News

This is the central page for information about the ongoing WSOP Circuit series at Horseshoe Baltimore. Check back here daily for updated schedule and results.

14 October 2019 (Baltimore, MD) - The Horseshoe Baltimore circuit stop is over and it’s on to Hammond, and for some players, the World Series of Poker Europe which is underway. This circuit stop awarded 15 rings over the past two weeks. 

There were 13 events that were worth qualifying points for the Global Championship, a Ladies event, and a Seniors event. The largest event was the $1,700 No-Limit Hold’em main event.

Faisal Siddiqui won his first World Series of Poker gold circuit ring and $113,143 at the Horseshoe Baltimore circuit main event.

Siddiqui topped a field of 303 players and a final table pack with professionals and successful circuit grinders to win the title and one-up his previous best circuit main event finish. He finished second in the 2014/2015 circuit main here at the Horseshoe. He won $127,484 for his finish there.

Siddiqui said he was initially a little overwhelmed with the talent at the final table.

"A lot of the messages I was getting was that the others are equally afraid of you as you are afraid of them," he said, "That kind of helped me get my nerves right."

He gave a shout out to his family and John Gorsuch, the 2019 WSOP Millionaire Maker winner, for their support and friendly, positive messages during his main event run. Siddiqui 51-year-old who works in software and technology. He says the really wonderful thing about poker is that he can come to events as an amateur and compete against professionals.

"There is no other sport in the world that is like this. I also play golf. I could never beat Phil Mickelson at golf. But at the final table today, there were multiple pros, and I was able to beat them, which is a great feeling. It's not about the money it's about playing the best in the world and coming out ahead," he said.

Michael Wang had an excellent series as well, final tabling the main event and winning two other events. He won Event #5 for $9,522 and then, just three days later, won Event #8 for $15,156. These were Wang’s first two rings. He went on to cash on four events -- finishing in the top four of four different events, including fourth place in the main event.

 Wang is the winner of the Casino Championship. The player who accumulates the most overall points during the 13 ring events at the Horseshoe Baltimore earns the title of Casino Champion and receives automatic entry into the WSOP Global Casino Championship. Additionally, all players who cash in ring events earn points that apply toward the season-long race to claim one of the limited at-large bids. Wang ended the series with more than 200 points. More information on the points system is available on WSOP.com.

Completed Events

Event #1: $250 No-Limit Hold'em -  John Megahan wins $8,054 after topping a field of 152 players 
Official Report | Winners Photo | Results

Event #2: $400 No-Limit Hold'em (5 Flights) -  Patrick Lacey defeats 554 players to claim $46,368 first-prize 
Official Report | Winners Photo | Results

$250 Seniors No-Limit Hold'em -  Bernard Maiden tops a field of 121 players for $6,595
Official Report | Winners Photo | Results

Event #3: $400 No-Limit Hold'em Turbo -  Shizhe Zhou beats 51 players, takes home $5,853 and WSOP gold ring
Official Report | Winners Photo | Results

Event #4: $400 No-Limit Hold'em 8-Max -  Justin Liberto bests 103 players to claim 4th ring and $9,712
Official Report | Winners Photo | Results

Ladies Event: $135 No-Limit Hold'em -  Dorothy Adams wins Ladies Event for $2,444 and first WSOP ring
Official Report | Winners Photo | Results

Event #5: $400 No-Limit Hold'em 6-Max -  Mike Wang beats 101 players to claim $9,522 and first circuit ring.
Official Report | Winners Photo | Results

Event #6: $600 Pot-Limit Omaha -  Stan Yang wins $600 PLO for $12,112 after beating a field of 76
Official Report | Winners Photo | Results

Event #7: $400 Monster Stack -  A.J. Kelsall wins ring #3 in $400 Monster Stack, defeating 227 players
Official Report | Winners Photo | Results

Event #8: $600 No-Limit Hold'em -  Mike Wang tops 103-player field to claim second ring and $15,156
Official Report | Winners Photo | Results

Event #9: $1,700 No-Limit Hold'em -  Faisal Siddiqui tops 303-player field to win $113,143 and first circuit ring
Official Report | Winners Photo |  Results

Event #10: $400 No-Limit Hold'em -  Daniel Fox tops 65 to claim ring and $6,994
Official Report | Winners Photo | Results

Event #11: $400 No-Limit High -  Ryan Van Sanford wins $7,557 and third ring after topping a 74 player field Official Report | Winners Photo |  Results

Event #12: $3,250 No-Limit Hold'em High Roller -  Nicholas Verderamo bests 29 to win $34,730 and fourth ring
Official Report | Winners Photo |  Results

Event #13: $400 No-Limit Hold'em Turbo -  Lonnie Butler wins $9,009 and first ring after topping 92-player field
Official Report | Winners Photo |  Results

Casino Champion Update

Throughout the stop, players will earn points toward becoming the Casino Champion for this stop. They will earn a seat in the $10,000 Global Championship at the end of the circuit season. The results will be updated here and you can check out the leaderboard below.

