 – a $355 buy-in Six-Handed No-Limit Hold’em competition.  The tournament attracted 335 entries.  The total prize pool came to $100,500.  The top 36 players were paid.  All players who cashed received WSOP Circuit National Championship ranking points.

A full list of all players who cashed in Event #6 can be seen here.

Here are the winners from the first six events:

Event 1 – Andy Hwang (Houston, TX) defeated 945 players in $355 buy-in NLHE
Event 2 – John Fagg (Terre Haute, IN) defeated 320 players in $565 buy-in NLHE
Event 3 – John Harris (Dallas, TX) defeated 167 players in $355 buy-in PLO
Event 4 – Loni Harwood (Staten Island, NY) defeated 345 players in $355 NLHE
Event 5 – Jonathan Tamayo (Humble, TX) defeated 440 players in $355 NLHE
Event 6 – Alex Foxen (Cold Spring Harbor, NY) defeated 335 players in $355 buy-in Six-Handed NLHE


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MORE ABOUT THE WSOP CIRCUIT AT HARRAH’S NEW ORLEANS AND THE WSOP CIRCUIT NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

The 17th and final World Series of Poker Circuit stop of the 2011-2012 season is taking place at Harrah's New Orleans, conveniently located right next to the famous French Quarter.  This year’s tournament series runs May 10-21.

New Orleans has become a favorite destination for poker players and regulars on the WSOP Circuit.  For each of the past eight seasons, Harrah’s New Orleans has been the last waltz of a long poker symphony.  This year, New Orleans wraps up seventeen WSOP Circuit event stops, which have attracted tens of thousands of poker players from all over the United States, and beyond.  

The current season began last September at Horseshoe Bossier City (Shreveport), and now comes full circle back to the state of Louisiana for what promises to be a thrilling conclusion to what has been a record-breaking poker tour.
 
There's a lot at stake for poker players who will make their way to the Crescent City over the next two weeks.  Not only are nearly a dozen gold rings up for grabs, as well as lots of prize money.  What seems to be driving attendance is the wildly-popular WSOP Circuit National Championship rankings.  New Orleans is the last chance players will have to earn points to qualify for this year’s National Championship.
 
Since the season began, all tournament players have been in the running for 100 guaranteed pre-paid seats in the $1 million WSOP Circuit National Championship finale.  In a sense, every National Championship seat is valued at $10,000 -- since that’s the proportion of the million dollar-plus prize pool each player represents.  Another 100 players are eligible to buy into the tournament (top ranked players from each of the past two WSOPs in Las Vegas), which means the event will cap out with well over a million dollars at stake.

This marks the second straight season that the WSOP Circuit has utilized a national ranking system based on accumulated points.  All players earned their points by finishing in-the-money in one or more of the 204 total gold ring tournaments which are being offered this season.

What awaits the fortunate 100 players who will advance to the National Championship?  First, there is the chance to win a lot of money.  Second, is the opportunity to appear on national television, since the tournament held at the Rio Las Vegas will be broadcast nationally on ESPN – one of only three events this year to be covered in full by the network.  Third, all players will be competing for the most coveted prize in the game of poker – the WSOP gold bracelet.  This is the second time that a gold bracelet has been tied to the WSOP Circuit.  Last year, Sam Barnhart, from Little Rock, AR won the inaugural WSOP National Championship title.
So, the final opportunity for most players to be crowned the 2012 “WSOP Circuit National Champion” will take place at Harrah’s New Orleans.  Over 12 consecutive days – through May 21st – tournament players will be jockeying for position in what will be the final chance to earn ranking points.  

At the conclusion of the Harrah’s New Orleans tour stop – on May 21st -- the final official list of 100 players who qualify will be announced.