Amateurs continued to dominate the stage here at Harrah’s Chester as Steven Reese, a recreational player from Sewell, NJ, stole away with the title in WSOP Circuit Event #8. Not only was it the married father of two’s first-ever major tournament victory, the win marked his first major tournament cash.
Looking back to January of 2010, it’s not hard to see why so many in-the-money finishers are first-time cashers here at Chester. It was then that the state houses of representatives of Pennsylvania and nearby Delaware voted to allow table games in their states. Before then, players in PA and DE were restricted to home games, playing online or traveling to Atlantic City.
16 months later, recreational players, previously deterred by time or travel restrictions, are licking their chops at the chance to take home their share of hundreds of thousands of dollars in prize money here at the inaugural World Series of Poker Circuits at Harrah’s Chester.
Reese is among this crew of weekend warriors, who unlike their full-time gambling counterparts, spend their days behind a computer or out on the field, “working for the man.”
Tournaments like the World Series of Poker Circuit Events provide a golden opportunity for these men and women to experience the thrill and excitement of big time poker action and to take a shot at the money and glory.
The eighth of ten ring events scheduled for the Circuit Series at Harrah’s Chester, located 23 miles southwest of Philadelphia, PA drew 194 runners, generating a total prize pool of $91,520
18 players returned at 2:00 PM on day two, and after two hours of play, the official final table was set. Many of the final nine were deep stacked going into final stretch, with poker pro Daniel Wellborn sitting atop of the chip leader board.
| Name | Hometown | Seat | Chip Count |
| Everett Carlton | St. Paul, MN | 1 | 80,000 |
| Leo Whitt | Louisville, KY | 2 | 270,000 |
| Steven Reese | Sewell, NJ | 3 | 366,000 |
| Sam Renauro | Bridgeport, NJ | 4 | 192,000 |
| Daniel Wellborn | Fairfax, VA | 5 | 466,000 |
| Jim White | Ormond Beach, FL | 6 | 440,000 |
| Robert Scott | New York, NY | 7 | 181,000 |
| Trevor Deeter | Philadelphia, PA | 8 | 226,000 |
| David Rittmeyer | Baltimore, MD | 9 | 107,000 |
Ninth Place
The eighth final table of the Circuit Series here at Harrah’s Chester got underway just after 4:00 pm with blinds at 4,000/8,000. Early action saw Robert Scott move his sizable stack all-in with pocket fives after a 6-8-T-J-J board. With K-J in the hole, Daniel Wellborn made the easy call, sending Scott to the rail in ninth. Scott owns and operates a hair product company in his hometown of New York City. A self-described entrepreneur since birth, Scott started playing more poker after losing his granite and marble company. He earned $2,142 for his two-day effort in event #8.
Eighth Place
Leo white opened for 20k under the gun and short stack Everett Carlton came along from the big. After a flop of , Whitt moved all-in and Carlton called with his remaining chips. Carlton saw that he was behind with A-8 vs. Whitt’s A-Q, where he stayed after a 5 and queen hit the turn and river. Carlton is a 56-year-old poker pro from St. Paul, MN. He has eight WSOP cashes and a final table to his credit. He is also a Circuit Event title holder with numerous WSOPC cashes. His eighth place finish here today earned him $2,684.
Seventh Place
Play slowed considerably after Carlton’s elimination with marginal pots exchanging hands between the final seven players. Shortly after blinds had moved up to the 6,000/12,000 level, Sam Renauro re-raised all-in for his tournament life with and was called by Jim White with . Renauro stayed behind after the 3-T-6-4-Q board, and his tournament run was over. Renauro is a 38-year-old civil engineer from Bridgeport, NJ. He took home $3,418 for seventh.
Sixth Place
Event #8 marked Trevor Deeter’s third final table appearance. The 27-year-old poker pro from Philadelphia, PA scored eighth place finishes in events #1 and #3 here at the Circuit Series at Harrah’s Chester. Deeter was determined to go all the way in this event, but fell short after running pocket sixes all-in from the big blind into Steven Reese’s pocket queens.
The queens held after a jack-high board, sending Deeter to the payout table to collect $4,425.
Fifth Place
Leo Whitt was the fifth place finisher. Down to his final chips, he moved all in with pocket deuces and was called by Jim White, who had . White spiked a king on the flop to take the lead and with blanks on the turn and river, Whitt was out. Whitt is a 53-year-old CPA from Louisville, KY. The accountant earned $5,823 for fifth.
Fourth Place
Reese was able to double up through Wellborn in a critical hand, putting a huge dent in the chip leader’s stack. Wellborn regained some traction later in the round however, after Jim White moved all-in on him with AJ vs. his own A-Q. A-Q stayed ahead through the river on the queen-high board giving Wellborn the pot and eliminating White. White is a 63-year-old business owner from Ormond Beach, FL. He has a number of previous major tournament cashes including a victory at the World Poker Challenge in Reno and a fourth place finish in the TJ Cloutier Poker Challenge. He was paid $7,795 for fourth.
Third Place
Three-handed, Reese had the upper hand on his remaining opponents. Reese built on his lead through the next two levels. The final three returned from the dinner break to blinds of 12,000/24,000 and after a few orbits, Wellborn was all-in with vs. Reese, who tabled pocket kings. It was a bit of a sweat after the flop came down , but kings held after a turn and flop, ending Wellborn’s ring bid. Third place was worth $10,614.
Second Place
Heads up play began at 8:45 pm with blinds at 12,000/24,000. Reese had about a 4-1 chip lead over his final opponent, David Rittmeyer, who after starting the final table near the bottom of the leader board, quietly and steadily moved up the ladder throughout the day.
Reese was able to maintain the upper hand and after getting Rittmeyer all-in for his last few chips, was able to take the final pot of the night outright with 8-9 after hitting a nine on the flop. Rittmeyer is a 41-year-old compliance manager from Baltimore, MD. He earned $14,699 for his runner up finish.
Reese is a 45-year-old married father of two from Sewell, NJ. His win in event #8 here at Harrah’s Chester marked his first-ever major tournament cash. For the win, Reese was awarded first place prize money, worth $23,795 and his first WSOPC gold ring.
With two events left here at Chester, Christopher Wolfe leads the pack in the all-around Casino Champion points race with Matthew Lope trailing just behind him. With three final tables under his belt, Trevor Deeter is third in points while Steven Reese sits in fourth place along with six previous event winners at fifty each.
Still to come are two ring events. See the complete Harrah’s Chester schedule and previous results here. The WSOP Circuit at Harrah’s Chester runs through May 10th. You can find the complete 2010/2011 WSOP CIRCUIT SCHEDULE here.