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POTAWATOMI CIRCUIT January 2020
10 February 2020 (Milwaukee, Wi.) For the second time this Circuit season the WSOP has made a stop at the Potawatomi Hotel & Casino marking its fifth since its inaugural dating back to 2017. It’s fifth stop held $750,000 in prizepool guarantees and was scheduled to run 13 ring events in a matter of 12 days. A total of 5,000 entries were logged during the tournament series, which was highlighted by Wisconsin native winners and an exciting, points-fueled Casino Champ race.
Kicking things off was a turbo event. Out of the 313-player field, Darin Utley who took down Event #1, claiming his second WSOP gold ring and $22,642. The first event also held witness to Casino Champ Ken Donarski’s first of three final table appearances.
A newer face to the circuit, Kyle Klett, who was born in Waukesha Wisconsin, took some time away from his business to come out to the Circuit grind and he wasted no time in making some noise. His first event he played in was Event #2: $400 Pot-Limit Omaha.
The second ring event saw 164 entries take a stab at the piece of the pie but in the end, it was Klett took home the $13,723 along with his first WSOP circuit ring.
Event #3: $400 No-Limit Hold’em Multi-Flight saw new comer and Casino Champ runner-up Vishal Patel, make his first ever Circuit cash with a 14th place finish but after the four-day event reeled in a combined 983 entries between three starting flights, it was James Gregg who took home his second ring along with the sizeable payday of $54,155.
Patel made another deep run but fell just short of reaching the final table as he fell in 12th place in Event #4: $400 No-Limit Hold’em Turbo. The second one-day event saw 257 runners take to the felt and generate a $84,810 prizepool. Once the unofficial final table was reached it was a stacked one to say the least but in the end, it was ring winner Jorden Helstern who prevailed winning his second ring along with $19,019.
Event #5: $400 No-Limit Hold’em Turbo saw Donarski make his second final table splash only this time, he came out on top winning $13,127 and took the number one spot for casino champion with 75-points.
Event #6: $400 No-Limit Hold’em Six-Max Turbo witnessed another Illinois native take to the spotlight after Todd Sladek joined his buddy Helstern as a ring winner this circuit stop after he toppled a 224-entry field claiming his first circuit ring along with $17,630.
Next to hit the winners list was a very familiar face to the Potawatomi Circuit scene as Brett “Pops” Reichard claimed his third ring after he defeated 162 runners in Event #7: $600 No-Limit Hold’em Eight Max. The event was scheduled to be a two-day event, but “Pops” only needed one day to finish off his opponents to win $21,611 and claim his spot on top of the Casino Champ race.
The $400 Monster Stack saw another new face tame the beast after Jason Farks defeated 610 runners in Event #8 to take him his largest career win of $38,039 all while his brother Jeremy cheered him on from the rail.
The second-largest buy-in of the stop hosted another deep run for “Pops” as he finished in 9th place to extend his Casino Champ lead to 92.5 points but it inevitably saw former poker media employee, Sam Cosby reign victorious after he outlasted 151 players in Event #9 to score a $39,250 payday in his very first event this Potawatomi series.
Following Cosby’s success was former poker dealer Joshua “Plinko” Clanton who topped 366 entries in Event #11: $250 No-Limit Hold’em Turbo to win his third ring along with $15,374.
With only two ring events to go, Donarski and Reichard sat atop the Casino Champ points leaderboard for majority of the stop, but that all changed after Patel returned for weekend action proving to be one of the most interesting turn of events that came during the Circuit Series.
First, Patel topped a 190-entry field to win Event #12: $400 NLH One-Day for $15,272 and his first gold ring. The bodies at the final table fell one after another until it was Jim Kilarjian and Patel heads-up with Kilarjian holding a 2:1 chip advantage. Even though Patel was behind, a few cooler turned the tides and it was Kilarjian was in rough shape after calling Patel’s all-in bet with ace-rag while Patel held pocket kings. Kilarjian didn’t find an ace with the runout ending his night just short of victory once again while Patel captured his first ring.
As if that wasn't impressive enough, Patel returned the following day and came out on top of a 255-entry field in Event #13: $400 NLH Double Stack, to win his second gold ring in consecutive days along with $18,873.
The second victory catapulted Patel into the top spot for Casino Champion with 120 points but still had a sweat as Donarski was still in the hunt for Casino Champion and could secure it with a second or third place finish in the Main Event.
