CHESTER, PA - World Series of Poker Circuit Event action continued through the weekend at Harrah’s Philadelphia with the conclusion of Ring Event #2. The winner was Douglas McGlothlin II, a 30-year-old Marine from nearby Felton, DE. McGlothlin beat out 394 opponents in the three-day event to take home $25,279 first place prize money and the coveted WSOP Circuit Gold Ring.
The 395 entries in WSOP Circuit Ring Event #2 represent one of the largest tournament fields in Pennsylvania’s short poker history. In January, 2010 PA legislators legalized table games, paving the way for live poker in the state.
The same event held last year at Harrah’s Philadelphia, formally known as Harrah’s Chester, drew 244 entries. This year’s tournament represents a 62% increase. It should be noted that last year’s tournament was a Thursday-start event while this year’s event began on a Friday. However, this year’s attendance so far at the WSOP Circuit Events at Harrah’s Philadelphia through the same four starting days is up 19% over last year.
With the sizable field, play continued though its planned three-day structure, concluding at daybreak on Monday.
Two starting fields in the $345 buy-in, No-Limit Hold’em Re-entry event were held on Friday and Saturday. 50 players returned Sunday at 2pm. Incredibly, it took almost two more hours for the completion of the final table than it did to get down to the final ten finishers.
| Name | Hometown | Seat | Chip Count |
| Eli Gonzalez | Virginia Beach, VA | 1 | 408,000 |
| Mario Rodriguez | Wilkes-Barre, PA | 2 | 252,000 |
| Adam Cook | Glen Burnie, PA | 3 | 570,000 |
| Jonathan Sorscher | Lynbrook, NY | 4 | 595,000 |
| Christopher Lim | Bronx, NY | 5 | 373,000 |
| Ilya Soyfer | Lausdale, PA | 6 | 511,000 |
| John Alfera | Pittsburgh, PA | 7 | 341,000 |
| Douglas McGlothlin II | Felton, DE | 8 | 200,000 |
| Joseph Liberta | Berlin, NJ | 9 | 313,000 |
| Josh Stewart | West Chester, PA | 10 | 369,000 |
10th Place – Christopher Lim suffered the first elimination of the night, setting the stage for the official final table. The 38-year-old attorney from Bronx, NY has several WSOP-related cash finishes with his first at the 2007 World Series of Poker. 10th place paid $1,941.
9th Place – The ninth place finisher was Mario Rodriguez, a 30-year-old professional gambler from Wilkes-Barre, PA. Rodriguez has two non-major tournament wins under his belt and tonight added a first-ever WSOP Circuit Event cash finish to his poker resume. For ninth place, Rodriguez pocketed $2,397.
8th Place – Ilya Soyfer was the eighth place finisher in this event. Soyfer, who hails from Lansdale, PA by way of Ukraine, earned his second WSOP Circuit cash, worth $3,001.
7th Place – Back in March, Joseph Liberta took down Ring Event #12 at Caesars Atlantic City. The 23-year-old poker pro from Berlin, NJ had his sight set on claiming a second piece of WSOPC hardware but fell short of his goal, finishing in 7th here in event #2 at Harrah’s Philadelphia. For his two-day effort, he pocketed $3,810.
6th Place – Eli Gonzalez, a 34-year-old married father and career military man from Virginia Beach, VA was eliminated in sixth place. This event marked Gonzalez’s second time to cash in a WSOP Circuit Event after having made the money in Event #4 at Palm Beach Kennel Club. His largest major tournament cash finish to date earned him $4,906.
5th Place – Despite having made his first major tournament cash in 2010, Adam Cook was far and away the most accomplished player at the final table. He finished runner up in the 2011 Borgata Poker Open Main Event and earned his first WSOP Circuit Gold Ring in Event #4 at Palm Beach Kennel Club. The 28-year-old graduate of finance from the University of Maryland and former project manager was unable to replicate that performance, here tonight however at Harrah’s Philadelphia and finished in fifth place, worth $6,409.
4th Place – Joshua Stewart of nearby West Chester, PA was the fourth place finisher. This marked Stewart’s first major tournament cash. He collected $8,500.
3rd Place – The third place finisher was John Alfera of Pittsburgh, PA. He pocketed $11,448 for his finish.
Heads up, Jonathan Sorscher had 2.3 million in chips to McGlothlin’s 1.6 million in chips. Heads up play began just before 2:30 am local time and would last nearly three hours. McGlothlin was able to chip Sorscher down until he was against the ropes, but Sorscher got a much-needed double up, turning trip jacks against McGlothlin’s overpair. McGlothlin was eventually able to overcome his final opponent as day broke to claim the victory.
For his runner-up finish, Sorscher collected $15,666.
McGlothlin was awarded $25,346 for his win. He is a career recruiter for the US Marines and plays poker whenever he has the spare time. This was his fourth-ever live tournament and the third he’s cashed in.
“I feel great about it,” said the 30-year-old married father of one about his performance at Harrah’s Philadelphia. My wife goes to school and this will help us take care of some things around the house.”
McGlothlin says he plans to continue to play poker at the $300-$500 level around the Atlantic Coast, and if he does well, will take a look at elevating his game further.
With the win in Event #2, McGlothlin joins Kurt Magalski (Event #1) at the top of the Casino Champion points leader board.
The Casino Champion is the player who earns the most points through the 12 events at Harrah’s Philadelphia. This player will earn an automatic seat to the $1 million WSOP Circuit National Championship to be held in late May. More information about the WSOPC National Championship can be found here. An explanation of the points system can be found here.
Still to come are 10 events. See the complete Harrah’s Philadelphia Circuit schedule and event results here. The WSOP Circuit Events at Harrah’s Philadelphia runs through May 7th. You can find the complete 2011/2012 WSOP CIRCUIT SCHEDULE here.
MORE ABOUT THE WSOP CIRCUIT AT HARRAH’S PHILADELPHIA
Harrah’s Philadelphia is a casino and racetrack located in Philadelphia, PA -- about 15 minutes south of Philadelphia International Airport. It is the 16th (of 17) WSOP Circuit host properties. Harrah’s New Orleans is the last remaining stop of the 2011-2012 WSOPC season.
This marks the second season that the WSOP Circuit has visited Harrah’s Philadelphia.
Harrah’s Philadelphia first opened in 2007, offering slot games and horse racing. Table games were introduced to the casino in 2010 after they were legalized by the state of Pennsylvania.
Harrah’s Philadelphia originally opened as Harrah’s Chester, but is currently in the process of rebranding itself as Harrah’s Philadelphia, which is expected to be complete on May 1st.
Harrah’s Philadelphia’s “12 Rings in 12 Days” series is taking place April 25-May 7. Tournaments are held in the ballroom located on the second floor of the casino. Cash games can be found in the poker room next to the race book also located on the second floor.
Each Ring Event Final Table will be streamed live from the final table stage area in the ballroom. The live stream can be accessed at: http://www.lnmandiya.com/2011/circuit/live-video/. Because final table start times are tentative, viewers are advised to follow the WSOP on Twitter @wsop to be notified when live streams begin.
Media Contact:
Alan Fowler
WSOP/Caesars Interactive Entertainment
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