Baltimore, MD (April 5, 2016) – Throughout the duration of the final table, cheers for “Bo Bo” erupted every time Joseph Cappello raked in a pot. After nine hours of final table play, those cheers reached a climax when Cappello flopped a set of eights against Matt Bond to win the Horseshoe Baltimore Main Event for $292,500 and his first WSOP Circuit ring.
“This [circuit ring] means a lot. It means more than any amount of money I’ve ever won,” Cappello said shortly after the final table. “To win an event like this with all these great players, 890 players, it feels excellent.”
The 35-year-old New Rochelle, New York native bested a field of 894 in the $1.5 million guaranteed Main Event at Horseshoe Baltimore.
When he returns to New York, Cappello said he’ll be giving this ring to his mother.
“She’s my world, when I lost my father in ’07, that’s when I was on top playing poker. I took a little break, and she’s just been my rock,” Cappello said.
Cappello was much more active in the tournament poker scene from 2007-2010, but said some poor money management prevented him from playing in recent years. With this score, he’s planning to start playing more often again.
“To get back where I used to be, a couple of years ago, feels really good,” Cappello said. “I haven’t been playing a lot, but to break the ice [in this event] it feels excellent, I can’t describe it.”
Cappello boasts more than a million dollars in live and online tournament cashes, but this is by far his most successful Circuit case. His previous best actually came two weeks ago in the Harrah’s Atlantic City Main Event where he finished 7th for $18,348.
There were 17 players to start Day 3 on Monday, and the field was trimmed to 10, the unofficial final table, a little more than three hours into the day. Cappello started the final table second in chips, behind only Alex Rocha. Rocha was one of three players at the final table already with a Circuit ring to their name — the others being Matt Bond and Philip Shing.
It took about seven hours of final table play until heads-up play was reached. At the beginning of their heads up duel, Cappello held a slight chip advantage 9,100,000 to 8,095,000.
Over the next two hours—62 hands of play—Cappello went to work against Bond and slowly built up his advantage until he called Bond’s all in with pocket eights.
With his victory Cappello also earned a seat in the season-ending 2016 WSOP Global Casino Championship.
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The Main Event was the ninth of 12 gold ring events on the WSOP Circuit schedule at Horseshoe Baltimore. The $1,675 no-limit hold’em event with a $1.5 million guaranteed prize pool attracted 894 entries. A total of 90 players made the money.
The tournament featured two starting flights beginning Friday, April1, and Saturday, April 2 at 11 a.m. The first starting flights drew 324 entries and advanced 64 while the second starting flight drew 570 entries and advanced 109. Both starting flights played 15 levels.
Day 2 restarted Sunday, April 3 at noon with 173 players. The money bubble burst about three hours into the day, shortly after the beginning of Level 19. Play ended around midnight with 17 players remaining.
Day 3 began with 17 players at 2 p.m. The ten-handed final table began at 5:20 p.m. in Level 28 with 25,000/50,000 blinds and a 5,000 ante.
The final table seating assignments and chip counts were as follows:
Seat 1 – James Calderaro – 1,380,000 (27 bb)
Seat 2 – Corey French – 1,505,000 (30 bb)
Seat 3 – Bobby Oboodi – 865,000 (17 bb)
Seat 4 – Christopher Fernandez – 1,200,000 (24 bb)
Seat 5 – Philip Shing – 700,000 (14 bb)
Seat 6 – Joseph Cappello – 2,920,000 (58 bb)
Seat 7 – Nick Kursman – 725,000 (15 bb)
Seat 8 – Alex Rocha – 3,905,000 (78 bb)
Seat 9 – Joe Reddick – 2,285,000 (46 bb)
Seat 10 – Matt Bond – 2,395,000 (48 bb)
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Final table results:
1st: Joseph Cappello
Hometown: New Rochelle, NY
Occupation: Poker Pro
WSOP earnings: $87,991
WSOP Circuit earnings: $323,683 (1 ring)
2nd: Justin “Matt” Board
Hometown: Dallas, TX
Occupation: Poker Pro
WSOP earnings: $0
WSOP Circuit earnings: $281,688 (1 ring)
3rd: Alex Rocha
Hometown: Queens, New York
Occupation: Poker Pro
WSOP earnings: $94,977
WSOP Circuit earnings: $271,237 (2 rings)
4th: Joe Reddick - $99,360
Hometown: Bronx, NY
Occupation: Chip Bully Clothing
WSOP earnings: $5,615
WSOP Circuit earnings: $205,365
5th: Bobby Oboodi - $75,120
Hometown: Morris Plains, NJ
Occupation: Poker Pro
WSOP earnings: $88,542
WSOP Circuit earnings: $75,120
6th: James Calderero - $57,525
Hometown: Manasota Beach, FL
Occupation: Poker Pro
WSOP earnings: $986,536
WSOP Circuit earnings: $57,525
7th: Nick Kursman - $44,610
Hometown: Philadelphia, PA
Occupation: Software Sales
WSOP earnings: $0
WSOP Circuit earnings: $45,657
8th: Corey French - $27,840
Hometown: Odenton, MD
Occupation: IT
WSOP earnings: $0
WSOP Circuit earnings: $27,840
9th: Philip Shing - $27,840
Hometown: Brooklyn, NY
Occupation: Finance
WSOP earnings: $0
WSOP Circuit earnings: $43,882 (1 ring)