2007 Harrah's Lake Tahoe WSOP Circuit Event

Event #1 | #2 | #3 | #4 | #5 | #6 | #7 | #8

The 2007 Harrah's Lake Tahoe Circuit Event is the first stop in the new season after a fantastic World Series of Poker that happened in Las Vegas. One big change that has taken place for this season is that the circuit tournament main events that were held last year resulting in the winner having a seat in the Tournament of Champions is gone. It has now been replaced with the $5,000 + $150 No-Limit Texas Hold'em Championship tournament in which the champion will receive a $10,000 paid seat to the 2007 Main Event that will take place at the RIO. At time of writing, (August 21), the only way to enter is in person at the casino. There is a WSOP Hot Line for the Lake Tahoe event at 775-586-4949. Phone line to their poker room is 775-588-6611. Also, Harrah's has mentioned that the schedule is subject to change.

Outside of this we know the following for Lake Tahoe:

• Single table satellites will run 24 hours a day
• Sept. 6th-13th at 5PM Daily: Second Chance $200 No-Limit Hold'em
• Sept. 15th-16th at 7PM: Last Chance $200 No-Limit Hold'em
• Mega Satellites $330 for the Championship Event: every day at 3PM
• $550 Mega Satellites will run at 7PM, except Super Satellite Day
• Entry fees are included in all buy-ins
• All Events start at noon and are 2-day events, unless otherwise indicated
• Ladies No-Limit is a 1-day event
• 3% of total prize pool from all events is withheld for tournament staff

Friday 9/8/2006
Event #1 -- No-Limit Hold�em (Buy In: $300 + $40)
The new season of the WSOP circuit tournaments got off to an excellent start with 262 players who contributed to a $76,242 money pool for the winners. Payouts went to the top 28 players. This event was played out over 2 days. On Day 1, 253 players were eliminated and the remaining 9 moved on for the final table.

Chris Carmichael with 114,700 chips and Bill Hans with 94,700 chips had things one sided as both players controlled 60% of what was on the table at the start of the final round. But it did not take long to determine the winner as in less than two hours it was over. This was the second fastest final table for a WSOP Circuit event. Five minutes into play Steve Dick on the short stack went out after losing an all-in move with A K for a 9th place finish. Bill Goulet left in 8th place after his Q 7 could not stand up to Bill Hans's A Q. Japanese born Michael Yoshihara said "sayonara" in 7th place and went to pick up his cash after losing to Chris Carmichael. Next Rickies Miller went out in 6th courtesy of Chris Carmichael after both players flopped 3 of a kind but Carmichael had the better kicker. Aaron Donovan followed in 5th when he became another victim of Bill Hans. Chris Carmichael then took a number of tough beats leaving him low in chips. This resulted in him going out in 4th when he lost his all-in move against Sergio Osadchuk. From this point the remaining 3 players agreed to a three-player deal after which Bill Hans was the "official" winner.

1. Bill Hans -- $24,401
2. "Tony E" a.k.a. Dino Erardi -- $13,419
3. Sergio Osadchuk -- $6,862
4. Chris Carmichael -- $5,337
5. Aaron Donovan -- $4,575
6. Rickies Miller -- $3,812
7. Michael Toshihara -- $3,050
8. Bill Goulet -- $2,287
9. Steve Dick -- $1,525

Saturday 9/9/2006
Event #2 -- No-Limit Hold'em (Buy In: $1,000 + $60)
Another victory can be given to the Internet players as 24 year old professional poker player Evan Schwartz became the winner of Event #2. 112 players entered helping to create a prize pool of $108,640 with cash going to the top 18 finishers. After the first day in which 103 were sent to the rail, Evan went to the final table as chip leader with 76,000. The finish took a little over 4 hours before a capacity filled room.

