Brandon Barnette Wins Casino Employees Event At 2015 World Series of Poker

The first tournament of the 2015 World Series of Poker is officially in the books. The $565 buy-in Casino Employees event, which has been running annually for most of the last 20 years, was won by 29-year-old poker supervisor Brandon Barnette.

The event attracted a total field size of 688 players, creating a prize pool of $344,000. Those numbers were down from 2014, when Roland Reparejo topped a field of 876 runners.

Barnette, who used to deal at the WSOP, now spends his days working at the Pechanga Casino in Temecula, California. For the win, the former world champion roller hockey team member banked $75,704 and his first WSOP gold bracelet.

Barnette found himself heads-up for the title late Thursday night with fellow poker dealer Greg Seiden. Although Barnette started heads-up play with a 3-1 chip lead, he soon found himself as the severe shortstack when his flopped flush went down to Seiden’s runner-runner full house.

“I felt the lead slipping away at one point, but I came this far and I wasn’t going to go away easy,” Barnette said. “I felt like I had the advantage when we were heads up, so my goal was just to keep the pressure on.”

After battling back from a stack of just a few big blinds, Barnette regained the lead and eventually took the title when his pocket eights held against pocket fours.

Here is a look at the final table results.

For more coverage from the summer series, visit the 2015 WSOP landing page complete with a full schedule, news, player interviews and event recaps.

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