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2009 Horseshoe Council Bluffs WSOP Circuit Event

Event #1 -- No Limit Hold'Em

The first event allowed some men and women cash to buy gifts for Valentines's Day for their significant other. This two day event started on the 12th had 334 players pay a buyin of $345 for a seat. A cash pool of $97,194 was created and went to the top 36 finishers.

1. Jeff "Mr. Rain" Banghart -- $30,127
2. Drazen Ilich -- $15,551
3. Nathan Davis -- $7,776
4. Colin Perry -- $6,804
5. Mario Hudson -- $5,832
6. Elizabeth Moreland -- $4,860
7. Ben Flores -- $3,888
8. Chris Johnson -- $2,916
9. Mark Johnson -- $1,944

Event #2 -- No Limit Hold'Em

The buyin for this event was $555 and was paid by 159 players. Pool amount rose to $77,115 and went to the top 18 remaining in the field.

1. Mike Sinnot -- $25,143
2. Perry Ernest -- $13,192
3. Jacob Manley -- $7,760
4. Duane Gerlemen -- $6,208
5. Joseph Dinardo -- $4,658
6. Greg Lessard -- $3,880
7. Tom Wessling -- $3,104
8. Eric Taplin -- $2,328
9. Jeff Doane -- $1,552

Event #3 -- No Limit Hold'Em

This two day event began on Valentine's Day. (I wonder what the guys promised their wives in order to play in this one?) Attendance showed 360 in the field that paid $345 for a seat. Prize pool reached $104,760 and went to the top 36.

1. Matthew McCartney -- $32,471
2. Scott Kahoun -- $16,762
3. Aaron Newmann -- $8,381
4. Tom Hoffmann -- $7,333
5. Lee Bun -- $6,286
6. Chad Wiedenhoeft -- $5,238
7. Lyle Bryan -- $4,190
8. Brett Schwertley -- $3,143
9. Charles Donnelly -- $2,095

Event #4 -- No Limit Hold'Em

With a $555 entry fee, 171 players came to the tables to compete for a piece of a $82,935 prize pool. Cash went to the top 18 finishers.

1. Larry Nichols -- $26,871
2. Michael Carter -- $14,099
3. Dan Dykhouse -- $8,294
4. Austin McCormick -- $6,635
5. Josh Wininger -- $4,976
6. Perry Ernest -- $4,147
7. Scott Dorsch -- $3,317
8. Tom Cristopher -- $2,488
9. Ronald Lancia -- $1,659

Event #5 -- Ladies Championship

There were 73 ladies who each paid the $235 entry fee for this tournament. Money went to the 9 making the final table. Pool reached $14,162.

1. Toni Haggard -- $5,099
2. Kim Strong -- $2,832
3. Karen Kyle -- $1,558
4. Sue Warner -- $1,133
5. Michelle Hiers -- $991
6. Melyssa Gerhardt -- $850
7. Kim Johnson -- $708
8. Elizabeth Hunter -- $566
9. Penny Wedige -- $425

Event #6 -- No Limit Hold'Em

The buyin for event $6 was $1,070 for the 94 who took a seat. The $91,180 prize pool was split up between the 9 who made the final table.

1. Drazen Ilich -- $32,925
2. Brandon Mifsud -- $18,236
3. Jeffrey Reimer -- $10,030
4. Brian Falcone -- $7,294
5. Jovan Sudar -- $6,383
6. Lee Patitz -- $5,471
7. Marc Samich -- $4,559
8. Ben Smith -- $3,647
9. Charles Casavant -- $2,735

Event #7 -- Omaha Hi/Lo

This two day event had 107 players at the tables. Buy in was $345 per person which helped to create a $31,137 pool for the top 18 finishers.

