JAMES MOORE WINS $1,000 BUY-IN SUPER SENIORS CHAMPIONSHIP
Physician-Radiologist collects $230,626 top prize in Event #31
Pennsylvania man wins first gold bracelet in only his second time to cash at WSOP
Another 1,000-plus player field jams the 2016 WSOP
Texan Charles Barker finishes as runner up
MEET THE LATEST WSOP GOLD BRACELET CHAMPION
Name: James Moore
Birthplace: Bardwell, KY (USA)
Age: 65
Current Residence: New Hope, PA (USA)
Marital Status: Married
Children: 1
Profession: Physician-Radiologist
Number of WSOP Cashes: 2
Number of WSOP Final Table Appearances: 1
Number of WSOP Gold Bracelet Victories (with this tournament): 1
Best Previous WSOP Finish: 149th (2013)
Total WSOP Earnings: $234,037
Personal Facts: Lives about 5 miles from Washington Crossing, one of the most notable historical sites of the American Revolution
Winner’s Quote:
“This is an unbelievable thrill for me. I had absolutely no expectations. It's every poker player’s dream – and mine just came true.”
James Moore is the newest member of poker’s gold bracelet club.
The medical physician and radiologist from New Hope, Pennsylvania won the $1,000 buy-in Super Seniors No-Limit Hold’em Championship, which was played over three days and nights and just concluded at the Rio in Las Vegas. Moore lives about five miles from Washington Crossing, which is where George Washington famously crossed the Delaware River during the American Revolution.
Mr. Moore fought a tough battle of his own and crossed a threshold of a different sort. He collected $230,626 in prize money, making this the biggest win of his career. This marked Mr. Moore’s second time to cash at the series, after finishing in 149th place in the Seniors No-Limit Hold’em Championship two years ago.
"This is an unbelievable thrill for me,” Mr. Moore said afterward, visibly and emotionally moved by his feat. “I had absolutely no expectations. It's every poker player’s dream – and mine just came true.”
This relatively new tournament attraction, now in its second year, came as an offshoot of the Seniors World Championship -- open to players 50 years and older. The caveat of the “Super Seniors” is that players must be 65 and up. The age bracket restrictions didn’t dissuade another large field from showing up as 1,476 silver seniors flooded into the 2016 World Series of Poker with great enthusiasm.
“I was feeling really good about this tournament and my chances entering Day Three,” Mr. Moore said when asked about his journey to victory. “I had lost a lot of my stack on Day Two. But today I felt good. Things seemed to work better for me. It wasn’t a cake walk. But things worked out.”
Mr. Moore won his well-deserved victory by coming out on top at a final table which included players with plenty of playing experience. The final nine also included one former gold bracelet winner who was aiming for what would have been his second WSOP win – Fred Berger, from New Orleans, who ended up finishing in sixth place.
The ultimate moment of triumph came after a see-saw heads-up battle. Mr. Moore temporarily lost the chip lead and was down by a 3 to 1 margin, before storming back into the chip lead in the last 20 minutes of action. With blinds high enough to put either player all in at just about any instant, he scooped the final pot of the tournament against Charles Barker who finished as the runner up. Mr. Barker, a 74-year-old business owner from Dallas, received $142,461 as his payout and a hearty handshake from the new champion.
This big turnout created a prize pool totaling $1,328,400. The top 222 finishers collected prize money.
“There’s no question this is a terrific experience for those who play in it,” Mr. Moore said about the special significance of an event open to elder players. “The men and women are just so kind. It’s not just a poker experience. It’s a social experience beyond compare.”
Aside from the winner, here’s a brief report of the other top finishers who made the final table:
Second Place: Charles Barker, from Richardson, TX finished as the runner up. He is a 75-year-old business owner, who happens to be from the same hometown as poker legend T.J. Cloutier. This was Barker’s ninth time to cash at the series. He pocketed $142,461.
Third Place: Steven Krupnick, from Miami Beach, FL is a sailor. He braved a few waves in this tournament and landed on the beach with a $102,052 payout.
Fourth Place: Charles Rinn, from Langruth, MB (Canada) cashed for the first time ever in a WSOP event with this fourth-place finish, which was worth $73,943.
Fifth Place: Eugene Spinner, from Crested Butte, CO can now brag he’s a perfect 2 of 2 in cashes in the Super Seniors. He took 114th place last year and followed that up with a fifth-place showing here, which paid $54,197.
Sixth Place: Fred Berger was the WSOP veteran of the bunch, having won both a WSOP gold bracelet and a WSOP Circuit gold ring in his past glory. The New Orleans businessman who goes back more than four decades in the game raked in $40,191 for this deep run, which pushes him close to $700,000 in career WSOP earnings.
Seventh Place: Arthur Loring, from Palm Beach, FL now has four cashes in WSOP events, including this first final table appearance. He also finished in-the-money in the 2004 WSOP. Loring was paid out $30,159.
Eighth Place: James Parrot, from Huntington Beach, CA ruffled his feathers and colored up for a $22,902 payout. This was his first time ever to cash at the WSOP.
Ninth Place: Vern Soeldner, from Eau Claire, WI cashed for the first time in a WSOP event. His debut showing paid $17,604.
This was the 31st official event on this year’s schedule. This leaves 38 gold bracelet events still to go at the 2016 World Series of Poker.
OTHER NOTABLE IN-THE MONEY FINISHERS:
Poker veteran Maureen Feduniak, from Las Vegas, cashed in her second event in two events plays so far. She finished 14th. Feduniak finished as the runner up in the Seniors Championship ten years ago.
Donnacha O’Dea, an Irish poker legend from Dublin, and one of the pioneers of the international poker scene, finished in 29th place.
T.J. Cloutier, a six-time WSOP gold bracelet winner and member of the Poker Hall of Fame, finished in 38th place.
David Sklansky, one of the most innovative poker minds in history, and a three-time gold bracelet winner, cashed in this event.
Debbie Hale, daughter of poker legend “Oklahoma Johnny” Hale, the patriarch of seniors’ poker events, cashed in this tournament.
FUN FACTS:
The ages of participants ranged from 65 to 93. The eldest player in the field was Onofrio Zicari.
The breakdown of player nationalities for this event was 1,390 Americans and 86 players from elsewhere. The top five nations represented was the United States, Canada, Australia, Great Britain, and France.
The breakdown of participants by gender was 93.2 percent males and 6.8 percent females. This was the highest percentage of females in any WSOP gold bracelet event, thus far.
EVENT DIRECT LINKS:
For this event’s official final results (listing all players who finished in-the-money), please visit:
http://www.lnmandiya.com/tournaments/results.asp?grid=1232&tid=14931
For James Moore’s official player profile page, please visit:
http://www.lnmandiya.com/players/playerprofile.asp?playerID=172140
For the live reporting logs for this event, please visit:
http://www.lnmandiya.com/tournaments/updates.asp?grid=1232&tid=14931
To access licensed images from this all other 2016 WSOP gold bracelet events, please visit:
www.pokerphotoarchive.com