Travis Lutes is the winner of the Main Event of the 2010/2011 World Series of Poker Circuit events at the IP Casino Resort and Spa.
The 28-year-old from Crawfordsville, Indiana had taken some time off work to travel the country. After spending some time in California, he took his RV and headed towards the South so he could play some of the events at the WSOP Circuit at the IP in Biloxi.
The first ever held in the Mississippi Gulf Coast resort town, the WSOP Circuit Events at the IP have been wildly successful, having exceeded almost all projections. The Sunday-start Main Event was no exception, having attracted 270 entrants who each put up the $1,600 entry fee to generate a total prize pool of $392,850.
After outlasting the massive field of players to make the final table, Lutes called his brother and flew him in from Indiana to watch. Lutes was trying to repeat the performance of WSOP Main Event Champion Jonathan Duhamel, who also held the chip lead going into his final table. Duhamel was actually last in chips at one point but came back to claim the Main Event bracelet.
Lutes was hoping that history would repeat itself the very next day here in Biloxi.
Chips counts at the start of the final table were as follows:
1. Travis Lutes 1,725,000
2. Farid Nasserazad 1,697,000
3. Jason Cluxton 589,000
4. Yair Alon 404,000
5. John Holley 315,000
6. Bob Talbot 276,000
7. Jerry Monroe 154,000
8. Robert Gunter 144,000
9. Steven Marshall 106,000
9th Place – It didn’t take long for the action to start. On the very first hand at the final table, Farid Nasserazad raised to 60,000 and John Holley then moved all in. Nasserazad made the call and showed Ad-8h. Holley turned up Ah-3h and would need to improve. The flop of 8c-8s-5h put Nasserazad way in front with trip eights. The 9h gave Holley a flush draw, but the 3s on the river gave the pot to Nasserazad. Holley, a 49-year old fisherman from Destin, Florida, was sent home in ninth place for $8,717.
8th Place – Just moments later, the action was folded around to Steven Marshall in the small blind. He moved all in for his last 218,000 with Ks-8d and was called by Yair Alon in the big blind with Kh-Jc. The board ran out Kc-5c-4s-10d-4h and Alon took the pot. Marshall, an architect from Cumming, Georgia, was eliminated in eighth place for $10,898.
7th Place – Two hands after Marshall’s knockout, Jerry Monroe moved all in for 106,000 with Ah-Ks. Yair Alon again made the call and turned up Ad-9c. This time, Alon was behind but took the lead on a flop of 9d-6c-4s. The 4h on the turn and the Jd on the river did not help Monroe’s hand and the Columbus, Georgia native took home $13,841 for his seventh-place finish.
6th Place – Robert Gunter shoved his last 82,000 chips in the middle preflop and Bob Talbot reraised all in behind him. Everyone folded and Gunter turned over 9d-9h. However, Talbot picked up Kc-Kd. The board ran out 7c-6h-5h-3c-Qs and Talbot’s kings held up to take the pot. Gunter, a 56-year-old BBQ restaurant owner from Salem, Alabama, pocketed $17,865 for his sixth-place finish.
5th Place – Yair Alon was under the gun and raised to 72,000. Travis Lutes reraised to 300,000 and Alon moved all in for about 700,000. Lutes made the call and showed Ah-Ks. Alon’s As-7c was dominated and would need to improve. The board came Ad-10h-4d-Qd-Jc, giving Lutes Broadway and the pot. The Panama City Beach, Florida resident was sent home in fifth place for $23,445.
4th Place – Bob Talbot open shoved before the flop for his last 447,000 and Jason Cluxton called all in for just less. Talbot turned over Jd-Js but Cluxton showed Ah-As. The flop came out 10c-8h-9h and Cluxton maintained his lead. However, Talbot had picked up an open-ended straight draw. The 5d on the turn was no help to Talbot, but the Qc on the river completed his straight and sent a visibly upset Cluxton to the rail in fourth place. The Kennesaw, Georgia native pocketed $31,295.
3rd Place – After Farid Nasserazad limped in from the small blind and Bob Talbot checked his option, they saw a flop of Ad-10d-9h. Nasserazad checked and Talbot fired 85,000. Nasserazad made the call and the turn came the Qc. After another check by Nasserazad, Talbot bet 95,000. Again, Nasserazad made the call and the river was the 5c. Another check by Nasserazad led to an all-in bet of around 500,000 from Talbot. After a few moments, Nasserazad made the call and showed As-7s for top pair. Talbot tapped the table and tossed his 9d-4d into the muck. The 64-year-old poker pro from Hernando, Mississippi collected $42,523 for his third-place finish.
As heads-up play began, Farid Nasserazad held a two-to-one chip lead on Travis Lutes. At one point, Nasserazad had 4.7 million chips to Lute's 800,000, but Lutes battled his way back. Despite only taking less than two hours to get from nine players to two, the heads-up match took over five hours to complete.
After Lutes had taken back the chip lead, Nasserazad limped from the button and Lutes checked his option. The flop came down Ac-10s-6s and Lutes checked. Nasserazad bet 120,000 and Lutes moved all in. Nasserazad quickly made the call and tabled Ah-9d for top pair. However, he had been outflopped by Lutes and his As-6h. The 4c on the turn did not improve his hand and the 4s on the river sent him to the rail in second place for $58,857.
Travis Lutes had gone into the final table with the chip lead and, much like WSOP Main Event Champion Jonathan Duhamel, went from first to worst and back again. He claims not only his first World Series of Poker Circuit Ring, but also $95,253 and a seat in the WSOP Circuit National Championship.
Lutes and his brother are hopping back in his RV to make the long trip back to Indiana. Odds are it will be a fun ride for the new Circuit Champion!