This is the central page for information about the ongoing WSOP Circuit series at Thunder Valley Casino. Check back here daily for updated schedule and results.
20 January 2020 (Lincoln, Calif.) – The second WSOP Circuit of the season wrapped up Monday night, as the last events at Thunder Valley Casino concluded. 14 WSOP Circuit gold rings, almost two million dollars of prize money and two seats at the Global Casino Championship was handed out throughout the series.
The stop featured both seasoned poker stars and younger up-and-coming talents. The two-time bracelet winner JC Tran came to town for the $3,250 High Roller and won his third ring and $49,035. 24-year-old Jesse Lonis cashed in three events, including a win in the second event of the series, the $400 Knockout.
Joshua Prager was the leader of the Casino Championship for most of the Circuit stop. The Californian hit the ground running with a runner-up finish in Event #1 and a win in Event #6. Prager ended up cashing in five different events during the Thunder Valley Circuit stop but lost his top spot on the leaderboard during the final day of play.
The final day of the Circuit stop turned out to be dramatic. The day started with the final day of the $1,700 Main Event, with a field including defending champion Paul Richardson and bracelet-winners Scott Bohlman and Bryan Picciolo. After only five hours of play, 42-year-old mathematician Jaime Haletky topped a field of 487 players and emerged victorious to capture the gold ring, a $147,706 top prize, and a seat into the 2020 Global Casino Championship.
The Final Table of Event #13 featured four players with wins from the previous week, and they all had a chance of winning the Casino Championship. The player who accumulates the most overall points during the 14 ring events at the Thunder Valley Casino Circuit 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. More information on the point system is available at WSOP.com.
The Final Table of Event #13 whittled down to a heads-up match between David Valdez and Jimmy Wester, with the Casino Championship at stake. Valdez ended up taking down Event #13 and earned a ticket to the Global Casino Championship. The title was well deserved, as Valdez cashed in a total of five events throughout the series, including victories in Event #3 and Event #13.
The series attracted a total of 4123 entrants that generated $1,948,765 in total prize money.
Completed Events
Event #1: The Opener - $400 No-Limit Hold'em - Michael Lin defeats 1319 entries to win $70,181.
Report | Winner Photo | Results
Event #2: $400 Knockout - Jesse Lonis defeats 195 entries to win $11,062.
Report | Winner Photo | Results
Event #3: $400 Pot-Limit Omaha - David Valdez defeats 62 players to win $7,021.
Report | Winner Photo | Results
Event #4: $400 No-Limit Hold'em Double Stack - Jimmy Wester defeats 125 entries to win $11,241.
Report | Winner Photo | Results
Event #5: $400 HORSE - David Diiorio defeats 68 entries to win $7,125.
Report | Winner Photo | Results
Event #6: $400 No-Limit Hold'em 6-Handed - Joshua Prager defeats 129 entries to win $11,440.
Report | Winner Photo | Results
Event #7: $400 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better - Chris Brandin defeats 97 entries to win $9,310.
Report | Winner Photo | Results
Event #8: $400 No-Limit Hold'em Monster Stack - Jorge Postigo defeats 620 entries to win $39,649.
Report | Winner Photo | Results
Event #9: $400 No-Limit Hold'em - Jasthi Kumar defeats 214 entries to win $16,976.
Report | Winner Photo | Results
Event #10: $3,250 High Roller - J.C. Tran defeats 214 entries to win $49,035.
Report | Winner Photo | Results
Event #11: $250 Seniors - John Valadao defeats 179 entries to win $9,095.
Report | Winner Photo | Results
Event #12: $1,700 Main Event - Jaime Haletky defeats 487 entries to win $147,706.
Report | Winner Photo | Results
Event #13: $400 Last Call - David Valdez defeats 388 entries to win $26,787.
Report | Winner Photo | Results
Event #14: $250 Series Finale - James Colson defeats 288 entries to win $9,359.
