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2008 Harrah's Rincon WSOP Circuit Tournament

Event #1 -- No Limit Hold'Em
The kick off tournament in beautiful San Diego, California had 558 players pay $300 to get in. After a 2 day period the top 54 finishers split a prize pool of $162,378.

1. Frank Lin -- $47,093
2. Christina Krems -- $24,844
3. Stephen McQueen -- $12,990
4. Tim Kane -- $11,366
5. Mark Gravson -- $9,743
6. Daryl Mann -- $8,119
7. Tony Lee -- $6,495
8. Tom Tu -- $4,871
9. Leonard Finkel -- $3,248

Event #2 -- No Limit Hold'Em
With a buy in of $300 per player, a cash pool of $77,697 built up for the 267 players that entered. Money went to the top 27 left standing. Here is how the final table ended up:

1. Rod Dingler -- $24,863
2. David Kim -- $13,675
3. Yumi Tsubouchi -- $6,993
4. Louis Wallace -- $5,439
5. Rick Harrison -- $4,662
6. Michael Diaz -- $3,885
7. Richard Talerico -- $3,108
8. Gary Mulholland -- $2,331
9. Rod Perelman -- $1,554

Event #3 -- No Limit Hold'Em
There were 208 players who paid $300 each to play in the third tournament at Harrah's Rincon. The $60,528 prize pool was split up between the last 27 entrants. Here is how the final table fared:

1. Richard Morgan -- $19,372
2. Dale Ervin -- $10,653
3. Michael Parshall -- $5,448
4. Karen Black -- $4,237
5. Edwin Movagharian -- $3,632
6. Mike Siegel -- $3,026
7. Christopher Becker -- $2,421
8. Christopher Scholder -- $1,816
9. Mike Abbott -- $1,211

Event #4 -- Omaha High Low Split
The buy-in for this event was $300 for the 150 players who participated. Payouts went to the top 18 who split a prize pool of $29,100.

1. Jim Calcagno -- $9,429
2. Paul Sherman -- $4,947
3. Ron Elmore -- $2,910
4. James Waldruff -- $2,328
5. Roy Poulter -- $1,746
6. Michael Bollar -- $1,455
7. Tony Galanti -- $1,164
8. Oliver Altman -- $873
9. Diana Forman -- $582

Event #5 -- Limit Hold'Em
This two day event had the final 18 players split a $35,502 cash pool between them. In total, there were 122 players paying $300 for the right to play in this tournament.

1. Thomas Walker -- $11,504
2. Norm Ketchum -- $6,035
3. Joe Holmes -- $3,550
4. Bob Coates -- $2,840
5. Christian Avendanobarrera -- $2,130
6. Michael Diaz -- $1,775
7. Sergio Santos -- $1,420
8. Jesse Dean -- $1,065
9. Glen Chileski -- $710

Event #6 -- No Limit Hold'Em
The buy in for this event was $400 for the 183 players who entered. Prize pool of $71,004 went to be shared by the last 19 finishers of the tournament.

1. Mario Valenzuela -- $23,007
2. Jamie Robbins -- $12,071
3. Mario Hendriksen -- $7,100
4. Don Grove -- 5,680
5. Francisco Vazquez -- $4,260
6. Brent Carter -- $3,550
7. Caesar Mazzeo -- $2,840
8. Michael Souza -- $2,130
9. Dennis Cates -- $1,420

Event #7 - No Limit Hold'Em
There were 158 players who each ponied up the $500 buy in for this tournament. At the end of the 2 day tournament, the top 18 split the $76,630 prize pool.

1. Karec Terrell -- $24,826
2. Mark Grayson -- $13,027
3. Julie Adams -- $7,663
4. Matt Sterling -- $6,130
5. Michael Zucchet -- $4,598
6. Tristam Coffin -- $3,832
7. Richard Klein -- $3,065
8. Richard Morgan -- $2,299
9. Jon Towers -- $1,533

Event #8 -- No Limit Hold'Em
There were a total of 172 entrants paying a $700 buyin for this tournament. The top 18 finishers split the prize pool which reached $116,788. Here are the final table results:

1. David Peters -- $37,839
2. Richard Yelland -- $19,854
3. Yong Harrison -- $11,679
4. David Rayor -- $9,343
5. Denise Molloy -- $7,007
6. Joshua Van Duyn -- $5,839
7. John Fuller -- $4,672
8. Jim Harper -- $3,504
9. Mark Bonsack -- $2,336

Event #9 -- No Limit Hold'Em
This two day event right before the Main Event had 86 players in it. Each paid $1,000 entry fee to the tournament. The $83,420 prize pool went to those who were fortunate enough to make the final table. Here are the results:

1. Matt Sterling -- $30,031
2. Tony Lee -- $16,684
3. Mark Flather -- $9,176
4. William Myers -- $6,674
5. James Mutchler -- $5,839
6. George Reimann -- $5,005
7. Nelson Chew -- $4,171
8. Terry Myers -- $3,337
9. Marc Mestrovich -- $2,503

Event #10 -- Ladies No Limit Hold'Em
This poker tournament was a 1 day event for the 91 women who sat down to play. A $200 buy in allowed the top 9 who made the final table to take cash from a $17,654 prize pool.

