Tuesday, February 7, 2017 5:18 PM Local Time
Event #4
No-Limit Hold'em
Buy-In: $300 (+$65)
Total Entries: 179
Prize Pool: $53,700
Leon Gao scores his first career WSOP ring and first WSOP cash.
MILWAUKEE (February 7, 2017) -- Leon Gao has just won Event #4: $365 No-Limit Hold'em for $14,500. He defeated a 179-player field to secure the gold ring and his first career WSOP cash.
"It feels good. I took the whole week off just for the series and I really wanted to win one ring," said Gao.
He has been hitting the felt hard so far this series and has played in three of the first four events. He busted twice in the re-entry event and the fell short of the money again in Event #2: $580 No-Limit Hold'em.
Gao said that his sleep schedule was a little off since he normally sleeps in the mornings and gets up in the afternoons. Now that the series is a few days in he has managed to get on a better sleep schedule for the tournaments.
"This was the first one that I was actually kind of rested and well prepared for," said Gao.
Gao was in the United Kingdom last year for nine months for business. There he spent a lot of his free time playing poker tournaments online and improving his game. He said that the fields online are really tough and he lost $4,000 playing, but he learned a lot and it made him a much better player.
"I played roughly four to six tournaments a day," said Gao.
Besides playing online, Gao played in a few live tournaments while in Europe. He said he cashed in two smaller events, but failed to ever make the money in some of the bigger ones he played in.
Gao lives in Dodgeville, Wisconsin. He travels the two hours to play at Potawatomi on the weekends about three times a month. However, for the series he plans on staying through the whole week and next weekend to continue playing in more events.
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Event #4 was the fourth of 12 gold ring events on the WSOP Circuit schedule at Potawatomi. The $365 no-limit hold'em tournament attracted 179 players generating a $53,700 prize pool. The top 18 players were paid.
Day 1 began Monday at 11 a.m. and lasted 21 levels. Day 2 began Tuesday at 2 p.m. with six players remaining. The tournament ended at about 3:30 p.m. near the end of Level 22.
Final table results:
1st: Leon Gao - $14,500 + Circuit gold ring
2nd: Leonardo Loconte - $8,960
3rd: Chad Graves - $6,450
4th: Sam Rameshk - $4,727
5th: Scott Moses - $3,526
6th: Kyle Kramer - $2,676
7th: Daniel Dombrowski - $2,065
8th: James Ahlers - $1,620
9th:Steven Pedlow - $1,292
Complete results can be found above under the "Results" tab.
Tuesday, February 7, 2017 3:37 PM Local Time
Leon Gao (pictured) has just won the fourth event at the
Potawatomi World Series of Poker Circuit. Gao bested 179 players in
the $365 no-limit hold'em event to pocket $14,500 and earn his first
career WSOP Circuit gold ring. He also earns 50 Casino Championship
points for his victory.
A full report on Gao's win will be made available shortly. In the meantime, here's a look at the final table results:
1st: Leon Gao - $14,500 + Circuit gold ring
2nd: Leonardo Loconte - $8,960
3rd: Chad Graves - $6,450
4th: Sam Rameshk - $4,727
5th: Scott Moses - $3,526
6th: Kyle Kramer - $2,676
7th: Daniel Dombrowski - $2,065
8th: James Ahlers - $1,620
9th:Steven Pedlow - $1,292
Complete results can be found above under the "Results" tab.
Tuesday, February 7, 2017 3:35 PM Local Time
Leonardo Loconte has finished runner-up for just shy of $9,000. This was Loconte's third cash of the series.
Leonardo Loconte - Eliminated in 2nd place
Tuesday, February 7, 2017 3:25 PM Local Time
Chad Graves has hit the rail in 3rd place for $6,450. Graves is a gold ring winner and now has over $70,000 in WSOP earnings.
Chad Graves - Eliminated in 3rd place
Tuesday, February 7, 2017 3:04 PM Local Time
Sam Rameshk was eliminated in 4th place for $4,727. Rameshk entered the final table with just 12 big blinds and as the short stack. He managed to ladder up all the way to 4th before being eliminated.
Sam Rameshk - Eliminated in 4th place
Tuesday, February 7, 2017 2:36 PM Local Time
Scott Moses has been eliminated in 5th place for $3,526. This marked his first career WSOP cash.
Scott Moses - Eliminated in 5th place
Tuesday, February 7, 2017 2:26 PM Local Time
Kyle Kramers has been the first player eliminated on Day 2. His 6th place finish earned him $2,676. This marked Kramer's fifth career Circuit cash and first final table.
Kyle Kramer - Eliminated in 6th place
Tuesday, February 7, 2017 2:01 PM Local Time
The final six players have arrived at the table for Day 2 and emptying their bags of chips and stacking them. Cards will be in the air in about one minute. Kyle Kramer is trying is his luck in today's six max event too. He will have to abandon his six max stack for awhile he focuses on trying to win this event.
Today's winner will earn $14,500, a WSOP Circuit gold ring and 50 Casino Championship points.
Day 2 chip counts:
Seat 1: Boshuang Gao - 474,000 (39 bb)
Seat 2: Leonardo Loconte - 196,000 (16 bb)
Seat 3: Kyle Kramer - 323,000 (26 bb)
Seat 4: Scott Moses - 283,000 (23 bb)
Seat 5: Sam Rameshk - 352,000 (29 bb)
Seat 6: Chad Graves - 162,000 (13 bb)
- Day 2 will begin at the start of Level 22: 6,000/12,000 with a 1,000 ante
- All remaining levels are 50 minutes long
Up-to-date results can be found above under the "Results" tab.
