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Biloxi, MS – The second of ten ring events of the 2010/2011 World Series of Poker Circuit Events at the IP Resort Hotel and Casino came to an end Sunday night.

Rob Quin, a 56-year-old land surveyor from Metairie, LA, is the winner of the $345 buy-in no limit hold’em event, which drew 270 runners and generated a total prize pool of $76,410.

Quin took home $18,722 and the WSOPC gold ring for his victory. He also earned points putting him at the top of the leader board in two events so far at the IP.

Metairie is a town located outside of New Orleans, LA and much like its nearby big sister city, has strong French influences. In fact, Metairie is the French word for sharecropping, a farm system in which the farm’s tenants pay the landlord a share of what is produced.

Quin says he has been playing at the amateur level since 1970 and while he very much enjoys playing poker games, has no intentions of taking his game to the next level.

“Man, I love this game, but it can be a killer!” he said after his win. “I’ll come out to the WSOP Circuits and other tournaments a week at a time to play, but I’d rather keep working in the 90+ Louisiana heat than do this for a living."

Indeed, there are two types of players out on the tournament trail, those who play to earn a living and those who play for recreation. Quin represents the latter. Another group that Quin is a staunch representative of is the older generation of poker players. He admits that sometimes there can be a sense of “us vs. them” when it comes to many of the younger players.

“There’s definitely a sense of camaraderie amongst us older guys said Quin. These younger guys can go all night, drinking their Red Bulls and playing very aggressively,” he quipped. “Many of them have a different sense of value on the felt.”

The IP Bilxoi WSOPC seniors event took place while the final table played out, which Quin said was his favorite and was a bit regretful for missing. However, $18,722 and points toward a shot at a million dollar prize can be a powerful remedy for such sentiment.

The eldest player among the seniors event field was 86-year-old Theresa Gex of Baton Rouge, LA. Gex may be remembered by some as “the sweet old woman” who eliminated Phil Ivey and crippled Chris Ferguson in one fell swoop during event #24 of the 2010 World Series of Poker.

Day two play of ring event #2 resumed at 2:00 pm on Sunday with 15 remaining players. Among the final two tables of survivors was a pillar of the old guard, “Captain” Tom Franklin. The notable pro and WSOP bracelet holder from Gulfport, MS finished in 13^th place.

Starting chip counts when final table play began were as follows:

9^th Place – The final nine resumed play shortly before 4:00 pm with blinds and antes at 4,000/8,000/1,000. A critical hand came early during the final table for Quin after he flopped a set of 8’s heads up against Bob Talbot. Talbot moved all-in with pocket queens and Quin made the call to double up. He maintained his position near the top of the leader board the rest of the way.

Other early action saw short stack John Cornelius move all-in preflop and getting a call from Quin and Richard Hughes. After a flop of , Quin fired a few chips into the side pot and Hughes quickly folded. It was set over set with Quin showing pocket 10’s to Cornelius’ pocket 8’s. Tournament announcer Adam Kemper, commented that Cornelius would need quads on the turn to survive, drawing a few snickers from nearly everyone at the final table, including Cornelius.

The chuckles quickly turned into gasps, however, as the 8c hit the turn. A loud thud came from a chair that one of the players knocked to the floor in amazement. After a 5 on the river, Cornelius happily fell back into his seat. Though not highly remarkable, the turn of events seemed to set the mode for the much of the rest of the table.

Hughes tried to chip back up but saw even more of stack distributed around the table. Down to his last 40k, he moved all-in preflop with K-10 suited and was called by David Nicholson with suited K-Q. The board helped neither player and Hughes was the first elimination of the day. The 28-year-old sales manager from Mobile, AL took home $1,713 for ninth.

8^th Place – Though he had tripled up with quads, Cornelius took a few hits to his stack, sending him back near his starting final table chip count. He moved the rest of his chips into the pot with pocket threes and was called by Quin, who tabled . Cornelius wouldn’t be as lucky in his second all-in as Quin paired his 5 on the turn. Cornelius bricked the river and his tournament day was done. Cornelius is a 48-year-old programmer from Newnan, GA. His two-day run earned him $2,142. `

7^th Place – The other short stack, John Olsen, was eliminated on an all-in holding A-K. Daniel Seiver called Olsen with suited 10-6, spiking his live 10 on the flop. Seiver’s pair held, busting Olsen in 7^th. Olsen is a 75-year-old retiree and father of four. Seventh place paid $2,720.

6^th Place – Bob Talbot was unable to fully recover after his pocket queens were coolered by Quin’s flopped set.   He was eliminated in sixth place after running pocket nines into another monster hand, A-A. Talbot is a 63-year-old retired law enforcement officer from Tunica, MS. He is well-known on the poker forums where he goes by the screen name “BigTex21.” Sixth place paid $3,511.

5^th Place – Rob Lewis, a 34-year-old salesman originally from Nurenberg, Germany and now living in Tampa FL was the fifth place finisher. He ran pocket queens into David Nicholson’s pocket kings and was eliminated. Lewis earned

4^th Place – The fourth place finisher was Greg Harkinson. Harkinson is 56 years old and lives in Houston, TX where he owns a drapery hardware business. Fourth place was worth a nice $6,150.

3^rd Place – Down to three-handed play, David Nicholson got into a coin flip for his tournament life all-in with A-J vs. Seiver’s pocket 7’s. The chip leader at the start of final table play, Nicholson was unable to improve on the queen-high board and was forced to settle for third place, worth $8,357.

2^nd Place – Heads up play began shortly after 6:00 pm with blinds at 8,000/16,000. What could have been a swift matchup drew out to over a couple of hours after Quin was able to double through his opponent.

Heads up play then became slow and deliberate, with neither player wanting to leave the tournament to fate. The final hand came shortly after 10 pm. After a board, Seiver was all-in with vs. Quin’s K-8. Seiver missed the ace and his flush draw on the river, giving Quin the victory.

Seiver is 26-years-old and works for Dell Inc. in his home town of Carthage, TN. He collected $11,567 for his second place finish.

After five long years, Quin had finally accomplished one of his biggest poker goals, winning a World Series of Poker Circuit Event ring. He says that he will give the ring to his nephew, fulfilling a promise he made to him back in 2005.

With many younger and more aggressive online pros on the tournament circuit, Quin attributes one of poker’s golden rules for helping him navigate through the game’s current landscape. Patience

“It’s one of the only advantages we older guys have,” he said, grinning.

The winner of the seniors event was Theodore Garner. Garner earned $6,320 for his victory. The $235 buy-in single day tournament drew a field of 121 players, generating a prize pool of $23,474.

See the complete IP Resort Hotel and Casino poker tournament schedule and previous results here.  The WSOP Circuit at the IP runs through November 10^th. You can find the complete 2010/2011 WSOP CIRCUIT SCHEDULE here.

IP Resort Hotel and Casino
850 Bayview Ave           
Biloxi, MS 39530
Telephone:  (228) 436-3000 
Toll-Free: 1 (888) WIN-AT-IP

www.ipbiloxi.com          

Media Contact: Alan Fowler , Harrah’s Entertainment, Inc., (702) 498-7532 or afowler@harrahs.com