The final day of the Main Event saw Donarski sit down fifth in chips out of the remaining eight and was an uphill climb as he lost over half his stack within the first 90-minuts of play. It was at that point where Donarski made a move on James Pupillo and found a lucky turn to keep his Casino Champ race alive. The four-way battle at the final table lasted until Pupillo got his stack in the middle holding ace-jack and was called by Donarski holding ace-eight. Donarski was in rough shape but another lucky turn secured his spot at the top for Casino Champion.
The Circuit dust was finally settled, as Donarski finished in 2nd place in the main event brining his Potawatomi Circuit run to a close with three final table appearances for a grand total of $111,674 and 125 points.
Attached to the honors is an automatic bid to the 2020 Global Casino Championship, effectively a $10,000 seat. The other player securing a seat at the series was the Main Event Champ, Philip Shing. Shing topped a 524-entry field to capture the Mani Event title, winning $151,284 along with his second WSOP Circuit gold ring.
Completed Events
Event #1: $400 No-Limit Hold'em Turbo - Darin Utley finesses' his way through a 313 player field to claim his second ring.
Official Report | Winners Photo | Results
Event #2: $400 Pot-Limit Omaha - Kyle Klett wins first ring after finishing in second place last February.
Official Report | Winners Photo | Results
Event #3: $400 No-Limit Hold'em Multi-Flight - James Gregg locked in first-place to win his first Circuit ring.
Official Report | Winners Photo | Results
Event #4: $400 No-Limit Hold'em Turbo - Jorden Helstern claims gold with Mamba Mentality after four 5th place finishes.
Official Report | Winners Photo | Results
Event #5: $400 No-Limit Hold'em Turbo - Ken Donarski wins second ring along with $13,127.
Official Report | Winners Photo | Results
Event #6: $400 No-Limit Hold'e Six-Max - Todd Sladek wins first ring along with $17,630.
Official Report | Winners Photo | Results
Event #7: $600 No-Limit Hold'em 8-Handed - Only one day was needed for Brett "Pops" Reichard to secure his $21,611 victory along with his third WSOP circuit ring.
Official Report | Winners Photo | Results
Event #8: $400 No-Limit Hold'em Monster Stack - Jason Farkas comes back from a chip and a chair to win first ring.
Official Report | Winners Photo | Results
Event #9: $1,125 No-Limit Hold'e - Sam Cosby secures second ring along with a $39,250 payday.
Official Report | Winners Photo | Results
Event #10: $1,700 No-Limit Hold'em Main Event - Philip Shing wins second ring along with $151,840.
Official Report | Winners Photo | Results
Event #11: $250 No-Limit Hold'em Turbo - "Plinko" secures gold for the third time after beating 366 runners.
Official Report | Winners Photo | Results
Event #12: $400 No-Limit Hold'em - Vishal Patel claims gold after a 12th and 14th place finish at Potwawtomi last week.
Official Report | Winners Photo | Results
Event #13: $400 No-Limit Hold'em Double Stack Turbo - Vishal Patel claims gold one day after winning his first ring.
Official Report | Winners Photo | Results
Casino Champion Update
Don Donarski wins Casino Champion with 125 points.
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About the Winners
Event #1 - Darin Utley struck gold once again as he laid waste to his opponents in the opening event at the Potawatomi hotel & casino after he topping a field of 313 entrants winning $22,642 in Event #1: $400 No-Limit Hold'em (1 Day), which took nearly 16 hours to complete.
Utley is no stranger to “gold” triumphs. In fact, he lays claim to eight golden glove titles in the world of amateur boxing.
“I started [boxing] when I was eight years old and I did it for like 20 years or so; but I just got inducted into the Iowa Boxing Hall of Fame this summer,” Utley revealed.
“I think you see a lot of ex-athletes that play poker because you’re used to being competitive your whole life,” he added when asked to compare boxing with poker.
Event #2 - Kyle Klett reigned supreme for the first time on the World Series of Poker Circuit stage. The 27-year-old broker topped 164 entrants in Event #2: $400 Pot-Limit Omaha at Potawatomi.
Event #3 - James Gregg secured gold for the first time at the World Series of Poker Circut at Potawatomi on Super Bowl Sunday. The 40-year-old, hailing from Plymouth Wisconsin, navigated his way through 983 entrants in Event #3: $400 No-Limit Hold'em Multi-Flight.
This was just another step in the right direction for Gregg as he took home a sizable payday of $54,155 along with his shiny gold ring
“I feels really good. Last year when I got second it stung a lot and the outcome of this event just feels a lot better.” Klett said after the win.
