Saturday, May 6, 2017 9:32 PM Local Time
Tennessee pro wins for the fourth time the season, nearing all-time lead
The WSOP Circuit season is winding down, and this one has been as memorable as any in the tour’s 13-year history. For the first 12 of those, no player was able to win four times in a single season. Three players have done it already this year.
Robert Hankins is the most recent man to accomplish the feat, collecting his fourth ring of the season at Horseshoe Baltimore on Friday. The win is also the eighth overall for the pro from Chattanooga, which puts him into a tie for third-most and just two off the all-time lead.
Hankins’ run over the past season or so has been the stuff of legends. His rise to Circuit stardom began with his first victory in Tunica in 2010. It was another four years before he won his second, returning to Tunica in 2014 and duplicating his feat from the previous trip. He went on to win one more ring apiece in each of the next two seasons.
Hankins, 37, got his fifth ring early in this current season at Horseshoe Southern Indiana, but he was apparently discontent with the once-per-year pace of his victories. Just a couple days later, he won the Main Event at that property, snagging ring number six and a career-best payout of more than $140,000. He collected number seven less than a month ago at Harrah’s Cherokee, and he didn’t have to wait long at all to add to his collection once again.
Ring number eight came in the $365 no-limit hold’em event at Horseshoe Baltimore. The pace was quick, with 30-minute levels for the duration, and the 140-entry starting field was trimmed to 11 survivors over the course of Day 1.
Hankins was third in chips when the field reconvened for Day 2, and he entered the final table in fourth place with about 25 big blinds. And what a final table it was. Hankins was flanked by four more Circuit ring winners, including Scott Cooper, Michael Sanders, Sohale Khalili, and Nick Verderamo, who was fresh off a victory in the series’ opening event.
Cooper is the one who ended up heads-up against Hankins at the end of the day, and the table was tipped heavily toward Hankins when the duel began. Just a few hands in, Cooper took his stand with king-jack, Hankins put him at risk with nine-ten suited, and a nine on the turn earned the latter another photo session with a gold ring.
One of the true success stories of the WSOP Circuit, Hankins has earned well over $600,000 on the traveling tour.
Friday, May 5, 2017 6:24 PM Local Time
After a few small hands of heads-up play, Scott Cooper takes his final stand preflop, moving all in for 151,000. Robert Hankins (pictured above) puts him at risk as a slight underdog, but he's drawing live for the title.
Cooper:
Hankins:
The flop is safe for Cooper, but the on the turn gives Hankins the lead with a pair of nines. He's one card away from the victory, and the river seals the deal. Hankins wins the pot and the match the only pair, picking up his fourth ring of the season, eighth of his career, and the top prize of $11,759.
Cooper (below) had no luck "heads-up against the G.O.A.T.," as he said before the match started. He's forced to settle for the runner-up consolation prize of $7,269.
Friday, May 5, 2017 6:02 PM Local Time
Over the last couple levels, Robert Hankins has taken full control of this three-handed match.
In the most recent pot, he and Christopher Caruso are involved in substantial action on the turn of a board. Caruso ends up all in for maybe 200,000, with Hankins putting him at risk.
Caruso: (eights up)
Hankins: (queens up)
The river is the blank , and Hawkins wins the pot with the better two pair. Caruso is eliminated in third place, leaving Hankins and Scott Cooper heads-up for the ring. The latter starts the match in a huge hole.
Robert Hankins - 1,207,000 (101 bb)
Scott Cooper - 193,000 (16 bb)
Christopher Caruso - Eliminated
Friday, May 5, 2017 4:50 PM Local Time
Nick Bond moves all in for 99,000 under the gun, and Robert Hankins calls in the big blind to put Bond at risk.
Bond:
Hankins:
The board runs out , and Hankins wins the flip with kings up. He's now neck-and-neck with Christopher Caruso for the chip lead, while Bond is eliminated in fourth place.
Robert Hankins - 625,000 (78 bb)
Nick Bond - Eliminated
Friday, May 5, 2017 4:41 PM Local Time
Nick Verderamo managed to find a double-up of his own, but a few hands later, he lost it all back.
Robert Hankins opens the cutoff to 22,000 at the 4,000/8,000 level, and Verderamo three-bet shoves for 251,000 total on the button. When it folds back to Hankins, he calls all in for 237,000, putting himself at risk.
Verderamo:
Hankins:
The board runs out , and Hankins turns jacks full to lock up the pot one card early. He doubles up, leaving Verderamo with just 14,000 chips.
Two hands later, Verderamo gets his last 12,000 into the middle with under the gun, and Christopher Caruso's ends up eliminating him in fifth place on the run-out.
Christopher Caruso - 625,000 (78 bb)
Robert Hankins - 488,000 (61 bb)
Nick Verderamo - Eliminated
Friday, May 5, 2017 4:33 PM Local Time
"I guess I'm the double-up fairy," Nick Verderamo lamented a moment ago.
The Event #1 winner exhibited some run-good at that final table, but things have apparently cooled off at this one. Verderamo has doubled Scott Cooper up twice this orbit, once with against , and once with against .
A moment ago, Nick Bond got his own double through Verderamo when his out-flopped Verderamo's . The latter has been relieved of a significant chunk of his stack, but he's still holding onto more than 20 big blinds in the current level.
Nick Verderamo - 135,000 (23 bb)
Friday, May 5, 2017 4:29 PM Local Time
Two-time Circuit winner Michael Sanders gets himself all in preflop for about 100,000 (12.5 big blinds), heads-up and flipping for his tournament life against chip leader Christopher Caruso.