Reese Francis was the first to go in 9th when his pocket 9's could not hold up to the pocket K's held by Kevin Higgins. Barrett Gomes left in 8th after losing to Shawn Bessey�s 3 of a kind 7's. Carolyn Ford's bouncing between tables may have proved to be a disadvantage by not being able to get good reads on her opponents. She went out in 7th losing to Evan Schwartz. Bryan Watkins who finished in 20th at the 2003 WSOP Main Event left the table in 6th when his trips lost out to Marla Fearrein-Taylor flush hand. Shawn D. Bessey in 5th and Marla Fearrein-Taylor in 4th and Tom Masinter in 3rd were all busted out by Evan Schwartz. 2nd place finisher Kevin Higgins was down 7 to 1 in chips on the very first hand of heads-up play. Higgins moved all-in with A J but could not improve against Evan Schwartz's hand of A K. And this is how Evan won his first WSOPC gold ring.

1. Evan Schwartz -- $35,199
2. Kevin Higgins -- $18,469
3. Tom Masinter -- $10,864
4. Marla Fearrein-Taylor -- $8,691
5. Shawn Bessey -- $6,518
6. Bryan Watkins -- $5,432
7. Carolyn Ford -- $4,346
8. Barrett Gomes -- $3,259
9. Reese Francis -- $2,173

Sunday 9/10/2006
Event #3 -- Ladies Championship No-Limit Hold�em (Buy In: $200 + $30)
106 ladies came to sit down at the tables for this 1 day event. It created a cash pool of $20,564 for the top 18 women. When the dust settled, Traci Dougherty became the winner of her first major poker tournament ever. After a fast morning in which 95 players ended up going for a powder, Traci soon found herself in a heads up with a 9 to 1 chip disadvantage.

One interesting spectacle was the presence of Carolyn Ford who left in 6th after losing to Brandi Farrell. She now holds the distinction of being the only player in WSOP Circuit history to play at two final tables -- simultaneously. Ford was also at the Event #2 final table. She was quite a sight to behold, bouncing back and forth between both tables, trying to get a read on her opponents. But she became one of 7 ladies who went to the sidelines to watch an amazing comeback story for Traci Dougherty.

When the heads up began, Traci was very low on chips. But her poker angel was on her shoulder as she began to win enough of her all-in moves to capture the chip lead in 25 min and another 10 for the win. On the last hand, Fan Armstrong who was low on chips, had K 4 and Traci had A Q. Fan went all-in and Traci called. Flop showed K 6 2, turn card was 10 and the river was a J giving Traci the straight draw and the win.

1. Traci Dougherty -- $6,662
2. Fan Armstrong -- $3,496
3. Kitrena Stocks -- $2,056
4. Brandi Farrell -- $1,645
5. Deborah Tang -- $1,234
6. Carolyn Ford -- $1,028
7. Ashley Jarunpon -- $823
8. Jeanette Radavice -- $617
9. Francis Hooten -- $411

1. Glen R. Chileski -- $17,129
2. Hany Sukkary -- $8,987
3. Russ Sherrod -- $5,287
4. Moses Saquing -- $4,229
5. Gregory Harvey -- $3,172
6. Richard Orchid -- $2,643
7. Tae Yeunkim -- $2,115
8. Joe McCutcheon -- $1,586
9. Kyle Severns -- $1,057

Monday 9/11/2006
Mixed Games: Event #5 -- No-Limit Stud/Hold'em (Buy In: $300 + $40)
This is a brand new event for thte WSOP Circuit which was a mix of No-Limit and Seven Card Stud. It brought out 47 players to the tables. Prize pool was $13,677 with money going to the top 5 only. Once the top 44 players exited and play became three handed, the remaining players agreed to a deal and split up the prize money. Michael Yoshihara was declared the winner of the event, and became the unofficial No-Limit Hold�em/No Limit Seven-Card Stud "world champion".

WSOPC officials have stated that with the popularity of Texas No Limit Hold'Em, that so many other games have gone to the wayside such as Five Card Draw, Omaha or Seven-Card Stud with the exception of online poker rooms. They have also said that this is part of an attempt to continue innovation in the area of card games. So over time expect to see new versions of old favorites come out as they are announced.