 Michael Wang is the winner of the Casino Championship. The player who accumulates the most overall points during the 13 ring events at the Horseshoe Baltimore earns the title of Casino Champion and receives automatic entry into the WSOP Global Casino Championship. Additionally, all players who cash in ring events earn points that apply toward the season-long race to claim one of the limited at-large bids. Wang ended the series with more than 180 points.

For the official leaderboard standings click LEADERBOARD below.

About the Winners

Event #1 - John Megahan wins Event #1 of the  WSOP Horseshoe Baltimore circuit stop. He takes home $8,054 and his first WSOP gold circuit ring after topping a field of 152 players.

The retired Marine Corps infantryman managed to win his first-ever WSOP circuit event.

Event #2 - Patrick Lacey, a 32 year-old poker pro just won Event #2: $400 No-Limit Hold'em $250,000 Guarantee. He will take home the $49,386 and his first WSOP gold circuit ring.

He is originally from Chicago and now lives in New Jersey. 

He topped a field of 545 players. The first flight for this event started Thursday evening and Lacey came into Day 2 in 32nd position of 57 players. He entered the final table near the bottom of the chip counts, but managed to find his footing and eventually beat Esa Al-Hanooti heads up for the ring.

Seniors -  Bernard Maiden, a 67 year-old Baltimore resident, won the $250 Seniors No-Limit  Hold'em tournament and his first-ever WSOP gold circuit ring.

He's spent the last 15 years working for the government and has been married for 30 years. He said that if he comes home early, his wife knows that he didn't do well in the tournament, so he was happy to come home late this evening with the $6,595 first prize and the circuit ring.

He goes by Mr. Possibilities and he could not contain his excitement when won the final hand. He kept cheering several times after he won.

Event #3 - Shizhe Zhou won his first WSOP circuit ring in his first tournament at the Horseshoe Baltimore. Zhou says he's been playing cash  games for the past nine months.

He graduated as a software engineer from Stevens College in New Jersey and has been living in Maryland for the past year.

The 25-year old is originally from China and now lives in Rockwell, MD.

He topped a field of 51 players to claim his first WSOP gold circuit ring and the $5,853 first-prize. Zhou entered the final table with only 61,500 chips, compared to the first-place stack of Peter Piorkowski. Zhou managed to work his way to heads up, took the lead, and then closed out the tournament to claim the title.

Event #4 - Justin Liberto claimed his fourth WSOP gold circuit ring after defeating Christian Harder heads up in Event #4: $400 No-Limit Hold'em 8-Max.

The 31-year old poker pro entered the final table fourth in chips. He eventually got heads up with Harder and won the heads up match with pocket aces to claim his fourth ring. He beat a field of 103 players and took home the first-place prize of $9,712.

Liberto has 67 cashes and just under $2-million in WSOP earnings between the circuit and the summer series. He adds a fourth ring to a poker resume that also includes a WSOP gold bracelet.

His win puts him in the running for the Casino Championship with nine events remaining at the Horseshoe Baltimore circuit stop.

Ladies Event - Dorothy Adams claimed her first WSOP gold circuit ring in the $135 No-Limit  Hold'em Ladies Event. After the win, her husband William Lebleu took her picture and cheered her on. Adams says now her and her husband are tied for circuit rings.

 She topped a field of 79 players at the Horseshoe Baltimore to claim the $2,444 first prize and the circuit ring.

She is 65 years old. She retired as a nurse after 28 years and now travels to circuit stops with her husband. The couple plan on going to Cherokee and have visited Las Vegas and New Orleans stops in the past.

Adams now has $7,942 in WSOP tournament winnings on six cashes. This is her first win. She finished runner-up in the ladies event at the Horseshoe Baltimore in the 2016-2017 season and has now done one better to claim the title.

Event #5 - Michael Wang won Event #5: $400 No-Limit Hold'em 6-Max to win his first World Series of Poker gold circuit ring. He adds the ring to his poker resume which already includes a WSOP gold bracelet from 2015 and more than $700,000 in tournament winnings.

