WSOP Circuit Event in New Orleans Comes to an End

The World Series of Poker Circuit event at Harrah's New Orleans came to an end yesterday, and Andy Philachack of Garland, Texas, won the nearly $248,000 first-place prize, breaking his runner-up streak in major tournaments. Two-time WSOP bracelet winner Josh Arieh finished second for more than $130,000.

The 160 entrants generated a prize pool of $765,000. Going in to the final table, Arieh had a dominating chip lead, while Philachack was second-to-last in chips. Before this event, Philachack had a small chip on his shoulder from his prior major tournament results. According to Card Player's player database, Philachack now has three cashes, including this win. Included in his other two results was when he finished second in a $3,000 buy-in event at the 2005 Jack Binion World Poker Open for almost $173,000. Then, at this summer's World Series of Poker, he finishes as runner-up to Phil Hellmuth in event No. 15, a $1,500 buy-in no-limit hold'em tournament. Hellmuth sealed a place in poker history (winning his 11th WSOP bracelet), while Philachack was left just out of the spotlight. He earned just under $395,000 for his efforts, but wanted a win under his belt.

And a win he got after defeating Arieh heads up. Despite having the chip lead for nearly all of final table play, it was Philachack who started heads-up play with the advantage. He gained the lead after knocking out fourth-place finisher and Card Player Player of the Year contender David Fox and then doubling up against Ted McCollom. Arieh was responsible for eliminating McCollom in third but still entered heads-up play with slightly less in chips than Philachack. In the final hand, both players flopped two pair with Philachack's holding the higher two pair. The chips went in and Philachack's hand held up. He was awarded the first-place prize money, a $10,000 seat into the WSOP main event, and a gold diamond ring.

The following are the final table results:

1. Andy Philachack ─ $247,860
2. Josh Arieh ─ $130,050
3. Ted McCollom ─ $76,500
4. David Fox ─ $61,200
5. Nick Gellepis ─ $42,075
6. Leonardo Pruzansky ─ $$42,075
7. Bruce McGregor ─ $30,600
8. Philip Sparta Jr. ─ $22,950
9. Louie Esposito ─ $15,300

For more results on the WSOP Circuit events in New Orleans, click here.

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