BRYAN DEVONSHIRE WINS WSOP CIRCUIT MAIN EVENT

That all changed at the Harrah’s Rincon Casino and Resort. Devonshire earned his breakthrough victory and won Rincon’s 2010 WSOPC Circuit Main Event Championship.  He collected top prize worth $114,975.  Devonshire was also presented with his first gold and diamond ring, commemorating the victory. He was also presented with a $10,000 seat into the WSOP Main Event, coming up in July at the Rio in Las Vegas.

Devonshire is a 28-year-old poker professional.  He is originally from Arcadia, CA but now lives in Las Vegas. Devonshire is also known as "Devo" in poker circles.  His live tournament winnings now total more than $1.1 million.

The $5,000 (+150) buy-in No-Limit Hold’em tournament won by Devonshire was played over two consecutive days during March 29-30, 2010. The tournament began with 70 players. All but the final nine players were eliminated on Day One. Final Table play began on a Tuesday afternoon.

Wei Kai Chang arrived at the Final Table with the chip lead. He finished as the runner up in the Harrah’s Rincon WSOP Circuit championship held back in 2006. However, Chang shocked everyone in the Palladium Ballroom, the site of the tournament, by losing his stack very quickly. He exited in ninth place just short of a payout. The Final Table included two former WSOP gold bracelet winners – Dan Schreiber and Howard "Tahoe" Andrew. The final nine players also included one former WSOP Circuit gold ring winner – Daniel Burke. Devonshire, the eventual winner, began play in second place. He never had the chip lead until very late in the tournament when he won a decisive hand against the runner up Schreiber.

When Final Table play began at 12:15 pm, the nine finalists had to eliminate two players before they were officially declared in-the-money. Only seven players were paid. The Final Table players and their starting chip counts were as follows:

Ninth Place: Chang Banged

Wei Kai Chang lost all of his chips in three critical hands and exited in ninth place, just short of a payout. Chang, who finished second in the 2006 WSOP Circuit Main Event championship won by Darrell Dicken, was two spots from the money when he was eliminated.

Eighth Place: Hard Times for Hardin

Darryn "Eastside" Hardin was making his second Final Table appearance at this year’s Rincon series. But he busted out in the worst possible position, becoming the infamous "bubble" finisher.  Hardin took a bad beat on his final hand and was visibly frustrated as he departed the tournament room.

Seventh Place: Burke Broke

Daniel Burke, a 55-year-old commercial real estate developer from Denver, CO edged his way into the money, finishing in seventh place.  Burke was low on chips when play became seven-handed.  He moved all-win with    . John Farrell called with    . Neither player made a pair, which meant Farrell’s ace-high played with a board showing          . So Burke had to settle for a nice payout totaling $13,140. Burke won his WSOP Circuit gold ring back in 2005 in the Pot-Limit Omaha tournament held at Bally’s Las Vegas. He has also made numerous other final tables at events in Los Angeles, the Bahamas, Australia, the UK, and elsewhere.

Sixth Place: Agony of Defeat for McClain

Mike McClain now has more than $800,000 in career tournament earnings. But he is still perhaps best known for being the eternal "agony of defeat" persona at the 2003 WSOP, in juxtaposition to winner Chris Moneymaker’s "thrill of victory." ESPN ran McClain’s painful moment of elimination countless times as part of the WSOP promo. Unfortunately, McClain suffered a similar moment in this tournament when took     up against Bryan Devonshire’s    . McClain was dominated throughout the hand. He did manage to catch a seven on the river, good for a pair. But four hearts on board gave Devonshire a heart flush. The final board showed          , which eliminated McClain in sixth place. This marked his third time to cash in a WSOP Circuit event. He finished fourth in last year’s Harvey’s Lake Tahoe championship. McClain has also cashed at the WSOP in Las Vegas four times. He collected $19,710 in prize money.

Fifth Place: Another Nice Finish for Segni

Ron Segni, a general contractor from El Cajon, CA has done very well at Harrah’s Rincon in recent years. This marked his third time to cash at this year’s Rincon series. He also cashed three times in 2009 and now has nine in-the-money finishes in WSOP Circuit events. His best showing was second place in an event back in 2008. This time, Segni had a chance to win a breakthrough victory but came up short when his     was run down by Dan Schneider’s    . Schneider ended up making runner-runner flush when the board came          . That put Segni out in fifth place with $26,280.

Fourth Place: Farrell Fourth

John Farrell, a business owner from San Diego, CA has now made it to the Rincon championship Final Table two straight years. He came in eighth place last year. Farrell improved on that performance this time, but ultimately went out in fourth place when his     lost to Dan Schreiber’s    . The final board showed          , which meant Schreiber's higher two pair were enough . Farrell ended up taking fourth place and $32,850.

Third Place: Just Like the Good Old Days for "Tahoe"

Howard "Tahoe" Andrew currently holds the record as the person who has played more consecutive WSOP years than any other player. His record of participation dates back to 1974. "Tahoe, now age 75, won two WSOP gold bracelets back in 1976 and has cashed in the WSOP Main Event four times. Today, "Tahoe" remains a fixture on the tournament circuit and at many WSOP Circuit events around the country. This marked his first WSOP Circuit championship Final Table.  He ultimately ran low on chips late and went out with     against Dan Schreiber’s    . The final board showed          , giving Schreiber the pot with an ace-high. Meanwhile, "Tahoe" had to settle for a very respectable third-place finish playing against rivals who were young enough to be his grandchildren. Howard "Tahoe" Andrew collected $49,275 in prize money in his best WSOP Circuit championship ever.

Second Place: Second of Schreiber

Dan Schreiber appeared to be well on his way to victory. The 24-year-old San Diego poker pro led virtually the entire last half of the tournament. But Schreiber lost a crippling hand late against Devonshire, which left him low on chips and at a big disadvantage. After Schreiber lost most of his chips holding top pair (the hand can be seen in the video clip below), he went out just two hands later. Schreiber, the winner of the Heads-Up championship at the 2006 WSOP in Las Vegas where he earned $425,000, added $72,270 to his poker bankroll as the runner up in this event.

First Place: Devonshire Wins Gold Ring

Bryan Devonshire staged a late rally after being behind the chip leader during the entire final table. Devonshire was never seriously low on chips. Despite the outcome, he later acknowledged his final opponent was a superior heads-up player, which caused him to adjust his strategy. Devonshire decided to take a few added risks in heads-up play, which paid off handsomely, to the tune of $114,975. This was Devonshire’s first WSOP-related victory and first gold ring win.

Devonshire becomes the sixth champion at Harrah’s Rincon and joins previous WSOP Circuit Main Event winners:

2005 – Chris "Jesus" Ferguson

2006 – Darrell Dicken

2007 – Peter Feldman

2008 – Mike Pickett

2009 – Dwyte Pilgrim

2010 – Bryan Devonshire