Report | Winner Photo | Results
Casino Champion Update
David Valdez is the Thunder Valley Casino Champion. Valdez had a stellar series, cashing in five events including a wins in Event 3 and Event 13 for a total of 117.5 points.
About the Winners
Event #1 - Michael Lin
Michael Lin has just won the opening event at the Thunder Valley World Series of Poker Circuit. The California native topped a field of 1319 players in the $400 No-Limit Hold'em event to earn $70,181 and his first WSOP Circuit gold ring. Lin has won other events before, but admits that this is the biggest win of his career.
“This is my dream and I have worked so hard for this; I have won other events before but WSOP is the pinnacle”, said the winner.
The event started on Thursday and Lin found himself in trouble early on, being short stacked after only two levels with his tournament life at stake.
“I was really short Day 1 and had less than 80,000 [chips] so I thought I was going home the first day, but the rest is history”.
The winner admitted that he was exhausted after 12 hours of play, including four hours at the Final Table, and said he will drive home to San Ramon tonight and celebrate with his friends later this week.
This was Lin’s first WSOP Final Table and fourth WSOP cash, with three previous Main Event cashes at the WSOP Thunder Valley Circuit.
Event #2 - Jesse Lonis
Jesse Lonis won the second event at the Thunder Valley World Series of Poker Circuit. Lonis outlasted 195 players in the $400 Knockout event to earn $11,062 and his first WSOP Circuit gold ring. This was the first live poker win and sixth Final Table for the 24-year-old from Little Falls, New York.
“I have come close to winning a few times, but this is my first straight up victory, so it was nice to finally get the victory and a ring”, said the winner.
Lonis had his wife at the rail for the majority of the tough Final Table and felt like he had a good chance of winning when the table got down to four-handed.
“The other players were great, but I started to feel very confident once we got down to four-handed because of my big chip lead that made able to put a lot of pressure on”.
The Little Falls native starting playing poker at the age of 13 and after starting to play more serious while in college, he is now playing poker for a living. This was Lonis’s first WSOP Final Table and first WSOP cash.
“I am just doing the tournament grind and it is tough to win, but when you seal them it’s nice”.
Event #3 - David Valdez
David Valdez took down the $400 Pot-Limit at the Thunder Valley World Series of Poker Circuit. Valdez survived 62 players to earn $7,021 and his second WSOP Circuit gold ring.
“It is sweet, it always feels good to win something. I kind of sucked out at the end there, but sometimes you need that.”, the winner said after hitting the river to beat Brendan Thomson heads-up at the Final Table. The tournament was originally planned to be a 2 Day event, but the players agreed on playing it out Day 1, with only five players remaining after two hours at the Final Table.
Valdez has been cashing in a total of 26 WSOP event with over $100,000 in total WSOP earnings, and this is the second time he strikes gold at Thunder Valley. He took his first ring almost exactly a year ago, winning the $400 Monster Stack at the WSOP Thunder Valley Circuit earning $40,411. He admits that the bigger prizepool made the first ring a bit more special, but the feeling of winning always excites.
This year’s $400 Monster Stack starts Wednesday, with a $100,000 guaranteed prizepool. The reigning champion David Valdez will be there to defend his title.
“The money was a bit more the first time I won, but the feeling is still the same, it is always fun to win. Hopefully I can win that same tournament again on Wednesday”, said Valdez.
Event #4 - Jimmy Wester
Jimmy Wester was crowned the winner of the $400 No-Limit Hold'em Double Stack at the Thunder Valley World Series of Poker Circuit. The California native survived a field of 124 players to earn $11,241 and his first WSOP Circuit gold ring. He also earns 50 Casino Championship points for his victory.
“It feels great to get the win, I am happy it is over”, said the exhausted ring winner.
To get his first gold ring Wester had to outlast a strong Final Table, including two former Circuit ring winners in Samuel Cosby and Jason Tang. Wester were able to get the victory after over an hour of heads-up play against the Senior Event winner from 2018, Bruce Powell.
