WSOP Circuit -- Roland Isra Wins Caesars Atlantic City Main EventTakes Home the Top Prize Worth $264,715 |
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The $5,000 no-limit hold’em championship event at the World Series of Poker Circuit stop at the Caesars Palace in Atlantic City attracted 174 players and created a prize pool worth $817,015. The eventual winner of the event that began on Friday, March 12 was 52-year-old poker player Roland Isra (pictured right), who took home the top prize worth $264,715, a gold ring, and a $10,000 seat in the WSOP main event this summer in Las Vegas.
The top 18 players walked away with prize money in the event, and notable cashes included Nick Binger (17th place), Jacobo Fernandez (14th place), and Paul Wasicka (12th place). Only the final nine returned for the final day of the tournament on Sunday, March 14, and here is a look at the seating chart with chip counts when the final table began:
1 — Feming Chan (Atlantic City, NJ_ — 292,000
2 — Dan Witcher (Mt. Pleasant, SC) — 411,000
3 — Christopher Mitchell (Sumter, SC) — 1,800,000
4 — Grayson Ramage (Red Hook, NY) — 627,000
5 — Richard Austin (Lansdale, PA) — 178,000
6 — Roland Isra (New York, NY) — 210,000
7 — Chris Klodnicki (Voorhees, NJ) — 1,110,000
8 — Jesse Chinni (Ellicott City, MD) — 427,000
9 — Konstantino Dimitroulakos (Tonton Falls, NJ) — 104,000
Richard Austin was the first player to move all in, and he did so with 10-8 in the hole while holding a short stack. He was eliminated in ninth place ($16,340) by pocket nines. Konstantino Dimitroulakos was then forced to move all in on a short stack a short time later. He held A-8 in the hole, but he ran into the pocket tens of Dan Witcher. The board ran out Q-Q-J-2-8, and Dimitroulakos busted in eighth place ($24,511). Feming Chan then tried to bluff with 9-6 suited preflop, and Grayson Ramage made the call with J-10 offsuit. The board delivered a jack to Ramage, and he won the hand to eliminate Chan in seventh place ($32,681).
Ramage fell a few minutes later when he got hit with a cooler. Ramage called all in with pocket queens, but the chip leader at the time, Chris Mitchell, had raised with pocket aces. The board brought no help, and Ramage busted in sixth place, good for $40,851. Jesse Chinni went bust next after he moved all in with pocket fives preflop, and Witcher made the call with A-J. Witcher improved to a straight, and Chinni was eliminated in fifth place ($49,021).
Chris Klodnicki had entered the final table in second chip position on the final day, and he was hoping to repeat his earlier success in Atlantic City at the final table. He had won the WSOP Circuit championship event at Harrah’s Atlantic City three months earlier for $215,915. A second victory wasn’t in the cards for Klodnicki, though. He moved all in preflop with pocket nines and then proceeded to suffer a bad beat thanks to Witcher and his pocket eights. An 8 fell on the river to give Witcher the pot and send Klodnicki home in fourth place ($65,362). Three-handed play then lasted for almost four hours before the heads-up final was set. It took another cooler to break up the battle. Witcher moved all in with pocket tens, and Mitchell was waiting with pocket aces. The aces held, and Witcher was eliminated in third place ($81,702).
Mitchell was about even in chips with Isra when the heads-up final began, but Isra took the upper hand when Mitchell went card dead. Mitchell was all in for his tournament life after a few hours of heads-up play. He held Q-J in the hole against the A-9 of Isra. The board had fallen 10-9-6-A to give Isra two pair and Mitchell some hope with an open-ended straight draw. The river changed nothing, and Isra won the hand and the tournament.
Mitchell was eliminated in second place, taking home $138,894. The runner-up had led the field in chip counts at the end of day 1 and day 2 at the event so the final result had to be somewhat of a disappointment for the talented player. Isra took home his first major tournament win with the victory in Atlantic City and he was awarded the top prize worth $254,715.
Final-Table Results:
1 — Roland Isra — $264,715
2 — Christopher Mitchell — $138,894
3 — Dan Witcher — $81,702
4 — Chris Klodnicki — $65,362
5 — Jesse Chinni — $49,021
6 — Grayson Ramage — $40,851
7 — Feming Chan — $32,681
8 — Konstantino Dimitroulakos — $24,511
9 — Richard Austin — $16,340
The next WSOP Circuit event will take place at the Harrah’s Rincon near San Diego, California from Mar. 18-31.