ANDREW BRINKLEY WINS CASINO CHAMPION AT TUNICA

Tunica, Miss. (5 February 2016) – Andrew Brinkley won the Casino Championship at the Horseshoe Tunica this week. Brinkley took over the top spot on the leaderboard about halfway through the Circuit series after Event #5: $365 No-Limit Hold’em. Brinkley finished in first-place in the event, earning $18,010 and the first WSOP Circuit ring of his career.

He had come close to a ring before, most recently just two nights earlier. He finished runner up in Event #3: $365 No-Limit Hold’em. Those two final-table performances gave him 87.5 points on the Casino Champion leaderboard, a lead which he never relinquished.

Before coming to Tunica this year, Brinkley also had a third-place finish and two fourths. He now has 8 WSOP Circuit cashes, and in five of them he finished in fourth place or better.

Oddly enough, Brinkley had only planned on playing half the series at Tunica. But after winning his ring, he extended his stay in an attempt to earn more points and pad his lead. The ring victory turned out to be his last cash in Tunica, but his substantial lead turned out to be enough to secure the title of Casino Champion.

A few other players had a chance to catch him, most notably James Ross, who end up with 65 points. Ross finished runner up in the six-max event, and then he made the final table of the Monster Stack tournament. If Ross won the Monster Stack, he and Brinkley would have been tied with 87.5 points. But the tiebreaker is money earned, and victory in the Monster Stack would have given Ross the edge. However, he fell just a little short, finishing in fourth place.

For winning Casino Champion honors, Brinkley receives a free entry (valued at $10,000) into the 2016 WSOP Global Casino Champion. This invitation-only tournament features a minimum prize pool of $1,000,000. At every stop on the 2015/2016 WSOP Circuit, the Casino Champion and Main Event winner each receive a free entry, as will the top 50 players on the season-long points leaderboard.

Here are Brinkley’s results from the Horseshoe Tunica:

  • Event #3: $365 No-Limit Hold'em -- 2nd Place -- $17,538 - 37.5 points
  • Event #5: $365 No-Limit Hold'em - 1st Place -- $18,010 - 50 points