World Series of Poker Circuit -- Jeff Roper Wins St. Louis Main EventRoper Takes Home the Top Prize Worth $170,814 |
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The first ever World Series of Poker Circuit stop in St. Louis has crowned a champion at the local Harrah’s Casino. The winner of the $5,000 no-limit hold’em championship event is Jeff Roper (pictured right), a corporate attorney who makes his home in St. Louis. The tournament attracted a total of 129 players and the total prize pool was worth $625,650. Notable professionals that played in the event included Dennis Phillips, Blair and Grant Hinkle, Paul Wasicka, Soheil Shamseddin, Allen Kessler, Tom Franklin, Tim Vance, Jason Potter, Bernard Lee, and Nelly. None of the big names listed above were able to make the final table of the event. Lee was the only notable to cash, scoring an 11th-place finish that earned him $14,077.
The final table did feature four local players so there was a nice crowd of people rooting on their friends and family. Here is a look at the final table when things began:
Seat 1: Matt Schwarmann — 409,000
Seat 2: Joel Casper — 193,000
Seat 3: Gregory Headrick — 111,000
Seat 4: Gary Bolden — 66,500
Seat 5: Jeff Roper — 592,200
Seat 6: Jordan Portell — 116,000
Seat 7: Gary Lambert — 188,500
Seat 8: Michael Sortino — 70,000
Seat 9: Jason Mo — 184,000
Michael Sortino moved all in on the first hand of play with A
J in the hole. Gary Lambert made the call with A
Q
and the board ran out A-Q-4-6-3. Sortino was eliminated in ninth place and he took home $16,017. That left Gary Bolden as the short stack and he soon moved it all in with pocket deuces. Roper was waiting for him with pocket queens, and the board was no help to either player. Bolden was eliminated in eighth place and he took home $18,957.
Gregory Headrick got aggressive after that, and while he saw a surge in the short term, the increased activity eventually led to his exit from the tournament in seventh place ($23,337). He moved all in with pocket tens and Lambert made the call with K 7. The board ran out Q 8 3 2 K
and Headrick hit the rail. Joel Casper was the next player to move all in and he did so with pocket aces. Roper made the call with pocket jacks and he scored the pot thanks to a 6-5-6-J-6 board. Casper was eliminated in sixth place and he took home $35,036.
Jordan Portell held A-9 in the hole when he was all in on a flop of A 4 3 but he discovered he was way behind when Lambert tabled Q J. That was enough to win the pot and Portell was eliminated in fifth place for $46,673. That elimination left Matt Schwarmann as the short stack. He moved all in for 140,000 with A-6 and he was up against the A-7 of Jason Mo. The dominant hand won the pot and Schwarmann was eliminated in fourth place ($58,373).
Three-Handed Chip Counts:
Jeff Roper – 1,040,000
Jason Mo – 607,000
Gary Lambert – 294,000
One of the largest hands in the tournament began when Lambert raised to 100,000 on a flop of A 9 5 and Roper made the call. The turn fell A and Lambert moved all in. Roper made the call and they flipped over their cards:
Roper: Q 10
Lambert: Q 8
Lambert was drawing dead and after the hand, he collected $81,710 for the third-place finish. Roper won the hand and he grew his chip stack to a 2-1 chip lead heading into the heads-up final against Mo.
The two remaining players took a dinner break before the final and when they returned Mo fought back. He evened up the chip counts and even took a slight lead for a short time. A crucial hand that saw Mo’s pair of aces fall to the aces up of Roper changed that balance and Roper once again held a 2-1 chip advantage.
The final hand began when Mo raised to 67,000 preflop and Roper reraised to 175,000. Mo reraised all in. Roper quickly made the call and they flipped over their cards:
Mo: A Q
Roper: A-A
Board: J 5 3 8 7
Mo was eliminated in second place and he took home $122,502 in prize money. Roper won the tournament and he was awarded $170,814, along with a $10,000 seat in the World Series of Poker main event this summer in Las Vegas.
1: Jeff Roper — $170,814 + $10,000 2010 WSOP ME Seat
2: Jason Mo — $122,502
3: Gary Lambert — $81,710
4: Matthew Schwarmann — $58,373
5: Jordan Portell — $46,673
6: Joel Casper — $35,036
7: Gregory Headrick — $23,337
8: Gary Bolden — $18,957
9: Michael Sortino — $16,017
The next WSOP Circuit $5,000 championship event will take place at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas on April 27-30.
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