1. Michael Yoshihara -- $6,154
2. David Wong -- $3,419
3. Hanna Batschoun -- $2,052
4. Colin McGratten -- $1,368
5. Raymond Eberlin -- $684

Tuesday 9/12/2006
Event #6 No-Limit Hold'em (Buy In: $500 + $50)
Event 6 had 156 players that entered with 147 being eliminated on Day 1 of the 2 day tournament. The prize pool reached $75,660 in size with money going to the top 18 finishers. But for those who stayed, they were able to witness an excellent final table full of aggressive play, patience and applied skill.

Karen Bochenek was the first to go out in 9th position. Being lowest on the chip stack, she did not have a lot of room to make decisions and called an all-in with pocket 3's only to lose out to pocket A's held by Rafael Perez. Jeff Blasy was gone next in 8th when his A 9 could not improve against Clint Baskin's pocket 8's. Pancho List who came from Jackson Hole, Wyoming packed up to go home after his hand of Q J fell to Nick Loader�s pocket sevens resulting in a 7th place finish. Nick was also responsible for sending Darin Honorof to the rail in 6th place. College student Lawrence Dea tried to bluff his way to winning a pot with an all-in move, but was called by Edmund Liu holding A 9. Liu won the hand when an A paired him on the flop sending Dea to the rail in 5th. Clint Baskin is best remembered in these parts as the main event champion from last season�s WSOP Circuit event at Lake Tahoe. In this tournament he could only make it to 4th place after losing to Edmund Liu�s pocket nines.

Nick Loader who began the final table as chip leader with 98,800 chips, had lost a number of chips to Rafael Perez weakening his position. On Nick's last all-in hand he shoved his chips to the center holding pocket 7's, but lost to Rafael's pocket J's leaving in 3rd. When the heads up between Liu and Perez began, Liu was at a 2 to 1 chip disadvantage to Perez. What worked in Liu's favor was picking and choosing his battles with Perez, resulting in winning a number of small pots which soon added to a lot of chips for him. When Perez made a move to try to double up his chips with a big win, his fate was sealed. Perez went all-in with A 9 after a flop of K 10 9, which was called by Liu holding A K. A Queen fell on the turn, but a blank card on the river finished any chance for a win for Perez. So the 23 year old UC Davis graduate came about a great turnaround victory and a gold ring to prove it.

1. Edmund Liu -- $24,513
2. Rafael Perez -- $12,863
3. Nick Loader -- $7,566
4. Clint Baskin -- $6,053
5. Lawrence Dea -- $4,540
6. Darin Honorof -- $3,783
7. Pancho List -- $3,026
8. Jeff Blasy -- $2,270
9. Karen Bochenek -- $1,513

Wednesday 9/13/2006
Event #7 No-Limit Hold'em (Buy In: $1000 + $60)

1. Chris Braun -- $32,058
2. Champion Douglas -- $16,820
3. Hans "Tuna" Lund -- $9,894
4. Vince Burgio -- $7,915
5. Kevin James -- $5,936
6. Alan Bittikofer -- $4,947
7. Robert Brown -- $3,958
8. Evan Schwartz -- $2,968
9. Robert Kurey -- $1,979

Friday 9/15/2006
Event #8 No-Limit Texas Hold'em Championship Day 1 (Buy In: $5,000 + $150)

127 players paid $5,000 + $150 to enter this event. Among the group were numerous people were WSOP bracelet winners and some who cashed at the 2006 World Series of Poker Main Event so the action should prove to be very good. After Day 1 there were 31 players to move on to Day 2. Below we have the payout schedule and the top 9 players for Day 1 for you to view.

