Stateline, NV (November 10, 2016) – Chad DeLanzo is the World Series of Poker’s most recent recipient of a Casino Champion title. He won the Casino Championship honor at last week’s Harveys Lake Tahoe series with a fourth place finish as well as an outright victory in the 12-event series.
Harveys Lake Tahoe saw DeLanzo at the top of the venue leaderboard for a large majority of the series duration. The lenghty hold in the top spot was necessary because DeLanzo banked his entire points total in two of the first three completed ring events. After his brief, but successful, time in Stateline, the Californian flew back to his hometown of San Diego on Monday, Oct. 31 and did not return. His 77.5 accumulated points were enough to carry him to the end with his Casino Champion spot still in place though. However, there were a handful of determined competitors hot on his heals that provided some extremely close contention during DeLanzo’s absence.
Event #2: $365 Pot-Limit Omaha began on the first day of the Harveys Lake Tahoe series and concluded the following day. This was DeLanzo's first deep run of the series, and when he earned his first points. He finished Event #2 in fourth place, earning $2,123 and 27.5 Casino Championship points. DeLanzo later said he prefers Pot-Limit Omaha, so this tournament was right up his alley.
The next morning after his top-five finish, DeLanzo hopped in Event #4: $365 No-Limit Hold’em Turbo. Scheduled as a one-day event, the fast-paced tournament crowned a champion that very night, and it was DeLanzo reaping the rewards. He took first place, earning his first career gold ring, $12,555, and 50 Casino Championship points. The victory brought his total points to 77.5, where he remained.
Greg Armand was one challenger to DeLanzo’s benchmark. Armand won the debut first gold ring handed out at Harveys by topping Event #1: $365 No-Limit Hold’em (30 minute levels). Following his triumph, worth 50 points, he went on to grab a fifth-place finish in the Six Max event, granting Armand and additional 25 points. This brought his points total to 75, a mere 2.5 points behind. However, Armand could not conjure up another in-the-money finish to overthrow DeLanzo. Richard Fitzgerald, another close contender, ended with the same two finishes and points total (75) as Armand. Fitzgerald took fifth place in Event #5 and later came in first place in Event #9.
A late and final scare for DeLanzo came from Kindah Sakkal in the very last tournament of the series. Sakkal, who finished one spot ahead of DeLanzo in Event #2 and placed 52nd in the Main Event, came into Event #12 with 35 points. This meant there was only one position she could finish in to overthrow DeLanzo, first place. After a hard-fought battle, she exited in sixth place. Sakkal earned 22.5 points for her efforts, not enough to take the lead, leaving DeLanzo as the undisputed, Casino Champion.
DeLanzo will now be playing in the 2017 Global Casino Championship. The Global Casino Championship features a minimum $1 million prizepool and will award the winner a gold bracelet. All Casino Champions and Main Event winners of the season earn a free seat into the tournament. There are also 50 free seats for the players who earn the most post points over the entire 2016/17 Circuit season. Anyone winning a gold ring this season, but not earning a free seat, can buy-in to the Global Casino Championship for $10,000. All $10,000 of the buy-in will be added to the prizepool.
More information and full point standings for the year-long race are available on WSOP.com.
DeLanzo’s Harveys Lake Tahoe cashes:
Event #2 - $365 Pot-Limit Omaha – 73 entries – 4th place for $2,123
Event #4 - $365 No-Limit Hold’em Turbo – 155 entries – 1st place for $12,555