WSOP Circuit at Caesars Atlantic City Continues with 887-Player Field
Atlantic City, NJ (March 5, 2012) – Few people outside of Sarah Dygert’s immediate circle of family and friends know of the remarkable talent of a blossoming young tournament poker player who just scored her third victory within the past year.
Well, the poker world better start paying attention.
Dygert, a 23-year-old software developer from Alfred, NY just won the most recent World Series of Poker Circuit event, held at Caesars Atlantic City.
She topped a huge tournament field totaling 887 players and took home $50,333 for her victory. She was also presented with her first WSOP Circuit gold ring.
What was most remarkable was how she managed to absolutely dominate the later stages of the tournament and run over the final table. Dygert was the chip leader throughout. She endured some tough challengers, but was able to maintain her focus and determination from start to finish. The well-deserved victory came just shy of 7 am on a Monday morning, following a grueling 16-hour second day.
Dygert became the second female WSOP Circuit gold ring winner within two week’s time. Coincidentally, another New Yorker (Loni Harwood) won Event #2 at the previous WSOP Circuit stop, held in West Palm Beach, FL.
Following her win, Dygert disclosed that she only plays poker part-time. She was a highly successful online semi-pro who (prior to the developments of “Black Friday”) made enough money to invest in a small business, which has since grown into a high-tech company. Her firm specializes in creating mobile phone applications, mostly related to games. She is also a graduate of the State University of New York.
By any measure, Dygert has a stunning track record in live tournaments. She has only played (by her estimate) about eight tournaments over the past year. Yet, she has now won (or chopped) three of them. Furthermore, her high finishes were all for big scores.
Dygert’s first live tournament win came on a cruise ship, which brought a $50,000 top prize. A short time later, she agreed to a three-way chop in the March Madness Championship, held at Turning Stone (New York). She officially took second place in that event, which paid nearly $30,000. She followed those two impressive finishes up with a win here, which gives her two wins and a second place, along with $130,000 worth of cashes in what amounts to a very limited number of tries. Not many poker players – perhaps no one – can claim such results. Alas, Dygert may very well stand alone in the category of top finishes to entries, at least at the moment.
In an age when many so-called “professional poker players” come and go, where wins happen and then champions soon disappear, one exception to the rule may have emerged on a cold winter’s night on the Atlantic City Boardwalk.
Indeed, it’s refreshing to see and witness a modest, educated, determined young champion succeed in tournament poker. It will be even more interesting to watch what Sarah Dygert does next.
The poker world waits.
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This was the second of 12 gold ring events on the WSOP Circuit schedule at Caesars Atlantic City. Officially listed as Event #2 -- the $345 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em tournament attracted 887 entries – right on par with a similar event three months ago at Harrah’s Atlantic City (which drew 888 entrants). The total prize pool came to $258,121. The top 90 players were paid. All players who cashed received WSOP Circuit National Championship ranking points.
A full list of all players who cashed in Event #2 can be seen here.
The tournament was played over three consecutive days, with two starting flights and a re-entry option for players. Only 124 survivors were still alive after the initial two days. They took seats on the final day of action, played on a Sunday. Everyone anticipated a very long concluding session.
Following nine hours of play on Day Three, the final table was set. The ten finalists and their starting chip counts were as follows:
SEAT 1: Russell Pittman (Roanoke, VA) – 1,345,000 in chips
SEAT 2: Michael Green (Baltimore, MD) – 790,000 in chips
SEAT 3: Yevgeniy “Jack” Sorkin (Rockville, MD) – 1,395,000 in chips
SEAT 4: Max Domnitz (New York, NY) – 350,000 in chips
SEAT 5: Sarah Dygert (Alfred, NY) – 2.320,000 in chips
SEAT 6: Caroline Weng (Forest Hills, NY) – 335,000 in chips
SEAT 7: Chris Hoback (Alexandria, VA) – 565,000 in chips
SEAT 8: Rex Clinkscales (Las Vegas, NV) – 570,000 in chips
SEAT 9: John Del Rossi, Jr. (Mantua, NJ) – 700,000 in chips
SEAT 10: Stephen Scales (Red Bank, NJ) – 495,000 in chips
The final table featured no former WSOP Circuit gold ring winners, thus guaranteeing a first-time champion. More remarkable was the fact that eight of the finalists were making their first-ever cash in a WSOP-related tournament (including the eventual winner).
The early chip leader was Sarah Dygert. In fact, she was up by nearly a 2 to 1 margin versus her closest rivals when the first hand of the finale was dealt.
The final table began at 8:30 pm local time. Play finished at 7 am making the total duration about 10.5 hours. The official order of finish was as follows:
10th Place – Max Domnitz was the first player to hit the rail, ending up in tenth place. He began play with the shortest stack and simply could not overcome the disadvantage. Domnitz is 30-years-old and resides in New York, NY. This was his first WSOP Circuit event.
9th Place – Yevgeniy Sorkin went out next, finishing ninth. He is a 23-year-old marketing professional from Rockville, MD. Sorkin is originally from St. Petersburg, Russia. This was his first WSOP in-the-money finish.
8th Place – Caroline Weng went bust about 40 minutes into the action, losing on a bad beat. She is 29-years-old and resides in Forest Hills, NY. This was also her first time to cash in a WSOP tournament.
7th Place – Chris Hoback finished in seventh place. He is an IT consultant from Alexandria, VA. This was Hoback’s second entry into a WSOP-related tournament and first time to cash.
6th Place – Stephen Scales was the sixth-place finisher. He is a 24-year-old professional poker player from Red Bank, NJ. Scales is coming off a nice victory last month at the Borgata Atlantic City. This marked his first time to cash in a WSOP event.
