Vancouver, BC, CA (November 28, 2012) — What began more than four weeks ago as the WSOP’s first event on Canadian soil concluded late Sunday night when Alex Bylicki won the final ring event of the 2012-13 Circuit at River Rock Casino on PlayNow.com.
The tournament, officially recognized as Event 12, boasted a $530 buy-in and marked the second of two online ring events on PlayNow.com. The guaranteed prizepool of $35,000 was shattered by the $88,000 pot ponied up by the tournament’s 176 entrants.
Bylicki, a resident of British Columbia, peaked at the right time, recording his only career WSOP cashes in Event 11 (15th) and 12 (1st) on PlayNow.com. The only other play to cash in both online events was Brennan Hanson who finished 15th and 27th respectively.
Bylicki was awarded $22,660 for first place, as well as a WSOP Circuit PlayNow.com avatar and a custom WSOP Circuit gold ring.
With the conclusion of Event 12, Sandra Wong is officially recognized as the River Rock Casino Champion.
Wong put on a masterful performance that included a 20th, 17th and two third place finishes. She held the lead in the Casino Champion’s race through nine events, but was temporarily bested by Adina Mazzucco after an eighth place finish in Event 10 brought Mazzucco’s point total to 67.5, two and a half better than Wong’s 65.
Like Bylicki, Wong performed in the clutch, cashing 17th in Event 11, awarding her five points toward the Casino Champion’s race and bypassing Mazzucco with 70 total points.
Neither Wong nor Mazzucco cashed in Event 12, and with that the race to New Orleans was decided.
Wong will join the Main Event champion, John Crncic, to compete for a WSOP gold bracelet in New Orleans May 2013 for the season-ending $1 Million WSOP National Championship.
More on Wong’s Casino Championship will be made available on WSOP.com shortly.
Event 12 was the second of two River Rock Casino ring events to take place on PlayNow.com. The first began November 18 and boasted a $320 buy-in. Raj Pooni was the champion of that event.
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.
Event 12 final table results:
1st: Alex Bylicki - $22,660
2nd: Joshua Trott - $15,840
3rd: Philippe Dube-Morais - $10,296
4th: Gilles Gauthier - $7,260
5th: Victor Mandru - $4,840
6th: Cezary Silwinski - $3,520
7th: Yannick Guevin - $2,640
8th: Jeremy Howe - $1,980
9th: Jason Manggunio - $1,760