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Casino Champion Profile: Steve Foutty

Steve Foutty has punched his ticket to the 2015 National Championship.

Nov 12 2014 12:38 AM EST

Stateline, Nev. (November 13, 2014) – Steve Foutty won the Casino Champion title at the 11th annual WSOP Circuit Harveys Lake Tahoe stop following an impressive three cashes totaling 80 points. Foutty reached two final tables, including a victory in Event #5 - $365 No-Limit Hold’em and a fourth place finish in Event #3.

The Casino Champion race was a tight one. On the final day of play, three different players had a mathematical shot at taking down the title. Foutty entered the Main Event with 80 points, tied with Erle Mankin. Both players ended up finishing short of the money in the Main Event and busting out early in Event #12, the final event on the schedule. This result knocked out Mankin from contention who eventually finished runner-up to Foutty. Mankin also had 80 points, but lost to Foutty due to having less tournament earnings at the stop, which is the tie-breaker.

The two players who still had a shot to pass Foutty on the last day of play were Richard Fitzgerald and Michael Rocco. Fitzgerald was the final table of the Main Event. He needed a third place finish or better to pass Foutty. The final day of play for the Main Event started with seven players and he was second in chips. He never was able to get anything going and ended up being the first player of the day to hit the rail. Fitzgerald finished the series with 67.5 points which was good enough for fourth place. He made two final tables, including the Main Event final table, and bubbled the final table in another event.

Michael Rocco was the other player who had a shot to pass Foutty on the final day. Rocco had come on strong at the end of the series. He won Event #11 - $365 No-Limit Hold'em for his first cash of the series and his first gold ring. He followed it up by reaching the Event #12 final table for back-to-back final tables. The Event #12 final table was running simultaneously with the Main Event final table. Rocco could pass Foutty with a second place finish or better. He started the day sixth of seven in chips, so he had his work cut out for him. He ended up going out in fifth place and as soon as he had busted Foutty had clinched the Casino Champion title.

Foutty started the series off with a 4th place finish in Event #4 – $365 No-Limit Hold’em for 27.5 points. Next, Foutty ran deep in Event #5 - $365 No-Limit Hold'em and ended up winning it. It was Foutty's first WSOP Circuit gold ring and it added 50 points to his total. With this win he had taken the lead from Mankin, but would end up losing it back to him after Mankin finished in seventh place in the six-handed event. Foutty needed a min cash to retake the lead and that is exactly what he did. Foutty finished in 19th place in Event #9 - $580 No-Limit Hold'em to earn 2.5 points and pass Mankin again. The top 21 places cashed and earned points in that event.

That would be enough points for Foutty to hold off the competition for the rest of the series. Together, Foutty and the Harveys Lake Tahoe Main Event winner, Jesse Wilke, are head to the 2015 National Championship where they’ll freeroll for their share of an up-to $2 million prize pool against some of the WSOP’s top performers. Beside the six-figure score, the eventual winner of the National Championship will win the first bracelet of 2015.

More information and full points standings for the year-long race are available on WSOP.com.

Foutty's Harveys Lake Tahoe cashes

Event #3 - $365 No-Limit Hold’em, 168 entries – 4th place for $4,437
Event #5 - $365 No-Limit Hold’em – 171 entries - 1st place for $13,850
Event #9 - $580 No-Limit Hold'em – 203 entries – 19th place for $1,125

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