1. GiGi Dong -- $6,355
2. Nancy Bane -- $3,531
3. Kathleen Burnard -- $1,942
4. Joy Adams -- $1,412
5. Michelle Luna -- $1,236
6. Donna Blanchard -- $1,059
7. Karen Adams -- $883
8. Pollyana Ramos -- $706
9. Anissa Wilson -- $530

Main Event -- Day 1 BuyIn $5,000
Here is a portion of what the WSOP stated in regards to the Main Event that began Tuesday as provided by Nolan Dalla:

This year's championship attracted 148 entries creating a total prize pool of $706,800. Several notable poker pros and celebrities entered the prestigious event including former WSOP gold bracelet winners Lee Watkinson, Tom Schneider, Layne Flack, Brandon Cantu, Bill Edler, and Jeff Madsen. Celebrities included Dr. Jerry Buss and Frank Mariani, part-owners of the NBA's Los Angeles Lakers. Former WSOP Circuit event winners included Evan Schwartz, Matthew Glantz, and the defending Harrah's Rincon champion from 2007, Peter Feldman. Other poker notables who entered included Erick Lindgren, Gavin Smith, Nick DiLeo, Michael Banducci, Allen Kessler, Alex Jacob, Vanessa Ruosso, Travis Erdman, and Chad Brown. Day One of the main event was rounded out by the reigning world poker champion Jerry Yang, who made history by winning $8.5 million at last year's WSOP. Yang is from nearby Temecula, CA, which is about 25 miles away from Harrah's Rincon.

Despite Yang's high praise, he did not survive past the first day. In fact, 121 players were eliminated - leaving just 27 players still alive to compete for the championship. The tournament's top 18 finishers will collect prize money. The 2008 Harrah's Rincon champion will receive $229,002 plus an $11,000 bonus prize - good for a guaranteed seat in the 2008 WSOP championship event to be held later this year in Las Vegas. The winner also receives a commemorative gold and diamond ring, presented to each and every WSOP Circuit champion.

1. Bedoya, Kenny -- 438,400
2. Neff, Peter -- 251,000
3. Picket, Michael -- 215,200
4. Orvis, William Kyle -- 174,000
5. Hyman, Matthew -- 168,100
6. Peters, David -- 162,300
7. Eaton, Jan -- 147,400
8. Sabat, Edward -- 113,100
9. Callier, Doug -- 110,700

Main Event -- Day 2 BuyIn $5,000
At this point the players for the final table have been named. Here are the names and chip counts as provided by the WSOP:

1. Gavin Smith -- 197,500 chips
2. David Peters -- 442,000 chips
3. Damien "Damo" Oborne -- 124,000 chips
4. Jon Eaton -- 79,000 chips
5. Kenny Bedoya -- 701,500 chips
6. Mickey Pickett -- 121,000 chips
7. Edward Sabat -- 854,000 chips
8. Cristian Avendano -- 96,500 chips
9. Lee Watkinson -- 337,000 chips

Main Event -- Final Table
Summary of the final table action from information provided by Nolan Dalla of the WSOP:

Harrah's Rincon Casino and Resort (San Diego) - These days, twenty-something poker champions are a dime a dozen. Every month it seems, a young person wins a big tournament somewhere, only to quickly fizzle out and gradually disappear from the tournament poker scene. It brings to mind the old proverb that as tough as it is to climb to the top of one's profession, it's even tougher to stay there.

But Michael "Mickey" Pickett is quite possibly the exception. The 23-year old newly-turned poker pro from Little Canada, MN won the latest World Series of Poker Circuit championship, held recently at the Harrah's Rincon Casino and Resort. He won in extraordinary fashion, overcoming a sizable chip disadvantage at the start of the final table. He also overcame a highly-skilled and experienced field of competitors en route to his biggest tournament cash ever -- at least, so far.

For his first WSOP Circuit victory, Pickett pocketed $229,002 plus an $11,000 bonus prize - good for a guaranteed seat in the 2008 WSOP championship event to be held later this year in Las Vegas. He also received a commemorative gold and diamond ring, presented to each and every WSOP Circuit champion. Cheered on by the largest and most enthusiastic group of supporters in the audience which constituted his support network, it took Pickett about six hours to steamroll over the final table and claim victory.

When heads-up play commenced, Mickey Pickett enjoyed a slightly better than 2 to 1 chip advantage over David Peters. The two rivals battled for 90 minutes before a champion was ultimately determined. At one point during heads-up play, Peters turned the tables and reversed the chip lead. He won a key hand early when he spiked a queen on the river and made a pair. However, for Pickett the setback was merely temporary. He managed to win several key hands over the next hour which served as a chisel to Peters' melting stack. The final hand of the tournament was dealt when Peters had J-9 and was all-in as the five-card board showed A-9-3-7-J. The two pair seemed strong, but Pickett flipped over 10-8, good for a straight, as cheers echoed from the audience.

1. Mickey Pickett -- $229,002
2. David Peters -- $120,156
3. Edward Sabat -- $70,680
4. Kenny Bedoya -- $56,544
5. Cristian Avendano -- $42,408
6. Gavin Smith -- $35,340
7. Lee Watkinson -- $28,272
8. Damien "Damo" Oborne -- $21,204
9. Jon Eaton -- $14,136