ROCKY BOUSTANI SCOOPS PLO EIGHT EVENT AT HARRAH'S TUNICA

TUNICA, MS. – WSOP Circuit Event #9, $345 buy-in Pot Limit Omaha concluded late Thursday at Harrah’s Tunica with Rocky Boustani, a 44-year-old project consultant from Dallas, TX emerging the victor.

While Limit Omaha Eight or Better was introduced back in the 1980’s, Pot-Limit Omaha Eight or Better has only been around for about six years, when it was first offered on various online poker sites. PLO Eight was first offered at the annual World Series of Poker back in 2007.

Event #9 attracted 197 players and generated a total prize pool of $57,327.Day two saw 25 players return and after about four hours of player, it was down to the official final table of nine.

9^th Place

After being scooped in an earlier hand, Sylvain Guinepain moved his few remaining chips in with      and got a call from Rob Purnell who showed     . Guinepain stayed ahead after a 5-J-T flop, and 8 turn, but Purnell caught up after the   hit the river to make broadway and eliminate Guinepain in 9^th. Guinepain is a 41-year-old software engineer from Norman, OK by way of Orleans, France. Ninth place paid $1,341.

8^th Place

Jerry Ard was eliminated a few hands later after getting scooped after all-in call on the river. Doug Carli had both a wheel and six-high straight to take the pot and send Ard out in eighth. Eighth place paid $1,681.

6^th and 7^th Places

Short-stacked to start the final table, Andy Huang was able to double and triple up to a substantial amount of chips.

With newfound life, Huang got involved in a hand with Carli and Daryn Hines in which he got his two opponents to commit their stacks after a     flop. Carli had made a set of tens, but was trumped by Huang’s set of kings. Huang remained ahead through the river and with no low possibilities, scooped the pot and sent Hines and Carli out in 6^th and 7^th places, respectively.

Hines is a 27-year-old retail worker from Murphysboro, IL. He collected $2,141 for his finish. Carli, or “Rico” as he is popularly known in poker circles around the country, has played on the WSOP Circuit since season one back in 2005. The two-time WSOPC ring winner currently holds the record for most Circuit Event cashes which he extended with his 6^th place finish, worth $2,772.

4^th and 5^th Places

Rob Purnell and Bradley Peedles were the fourth and fifth place finishers in this event. Purnell, a 50-year-old construction worker from Shelbyville, KY, pocketed $3,648. Peedles collected $4,883.      

After the elimination of Michael Lutes in 3^rd place ($6,648) Heads up was down to Boustani and Huang. Boustani had about 300k lead over his final opponent, which he built on through the final hand. The final hand went down, when after a board of 2-K-9-7, Boustani got Huang to move all-in with A-T-6-K, vs. his own K-2-4-8. Boustani stayed ahead, filling up with a river deuce. With no low hand, Boustani raked in the final pot of the night and was declared the winner. For his runner-up finish, Huang took home $9,207.

Boustani is a project consultant from Dallas, TX. The married father of four has several previous WSOP-related cashes, including an in-the-money finish in the 2010 WSOP Main Event. For his performance in Event #9 at Harrah’s Tunica, he pocketed $14,908 and the WSOP Circuit gold ring.

Through nine events so far, Mathew Weber maintains a strong hold on the Harrah’s Casino Champion points lead. Weber made 1^st and 3^rd place finishes earlier in this year’s Circuit Event series at Harrah’s Tunica.

The Casino Champion is the player who earns the most points through the 12 events at Harrah’s Tunica. 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 3 events. See the complete Harrah’s Tunica Circuit schedule and previous results here. The WSOP Circuit Events at Harrah’s Tunica runs through February 13th. You can find the complete 2010/2011 WSOP CIRCUIT SCHEDULE here.

Media Contacts:

Patrick Collins

Harrah’s Tunica

662-357-6924

[email protected]

About Harrah’s Tunica

Harrah’s Tunica is located 20 minutes south of Memphis, Tennessee and was originally opened in 1996 as Grand Casino. On May, 23, 2008 Paula Deen cut the official grand opening ribbon at Harrah’s Tunica featuring the first of its kind Paula Deen Buffet and an interactive gaming floor that is the largest in the region. Spanning over 2,000 acres Harrah’s Tunica features the Links at Cottonwoods championship golf course designed by Hale Irwin, Willows Sporting Clays and Hunting Center, the Mid-South Convention Center offering over 65,000 square feet of indoor meeting space, three elegant hotels totaling 1356 hotel rooms, the 200-space Mid-South RV Resort, Bellissimo Spa and Salon, and a 2,400 seat event center that features headline entertainment

About Caesars Entertainment:

Caesars Entertainment Corporation is the world's largest casino entertainment company. Since its beginning in Reno, Nevada, more than 70 years ago, Caesars has grown through development of new resorts, expansions and acquisitions, and now operates casinos on four continents. The company's resorts operate primarily under the Harrah's®, Caesars® and Horseshoe® brand names. Caesars also owns the World Series of Poker® and the London Clubs International family of casinos. Caesars Entertainment is focused on building loyalty and value with its guests through a unique combination of great service, excellent products, unsurpassed distribution, operational excellence and technology leadership. Caesars is committed to environmental sustainability and energy conservation and recognizes the importance of being a responsible steward of the environment. For more information, please visit www.caesars.com.