“There were a lot of good players at the Final Table, so I am happy to be able to win. I also came in fairly short and was one of the short stacks for a long time, but won a few pots here and there, grinding it out and managed to pull it off.”
Event #5 - David Diiorio
David Diiorio won the $400 HORSE event at the Thunder Valley World Series of Poker Circuit. The Rhode Island native survived a field of 68 players to earn $7,125 and a WSOP Circuit gold ring. The win gives the seasoned WSOP Circuit veteran his third gold ring, adding another circuit victory to his collection.
“It feels great, because I played against a super good opponent heads-up, so to be able to come out with the win feels really great.”
The two-day tournament turned in to a marathon with over twenty hours of poker, including five hours of heads-up action between Diiorio and Brendon Thomson. This was Thomson’s second runner-up finish this Circuit stop, after losing to David Valdez in the $400 Pot-Limit Omaha event earlier this week.
The $400 HORSE victory was Diiorio’s second HORSE ring, as he struck gold in the WSOP Circuit stop in Lake Tahoe, 2012. The winner admitted that his diverse skillset in the different poker games gave him an edge on his heads-up opponent.
“At first, I just wanted to run him over, but as we got even stacks I had to play the cards and use my skills to beat him that way. I kind of specialize in Stud and I know that a lot of the other guys don’t play Stud. So I was waiting for the Stud rounds to really get it all in. I know that he is a top-notch Omaha player, so I tried taking advantage of the Stud rounds.”
The former commercial fisherman is now a full-time poker player that specializes in H.O.R.S.E and travel around the country to play mixed games. This was Diiorio’s 21st WSOP cash, adding $7,125 to his $77,998 in total WSOP earnings.
Event #6 - Joshua Prager
Joshua Prager has just won the $400 No-Limit Hold'em 6-Handed event at the Thunder Valley World Series of Poker Circuit. Prager survived a field of 129 players to earn $11,440 and his first WSOP Circuit gold ring. The 46-year-old poker pro from Oakland was humble and surprised after winning his first WSOP Circuit ring.
“I don’t know how I won, honestly. At one point I had 15,000 chips and ended up with 1.9 million. I am not really sure what my opponents were doing, I was not playing that well”, said Prager.
Prager captured his first WSOP Circuit ring after 10 minutes of heads-up play against runner-up Eyyal Altar. Yesterday’s ring winner, Jimmy Wester was the first final table player to hit the rail. The event was faced-paced with a Final Table that was over in just under an hour.
The former University of Oregon tennis player admitted that he did not play his best poker but still managed to pull off the victory. According to the winner, single tournament victories often don’t show who really is the best player, and that it often comes down to luck, with long-term success as a better skill indicator.
“The times you have success you don’t deserve it, and the times fail you don’t deserve that either. Over a decade you got what you deserve, but I am happy I won today.”
The win added $11,440 to Prager’s $1,984,340 in total live earnings, and his first WSOP gold ring.
Event #7 - Chris Brandin
Chris Brandin won the $400 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better event in the Thunder Valley World Series of Poker Circuit. The San Francisco native survived a field of 97 players to earn $9,310 and his first WSOP Circuit gold ring. The two-day event ran for almost twenty five hours of total action, including a five hour long Final Table play. The Final Table was a roller-coaster for Brandin, who had the short stack multiple time during the heads-up play against runner-up Randall Blankenship.
“I was the chip-leader going into the Final Table, but then lost it and got it back. It was a battle and the guys I played against were fantastic, so I am happy to get the win.”, said a happy Brandin after his first WSOP cash.
Brandin, who runs a basketball academy in Peninsula, admitted that he superstitiously slept with a replica of the Golden State Warriors championship the night before coming to Thunder Valley.