Prize Money Tournament Payout Schedule

1. $196,005 (plus a paid seat into 2007 WSOP main event)
2. $102,842
3. $60,495
4. $48,396
5. $36,297
6. $30,248
7. $24,198
8. $18,149
9. $12,099
10. $9,679
11. $9,679
12. $9,679
13. $8,469
14. $8,469
15. $8,469
16. $7,259
17. $7,259
18. $7,259

1. Darrell Steed -- 96,100 chips
2. Randy Gil -- 92,500 chips
3. Danny Smith -- 74,400 chips
4. Joe Brandenburg -- 74,100 chips
5. Brian Kelley -- 62,200 chips
6. Jason Stern -- 59,000 chips
7. Jerry Renfroe -- 58,700 chips
8. Columba "Duff" Duffy -- 55,700 chips
9. Paul Kobel -- 55,200 chips

1. Randy Gil - 265,000 chips: The chip leader coming into the final table is Randy Gil, a 39-year-old business owner from Morgan Hill, California. Mr. Gil�s poker highlights include a 12th place finish at the Bay 101 "Shooting Stars" tournament and a 159th place finish in the 2006 World Series of Poker $10,000 buy-in championship event. Standing at exactly 7-feet-tall, Mr. Gil is a towering figure at this final table in more ways than just his stature. He appears to be the player to defeat, with twenty percent of the total chips in play.
2. Jerry Renfroe - 223,000 chips: Jerry Renfroe arrives at the final table second in the chip count and has been playing poker for only two years. He cashed in 37th place in an event at this year�s World Series of Poker Main Event. Mr. Renfroe appears a serious threat to win his first major poker tournament here at Harveys Lake Tahoe.
3. Darrell "Big D" Steed - 176,500: Darrell Steed is a 26-year-old salesman from Sacramento, California. This is the first time that he has ever made it to a final table of a major poker tournament. He qualified to play in this event by winning a seat in a mega-satellite held here at Harveys Lake Tahoe. That initial investment guarantees him at least five-figures today, and quite possibly six-figures if he can finish in the top two.
4. Travis Erdman - 162,500 chips: Travis Erdman is a 36-year-old investment manager originally from Delaware. He learned to play poker on the Internet and has been playing poker for about four years. This is his first final table appearance.
5. Burt Boutin - 135,000 chips: Burt Boutin is a 38-year-old stockbroker from Las Vegas, Nevada. He has three children. Mr. Boutin is unquestionably the most experienced tournament player left in the field. He won the pot-limit hold�em championship at the 2001 World Series of Poker and has seven cashes at the world�s most prestigious poker event.
6. Paul Kobel - 98,000 chips: Paul Kobel is a 37-year-old holistic practitioner from Oakland, California. He is one of three players at this final table who won the most coveted prize in poker -- a gold bracelet. Mr. Kobel�s win came two months ago at the 2006 World Series of Poker, where he won the $1500 buy-in no-limit hold�em event. His cash prize was $316,000. He qualified to play in this tournament via a $550 satellite held at Harveys Lake Tahoe.
7. Michael "Scott" Arents - 95,500 chips: Scott Arents is a 32-year-old professional poker player from Santa Rosa, California. Mr. Arents also enjoyed a successful run at the 2006 World Series of Poker Main Event. He finished a very impressive 191st position which put him in the top three percent of the 8,773 player field competing in that tournament.
8. Scott Clements - 87,000 chips: Scott Clements is a 25-year-old poker professional from Mt. Vernon, Washington. He is the other finalist in today�s event who won a gold bracelet at the 2006 World Series of Poker. Mr. Clements won the Omaha High-Low championship and $301,000.
9. Brendan "Mr. Clean" Lynch - 27,500 chips: Brendan Lynch is a 37-year-old professional poker player from Las Vegas, Nevada. He is self-taught and learned how to play poker by reading several notable books on strategy. Interestingly, Brendan is one of three players at this final table who cashed in the 2006 World Series of Poker championship Main Event. He finished a very respectable 318th. He faces the toughest test of anyone at this table, as the player lowest in chips.

1. Michael "Scott" Arents -- $196,005 (plus a paid seat into 2007 WSOP main event)
2. Jerry Renfroe -- $102,842
3. Darrell Steed -- $60,495
4. Randy Gil -- $48,396
5. Travis Erdman -- $36,297
6. Burt Boutin -- $30,248
7. Brendan Lynch -- $24,198
8. Scott Clements -- $18,149
9. Paul Kobel -- $12,099