New Orleans, LA – Deals are common in poker tournaments and will continue to be so long as players fund prize pools with their entry fees. Although estimates vary, perhaps 20 to 30 percent of all poker tournaments end with some kind of a deal. This occurs because surviving players do not want to risk what amounts to guaranteed prize money on what could be one hand or a single card.
The final two players in the most recent WSOP Circuit tournament held at Harrah’s New Orleans agreed to a deal today. Jean-Sebastien Laurent, from Naples, FL took first place, while Tony “Tekk” Seunsom, from Houston, TX agreed to second place. For his fine effort, Laurent officially collected $7,760. He was also presented with the coveted gold ring, awarded to all WSOP Circuit event winners.
This was the sixth gold ring event (of 19) on this year’s WSOP Circuit schedule at Harrah’s New Orleans. So far, attendance through the first seven events is up nine percent over last year. A short video tour of the poker room and tournament arena can be viewed here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCidaQkmCrMThe $500 (+50) buy-in Pot-Limit Omaha tournament was played over two consecutive days during May 10th and 11th. The tournament attracted 50 entries. The top nine finishers divided a prize pool totaling $24,250. After 41 players were eliminated on the first day, final table play began on a Tuesday afternoon. There was one former WSOP Circuit gold ring winner among the final nine. Chris Gamboa won the second event here at Harrah’s, held just a few days ago. Unfortunately, he was not able to repeat his success and finished fourth.
Bruno Abechi-Arani arrived at the Final Table with nearly a 2 to 1 chip advantage over his challengers. But in the end, it was one of the shortest stacks belonging to jean-Sebastien Laurent who took down the victory.
When Final Table play began at 2:00 pm, the nine finalists and their starting chip counts were as follows:
| Seat | Player | Hometown | Chip Count |
| 1 | Jean-Sebastien Laurent | Naples, FL | 57,900 |
| 2 | Trey Brabham | McComb, MS | 45,600 |
| 3 | Joel Merwick | Omaha, NE | 21,400 |
| 4 | Bruno Abechi-Arani | Dallas, TX | 116,000 |
| 5 | Dennis Crowley | Pearland, TX | 64,600 |
| 6 | Tekk Tony Sevnsom | Houston, TX | 31,000 |
| 7 | Kiran Srinivas | New York, NY | 52,500 |
| 8 | Peja “Premo” Niyati | Dallas, TX | 59,500 |
| 9 | Chris Gamboa | Houston, TX | 51,300 |
Final Table play lasted about four hours and ended at 6:00 pm. Players were eliminated in the following order:
Ninth Place: Short-Stacked Merwick Exits Quickly
The ninth place finisher was Joel Merwick, a businessman from Omaha, NE. This was Merwick’s fifth time to cash on the WSOP Circuit. He enjoyed much success at previous events held at Horseshoe Council Bluffs (Iowa) where he made it to two final tables. The payout for ninth place was $909.
Eighth Place: Musician Hits Sour Note
Trey Brabham (ne Thomas Brabham), a musician from McComb, MS ended up in eighth place. Brabham previously played the club scene in Austin, TX. Brabham had previously cashed in several smaller tournaments around the country, and also finished in the money once at the WSOP in Las Vegas. For this effort, Brabham collected $1,030.
Seventh Place: Bruno Busts
Bruno Abedi-Arami (ne Mohammed Abedi-Arami) cashed for the first time in two years in this tournament. Adedi-Arami won nearly $50,000 two years ago at a tournament in Las Vegas and returned to the money in this event by finishing seventh. He earned $1,212.
Sixth Place: “Premo” Done-o
Peja “Premo” Niyati, a former engineer turned poker pro from Dallas, TX came in sixth. He moved all in with AA87 on his final hand, which ended up losing to QJT9, which made two pair. Niyati has an impressive record in tournaments, with 13 major cashes the last three years. However, this was his first time to cash in a WSOP-related tournament. “Premo” received $1,455.
Fifth Place: Crowley Cracks
Dennis Crowley, a retiree from Pearland, TX was put out to pasture and ended up talking home $1,758 for fifth place. He became the second player to make multiple final tables at this year’s Bayou series. He finished seventh in an event two days ago. Crowley has now cashed four times in WSOP Circuit event at Harrah’s New Orleans alone.
Fourth Place: No Repeat for Gamboa
Chris Gamboa was the other player making a second final table appearance at this year’s Bayou series. Fresh off winning $35,000 in Event #2, Gamboa hoped to become only the third multi-gold ring winner of the season by taking the top spot. Instead, he had to settle for fourth place, which paid $2,182. Gamboa becomes the early leader in this unofficial Bayou Poker Challenge player of the year race.
Third Place: Srinivas Takes Third
Kiran Srinivas, who is originally from India and now lives in New York City, ended up as the third-place finisher. This was his first recorded cash in a live tournament.
Second Place: Deal Made – Seunsom Second
Tony “Tekk” Seunsom, a Houston poker pro, was the official second-place finisher. Seunsom is well-known at Harrah’s New Orleans, since he has played in many events over the years. Although he has yet to win a WSOP Circuit gold ring, this was his second time to finish as the runner up in a Harrah’s New Orleans event. The official payout was $4,850, although the terms of the deal with winner Jean Sebastien Laurent were not disclosed.
First Place: Jean-Sebastien Laurent Wins First Major!
Mystery man Jean-Sebastien Laurent, from Naples, FL won his first major poker tournament. Little is known about the enigmatic champion, other than he is 28-years-old and enjoys playing poker. He collected the WSOP Circuit gold ring and was officially paid $7,760.