Royce Prude is still new to the game of poker. The 53-year-old accountant from Dallas just started playing a little over three years ago. He cut his teeth on some of his local home games and has been consistently learning. This week Prude decided to make the short trip north to Durant, Oklahoma and take a shot in the $345 No-Limit Hold ‘em World Series of Poker Circuit event at the Choctaw Resort and Casino.
Of the 465 players who kicked off the event, a total of 33 moved on to Day Two. Prude started the second day of play with an above average stack of 184,000. However, by the time they reached the final table, he had 1,280,000 in chips, over 25% of the total chips in play.
The final table chip counts by seat assignments were as follows:
1. Chris Ball 550,000
2. Seneca Easley 375,000
3. Pete Stovall 235,000
4. Rex Worrell 587,000
5. Chad David 233,000
6. Dave Holder 520,000
7. Drew Kutler 302,000
8. Royce Prude 1,280,000
9. Lance Federier 204,000
10. Howie Shen 432,000
10th Place - $2,133
Prude wasted little time putting his chips to good use. On a board of , Sececa Easley moved all in and was called by Prude. Easley turned up for an open ended straight draw and Prude showed for a pair. The turn was the and the river came the . Easley was unable to complete his straight and the Fort Worth native was eliminated in tenth place.
9th Place - $2,645
Prude was at it again when Pete Stovall moved all in with before the flop. Holding , Prude made the call. The flop came out and Stovall retained his lead. However, the on the turn gave Prude a pair of jacks and the on the river did not help Stovall. Prude took the pot and sent Stovall home in ninth place.
8th Place - $3,324
A short stacked Chad Davis moved all in with and was called by Dave Holder, holding . The board ran out 4c] and Holder’s hand held up to take the pot. Davis, a profession poker player from Greenville, Texas, was eliminated in eighth place.
7th Place –$ 4,236
In an effort to steal the blinds and antes, Drew Kutler moved all with . However, Lance Federier woke up with pocket kings. The flop came out , giving Federier a set but also giving Kutler a flush draw. His hopes of drawing out on Federier were quickly dashed when the fell on the turn, giving Federier a full house and the pot. Kutler, another professional player from San Antonio, was sent to the rail in seventh place.
6th Place - $5,475
Howie Shen was born in Taipei, Taiwan but now calls Dunbar, West Virginia home. The chemical engineer was on the short stack when Royce Prude raised from the button. Shen, in the big blind, moved all in with and was called by Prude, who held . The board came and Prude’s pocket pair held up to eliminated Shen in sixth place.
5th Place - $7,177
Dave Holder had the unfortunate position of sitting directly to Prude’s right. When it was folded around to him in the small blind, he moved all in with . Prude woke up with in the big blind and made the call. Holder, a meteorology student who has traveled all 50 states and Europe chasing storms, was unable to chase down Prude’s pocket pair. The board ran out and Holder was sent home in fifth place.
4th Place - $9,544
On a board of , Rex Worrell bet out and Lance Federier moved all in. Worrell made the call and his was well ahead of Federier’s . The turn was the and the river came the . Federier was unable to catch up to Worrell’s flopped flush and was eliminated from the tournament in fourth place.
3rd Place - $12,874
With Prude still holding the majority of the chips, Chris Ball found himself very short and moved all in with . Once again, Prude woke up with a pocket pair, this time . The board came and Prude’s pair held up once again. Ball, a Dallas area poker pro, was sent to the rail in third place for $12,874.
2nd Place - $17,623
When play got heads up between Prude and Worrell, Prude held a massive chip lead. They briefly passed chips back and forth until they saw a flop of . Worrell moved all in and Prude thought briefly before making the call. Worrell was ahead holding top pair with the . Prude turned up for a gut shot straight draw. Any drama was quickly removed from the hand as Prude drilled the on the turn to make his straight. A meaningless fell on the river and Worrell was sent home to Dublin, Texas with a second place finish and $17,874.
1st Place - $28,506
Prude took his commanding chip lead going into the final table and controlled the action all the way to his first tournament victory and a WSOP Circuit Ring. What is unclear is if any of his home game friends are going to get a shot at any of the $28,506 he took home for his victory.
See the complete Choctaw Circuit schedule and previous results here. The WSOP Circuit at Choctaw runs through January 24th. You can find the complete 2010/2011 WSOP CIRCUIT SCHEDULE here.