Atlantic City, NJ (March 11, 2007) – Fantasy sports and poker have a lot in common. Both require the player to analyze a limited amount of public information and make strategic decisions. Both are also subject to fluctuations of luck. In poker, pockets aces is a great hand. But it does not always win. And just as Peyton Manning might be a great fantasy football quarterback, on some days he throws interceptions instead of touchdowns.
Robert "Zmen" Zarzycki knows all of this. He is the author of "Drafting to Win," a primer on fantasy football. Mr. Zarzycki is the top ranked fantasy football expert in the nation, having won a number of prestigious sports league contests, including some sponsored by casinos in Las Vegas. To date, his biggest win in fantasy football was $27,000. However, he won far more than that playing tournament poker. Mr. Zarzycki won the top prize of $90,075 at Caesars Atlantic City in the most recent World Series of Poker Circuit event.
The $300 buy-in no-limit hold'em tournament (Event #6) attracted 1,155 players, making it the second-largest field in World Series of Poker Circuit history. Only the recent Circuit event held at the Grand Tunica Casino-Resort in Mississippi in January 2007 attracted more entries (with 1,345). Along with the first event of this tournament series (with 1,106 entries), Caesars Atlantic City can now lay claim to hosting two of the three largest fields ever on the WSOP Circuit.
After 1,146 players were eliminated on days one and two over the 18 grueling hours of play, nine survivors took seats at the final table. Rob Flesher started with a slight chip lead advantage over Mr. Zarzycki and the rest of the field. Seating positions and chip counts began as follows:
Seat 1: Ivan Carter 222,000
Seat 2: Mike Wuest 450,000
Seat 3: "Scotch" Cranford 796,000
Seat 4: Mickey Meehan 516,000
Seat 5: Rob Flesher 841,000
Seat 6: Rich Johnson 80,000
Seat 7: Warren Wiggins 327,000
Seat 8: Mike Kalfa 300,000
Seat 9: Robert Zarzycki 800,000
Blinds began at 4,000-8,000 with a 1,000 ante. It didn't take long for the fireworks to begin. On the second hand of play, Ivan Carter played aggressively and raised with 4-4. That turned out to be a big mistake. Robert Zarzycki moved all-in with A-Q and had Mr. Carter covered easily. An ace on the flop sealed Mr. Carter's fate – which turned into a ninth-place finish. Ivan Carter, a graduate of George Mason University Law School and resident of Fairfax, VA collected $6,930 in prize money.
Warren Wiggins went out next. The electrician from Baltimore hoped to pull off a shocking upset with his first tournament victory. Instead, he lost power and ended up going out in eighth place. Low on chips, Mr. Wiggins moved all-in with A-3 and was called by the chip monster Robert Zarzycki, holding A-K. The dominant hand won (a king flopped), which meant the final table was down to seven players. Meanwhile, Warren Wiggins ended up with $10,395 in earnings.
A battle between the two "Mikes" broke out when Mike Wuest made a move with K-J of diamonds and ran head-first into Mike Kalfa's K-K. Mr. Wuest had far the worst of it and was drawing slim. He failed to improve which meant a seventh-place finish. Mr. Wuest is a pool shooter who aspires to become a professional poker player. He appears well on his way, with a nice cash of $13,860 in this event.
Down to six, Mickey Meehan was in trouble. He had started with over 500,000 in chips but slowly got blinded and anted away. Card dead and down to just 100,000, he tried to steal holding the sub-par 9-6. But Rob Flesher had pocket jacks and made an instant call. Mr. Meehan caught a six on the flop for a pair, but that was the best he could do in what became his final hand of the tournament. Mickey Meehan, a college student at Villanova University, was playing in this, his first WSOP-related event. It was good for sixth place and $17,325 in prize money.
About two hours into play, something happened which (to this writer's knowledge) has never happened at a WSOP Circuit table. Rich Johnson was dealt 8-8 and moved all-in. Chip leader Rob Flesher called holding K-Q of clubs. If ever a player was drawing dead to the stone-cold nuts, it was poor Mr. Johnson. Bam! Bam! Bam! The flop came 10c-Jc-Ac for the ultimate in poker overkill. The royal flush gave Mr. Flesher a 2 to 1 chip lead over the remaining three. Meanwhile, all Rich Johnson could do was shake his head and walk away. At least he had an interesting story to tell. Fifth place paid $20,790. The Mensa member from the Bronx (New York) who works in music management had also previously cashed at the East Coast Hold Championships.
Play continued four-handed for the next 45 minutes. In an amazing turn of events, Rob Flesher lost all of his chips in three big pots. First, "Mr. Royal" lost the chip lead to Rob Zarzycki in a non-showdown hand. Mr. Flesher had made a large bet on the turn and was re-raised all-in by his opponent. He folded. Then, he lost more chips on another big hand to Mike Kalfa. Finally, Mr. Flesher went out when his A-Q was cracked by Kalfa's A-8. An eight came on the river, which punctured Mr. Flesher's chances of victory. The Washington DC-based consultant received $24,255 for fourth place.
At three-handed, Mr. Kalfa and Mr. Zarzycki battled for the chip lead, with "Scotch" Cranford hanging on in third place. The triumvirate got involved in a number of confrontations, with each player taking turns holding the other's chips, at least temporarily. An hour later, Mike Kalfa took a bad hit when his A-9 of hearts missed a flush draw versus Robert Zarzycki (A-K). That left Mr. Kalfa short on chips. But he doubled up against Scotch on a key hand when his pocket nines made a set. Roughly 40 hands after the three began their battle, the chip stacks were back where they started.
That meant Scotch Cranford was the low man (again). He eventually succumbed to the odds, losing on his final hand to Mr. Kalfa's two-pair. The 31-year-old engineer from Annapolis, MD (who actually ordered and drank several rounds of scotch as he played) cashed for $27,720, which was the third-place payout. Cheers.
When heads-up play began, Mike Kalfa began with a 5 to 4 chip lead over Robert Zarzycki -- 2,585,000 to 2,035,000. Blinds were 50,000-100,000. The duo agreed to a deal which resulted in some unusually fast play in the final stage of the tournament. The last hand was dealt out at 10 pm on a Sunday night inside a busy Palladium Ballroom at Caesars. Robert Zarzycki dragged what remained of Mr. Kalfa's chips and the second-largest poker tournament in WSOP Circuit history was finally over.
The runner up was Mike Kalfa. The 41-year-old New Jersey-based self-described "investor" has won over a dozen tournaments within the last two years. He agreed to a deal with his opponent which resulted in an official payout of $47,815.
The newest poker champion is Robert "Zmen" Zarzycki, from Hewitt, NJ. He is a 32-year-old poker pro and part-time author, having cashed previously for $44,000 at last year's World Series of Poker in Las Vegas. He received the coverted g