Final Table play began on a Friday night and was held inside the special events center at Rincon. There were no prior WSOP Circuit event winners amongst the final nine, thus guaranteeing a first-time champion. Rod Dingler, from Temecula, CA started play as the chip leader and ended up finishing second.
But at least three other players – including the eventual winner, Chris Farmer -- were all within striking distance, making the Final Table a wide open competition. The low blinds (6,000-12,000) and average chip stack amounting to roughly 350,000 at the start allowed plenty of play. The nine finalists and their starting chip counts were as follows:
|
Seat |
Player |
Hometown |
Chip Count |
|
1 |
R. Westover |
San Diego, CA |
418,000 |
|
2 |
Rod "Big Dog" Dingler |
Temecula, CA |
820,000 |
|
3 |
Ron Segni |
El Cajon, CA |
427,000 |
|
4 |
Chris Farmer |
San Diego, CA |
418,000 |
|
5 |
Tim Omohundro |
Encinitas, CA |
236,000 |
|
6 |
George Rutherford |
Woodland Hills, CA |
730,000 |
|
7 |
Phil Denadel |
Escondido, CA |
731,000 |
|
8 |
Jerry Simon |
Temecula, CA |
199,000 |
|
9 |
Chris McGrath |
Media, PA |
654,000 |
Players were eliminated in the following order:
Tenth Place: Marks is a Marked Man
Just three hands into the Final Table, Alan Marks picked up . He was delighted to be involved in a potential triple up situation with the best hand, against two callers. Jerry Simon was also all in, holding . Rod Digler, a.k.a. "Big Dog" had . The Big Dog barked loudest when the flop came . Two blanks then fell on the turn and river, meaning the Big Dog scooped the 600,000 pot with his pair of Q’s. Meanwhile, Alan Marks ended up as the tenth place finisher. Marks, an English-born retiree who now lives in Oceanside, CA ended up with $1,755 in prize money.
Ninth Place: Simon Says, "I’m Busted"
The same hand which eliminated Alan Marks also busted out Jerry Simon. The retired Air Force veteran who now lives in nearby Temecula, CA pocketed $2,010 for his ninth place. Simon has cashed numerous times in major poker tournaments elsewhere, including five in-the-money finishes at the WSOP in Las Vegas.
Eighth Place: Denadel Done
Phil Denadel, a retiree from nearby Escondido, CA was the eighth place finisher. On his final hand of the tournament, he lost a race, holding against Chris McGrath’s . The final board showed which meant the opponent’s pocket tens took down the pot. Denadel received $2,371 in prize money.
Seventh Place: Omohundro Says "Oh, No"
Tim Omohundro, a project manager from Encinitas, CA took a tough beat on his final hand when he took up against Chris Farmer’s . After the turn card, Omohundro appeared to be headed for a double up, but the Qs fell on the river, giving Farmer the crop and putting weed kill on Omohundro’s shot of making a comeback. To his credit, this was Omohundro’s first major live poker tournament. He could certainly be proud of his finish, outlasting 592 players. Seventh place paid $2,917.
Sixth Place: Rough Times for Rutherford
George Rutherford, an office worker from Woodland Hills, CA was the sixth place finisher. He was low on chips and survived a few all-ins before finally succumbing to a bigger stack. Rutherford was dealt As Jd on his final hand, versus Ron Segni’s . The final board showed , which meant the larger kickers held by Segni played. Rutherford, making his first WSOP cash, has plans to attend law school in the future. He collected a nice settlement from this final table which amounted to $4,369.
Fifth Place: Former Navy Officer Sinks
Chris McGrath, from Media, PA was in decent chip position much of the way, but finally went card dead late and busted out on a bad beat. McGrath was dealt and moved all in. He got a call from chip leader "Big Dog," who showed . Just as things looked optimistic for McGrath who appeared might double up, the killer Js fell on the river, which made the a pair for Big Dog. That knocked McGrath to the rail in fifth place, good for a mixed blessing of $5,834. McGrath is a former graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy. In fact, he was formally an officer on a submarine.
Fourth Place: Bluff Goes Badly for Segni
Ron Segni, a general contractor from El Cajon, CA made a bold move on his final hand. He tried to steal a round of blinds and antes holding , but ran into Chris Farmer’s . Farmer all but ended Segni’s hopes when he flopped a set of queens. But Segni picked up an inside straight draw on the turn. Unfortunately, he missed his long shot draw and Farmer raked in the pot when the final board showed . Segni, who has made Final Tables at a number of tournaments, including last year’s Seniors Championship here at Harrah’s Rincon, nailed down $9,471 in prize money.
Third Place: Westover Goes South
Ryan Westover, a stay-at-home-dad from San Diego, finished in third place. Three-handed action lasted two full hours before Westover finally went out with , which ended up losing to Chris Farmer’s . Farmer hit one of his many outs on the last card, making a straight when the board showed . That meant Westover ended up settling for $9,471 for third place.
Second Place: Big Dog Gets Run Over
Rod "Big Dog" Dingler came close to victory several times. He held the chip lead during most of the Final Table play and had his opponent all in and covered four times, losing on each occasion. Had Dingler managed to catch just one card at a key moment, he would have won. Instead, Dingler was never able to close out the victory. One of many turning points came when Chris Farmer rivered a full house, which proved to be the decisive hand of the tournament.
Dingler was eliminated about 15 minutes later, after he lost a race with pocket 8’s against AQ.
Rod "Big Dog" Dingler, a real estate agent from Temecula, CA collected runner up prize money which amounted to $14,235.
First Place: Chris Farmer is Champion
Chris Farmer, a 25-year-old semi-pro poker player from San Diego won his first WSOP Circuit gold ring and $24,415.