He topped a field of 101 players and took home the $9,522 first-prize.

Wang says there is always something special about the first time and now that he has a ring, he is looking forward to collecting more poker trophies.

The 31-year-old poker pro is from Livingston, NJ and plans on playing out the rest of the series here at the Horseshoe Baltimore.

Event #6 - Stan Yang defeated Patrick Lacey heads up to take the Event #6: $600 Pot-Limit Omaha circuit ring. Yang topped a field of 76 players and took home the $12,112 first prize.

He defeated Lacey, who already won Event #2: $400 No-Limit  Hold'em Multi-flight and has now retaken the lead for the Casino Championship with more than 80 points.

Yang is 46 and from Reston, VA. He says he spends his time as a semi-professional player and hasn't played a circuit event before. He also said, he didn't know there was a ring for the winner of this event until today.

"It was a nice bonus," he said after the win.

Yang also says that he plays PLO and No-Limit Hold'em tournaments, but lately he has been playing more PLO. He puts himself into contention for the Casino Championship with the win. There are five events left for Yang to try and overtake Lacey.

Event #7 - A.J. Kelsall won his third  WSOP circuit ring Thursday at Horseshoe Baltimore. Kelsall came into Thursday second in chips behind Nicholas Verderamo, who he beat heads up.

Event #7 was a $400 No-Limit Hold'em Monster Stack. The tournament had 227 entries and Kelsall beat Verderamo to claim his third ring and the $17,730 first prize. Immediately after the final hand, both Kelsall and Verderamo ran over to register for Event #8, with just ten minutes before registration for the event closed.

Kelsall carries his other two rings in his backpack and pulled them out for the photo. He says he is happy enough to win the circuit rings, but he said, "I'd trade them all for a bracelet."

He is originally from Philadelphia, which you might guess as he's typically decked out in Philadelphia sports gear. He says he now spends his time between Tampa, FL and Las Vegas.

Kelsall has almost $1-million in WSOP tournament winnings with 45 circuit cashes and 54 cashes in the summer series. The 50-year old poker pro will turn 51 in two days.

A third circuit ring and $17,7300 sure is a nice present before his birthday later this week.

Event #8 - Mike Wang went from zero to two World Series of Poker gold circuit rings by winning Event #8: $600 No-Limit Hold'em early Friday morning.

The second and third place finishers joined him for the winners photo, Cynthia Kassis (3rd), and Shiraz Hasan (2nd). 

He topped a field of 103 players to take home the $15,156 first prize and his second circuit ring in the past three days. He also won Event #5: $400 No-Limit Hold'em 6-Max and will now take the lead in the Casino Championship.

The 31-year-old poker pro from Livingston, NJ won his second ring on only his 13th circuit cash. He has over $700,000 in WSOP winnings between the circuit and the summer series. He won the $5,000 No-Limit Holdem at WSOP 2015 to claim his bracelet and has more than $2-million in career tournament winnings.

With two wins at this stop, he is the leader in the Casino Championship race with over 100 points.

Event #9 - Full winners story here.

Event #10 - Daniel Fox beat Mike Wang heads up to win his first WSOP gold circuit ring and the $6,994 top prize.

Fox entered the day as the chip leader and he kept Wang, who is leading the Casino Championship, from winning his third event of the series.

Fox is a 45-year old is originally from Baltimore, MD. He's been working as a CPA for 25 years and has two kids. He says he plays poker often and will play the circuit when it is in town.

Fox topped the 65-player field and earned his fourth WSOP cash. 

Event #11 - Ryan Van Sanford won Event #3: $400 No-Limit  Hold'em to claim his third WSOP circuit ring and the $7,557 first prize.

Van Sanford is a 25-year old poker pro from Fort Lauderdale. 

"I'm just trying to make money and have a life where I get to be my own boss," he said.

He said he was happy to win the ring because his dad enjoys the poker trophies he has earned. He also said he would really like to play the Global Championship at the end of the circuit season.

Van Sanford has 23 circuit cashes and, with the win, now has over $170,000 in WSOP circuit tournament winnings.

Event #12 - Full winners story here.

Event #13 - Lonnie Butler won the final event at Horseshoe Baltimore. The Event #13: $400 No-Limit  Hold'em Turbo drew 92 entries and Bulter won his first ring and the $9,009 first prize at just about 9:00 p.m. local time.

"I've been waiting for this one!" he said after he won.

He is a retired master plumber, who worked for 50 years. He lives in Baltimore, MD and says he played four tournaments this stop before finally breaking through and winning the final event. This is his first-ever WSOP event.