1. Jeff Wiemers -- $10,088
2. Robert Sprouse -- $5,293
3. Michael Meng -- $3,114
4. Lonnie Price -- $2,491
5. Steve Moy -- $1,868
6. Patty Merksick -- $1,557
7. John Sozio -- $1,245
8. Ed Conradt -- $934
9. Brett Michalsky -- $623

Event #8 -- No Limit Hold'Em

Only 38 players signed up for this event, paying $1,580 for a seat. Just 5 saw any of that returned at the final table. Pool size reached $55,290.

1. Matt Culberson -- $24,879
2. David Kruger -- $13,823
3. Troy Ethridge -- $8,294
4. Rebecca Makar -- $5,529
5. Kyle Schroeder -- $2,765

Event #9 -- H.O.R.S.E.

With just 87 entries paying a buy in of $345, a pool grew to $25,317 that went to the 8 who made the final table.

1. Bill Short -- $9,243
2. Costa Mavrodis -- $4,987
3. Matt Harder -- $3,392
4. Mike Lisanti -- $2,405
5. Charles Casavant -- $1,848
6. Shawn Marley -- $1,468
7. Robert Cox -- $1,139
8. Brent Carter -- $835

Event #10 -- No Limit Hold'Em

Players that did not decide to play HORSE, went to the No Limit Hold'Em tables where there were 237 in total. Buyin was $345 and a pool of $68,967 was created. Cash went to the top 28.

1. Lee Patitz -- $22,065
2. William Searle -- $12,138
3. William Drumm -- $6,207
4. Aaron Loftin -- $4,828
5. Jerry Kuhl -- $4,138
6. Chad Wiedenhoeft -- $3,448
7. Michael Drieger -- $2,759
8. Arnold Rogel -- $2,069
9. Randy Belmont -- $1,379

Event #11 -- Limit Hold'Em

The smallest event so far has to be Event #11 with just 46 entrants. Buy in was $345 and a cash pool of $13,386 was created. Money went to the top 5 in the event.

1. Kelly Vande Mheen -- $6,033
2. Michael Schwartz -- $3,347
3. Brent Carter -- $2,008
4. Khanh Nguyen -- $1,339
5. James Tolbert -- $669

Event #12 -- No Limit Hold'Em

A higher buy in of $555 attracted 151 players to the tables. The pool grew to $73,235 and was divided between the top 18.

1. David Grandstaff -- $23,727
2. Corey Rassmussen -- $12,450
3. Christopher Drew -- $7,324
4. Nouk Sengchan -- $5,859
5. Nathan Rowan -- $4,394
6. Adam Sleper -- $3,662
7. Lou Salamone -- $2,929
8. Christopher Hovey -- $2,197
9. David Dicken -- $1,465

Event #13 -- No Limit Hold'Em (Six Handed)

Event Facts:
Number of Players: 112
Pool Size: $32,592 going to the top 12
Buyin: $345

1. Brian Scobee -- $10,268
2. Drew Woodke -- $6,355
3. Austin McCormick -- $4,074
4. Jay Carstens -- $2,770
5. Tobin King -- $1,874
6. Joe Ritter -- $1,835
7. Joshua Mancuso -- $1,059
8. William Castillo -- $1,059
9. Shawn Marley -- $978

Event #14 -- No Limit Hold'Em

Event Facts:
Number of Players: 314
Pool Size: $91,374 going to the top 36
Buyin: $345

1. William Burdick -- $28,334
2. John Nohr -- $14,620
3. Jeff Bryan -- UNKNOWN
4. James Yockey -- $7,310
5. Jeff Banghart -- $5,482
6. Joe Geisler -- $4,569
7. Scott Standridge -- $3,655
8. Kaven Wood -- $2,108
9. Kenneth Oldenborg -- $1,827

Event #15 -- No Limit Hold'Em

Event Facts:
Number of Players: tbd
Pool Size: tbd
Buyin: $555

1. Joe Rechtfertig -- $34,146
2. Clint Landman -- $18,779
3. Dave Word -- $9,603
4. Chad Hancock -- $7,469
5. Isaah Wright -- $6,402
6. Paul White -- $5,335
7. Eric Grave -- $4,268
8. Mark Mueller -- $3,201
9. Jim Scheibler -- $2,134