Tuesday, February 7, 2017 1:54 AM Local Time
Tuesday, February 7, 2017 1:53 AM Local Time
Day 1 is complete with six players still in contention for the title. The final six players are all guaranteed payday of at least $2,676. Tomorrow's winner will take home $14,500 and WSOP Circuit gold ring. Day 2 starts tomorrow at 2 p.m. and will continue until a winner is reached.
Day 2 chip counts:
Seat 1: Boshuang Gao - 474,000 (39 bb)
Seat 2: Leonardo Loconte - 196,000 (16 bb)
Seat 3: Kyle Kramer - 323,000 (26 bb)
Seat 4: Scott Moses - 283,000 (23 bb)
Seat 5: Sam Rameshk - 352,000 (29 bb)
Seat 6: Chad Graves - 162,000 (13 bb)
- Day 2 will begin at the start of Level 22: 6,000/12,000 with a 1,000 ante
- All remaining levels are 50 minutes long
Up-to-date results can be found above under the "Results" tab.
Tuesday, February 7, 2017 1:26 AM Local Time
Dan Dombrowski hit the rail in 7th place for $2,065. This makred Dombrowski's fourth career Circuit cash and second at this series. He finished in 27th place last night in Event #3: $365 No-Limit Hold'em (30-minute levels).
Dan Dombrowski - Eliminated in 7th place
Tuesday, February 7, 2017 1:04 AM Local Time
James Ahlers was eliminated in 8th place for $1,620. This marked Ahlers first career WSOP cash.
James Ahlers - Eliminated in 8th place
Tuesday, February 7, 2017 12:47 AM Local Time
Steven Pedlow has been eliminated in 9th place. Pedlow is a statistician from Orland Park, Illinois. His 9th place finish earned him $1,292 and his fifth career Circuit cash.
Steven Pedlow - Eliminated in 9th place
Monday, February 6, 2017 11:33 PM Local Time
Scott Quimby has been eliminated in 10th place for $1,047. This was Quimby's first-ever WSOP event. With his elimination, the official final table is set.
Scott Quimby - Eliminated in 10th place
Monday, February 6, 2017 11:28 PM Local Time
The field has been reduced to the final 10 players and the tournament staff is conducting the unofficial final table redraw. The final 10 players are all guaranteed to go home with at the least the 10th place money of $1,047. The eventual champion will earn $14,500, a WSOP Circuit gold ring and 50 Casino Championship points.
Final table seating assignments and chip counts:
Seat 1: Boshuang Gao - 246,500 (49 bb)
Seat 2: Leonardo Loconte - 115,000 (23 bb)
Seat 3: James Ahlers - 189,000 (37 bb)
Seat 4: Steven Pedlow - 129,500 (25 bb)
Seat 5: Kyle Kramer - 177,000 (35 bb)
Seat 6: Scott Moses - 252,000 (50 bb)
Seat 7: Dan Dombrowski - 397,000 (79 bb)
Seat 8: Sam Rameshk - 64,000 (12 bb)
Seat 9: Chad Graves - 142,000 (28 bb)
Seat 10: Scott Quimby - 89,000 (17 bb)
- 7 minutes remain in Level 18: 2,500/5,000 with a 500 ante
Monday, February 6, 2017 10:13 PM Local Time
The tournament is finally in the money. Play on the money bubble lasted for about 40 minutes. Now that the money has been reached there have been a few quick bustouts and the field is down to 15 players. The final 15 players are all guaranteed at least $861.
The final table is just a few eliminations away. Chip counts will be posted along with the final table seating assignments once the final table is reached.
Monday, February 6, 2017 9:14 PM Local Time
The tension in the room is starting to rise as the money bubble is only elimination away. Currently 20 players remain and only the top 18 will cash. It is a big money bubble too. The 18th place finisher will earn $720, which is nearly twice the buy-in, while 19th place and 20th place will get nothing.
Once one more player is eliminated hand-for-hand play will begin. Play will then go back to normal once the money is reached. The results will be posted online as players hit the rail in the money.
Monday, February 6, 2017 4:33 PM Local Time
Registration for Event #4: $365 No-Limit Hold'em has closed. The tournament drew 179 players to generate a $53,700 prizepool. The winner will take home $14,500, a WSOP Circuit gold ring and 50 Casino Championship points. The top 18 players are slated to be paid. The minimum cash is $720.
Final table payouts:
- Complete payouts can be found above under the "Prizepool" tab.
Level 11: 500/1,000 with a 100 ante just began. The clock says that there 65 players remaining. After Level 12 players will take a one-hour dinner break. After dinner levels will be extended to 40 minutes and play will last through Level 21 before the players bag.
Sunday, February 5, 2017 10:16 PM Local Time
Sunday, February 5, 2017 9:20 PM Local Time
The fourth event of the series is set to get underway Monday at 11 a.m. It is a standard $365 no-limit hold'em Circuit event.
Event #4: $365 No-Limit Hold'em - 11 a.m.
- Players start with 10,000 tournament chips
- Blinds begin at 25/50
- Registration remains open until the start of Level 9 (3:30 p.m.)
- Re-entry is not allowed
- Levels 1-12 are 30 minutes long, levels 13-21 are 40 minutes long and all remaining levels are 50 minutes long
- There is a one-hour dinner break after Level 12
- Day 1 will last 21 levels
- Day 2 will begin Tuesday at 2 p.m.