“I really felt good Monday night, something felt right. For the first time ever, I went to bed with my championship ring from when the Warriors won, and drove up here feeling super confident. I really wanted a ring so I put the replica on and rode it all the way to the Final Table.”
Brandin truly got rewarded from his good energy and earned $9,310 together with his first WSOP Circuit gold ring.
Event #8 - Jorge Postigo
Jorge Postigo won the $400 Monster Stack at the Thunder Valley World Series of Poker Circuit. The Peruvian outlasted a large field of 620 players to earn $39,649 and his first WSOP Circuit gold ring. He also earns 50 Casino Championship points for his victory.
“I’m not a professional poker player so I don’t play tournaments that often, but I was really close to winning my first ring in 2016, but finished second. Since then I’ve really been wanting a ring, so I am so happy that I finally got one.”, said the winner.
94 players came back for Day 2 of the $400 Monster Stack, with nine players clinching a Final Table spot after seven hours of play. The Peruvian banker dictated most of the Final Table action and was able to take the victory after an hour of heads-up play against runner-up, Sasha Sabbaghian.
Postigo lives in the U.S with his wife while she is taking her Masters degree, and the poker lover is taking advantage of the bigger prizepools that the tournaments on U.S soil can offer.
“There are not that many big tournaments in Peru so I am trying to play as much as I can while I’m here. When living in Peru I use all my vacation time to come to the U.S and play the higher buy-in tournaments. It is something I really enjoy.”
Postigo first started playing poker after being invited to a coworker’s home game.
“The first time I played with them I lost but since I’m really competitive I went home and studied the game by watching videos and reading books. I improved and started winning in the home games, and that’s when I realized that I was actually kind of good, so I started playing low stakes in the casinos and climbed my way up from there”.
This was Postigo’s fourth WSOP cash, earning $39,649 for his victory accompanied by his first gold Circuit ring.
Event #9 - Jasthi Kumar
Jasthi Kumar won Event #9 - $400 No-Limit Hold'em, at the Thunder Valley World Series of Poker Circuit. The four-time ring winner topped a field of 214 players to earn $16,976 and his fourth WSOP Circuit gold ring. He also earns 50 Casino Championship points for his victory. This was Kumar’s first Thunder Valley victory, but the winner has three previous wins from the WSOP Lake Tahoe Circuit.
“I got three previous rings, so nothing but wins excites me nowadays. But a win is a win, it feels good. My three previous rings came in Lake Tahoe, and this is my first one at Thunder Valley which makes it a bit special.”, said Kumar after earning his fourth victory.
This was the eleventh Final Table for Kumar, who’s had a lot of previous experience with a situation like this, and that made him confident that he had good chance of winning.
“A came in as the chip leader and didn’t think it was going to be that hard to win it. The guy [Ryan Awwad] that came in third place was really good, so I tried to pay attention to his play and felt like as long as I beat him, I would have a good chance of taking it down.”
Kumar is software engineer in the Bar Area, and although he is not a full-time poker player, he is trying to play poker as much as he can. Kumar is a frequent WSOP player and this was his 36th WSOP cash, including a deep run at the WSOP Main Event last summer, in which he finished in 58th place for $166,963. Kumar is planning on coming back for another Main Event this summer and is hoping to add to his $394,992 in total WSOP live earnings.
Event #10 - J.C Tran
J.C. Tran won the $3,250 High Roller at the Thunder Valley World Series of Poker Circuit. The two-time WSOP bracelet winner survived a field of 47 players to earn $49,035 and a WSOP Circuit gold ring.
“I actually haven't had too many hours with Tony. He played really well," Tran said after winning his third Circuit ring. "It came down to me having queens and he had ace-ten. Tony's a great player, I have a lot of respect for him. He's similar to me in some ways, he doesn't play a ton of these tournaments, because he's doing stuff with WPT and what not."
After winning two bracelets together with more than $5,000,000 in WSOP earnings, Tran is now spending less time trying to fulfill his poker goals and instead focusing on being a good father.