Event #16 -- Championship Event

Event Facts:
Number of Players: 67
Pool Size: $309,100
Buyin: $5,150

Day 1:
All players received 20,000 in chips and will play for seven 75 minutes levels today. Approximately 50 players have won their seats through satellite competition, bypassing the 5-grand plus entry fee for their efforts. The champion will take home a nice $113,020 plus a $11,000 WSOP Main Event seat along with a beautiful gold and diamond ring. Early eliminations include Daniel Walker who saw a flop of A 9 5 and moved in with A K, only to meet the pocket A's of his opponent. Turn card was a 7 and the river was a 5, giving his opponent a full house (A's/5's) and the boot to Walker. Jeremy Byrum was ousted after losing a hand by a kicker to Drazen Ilich. Bob Slezak had his pocket K's put to shame by another player with pocket A's and ended up leaving the event.

By the time midnight rolled around, there were 30 players left and that was good enough for officials to have everyone bag their chips for the next round. The two players who did climb over the 100K mark were Jeff Banghart (121,400) and Jeff Bryan (108,200). This will make them a little more dangerous for the rest of the players on Day 2.

Day 2:
At noon play was underway with eliminations soon following. VaShon Watkins was crushed as his A 10 suited was met by the A 7 of John McDonald. The board showed Q 8 6 9 5, giving John a nine high straight and Watkins a path to the rail. And Drazen Ilich who has played well in this tournament and others also went out today. Ilich who went in with Q J suited connectors met up with the pocket 9's of Jeff Banghart. Another 9 came out on the river to give Banghart a set and the win against Ilich.

Bad beat of the day came when Mark Eddleman and Wilbur Futhey saw K K 7h 9h 4h on the table. Futhey moved all-in and eventually was called by Eddleman. Futhey turned over the other 2 Kings, much to the displeasure of Eddleman's stomach. But the taste of sweet victory didn't last long as Futhey had to settle for a 16th place finish when his all-in move with pocket 5's met the paired Aces of Harold Kruger. Mark Eddleman ended his quest in 15th after his open ended straight flush and straight was beaten by the flush made by John McDonald. After about 2 more hours of play, the nine for the final table was established who will meet tomorrow for the championship round. As a note, final table levels will be 90 minutes long instead of the 75 that has been maintained for this event. Here are the chip counts for the final table:

1. John McDonald -- 439,500 chips
2. Dennis Meierotto -- 387,500 chips
3. Evan Panesis -- 203,000 chips
4. Ari Engle -- 92,000 chips
5. Joaquin Sosa -- 60,000 chips
6. Jesse Hale -- 77,000 chips
7. Jeff Banghart -- 52,000 chips
8. Jeff Daubs -- 34,500 chips
9. Jeff Bryan -- 27,500 chips

1. Jesse Hale -- $113,020
2. Dennis Meireotto -- $62,790
3. John McDonald -- $34,535
4. Evan Panesis -- $25,116
5. Joaquin Sosa -- $21,977
6. Ari Engle -- $18,837
7. Jeff "Mr. Rain" Banghart -- $15,698
8. Jeff Bryan -- $12,558
9. Jeff Daubs -- $9,419

Event #17 -- Pot Limit Omaha

Event Facts:
Number of Players: 31
Pool Size: $9,021
Buyin: $345

1. Charles Casavant III -- $4,511
2. Jesse Hale -- $2,706
3. Frank Dukich -- $1,804

Event #18 -- No Limit Hold'Em

Event Facts:
Number of Players: 74
Pool Size: $21,534
Buyin: $345

1. John Thelen -- $7,752
2. Jonas Wexler -- $4,307
3. Drew Woodke -- $2,369
4. Matt Fergueson -- $1,723
5. Joel Merwick -- $1,507
6. Jason Vargas -- $1,292
7. Bob Treffert -- $1,077
8. Wallace Dawkins -- $861
9. Brian French -- $646