“I just want to shoutout to my rail, Monkey and Bruger for taking a half day to come watch me play.”
Event #4 - Jorden Helstern finally claimed his first WSOP Circuit ring after he defeated 257 players in Event #4: $400 No-Limit Hold'em, a tournament that took almost 12 hours to finish.
Helstern went into the stacked final table second in chips only behind ring winner Eddie Blumenthal. It wouldn’t take long for the bodies to start dropping one-by-one until there were seven players remaining. It was there where Helstern scored a double elimination holding pocket aces, which included the elimination of seven-time ring winner Andrew Robinson.
Next was Blumenthal who fell victim to Helstern’s cowboys, then two-time ring winner’s Brett Reichard and Craig Trost.
The heads-up battle between wouldn’t take long for all the chips to get into the middle after Helstern raised holding big slick and Robert Brandt three-bet jammed getting snap-called by Helstern. Brandt was dominated holding an inferior ace and couldn’t catch any help from the runout ending his tournament in second place.
“It feels really good to get the ring and close one out,” Helstern said after his victory.
Aside from the claiming his first gold ring, Helstern also earned $19,019, and had a very important message he wanted to share.
“I was saying Kobe the whole time at the final table, and I went in with the Mamba Mentality,” he continued, “If you’re not winning, you’re losing.”
Event #5 - Ken Donarski secured his second Circuit gold ring at after coming up just shy in the first event at Potawatomi, Ken Donarski . The 67-year-old, hailing from Illinois, navigated his way through 155 entrants in Event #5: $400 No-Limit Hold'em Turbo. Along with the gold ring, Donarski took home a $13,127 payday.
Event #6 - Todd Sladek - secured a first-place finish for his first Circuit ring. The 32-year-old ended up outlasting 224 opponents in Event #6: $400 No-Limit Hold'em 6-Handed.
“I’ve been trying to close one out for a couple of years now so this feels great,” Saldek said after his victory that also came a $17,630 payday.
The win comes just a few days after his good friend’s Cody Brinn’s fourth-place finish in Event #1 and Jorden Helstern’s victory in Event #4, which Sladek stated, “We are on fire! This victory gives us some ammo to finish out the circuit season very strong and hopefully seal the deal for Casino Champion.”
Event #7 - Brett Reichard scooped up a third World Series of Poker gold ring at the Potawatomi Circuit in the wee hours of Wednesday morning. The 53-year-old ultimately outlasted 162 entrants in Event #7: $600 No-Limit Hold'em 8-Handed to win $21,611.
“I really don’t know what to say except, WOW!” Reichard exclaimed after his victory.
“Ken played just great, but I ran ridiculously good at this final table. I mean I cracked his kings in the very last hand of the tournament, like come on.” Reichard stated.
Reichard went on to say, “I didn’t do anything besides show up tonight and it was just my turn.”
The tournament was scheduled to be a 2 Day event, but it ran like a turbo as “Pops” only needed one full day to close out the win.
“This casino treats me and Josh very well. We both run really good here with this being my second ring while Josh has won four, it’s just really a special place for us.”
The Wisconsin native was awarded another piece of WSOP hardware, adding to his collection after winning his first gold ring back in August of 2016 at Harrah's Cherokee while his second came here at Potawatomi just last year. More significantly, for Reichard, he also picked up $21,611 for his first-place achievements and handed out the challenge to his son Josh.
“For my closing statement, this kid over here (josh) has won a ring every time the circuit has been here, so I say this... let’s go boy!"
Event #8 - Jason Farkas dropped down to just 30,000 after losing with ace-nine against would be second-place finisher Alec McClintock holding king-ten.
“This was a long day,” Farkas stated. “I worked a half day and have only slept three maybe four hours the last two days.”
The sleep deprived Farkas was down to just one big blind but somehow did made it through his chip and a chair moment, running it up to 3,450,000 and took the overall chip lead into the unofficial final table. It was a slow start once players took to their seats, but bodies started dropping one-by-one to six handed play where Farkas was relinquished from his chip lead dropping down to 1,450,000.
The heads-up battle lasted all but two hands after McClintock jammed his short stack in the middle getting snap-called by Farkas holding aces. McClintock was in rough shape holding king-nine and couldn’t find any help ending his tournament run in second place.
“It was really special having my brother Jeremey here with me,” Farkas stated.