“It used to be really cool for me to shoot for a goal to have a bracelet, ring or a WPT title. But when you have accomplished that you try too shoot for bigger goals, and one of my bigger goals was to final nine the WSOP Main, and I did that. After that I kind of took it easy on poker and spent more time with my family and my kids.”, said Tran after taking down the $3,250 High Roller.
Tran will bring home $49,035 for his victory, adding to his $13,092,669 in live earnings. He also earns 50 Casino Championship points for his victory.
Event #12 - Jaime Haletky
“It feels great. I feel like the other ones [Final Tables] was a lot of luck, but I have really studied a lot these past two years to improve my game. Obviously this one was also luck, you can’t win without a lot of luck. I was really happy how I played, especially in the start of the tournament,” said Haletky after winning his first WSOP gold ring. The $1,700 Main Event was a three-day adventure, with nine players remaining at the start of Day 2. The loaded Final Table included WSOP bracelet winner Bryan Piccioli and five-time WSOP ring winner, Scott Stewart.
“It was definitely the toughest final table I have been at, the other two here were not nearly as tough. I knew I had to take it easy, and I did not want to be too aggressive and just let the cards play themselves.”, said Haletky.
Paul Robinson took down last year’s Thunder Valley Main Event, and Haletky admits that he was inspired by the former champion.
“I think really highly of his game, he used to be a chemist and I’m a mathematician- , engineer type person. So I thought that: if he can do it, I should be able to do it.”
Haletky earned $147,706 for the win, along with a WSOP Circuit gold ring. He also secured a free entry at the 2020 WSOP Global Casino Championship.
Event #13 - David Valdez
David Valdez won Event #13 - $400 Last Call, at the Thunder Valley World Series of Poker Circuit. The three-time ring winner topped a field of 388 players to earn $27,787 and his third WSOP Circuit gold ring. The second to last event of the Circuit stop turned in to a Casino Championship tiebreaker, with four players at the Final Table competing for the Casino Championship title.
With the Championship leader Joshua Prager busting out in Event #14, the four players in the hunt were Jimmy Wester, Jasthi Kumar, Michael Lin and David Valdez. With four players left, all Valdez had to do to win the Casino Championship was to outlast Jimmy Wester.
"I feel great! I needed that win to get the player of the series, so it is pretty awesome. And the money is awesome too,". said the happy winner.
This WSOP Thunder Valley Circuit stop was a successful one for Valdez, who cashed in five different events, earning total of $37,641 and two gold rings.
Event #14 - James Colson
James Colson won the last event of the Thunder Valley WSOP Circuit stop, the $250 Series Finale. Colson outlasted 188 players to earn $9,359 and his first WSOP Circuit gold ring. He also earns 50 Casino Championship points for his victory.
The final event of the series was a short 1 Day Event with 20-minute levels and concluded after less than nine hours of poker action. The fast-paced event suited Colson well, as he describes himself as a "full-time grandpa".
"It feels good to win it, I just tried to play at the best of my ability. This was the only event I played at this series, because I was busy with family. I take care of babies during most of my spare time", said Colson.
The 71-year-old teacher from Fort Worth started playing poker 15 years ago.
“I started by reading books about the game, and then started playing home games with friends. I owe a lot of thanks to my poker idol, Woody Moore.”, said the winner.
Being a full-time grandpa takes up most of Colson’s time, and he does not have time to play as much poker anymore. Poker is only a hobby for Colson, but he got one accomplishment that not a lot of players can claim.
“I do not have a lot of winnings, but in 2015 I had the same amount of Player of The Year points as Phil Ivey.”, said Colson jokingly. “He had one of the worst years of his career, and I had one of my best, but still. This is according to Card Player Magazine.”
James Colson was the last winner of the WSOP Thunder Valley Circuit stop and he earned $9,359 for the win.