News
CASINO CHAMPION PROFILE: JUAN MENDOZA
Apr 18 2013 12:30 PM EST
Congratulations to Juan Mendoza, who won the Casino Champion title at Harrah's Cherokee.
The poker player from Wilmington, NC posted a point total of 97.5 based on his three cashes. Mendoza finished in second place twice, and sixth place once. He was the only player among the many thousands who attended Harrah's Cherokee's first-ever WSOP Circuit event who made three final table appearances.
Amazingly, these three cashes represented Mendoza's first time to cash on the WSOP Circuit. He has no other in-the-money finishes in WSOP-related events. His three deep runs resulted in $42,061 in winnings over the course of the 12-event series.
The Casino Champion race was very much wide open until the final tournament. A few dozen players were still in contention until the $365 Turbo No-Limit Hold'em Event 12, which was played on the final day of the series. Mendoza was among those hoping to win the title and closed the deal by finishing in second place.
Gold ring winner Nicholas Vaca-Rondon – who also posted three cashes – finished second in the point total, but lagged 25 points behind the winner on the final tally. Also of note were two players who cashed four times – Jonathan Noble and Bradley Smith.
With his achievement, Mendoza earns a paid entry into to WSOP National Championship presented by Southern Comfort 100 Proof, to be played May 22-24. This year's season-ending finale will be played at Harrah's New Orleans. The entry is valued at $10,000. The event will be televised on ESPN.
Mendoza joins Main Event winner John Bowman, who will also play in the WSOP National Championship. They were both guaranteed seats by winning either the Main Event or Casino Champion race. Fittingly, both players are from North Carolina – which hosted a spectacular poker series sure to be repeated not only next season, but in the years ahead.
Juan Mendoza, enjoy the trip to New Orleans!