“He has always been a big supporter of mine and we talk poker all the time but now with this win I passed him on the family leaderboard for earnings which I have been chasing for a while,” Farkas said with a joking smile.
It was a fitting defeat for Farkas to eliminate the person who left him with a chip and a chair at the beginning of the day.
“This is such a sweet feeling,” Farkas stated after his win. “I’ve been playing poker forever. I made my first trip out to the World Series in 2006, so this win has been a long time coming and I’m honestly just on cloud nine right now.”
Event #9 - Sam Cosby is most well known in the poker world as part of the media, but recently transitioned to the other side of the felt. “I don’t really do anything else. This is basically what I do now. I do love the live reporting side. I won’t lie and say I don’t miss it because I do. I’m a poker fanboy at heart,” smiled Cosby.
“A lot of poker dealers and poker reporters are people that want to be close to poker. They’re either poker fans or poker dreamers. I’ve always wanted to make a run at it and now we’re making a run at it.”
In talking about his poker goals, Cosby has his sights on something bigger than a Circuit ring. “I’m chasing points to qualify for the Global Casino Championship – that’s my big goal for the year. I think I have a good shot at it now.”
Since stepping away from his reporting days in July 2019, Cosby has amassed over $150,000 in career WSOP earnings and currently sits in 20th place in on the 2019/2020 leader board for the Global Casino Championship.
Event #10 - Philip Shing - became the World Series of Poker Circuit Main Event conqueror after a three-day bout in the Potawatomi Events Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The 35-year-old ultimately topped a combined field of 524 entries, snatching his second WSOP gold ring and six-figure payout of $151,284.
The win marks the second ring for Shing, who revealed that he only plays poker a couple of times a year, “I only play three events a year do to work but I actually had a month off of work so I came here.”
The trip turned out to be a great one for Shing and he admits he really enjoyed his time here, “I just want to say I really enjoyed my time here in Milwaukee.”
The stop to Milwaukee marked the first for Shing as he is from the East Coast and mostly plays the Parx Big Staxx events along with Foxwoods, but he had such an enjoyable time that he is excited for his next visit.
“The casino was great, the people were amazing and I just had a blast here at the final table so I will definitely be making this trip again.” Shing stated.
The win marks the largest one of Shing’s WSOP career but the win was a grind and he is excited to get back home, “As you can expect I’m exhausted at this point and I’m ready to go home and see my kids.”
Event #11 - Joshua "Plinko" Clanton just joined the three-ring club after he navigated his way through 366 entrants in the single day event.
“This ones for me,” stated Clanton. “My first ring I won it was my son’s birthday so I gave him that one and then when I won my second one it was my daughter’s birthday the next week so she got that one, so this one is mine,” Clanton said with a smile on his face.
This win brings Clanton’s WSOP earnings to just under $150,000 in earnings.
“I just want to say thank you to my very special girlfriend Amanda for letting me play and to all the dealers/staff for doing an outstanding job.”
Event #12 - Vishal Patel achieved a World Series of Poker Circuit milestone early Sunday morning at Potawatomi after taking down Event #12: $400 No-Limit Hold'em Turbo. The 33-year-old, topped a field of 190 entries to win the first place prize of $15,272, along with 50 Casino Championship points, and a WSOP gold ring.
“It feels really good to get this win,” Payel said after his victory.
“I had two close finishes last week, so I wanted to come back and give it another try.”
Those two close finishes are the only WSOP events Patel has played in and were a 12th place finish in Event #3 and a 14th place finish in Event #4.
“I just want to thank my wife for her support and letting me play.”
Event #13 - Vishal Patel achieved yet another World Series of Poker Circuit milestone early Monday morning at Potawatomi after taking down Event #13: $400 No-Limit Hold'em Double Stack Turbo just 24 hours after winning his first ring. The 33-year-old, topped a field of 255 entries to win the first place prize of $18,873 along with another 50 Casino Championship points, and his second WSOP gold ring.
In true turbo fashion, Event #13 rushed down to its final table. The final 10 competitors left in the hunt for a gold ring and saw ring winner Vishal Patel lead the way with 1,640,00.
“I can’t even describe how I’m feeling right now,” Patel stated. “My goal was to win one ring and hopefully win another a few years down the road but getting two rings back-to-back is unbelievable.”
The second victory catapulted Patel into the top spot for Casino Champion as he now has 120 points but still has a little sweat as Ken Donarski is still in the hunt for Casino Champion and can take the number one spot if he ears a second or third place in the Main Event.