Sanders:
Caruso:
The board runs out , and Caruso wins the race with a queen-high straight. He extends his lead over the table, while Sanders is eliminated in sixth place.
Christopher Caruso - 580,000
Michael Sanders - Eliminated
Friday, May 5, 2017 4:14 PM Local Time
In a battle of the blinds, Christopher Caruso (small) and Ryan Leng (big) go to war preflop, and the encounter ends with Leng all in for just over 100,000 and at risk.
Caruso:
Leng:
The board runs out , and Caruso wins the pot with a set of aces. Leng is coolered off and eliminated in seventh place.
Christopher Caruso - 510,000 (85 bb)
Ryan Leng - Eliminated
Friday, May 5, 2017 4:08 PM Local Time
Ring winner Sohale Khalili gets the last of his short stack into the middle preflop against seven-time Circuit winner Robert Hankins.
Khalili:
Hankins:
You don't become a seven-time winner without a little bit of run-good, and Hankins gets exactly that. The board comes , and Hankins runs down a ten-high straight to win the pot. Khalili is eliminated in 8th place.
Robert Hankins - 175,000 (29 bb)
Sohale Khalili - Eliminated
Friday, May 5, 2017 3:33 PM Local Time
Friday, May 5, 2017 3:28 PM Local Time
Ira Malis is eliminated in 11th place, John Richards in 10th, and the final nine players are now regathering around the Event #8 final table. Here's the lineup:
Seat 1: Nick Verderamo - 301,000 (60 bb)
Seat 2: Michael Sanders - 84,000 (17 bb)
Seat 3: Sohale Khalili - 85,000 (17 bb)
Seat 4: Nick Bond - 55,500 (11 bb)
Seat 5: Scott Cooper - 100,000 (20 bb)
Seat 6: Christopher Caruso - 345,000 (69 bb)
Seat 7: Ryan Leng - 275,000 (55 bb)
Seat 8: Sang Kim - 45,000 (9 bb)
Seat 9: Robert Hankins - 130,000 (26 bb)
Blinds are just about to move to 2,500/5,000 with a 500 ante, putting the average stack just over 30 big blinds. Everyone left is now guaranteed to earn at least $1,062 this afternoon.
Friday, May 5, 2017 3:03 PM Local Time
The final 11 players are back in their chairs, and the cards are in the air for Day 2.
Friday, May 5, 2017 2:04 AM Local Time
Friday, May 5, 2017 2:04 AM Local Time
Level 16 concludes, and that signals the end of Day 1. The starting field of 140 entries has been reduced to just 11 survivors over the course of the eight-hour day, and they'll return tomorrow to play down to a winner.
The remaining field is littered with ring winners and other Circuit standouts, with Robert Hankins foremost among them. The pro from Tennessee has won seven rings already in his brief career, and he'll return for Day 2 in third place with 10 players separating him from ring number eight.
Sohale Khalili, Scott Cooper, and two-time Circuit winner Michael Sanders will also be looking to add to their collections, as will Nick Verderamo and John Richards, who've both won rings already at this Horseshoe Baltimore series.
Day 2 chip counts | Day 2 seat draw
Blinds will be 2,000/4,000 with a 500 ante when play resumes, putting the average stack just over 30 big blinds. Everyone left is guaranteed to earn at least $861, with the ring and a $11,759 payout up top. Day 2 begins at 3 p.m. and will continue until a winner is determined.
Friday, May 5, 2017 1:33 AM Local Time
There are just a few minutes of play left in Day 1, and after a long spell on the bubble, the field has just snuck into the money. There are 15 players left, with each of them now guaranteed to earn at least $709.
Day 1 concludes shortly.
Thursday, May 4, 2017 11:13 PM Local Time
Level 12 is almost finished, but the clock is paused at the moment. The field has just been trimmed to 27 players, and they're in the process of drawing for new seats around the final three tables. Only 15 of them will finish in the money, though, so there's still a long way to go between now and the bursting of the bubble.
Blinds are 600/1,200 with a 200 ante in this level, which puts the average stack north of 40 big blinds.
Thursday, May 4, 2017 9:43 PM Local Time
With registration now closed, the numbers are in. This $365 no-limit hold'em event drew a field of 140 entries, creating a prizepool worth $42,000. That money will be shared by the final 15 players, with a min-cash worth $709. Ring number eight of the series and the top prize of $11,759 will go to the eventual winner.
The board shows 45 players remaining with about four hours of play remaining in Day 1.
Thursday, May 4, 2017 8:45 PM Local Time
Level 8 begins, and the field has grown to 137 entries over the first half of the day. That number will continue to tick upward for the next 45 minutes or so. There's a break at the end of this level, and registration will close once the new level begins thereafter.
Thursday, May 4, 2017 5:04 PM Local Time
The series' eighth ring event is under way inside the Harbor Room at Horseshoe Baltimore.
Thursday, May 4, 2017 12:37 AM Local Time
Today's second ring event is a $365 No-Limit Hold'em event with 30-minute levels.
It's the second such event on the calendar for this stop. Last week, Dennis Tsai topped a field of 291 entries for his Circuit victory in the same format, and he's gone on to add to those results over the subsequent days. He'll likely be back in defense of his title this afternoon, provided he's not otherwise occupied in Event #7.
Here are the details for this matinee event:
- This is a two-day event
- Players begin with 10,000 in tournament chips
- Late registration and unlimited re-entry are available until the start of Level 9 (9:30 p.m.)
- Levels are 30 minutes apiece
- Day 1 concludes after Level 16
Cards go in the air at 5 p.m.