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HARRAHS ATLANTIC CITY CIRCUIT RECAP
Recreational players prevail early on, but Poker Pros ultimately steal the spotlight.
March 19, 2018 (Atlantic City, New Jersey) -- The World Series of Poker Circuit at the Harrah’s Atlantic City came to a close on Monday with a heads-up battle for the Main Event title. A total of twelve WSOP gold rings were handed out over the course of twelve days. Recreational players marched to a gold rings early on, but in the end a few young Poker Pros claimed the spotlight.
It all began with William Anderson winning the multi-flight, re-entry tournament. The retired Math Teacher maneuvered through a field of 520 entrants, derived from four separate starting flights, in Event #1: $365 No-Limit Hold’em Re-Entry. Anderson emerged victorious after playing three, long days of poker, a feat that earned him $32,378 as well as his second Circuit gold ring.
Next, came a string of local players reaching the winner’s circle. Joe Siracusa, a Crane Operator from Nyack, New York, took down the Monster Stack for $23,737 and his first gold ring. Siracusa later went on to make a deep run in the Main Event, finishing in 10th place. More on that later.
Ruth Ruffman, who works at Tiger Schulmann’s Mixed Martial Arts Academy in New Jersey, topped Event #3 for her first gold ring. The inspiring, 89-year-old, Attilio Bitondo, straight out of New York, won his first gold ring by beating Maxwell Young heads up in Event #4.
Rick Austin, Owner of two retails stores specializing in paint, defeated a tough field in the Six Max (Event #5), taking home his second WSOP ring. Last, but not least. Mikhail Sher, a College Professor, originally from Russia, walked away with his first gold ring after winning the No-Limit Hold’em Bounty competition (Event #6).
Halfway through the series, a prominent Poker Pro finally struck gold. It was Peter Vitantonio seizing his third career gold ring with a win in Event #7: $365 No-Limit Hold’em Turbo Re-Entry. Vitantonio was not done there though. The 34-year-old from Ohio followed up with an impressive showing in Event #10, narrowly missing out on a second Main Event title.
Event #10: $1,675 No-Limit Hold’em Main Event ran two starting flights. Combined, Flights A and B attracted a total of 306 entrants, generating a $459,000 prizepool. When all was said and done, a champion by the name of Soheb Porbandarwala was crowned. The 27-year-old from Connecticut captured his second Circuit gold ring along with the first-place prize of $107,862.
During Day 2 of the Main Event, WSOP.com was also administering a Circuit tournament. The site for online poker was giving away the first-ever, online gold ring in New Jersey. In summation, the event featured 181 entries, a $59,368 prizepool, and was won by Paul Scaturro who banked $16,623.
Porbandarwala participated in the online ring event while simultaneously playing in the Harrah’s Atlantic City Main Event, and the combination provided a base for an out of the ordinary occurrence. During Level 23, while the last ten players filled up an unofficial final table, Porbandarwala fumbled his words, leading to a showdown that knocked Joe Siracusa out in 10th place.
“I meant to say fold, and I said, ‘all in,’” Porbandarwala plainly stated “I did go all in online. I mean, I was going all in there and I just subconsciously said ‘all in.’ I meant to declare ‘fold’ because I didn’t have my hands on my cards.” He elaborated.
The strange elimination boosted Porbandarwala into the chip lead with only nine players remaining. “After that, I thought ‘I better win this.’ How do you not win after that,” Porbandarwala joked.
Sure enough, the husband, and father-of-two, walked away with the Main Event honors, but not before going through a back and fourth heads-up match against Peter Vitantonio. Porbandarwala began with the chip lead. Vitantonio did swing the lead back his way for a time, but ultimately, Porbandarwala held on to scoop the final pot of the tournament.
Through all the excitement of the week, perhaps the most interesting story was written by Min Wang. The 28-year-old Poker Pro first appeared on the radar during Event #3 where he finished in 2nd place, pocketing $7,859 and 37.5 Casino Championship points. Little did anyone know, Wang was just getting warmed up.
Event #9: $580 No-Limit Hold’em Double Stack Re-Entry rolled around and Wang reached the unofficial final table as overall chip leader. He took his advantage into Day 2 of the tournament and turned it into a debut Circuit title. Wang earned $20,019 and, more importantly, 50 additional Casino Championship points, which put him atop the Venue Leaderboard.
In an effort to maintain his lead, Wang tried his hand at Flight B of the Main Event, but went bust. The native of China jumped in Event #11 following his Main Event exit and proceed to make his third final table of the series. On Day 2 of the tournament, Wang defied the odds and won his second gold ring in less than 48 hours.
Another 50 points was added to Wang’s collection, leaving him with a total of 137.5 points. The spectacular sum was more than enough to lock up the Harrah’s Casino Championship honors.
Wang, as well as Porbandarwala, earned themselves an automatic bid to the Global Casino Championship, a seat worth $10,000. The tournament of Circuit Champions, which features a minimum guaranteed prizepool of $1,000,000, is set to run August 7-9 at Harrah’s Cherokee in North Carolina.