5th Place – Rex Clinkscales ended up in fifth place. He is a 29-year-old poker pro from Las Vegas, NV. Clinkscales is along the leaders in cashes this season. This marked his eighth time to cash on the WSOP Circuit. He picked up enough ranking points to move comfortably onto the at-large qualifier list and should have enough points to get a seat in the National Championship, at season’s end. This was his highest career finish in a WSOP-related event, to date.
4th Place – Michael Green was the fourth-place finisher. He is a 35-year-old investor from Baltimore, MD. His business is buying and selling real estate. This was only the second WSOP tournament Green has entered. It was also his first time to cash.
3rd Place – Russell Pittman came in third place. He is a 35-year-old juvenile justice professional from Roanoke, VA. His previous tournament results include two WSOP cashes. Pittman earned a well-deserved $22,910 in prize money.
Pittman’s final hand was one of the most interesting of the tournament.
Pittman: A-10
Dygert: A-8
Flop: 8-7-3
Turn: 3
River: 7
Pittman was caught on a semi-bluff with two overcards. He repeatedly fired on each round until the turn when he was re-raised all-in by Dygert (holding top pair). Pittman made a reluctant call and was left drawing to a ten on the river, but missed.
2nd Place – John Del Rossi, Jr. finished as the runner up. He is a part-time poker player from Mantua, NJ. This was his first WSOP cash. Del Rossi played great poker and came close to the chip lead when play was at tree-handed. He could have won his first major with a break or two. But Sarah Dygert proved too tough. Del Rossi, who was watched by his father over the live stream carried online, made senior proud, by showing a lot of class and earning a payout worth $31,103.
When heads-up play began, Dygert enjoyed slightly better than a 3 to 1 chip advantage over Del Rossi. The final hand came only about ten minutes into the duel and proceeded as follows:
Dygert: Ks 9d
Del Rossi: 6c 6s
Flop: Jd Ts 8c
Turn: 9c
River: Qs
Del Rossi was all in pre-flop. He was a slight favorite. But the turn killed his advantage as Dygert paired her nine. The river gave Dygert a king-high straight and the victory.
1st Place – Sarah Dygert became the second WSOP Circuit champion crowned this year at Caesars Atlantic City. She won $50,333 for the victory. The software developer was also presented with her first gold ring.
With her victory, Dygert moves into the top spot alongside Matt Lies (Event #1 winner) as the early leaders in this WSOP Circuit’s “Best All-Around Player” standings. The player who accumulates the most overall points in Caesar’s Atlantic City’s twelve combined gold ring tournaments receives a pre-paid entry into the $1 million 2011-2012 WSOP Circuit National Championship. At least two players from this tournament series will qualify for the WSOP Circuit National Championship, which is classified as a WSOP gold bracelet event. The other automatic qualifier will be the winner of Main Event championship (to be held March 10-12).
With two tournaments now wrapped up, there are still 10 more gold ring events remaining in what is being billed as a “12 rings in 12 days” poker series. The WSOP Circuit at Caesars Atlantic City continues through March 12th. This year’s schedule includes not only all the gold ring events, but multiple second-chance tournaments, single table and mega satellites, plus cash games going around the clock inside the action-packed poker room
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MORE ABOUT THE WSOP CIRCUIT AT CAESARS ATLANTIC CITY
The World Series of Poker Circuit is taking place at Caesars Atlantic City, one of the East Coast’s premier gaming and entertainment destinations.
Indeed, this marks the seventh consecutive season that Caesars Atlantic City has hosted a WSOP Circuit stop. The luxurious casino resort has been a flagship of poker action since the first WSOP tournament took place, back in 2006.
This year’s “12 Rings in 12 Days” series is taking place March 1-12. As has been the case for all previous major poker events, all action is held inside an expansive grand ballroom located on the second floor, adjacent to the main casino. In past years, the entire ballroom has been packed to capacity with players, as many of Caesars Atlantic City’s events have sold out. Attendance for Atlantic City’s WSOP tournaments has consistently remained high, despite the spread of poker and tournaments to other venues in nearby states and plenty of healthy competition throughout the Northeast.
This will be the 12th of 17 stops of the 2011-2012 World Series of Poker Circuit season. Just three months ago, Harrah's Atlantic City hosted the first of two New Jersey appearances by the WSOP Circuit and its players. Attendance surpassed what many observers were projecting, which leads one to believe a repeat of a successful tournament series is inevitable.
Aside from great poker tournament action and live games, there’s plenty to do on the Jersey Shore during March. The casino-resort is located adjacent to the world most famous Boardwalk on the Atlantic Ocean. While the WSOP is in town, Atlantic City is hosting its famous “Restaurant Week,” which is a seven-day celebration of great cuisine. Atlantic City Restaurant Week takes place March 3-10. Many restaurants within a short distance of Caesars Atlantic City are participating in the food and wine festival.
There's a lot at stake for poker players who will make their way to the Jersey Shore. Not only are a dozen gold rings up for grabs, lots of prize money will also be awarded to those who cash. All players who finish in the money will also earn ranking points, which are used to determine finalists for the season-ending WSOP Circuit National Championship.
Since the season began in September, all tournament players have been in the running for 100 guaranteed pre-paid seats in the $1 million WSOP Circuit National Championship finale – which will be a WSOP gold bracelet event to be played in Las Vegas, around the time of the World Series of Poker.
Stay tuned to WSOP.com for the latest reports and updates from Caesars Atlantic City. WSOP.com will carry a LIVE VIDEO STREAM of every final table, starting most afternoons.