This is the central page for information about the ongoing WSOP Circuit series at Harrah's Atlantic City. Check back here daily for updated schedule and results.
RYAN ERIQUEZZO WINS MAIN EVENT TO CLAIM 4TH CIRCUIT RING; MICHAEL MARDER EARNS THE TITLE OF CASINO CHAMPION
Casino Champion decided on the final day
March 18, 2019 (Atlantic City, NJ) - The World Series of Poker Circuit stop at Harrah’s Atlantic City for the 2018/2019 season has reached a conclusion on Monday evening with the completion of Event #13. The 13 official WSOP ring events combined drew a total of 2,501 entrants creating a total prize pool of 1,209,635.
The first champion of this stop was 2015 WSOP Main Event Champion, Joe McKeehen. With his victory in Event #1, $400 No-Limit Hold’em Double Stack, McKeehen took home his third Circuit ring after outlasting 172 competitors. At only 27-years old, McKeehen now already has two bracelets and three Circuit rings, along with over $10.8 million in WSOP earnings.
The next three Circuit rings were claimed by first-time winners. Tom Gottlieb, winner of Event #2, Nikolaos Platis, winner of Event #3, and Peter Bae, winner of Event #4, have all captured their first ever tournament victory at this stop.
Additional players to join the Champion club for the first time are Nenad Cvetkovic and Michael Cimino.
Nenad Cvetkovic earned his first Circuit ring at his “lucky” casino after winning Event #6, $400 No-Limit Hold’em 6 Max. Prior to his win, the Serbian poker professional who mostly play cash games, only had two WSOP cashes on his resume. However, both were deep runs in the Main Event of previous Circuit stops at Harrah’s Atlantic City. He had a second-place finish in the Main Event of the Harrah’s Atlantic City Circuit stop in 2016, and a fifth-place finish in 2017. This year, he finally managed to close out a tournament at this casino.
Michael Cimino, a 51-year old poker dealer, also claimed his first Circuit ring after defeating 120 runners in Event #9, $400 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 Or Better. The poker dealer got third in this same event last season, but this season, he managed to close it out and collected $11,888. It wasn’t his only five-figure score of the series. Indeed Cimino was the runner up of Event #2, $400 No-Limit Hold’em Multi-flight event just a few days prior to his victory.
Dennis Summers and Soheb Porbandarwala were two other players to add another Circuit ring to their trophy case.
Summers won his Second Circuit ring on his 45th birthday after outlasting 164 runners in Event #5: $400 No-Limit Hold’em Big Blind Ante.
Soheb Porbandarwala attended this Circuit stop to defend his Main Event title at Harrah’s Atlantic City. He came really close to doing so but couldn’t get there, and was eliminated in 11th place from the Main Event. However, he managed to collect another ring by taking down the last event of the series, Event #13, $400 No-Limit Hold’em.
The $1,700 Main Event highlighted the last weekend of this stop. The two starting flights combined attracted a total of 357 entries, creating a prize pool of $540,855.
Hamid Izadi was leading going into Day 2 of the Main Event. However, he wasn’t able to make it another day and was eliminated in 20th place. The final table was reached by the end of the second day.
Bracelet winner Ryan Eriquezzo was the only player left with victories on his WSOP resume. Indeed, his experience was apparent on the final day, as through his perfect play and reading skills, he managed to claim the winner title and take home his fourth Circuit ring along with the top prize $124,397. Eriquezzo now has one bracelet and four Circuit rings in his collection.
With his Main Event victory, Eriquezzo also claimed an automatic seat into the Global Casino Championship. As for the second seat, Michael Cimino remained on top till the last day with his win in Event #9, and runner-up finish in Event #2. He had 87.5 ponts. However, Cimino didn’t take a shot at more events to accumulate additional points, and there was a heated battle between Dax Funderburk, Robert Cheung, and Michael Marder, all trying to catch him.
On the final day of the series, Michael Marder was the one to take over the top spot with his win in Event $12. Out of 13 events, Marder cashed in six events, and reached the final table of four, earning the winner title in his last one. With 132.5 points, he was rewarded with the title of Casino Champion.
