Vancouver, BC (November 21, 2012) — The 2012-13 World Series of Poker Circuit at River Rock Casino proved to be a series of firsts. It marked the first time the WSOP hosted an event on Canadian soil, the first time a Circuit final table was streamed with hole cards and crowned first time champions in all 10 events.
Ring events at River Rock concluded two weeks ago, but Circuit action in Canada is just getting started. Yet another first time occurrence went into the history books Sunday afternoon when virtual cards went into the air at 2 p.m. PT for the WSOP’s first online tournament.
The event was the 11th of 12 ring events scheduled as part of the 2012-13 WSOP Circuit hosted by River Rock Casino and PlayNow.com. Events 1-10 took place October 27-November 7 just outside Vancouver, BC.
Event 11, a $320 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em tournament, drew 223 entrants yielding a $66,900 prizepool – more than doubling the $30,000 guarantee.
The tournament, ran by PlayNow.com in partnership with River Rock Casino and the WSOP, was won by Raj Pooni of Canada. He pocketed $16,725 and a PlayNow.com-branded Circuit ring. Pooni, who plays under the handle RP96, was also awarded a one-of-kind gold WSOP Circuit champion avatar.
Marking one of just two remaining ring events on the schedule, the stakes were high in Event 11 as players jockeyed for Circuit ranking points. Sandra Wong and Event 3 champion Adina Mazzucco headline a seesaw battle atop the Casino Champion’s leaderboard. Wong, who cashed three times including two final table appearances, lead through nine events, but was edged out by Mazzucco’s eighth place finish in Event 10 just two weeks ago.
Wong overtook Mazzucco once again in Event 11, placing 17th, earning five points and bringing her total to 70 points, just 2.5 points ahead of Mazzucco.
Mazzucco did not play in Event 11. One gold ring event remains to take place on PlayNow.com November 25.
Full River Rock Casino Champion standings are available on WSOP.com.
Event 11 final table results:
1st: Raj Pooni - $16,725
2nd: Kim Jennings - $11,373
3rd: Kyle Ho - $7,526
4th: Richard Trudell - $5,285
5th: Ian Maudsley - $3,546
6th: Dinara Khaziyeva - $2,576
7th: Jiachen Gong - $1,913
8th: Aaron Duczak - $1,438
9th: Julie Fournier - $1,311
PlayNow.com is a Vancouver-based, government-owned and regulated online
poker site. The company currently serves residents of British Columbia
and Quebec but has plans to expand their network to Manitoba as early as
next month. The site hopes to serve as much as 70 percent of Canada’s
population before 2014.
Satellites to Event 12 start as low as $2 and are running on PlayNow.com.