Event #11: $365 No-Limit Hold'em

Mike Fernandez added his name to the WSOP Circuit’s list of winners on Saturday in Lake Tahoe. Fernandez took down a $365 one-day event at Harveys, winning his first gold ring and $13,122 in cash.

Fernandez, 40, is a data collection manager for the Federal Reserve Bank. That’s the day job, but he does play a fair amount of poker on the side. He’s been dabbling in the game for 10 years or so, during which he’s recorded about $40,000 in tournament earnings.

Fernandez’s work schedule restricts his ability to play often, so the Circuit’s new single-day format is perfect for people like him. “I don’t get a lot of time to play tournaments,” he said. “Especially big ones. So most of the events I do get a chance to play are one-day [events].”

He and his wife, Maria, spend most of their free time traveling, and this trip brought them to Lake Tahoe for a poker vacation. Maria was on the rail as Mike won the tournament.

“I was actually cruising along pretty well, but I took some hits at the final table,” Fernandez recalled. “It was such a grind.”

The grind culminated in a heads-up duel against the gregarious Duy Ho, an accomplished tournament grinder. Fernandez put a beat or two on him during the run to the win, including a suckout with ace-deuce against ace-three.

“When I got the deuce against Duy, I knew it was my ring,” he said. All’s fair in poker, and Fernandez ended up as the winner after less than 12 hours of play.

[Full results]

The field of 162 entries is locked for Event #11. This $365-buy-in event generated a prizepool worth $48,600 which will be shared by the final 18 players. A min-cash is worth $652.

The series' second-to-last ring is reserved for the winner, along with a top prize of $13,122.

Play continues tonight until a winner is determined.