Additionally, all players who cashed in ring events earned points that apply towards the season-long race to claim one of the limited at-large bids. More information on the points system is available on WSOP.com
Completed Events
Event #1: $400 No-Limit Hold'em Double Stack - Joe McKeehen defeats 172 entries to win his third Circuit ring.
Official Report | Winner Photo | Results
Event #2: $400 No-Limit Hold'em (Multi-flight event) - Tom Gottlieb outlasted 483 players to capture his first ever tournament victory, along with a Circuit ring and $24,269.
Official Report | Winner Photo | Results
Event #3: $400 No-Limit Hold'em Monster Stack - Nikolaos Platis earns his first Circuit ring, and $22,732, the second biggest WSOP cash of his career.
Official Report | Winner Photo | Results
Event #4: $250 No-Limit Hold'em - Peter Bae tops a field of 263 entries and earns his first Circuit ring is his first WSOP cash.
Official Report | Winner Photo | Results
Event #5: $400 No-Limit Hold'em Big Blind Ante - Dennis Summers captures his second Circuit ring on his 45th birthday.
Official Report | Winner Photo | Results
Event#6: $400 No-Limit Hold'em 6 Max - Nenad Cvetkovic wins his first Circuit ring and collects $12,884.
Official Report | Winner Photo | Results
Event#7: $400 No-Limit Hold'em $100 Bounty - Kevin Boesel topped a field of 91 entrants to claim his first Circuit ring and $6,218.
Official Report | Winner Photo | Results
Event #8: $250 No-Limit Hold'em Turbo - Ray Medlin outlasts a field of 144 entrants to take home his first Circuit ring.
Official Report | Winner Photo | Results
Event #9: $400 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better - Michael Cimino claims his first Circuit ring after defeating 120 runners.
Official Report | Winner Photo | Results
Event #10: $1,700 No-Limit Hold'em - Ryan Eriquezzo captures his fourth ring by winning the Main Event after defeating 357 players.
Official Report | Winner Photo | Results
Event #11: $600 No-Limit Hold'em - Ryan Herold wins Event #11 to claim his first Circuit ring after outlasting 81 entrants.
Official Report | Winner Photo | Results
Event #12: $400 No-Limit Hold'em - Michael Marder takes down Event #12 after outlasting 105 players.
Official Report | Winner Photo | Results
Event #13: $400 No-Limit Hold'em - Soheb Porbandarwala earns his third Circuit ring in the last event of the series.
Official Report | Winner Photo | Results
Casino Champion Update
Michael Marder has won this series' Casino Championship with 132.5 points.
About the Winners
Event #1 - Joe McKeehen
2015 WSOP Main Event Champion, Joe McKeehen, has added more gold to his collection on Friday afternoon, after taking down Event #1, $400 No-Limit Hold’em Double Stack, at the World Series of Poker Circuit stop at Harrah’s Atlantic City.
“It feels great,” he said after his win.
Event #2 - Tom Gottlieb
Tom Gottlieb took down his first tournament this evening while competing at the Harrah’s Atlantic City Circuit series. The 33-year-old poker professional moved from Israel five years ago to play poker full time.
''I’m mostly a cash game player, but with cash games getting a little tougher over the years, I want to expand and try other stuff.’’
Event #3 - Nikolaos Platis
Nikolaos Platis has just earned his first WSOP Circuit ring, along with the second biggest WSOP score of his poker resume, and his first live tournament win. He outlasted 287 competitors to claim the top prize of $22,732.
‘’I think I had 1,8 million and he had 6 million or something like that. I just kept taking down a lot of small pots. I took my time.’’
Event #4 - Peter Bae
Peter Bae just won his first Circuit ring by winning Event #4, $250 No-Limit Hold’em Re-entry, at the Harrah’s Atlantic City.
His win marks his first WSOP cash. The 32-year-old student, passionate about poker, topped a field of 263 entries and collected $12,886 for his victory.
‘’It feels fantastic. I did it for my mother. She’s the best. And also for my brother Justin. I’m giving my mother the money.’’
