CASINO CHAMPION PROFILE: WENDY FREEDMAN

Wendy Freedman wins WSOP Circuit Casino Championship at the Bicycle Casino. The poker pro made three final tables and earned $23,475 en route to the title and an automatic berth into the Global Championship.

Los Angeles, CA (December 17, 2015) - As one of the more familiar faces at the WSOP Circuit stops, Wendy Freedman is usually in contention for qualifying for an at-large bid to the Global Casino Championship (formerly the National Championship).

This year, however, she won’t have to sweat out the race for the whole season. The Las Vegas based pro won the Casino Championship title at the most recent WSOP Circuit stop at the Bicycle Casino in the Los Angeles area, earning her an automatic seat into the Global Casino Championship.

Freedman won the title with three cashes at the stop, all of which were final tables. Her first deep run came in the second event of the series, finishing second to Alan Myerson in the $365 Bounty No Limit Hold’em for $4,845 plus whatever $100 bounties she earned along the way.

Ironically, it was Myerson who held the lead in the Casino Championship race after winning that ring and then making a deep run in the $365 No Limit Hold’em re-entry. Freedman overtook Myerson for the lead on December 8, picking up her second runner-up finish in the $580 No Limit Hold’em.

Freedman picked up $10,660 for after falling just shy of her second ring, falling to Nadim Shabou heads-up. The two second place finishes gave her 75 points and an edge over Myerson, who was sitting in second with 60 points.

Just three days later, Freedman continued her assault on the fields at the Bicycle Casino and found herself at yet another final table in the $365 Monster Stack No Limit Hold’em. With only the main event and the high roller event remaining after this event, Freedman put some much needed distance between her and the rest of the field.

She took the chip lead into the final table, but ultimately finished fourth, netting $8,240. This gave her 102.5 points and virtually locked up her title as Casino Champion.

When the main event got underway, it was only Myerson who had a mathematical chance at catching her. Myerson needed to finish second in the main event or win the high roller to knock Freedman out of the top spot.

Myerson didn’t even play either of the final two events and Freedman didn’t have to even sweat anything.

Over her three final tables, Freedman earned $23,745, which put her over the six-figure mark in career WSOP Circuit earnings and a chance at much more in the Global Casino Championship, which has a minimum prizepool of $1 million.

More information about the scoring system and the leaderboard for the year-long race can be found on WSOP.com.

Here is a look at all of her scores at the Bicycle Casino:

Event #2 - $365 Bounty No Limit Hold’em – 2nd for $4,845
Event #5 - $580 No Limit Hold’em – 2nd for $10,660
Event #10 - $365 Monster Stack No Limit Hold’em – 4th for $8,240