Event #6: $365 No-Limit Hold'em Six Max

Event #6
No-Limit Hold'em Six Max
Buy-In: $300 (+$65)
Total Entries: 247
Prize Pool: $74,100

Wisconsin bar/restaurant owner continues to dominate at Potawatomi.

MILWAUKEE (February 8, 2017) -- Travis Lauson won his first career gold ring Wednesday at Potawatomi. He took home $19,639 for his first place finish. It was Lauson's first-ever cash on the WSOP Circuit. This was the second poker title Lauson has won at Potawatomi. Last April he won an MSPT event here.

"It's really kind of validation. I took down an MSPT title, so this second win seals the deal," said Lauson about his gold ring victory.

Lauson has been really good at Potawatomi. Not only does he have two major wins here, but he also has a runner-up finish in an MSPT event here in September of 2015.

"It's kind of my home casino. I definitely feel I have that home field advantage," said Lauson about Potawatomi.

Lauson is from Manitowoc, Wisconsin. Green Bay is closer to him, but there are not a lot of big tournaments there, so he comes to Potawatomi to play when big events are in town. Lauson plans to play in as many events as he can for the remainder of this series, including playing in Thursday's $2,200 High Roller event.

To get the ring Lauson had to get through a tough Day 2 field. The Day 2 field started with eight players including two multi-gold ring winners. Mark Fink is a four-time gold ring winner, but he started the day as the short stack and ended up busting within the first five minutes of Day 2. The other multi-gold ring winner was Jim Juvancic. Juvancic is a two-time gold ring winner and posed a huge threat to Lauson throughout Day 2. Lauson had position on Juvancic though. Juvancic had the chip lead after hitting quads to knock out James Wadzinski in 7th place and Deana Miller in 6th place. However, by the time play got to three-handed Lauson had control of the tournament and over half of the chips in play. He never looked back after that and took down the title a short while later.

"I can't lie. The deck really hit me in the face today. It all worked out," said Lauson.

The six max format suited Lauson's aggressive game well. He said that it was the event he was most looking forward to coming into the series.

Lauson is a bar/restaurant owner. The 39-year-old owns five bar/restaurants in Manitowoc.

--------

Event #6 was the sixth of 12 gold ring events on the WSOP Circuit schedule at Potawatomi. The $365 no-limit hold'em six max tournament attracted 247 players generating a $74,100 prize pool. The top 27 players were paid.

Day 1 began Tuesday at 11 a.m. and lasted 21 levels. Day 2 began Wednesday at 2 p.m. with eight players remaining. The tournament ended at about 4:45 p.m. near the end of level 24.

Final table results:

1st: Travis Lauson - $19,639 + Circuit gold ring
2nd: Jim Juvancic - $12,144
3rd: Daniel Sandoval - $8,441
4th: Yoon Kim - $5,932
5th: John Bertz - $4,212
6th: Deana Miller - $3,020

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

Jim Juvancic was eliminated in 2nd place for $12,144. This marked Juvancic's 18th career WSOP cash. Juvancic has two gold rings and now three runner-up finishes in WSOP Circuit events.

Jim Juvancic - Eliminated in 2nd place

Travis Lauson holds over half of the chips in play with three players remaining.

Current chip counts:

Seat 1: Travis Lauson - 1,425,000 (71 bb)
Seat 2: Daniel Sandoval - 410,000 (20 bb)
Seat 3: Jim Juvancic - 630,000 (31 bb)

- 50 minutes remain in Level 24: 10,000/20,000 with a 3,000 ante

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

John Bertz has been eliminated in 5th place for $4,212. Bertz is from Iron Ridge, Wisconsin and this marks his second career WSOP cash.

John Bertz - Eliminated in 5th place

Jim Juvancic just hit quads to knock out two players and get the tournament to final table. The five remaining players all guaranteed at least the 5th place money of $4,212

Final table seating assignments and chip counts:

Seat 1: Travis Lauson - 540,000 (45 bb)
Seat 2: Yoon Kim - 280,000 (23 bb)
Seat 3: Daniel Sandoval - 454,000 (37 bb)
Seat 4: John Bertz - 240,000 (20 bb)
Seat 5: Jim Juvancic - 990,000 (82 bb)

- 8 minutes remain in Level 22: 6,000/12,000 with a 2,000 ante

The tournament has reached the money bubble in the six max event. The clock currently reads that there are 28 players remaining and the top 27 are set to be paid. Everyone reaching the money will be guaranteed to walk away with at least $504.

One familiar face still in the field is Kyle Kramer. Kramer played in the six max event this morning before having to leave to play at the Event #4: $365 No-Limit Hold'em final table. It was a short day for Kramer at the Event #4 final table and he was the first player eliminated on Day 2. He finished in 6th place for $2,676. He returned to the six max event and is now looking to make a second consecutive final table.

Also still in the field is eight-time gold ring winner Ari Engel and four-time gold ring winner Mark Fink.