Event #5: Dennis Summers
Dennis Summers took down the 5th ring event of the World Series of Poker Circuit stop at Harrah’s Atlantic City on his 45th birthday after outlasting 164 entrants.
‘’I felt good coming into the final table. I was second in chips and everything went well. A lot of people got hands when I didn’t have them so I just stayed out of the way and waited for my time. Everybody knew what they were doing.’’
Event #6: Nenad Cvetkovic
Nenad Cvetkovic just claimed his first Circuit ring after taking down Event #6, $400 No-Limit Hold’em 6 Max. He battled through a field of 137 runners to reach the first-place prize of $12,884.
Cvetkovic has two WSOP cashes on his resume, and both are deep runs in the Main Event of previous Circuit stops at Harrah’s Atlantic City. He got 2nd in the Main Event in 2016, and 5th in 2017.
‘’I’m excited. I didn’t know what to expect at this final table. This is not my first final table. I final tabled the Main Event twice here. And today, I finally won a tournament here. This is my lucky casino. I always run good when I play here.’’
Event #7: Kevin Boesel
Kevin Boesel has earned his first Circuit ring in Event #7: $400 No-Limit Hold’em $100 Bounty, after topping a field of 91 entries.
“I was one of the lower stacks but nobody had a real overwhelming lead, so I was right in there. I just made a couple of hands early and was able to work my way back up to the top.”
Event #8: Ray Medlin
Ray Medlin has just won his very first WSOP Circuit ring by taking down Event #8: $250 No-Limit Hold’em Turbo after outlasting 144 entrants.
When talking about his victory, Medlin stayed humble.
“I’m surprised. I don’t consider myself a pro. I got extremely lucky to get this.”
Event #9: Michael Cimino
Michael Cimino is the champion of Event #9, $400 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better, at Harrah’s Atlantic City after defeating a field of 120 runners.
Cimino finished third in this same event last season, and today, he managed to close it out.
“I feel great. My wife told me this morning if I get the pig in the cage that I was going to win the tournament and I got the pig in the cage,” Cimino said after his victory.
Event #10: Ryan Eriquezzo
The latest winner in the World Series of Poker Circuit is Ryan Eriquezzo(pictured), who has taken down the Harrah's Atlantic City Main Event for $124,397! This first place finish adds ring number four to Eriquezzo's resume, and also brings his life time WSOP career earnings to just under a million. He will also be automatically given a 2019 Global Casino Championship to go along with his six figure cash.
There was a total of 357 entry slips sold for the $1,700 main event, with just nine of those slips making it to the final day. Eriquezzo sat down on Day 3 in the middle of the pack, hovering around that position until the table dropped down to the final six, where his short-handed game started to shine. The Danbury, Connecticut native shifted into aggressive mode and the run-good followed as he built up a lead that could not be overtaken.
Event #11: Ryan Herold
Ryan Herold earned his first Circuit ring after taking down Event #11: $600 No-Limit Hold’em. He outlasted 81 runners to claim the first-place prize of $15,998 along with the title.
Although Herold doesn’t play poker for a living, he has been constantly working on his game, and today his efforts paid off.
“It feels amazing. I’ve been working pretty hard the past couple of years. I still have a full-time job. But I’m constantly working on my game. I play online all the time. I finally got it done. It feels good.”
Event #12: Michael Marder
Michael Marder crushed the WSOP Circuit stop at Harrah’s Atlantic City. Out of 13 events, he cashed in six of them, and reached the final table of four. Today, he managed to finally close one out by winning Event #12, $400 No-Limit Hold’em.
“I was running really well this series. I was playing well too. This is my 4th final table. The other finishes were kind of frustrating at the end. I mean, bitter sweet always. Today I actually came in with chips, so I was really hoping to close it out, and everything went my way. It feels pretty good,”
Event #13: Soheb Porbandarwala
Soheb Porbandarwala added a third ring to his trophy case in the last event of the series after defeating 97 players in Event #13.
“I feel good. This one was pretty important just because I needed it for the points for the National Championship, and I’ve had plenty of chances to get points this series. I blew shot after shot, including in the Main, so, it was pretty important to get this one.”