Stateline, NV--Brock Sawyer, a 25-year-old chemical engineer from Bakersfield, California, took down the 10th event of the WSOP Circuit at Harveys Lake Tahoe, $300 no-limit hold’em. It was his first Circuit event ever. He played aggressively early in the tournament to build up chips, arrived at the final table with the lead, had a bit of a rocky middle, but waited out his bad cards before moving ahead to victory. He prefers no-limit because it involves more psychology.
“You can get players off hands,” he said. He also enjoys razz. First place paid Sawyer $14,079.
This no-limit event drew 161 players and the prize pool was $46,851. The final table began with blinds of 2,500-5,000 and 500 antes, 35 minutes left in the round. Sawyer started off with a big lead of 307,000 chips, more than twice anyone else’s.
9th place: Monte Gilley started lowest-chipped with only 27,000. He soon went all in for 10,000 with A-Q and got two callers. A board of 7-3-5-7-J missed everybody as Scott Moskalik took the pot with pocket 4s, and Gilley left with $984 for ninth.
Gilley, from Live Oak, California, is a manager of Ferguson Enterprises. He’s been playing 30 years, learning from his dad, TV and online. He has two Circuit final tables in the past two years along with various cashes in local California casinos.
On this Veteran’s Day he said he would like to honor his brother who died in Iraq in September of this year after serving his country for 28 years in the Navy, as well as honoring all other veterans.
8th place: With blinds at 4,000-8,000 Jong “Jason” O was all in with the best hand, A-K against Steve Scicchitano’s A-J. But big slick didn’t hold up when a board of 8-5-10-7-J paired Scicchitano on the river. For eighth, O collected $1,359.
O, 40, is a poker dealer originally from Korea now living in Salt Lake City, Utah. He’s played eight years, and has a 394th cash in the 2007 WSOP main event. He also likes golf.
7th place: The next player to leave was also outdrawn. The victim this time was Robert Kosten who put all his chips in with pocket jacks on a flop of 5-7-Q. Sawyer, holding A-Q, had already pulled ahead of him with his paired queen, and when Kosten couldn’t catch another jack or make a runner-runner straight, he went out with $1,827 for seventh.
Kosten, 55, is a handyman from Sebastopol, California with five years of poker experience. He plays twice a month in home games in Santa Rosa. His hobby is working on projects with his son, and his highlight is beating his wife in Scrabble.
6th place: Blinds went to 5,000-10,000. Scicchitano was in bad shape when he moved in with Ah-8h and was called by Floyd Clemman with A-J. A board of 4-Q-K-6-7 changed nothing as Scicchitano cashed out for $2,296 in sixth place.
Scicchitano, 55, lives in Pleasanton, California. He taught himself poker four years ago and has a third in a 2006 $500 Circuit event, and a total of five cashes in 11 Circuits overall.
5th place: “The best hand held up,” Don Smith exulted as he knocked Jesse Dean out in fifth place, which paid $2,975. His pocket 9s weren’t much of a favorite (56 percent) )against Dean’s A-K, but they were an overwhelming favorite after he flopped a set. For 5th, Dean earned $2,975.
Dean is a 69-year-old retiree now living in Punta Banda, in Baja, Mexico. He learned the game from his grandfather 40 years ago. He has a WPT money finish along with several smaller tournament wins. His nickname is “GranDude,” and his hobbies are diving and sprint car racing.
4th place: Smith went out after a disastrous flop. He limped with A-9 in the small blind. Sawyer checked in the big blind holding 2-4. Smith made top pair when the flop came 9-4-2. He bet, Sawyer raised with his two pair, and Smith went all in. He couldn’t improve and went out fourth, paying $3,935.
Smith, 33, is from Santa Cruz, California and gave his occupation as “professional discgolfer/home game shark.” Smith, nicknamed “D-Money,” has been playing 10 years. He’s had several online wins, and this event is his live tournament highlight.
3rd place: We got heads-up after Clemann went out third, paying $5,669. He moved in with K-4 and couldn’t beat Moskalik’s pocket 6s after the board came 10-7-2-9-J. Clemann, 61, is from Crescent City, California where he does custom tractor work. He’s played about four years and this is his poker highlight.
2nd place: Heads-up, Sawyer had a bit over 600,000 chips to about 320,000 for Moskalik. On the final hand, the flop came 9d-7d-6d. It gave Moskalik, holding 9s-6c, two pair, but Sawyer, with 5d-3d, had made a flush. Sawyer bet 100,000 and Moskalik came over the top all in. A meaningless Ac and 7h came off the deck and Sawyer nailed down his win. For second, Moskalik was paid $8,246.
Moskalik is 42, from Sunnyvale, California, and is the owner of a company building custom tables. He’s played six years, and has wins at the Bay 101 weekly, the Placerville Open, and a seventh here in last year’s event nine.
1st place: Sawyer has been played poker five years, starting in bars, then playing at the Beau Rivage. Much of his poker activity now consists of playing daily tournaments in Vegas. That’s how he achieved his prior poker highlight, winning a daily tournament at the Bellagio with a straight flush. –Max Shapiro