Black Hawk, Colo. (March 26, 2013) - Three rings in 2012-2013. Think about that for a minute…WSOP Circuit host Bernard Lee summed it up well when he said it’s a year that’s representative of a career for any successful tournament player. It’s also the exact feat Jonathan Taylor accomplished Monday night at The Lodge Casino in Black Hawk, Colo. Taylor found himself at the Main Event final table with the chip lead and parlayed it into his third gold ring victory of 2012-2013. The win also awarded the Alabama-based professional $138,938.“[Winning] doesn’t get old at all,” Taylor told the WSOP. “It doesn’t take long before you miss it. I’ve been lucky enough to get lucky several times this year.”The victory came in the championship event of the WSOP Circuit’s first-ever series in Colorado. The 12-day festival was a mega success, drawing a 516-player field in the $365 No-Limit Hold’em Re-Entry event and a 421-player field in the Main Event.The Main Event raised the bar, drawing the cream of the crop including gold bracelet champions David “ODB” Baker, Carter Phillips, Mitch Schock and Chris Tryba as well as three-time WSOP Circuit champions David Nicholson, La Sengphet, Robert Castoire and Justin Gardenhire.After the last river card hit the felt at The Lodge Casino Monday, Taylor joined that group of three-time champions.His previous victories came in $365 events at IP Biloxi and Horseshoe Bossier City. Those wins awarded him $12,434 and $16,201 respectively, a far cry from his six-figure payday at The Lodge Casino. His most recent victory came on the heels of a runner-up finish in the Horseshoe Southern Indiana Main Event earlier this season, a tournament Taylor lost to two-time gold bracelet champion Dan Heimiller.“I thought I played really well in Southern Indiana, but I didn’t think I played well heads-up,” Taylor said. “It was pretty quick and I didn’t like how I busted out at all. I really took my time [at The Lodge Casino] and thought everything through more so.”Taylor, whose consolation prize was being the Southern Indiana Casino Champion, became the fourth player in National Championship history to qualify multiple times in the same year and the first to do it in 2012-2013. Because he had his seat to the WSOP National Championship already locked up, Taylor’s rail, both in person and on the ESPN3 livestream, included most of the WSOP Circuit regulars. The extra seat that results from him winning the Main Event will be awarded to next eligible points earner.Taylor bested a star-studded final table at The Lodge Casino that included the likes of WSOP gold ring champion and two-time WSOP final tablist Ashly Butler as well as gold ring champion Kevin Eyster. The trio, referred to as “the three-headed monster”, headlined Day 3, beginning the day first, second and third in chips with 11 players remaining. By the time play reached a final table, Eyster’s chip lead was no more and it was all Taylor from then on.Eyster finished runner-up for $85,852 while Butler finished eighth for $16,444.Other notable in-the-money finishers include Michael Taylor (45th), Jonathan Hilton (30th), David “ODB” Baker (28th), Drazen Ilich (25th), Ting Ho (10th) and Rosie Paules (fifth).Full results are available on WSOP.com.The Main Event was the 10th of 12 gold ring events on the WSOP Circuit schedule at The Lodge Casino. The $1,675 No-Limit Hold’em tournament attracted 421 entries. The total prize pool came to $631,500 and the top 45 players were paid.With the conclusion of the Main Event the 2012-2013 WSOP Circuit series at The Lodge Casino has concluded. WSOP Circuit Action starts up again at Foxwoods Resort and Casino March 27.
Final table results:
1st: Jonathan Taylor - $138,938
2nd: Kevin Eyster - $85,852
3rd: Allan Hedin - $62,733
4th: Jerry Johnson - $46,579
5th: Rosie Paules - $35,124
6th: Benjamin Kim - $26,883
7th: Larry Blazer - $20,877
8th: Ashly Butler - $16,444
9th: Isaac Kirchner - $13,135