Event #1: $365 No-Limit Hold'em Re-Entry ($100K Guarantee)

Event #1
No-Limit Hold'em Re-Entry
Buy-In: $300 (+$65)
Total Entries: 1,272
Prize Pool: $381,600

Wisconsin bartender claims victory in the first event at Potawatomi.

MILWAUKEE (February 5, 2017) -- Ty Veras has won Wisconsin's first-ever World Series of Poker event. The opening event of the Potawatomi series was a record breaker. The four-flight tournament drew 1,272 entries to become Wisconsin's largest poker tournament ever. Besides carving a spot in the Wisconsin poker record books, Veras earned $67,726 and his first WSOP Circuit gold ring for his 1st place finish.

"It feels good [to win]. I am not used to playing in big tournaments like this. It was fun," said Veras.

Veras is from the Green Bay area, but went to school here in Milwaukee at the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee. He traveled south with a friend for this tournament in particular.

"My buddy and me travel a little bit to play from time to time. This is is the one we wanted to win, so it was cool," said Veras.

Veras' name was at or near the top of the leaderboard for the majority of the tournament. He got off to a great start and bagged as the Flight A chip leader. He held onto the chip lead through Flight B and Flight C. Veras finally lost the overall chip lead after Daniel Bouton was able to bag a larger stack in Flight D of the tournament. Veras entered Day 2 with the second most chips and according to him, a hangover.

The hangover didn't slow down Veras from collecting chips. He built his stack up throughout Day 2 and made it to the final table as the chip leader. Eliminations were far and few between early on at the final table, but Veras didn't slow down collecting chips. The tournament staff decided to bag the six remaining players at 2:30 a.m. Sunday and bring them back for a third day of play. Veras had to sleep on a huge chip lead. He bagged Day 2 with 62% of the chips in play.

He came back for Day 3 at 2 p.m. Sunday. After just 45 minutes of play he had every chip in play and the gold ring around his finger.

"I pretty much ran pure the whole time, it was awesome," said Veras.

The 28-year-old bartender from West De Pere, Wisconsin said that he had no plans for the prize money other than now maybe playing in the series' Main Event.

"Then it's back to bartending. I like bartending," said Veras.

Veras had a sizeable rail, including his father, rooting him on today. The celebration will consist of watching the Super Bowl back in Green Bay.

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Event #1 was the first of 12 gold ring events on the WSOP Circuit schedule at Potawatomi. The $365 No-Limit Hold'em Re-Entry tournament attracted 1,272 players generating a $381,600 prize pool. The top 135 players were paid.

The tournament featured four starting flights. Flights A and B were on Thursday and drew a combined 379 entries. Flights C and D were Friday and added another 893 entries to the field. There were 156 players that advanced to Saturday's Day 2. Day 2 was a long 14 and half hour day of play and saw six players make it to Day 3. Day 3 started Sunday at 2 p.m. and finished after 45 minutes of play.

Final table results:

1st: Ty Veras - $67,726 + Circuit gold ring
2nd: Carlos Monteiro - $41,976
3rd: Kenny Nguyen - $30,807
4th: Sean Chapman - $23,278
5th: Brandon Johnson - $17,763
6th: Nicholas Lemke - $13,673
7th: Michael Lewis - $10,647
8th: Dimitri Lutsker - $8,388
9th: Brandon Schimelpfenig - $6,686

Complete results can be found above under the "Results" tab.

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Carlos Monteiro was unable to overcome Ty Veras' huge chip lead. Monteiro has to settle for runner-up and $41,976.

Carlos Monteiro - Eliminated in 2nd place

Day 3 has quickly taken another casualty. Sean Chapman has busted in 4th place for $23,278.

Cards are now in the air for Day 3 of Event #1: $365 No-Limit Hold'em Re-Entry. The final six players are all guaranteed a payout of at least $13,763. The last man standing will earn $67,726 and the first gold ring of the series.

Start of Day 3 Chip Counts:

Seat 1: Nick Lemke - 390,000 (3 bb)
Seat 2: Brandon Johnson - 300,000 (3 bb)
Seat 3: Kenny Nguyen - 840,000 (8 bb)
Seat 4: Ty Veras - 7,925,000 (79 bb)
Seat 5: Sean Chapman - 990,000 (9 bb)
Seat 6: Carlos Monteiro - 2,260,000 (22 bb)

- Day 3 will begin at the start of Level 31: 50,000/100,000 with a 10,000 ante

It's been a long day of poker for the six remaining players in Event #1. The day began for them Saturday at noon with the start of Day 2. After 14 and a half hours of play they are finally bagging. Day 3 of the tournament will begin tomorrow at 2 p.m. Returning for Day 3 with the chip lead is Ty Veras. Vergas has a big lead and over half of the chips in play.

Day 3 seating assignments and chip counts:

Seat 1: Nick Lemke - 390,000 (3 bb)
Seat 2: Brandon Johnson - 300,000 (3 bb)
Seat 3: Kenny Nguyen - 840,000 (8 bb)
Seat 4: Ty Veras - 7,925,000 (79 bb)
Seat 5: Sean Chapman - 990,000 (9 bb)
Seat 6: Carlos Monteiro - 2,260,000 (22 bb)

- Day 3 will begin at the start of Level 31: 50,000/100,000 with a 10,000 ante

Level 30 has just begun.

It's just been announced that the players will bag at end of this level. Tomorrow's restart time has yet to be determined.

The final table has finally seen its first elimination after more than two hours of play. Brandon Schimelpfenig has been eliminated in 9th place for $6,686. Schimelpfenig is an Army veteran from Kaukauna, Wisconsin.

Brandon Schimelpfenig - Eliminated in 9th place

Just over an hour into the final table and there has still yet to be any eliminations. Brandon "Deeno" Johnson has worked his way to the chip leader, while Dimitri Lutsker has fallen to the short stack. Players are currently on 15-minute break. Here are the chip stacks they will be returning to:

Seat 1: Nick Lemke - 2,000,000 (40 bb)
Seat 2: Brandon "Deeno" Johnson - 2,300,000 (46 bb)
Seat 3: Kenny Nguyen - 1,925,000 (38 bb)
Seat 4: Ty Veras - 2,050,000 (41 bb)
Seat 5: Brandon Schimelpfenig - 675,000 (13 bb)
Seat 6: Michael Lewis - 865,000 (17 bb)
Seat 7: Sean Chapman - 1,500,000 (30 bb)
Seat 8: Carlos Morteiro - 1,500,000 (30 bb)
Seat 9: Dimitri Lutsker - 350,000 (7 bb)

- 50 minutes remain in Level 28: 25,000/50,000 with a 5,000 ante

Up-to-date results can be found above under the "Results" tab.

The 17 remaining players are back from dinner break and cards are in the air. Once the final table is reached chip counts and seating assignments will be posted.

Cards for Day 2 are set to go in the air at noon with 156 players remaining. Leading the pack to begin the day will be Flight D's chip leader Daniel Bouton. The eventual champion is set to earn a hefty payday of $67,726 and a Wisconsin's first WSOP Circuit gold ring. The top 135 players will earn a cash with a min cash worth $569.

Top ten Day 2 chips stacks:

1. Daniel Bouton - 286,000
2. Ty Veras - 243,500
3. Daniel Bekavac - 227,200
4. Brandon Johnson - 224,200
5. Evan Bethyo - 221,000
6. Dennis Phillips - 212,300
7. Carter Myers - 210,000
8. Alex Shelton - 204,500
9. Craig Trost - 183,500
10. Ken Garbowicz - 182,200

Complete Day 2 chip counts and the table draw can be found above under the "Reports" tab.