WSOP Circuit Hard Rock Concludes Stop in Tulsa
March 29, 2018 12:02 pmLatest stop on the WSOP Circuit was the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Tulsa in Oklahoma from March 15-26, with the series featured 12 ring events with buy-ins ranging from $135 for its Ladies Event to $2,200 for its High Roller No-Limit Hold’em event. The popular tournament series subsequently produced a number of high-profile winners, including the likes of Kevin Eyster, John Richards, and Blair Hinkle.
John Richards Wins $580 PLO
WSOPC Tulsa Event #7: $580 Pot-Limit Omaha attracted 125 players, resulting in a prize pool worth $62,500. A total of fifteen players subsequently saw a return on their buy-ins, but in the end the title was contested between John Richards and Daniel Lowery, who started the heads-up battle with a 3-2 chip lead.
Lowery is a regular on the WSOP Circuit tour, and has captured rings on six previous occasions, while Illinois player Richards, too, has enjoyed his fair share of success with two previous WSOPC victories. On this occasion, Richards subsequently completed a hat-trick of victories after a $17,499 win which brings his career earnings to $331,518, while Lowery collected $10,816 for his runner-up finish, and has $1,479,255 in winnings, placing him atop Arkansas’ “All Time Money List”.
Kevin Eyster Wins $365 NLH
WSOPC Tulsa Event #8: $365 No-Limit Hold’em 6-Handed saw a total of 289 players pony up their buy-ins to create a prize pool of $86,700, with 30 players then cashing in at one of its money spots. The player headlining the final table, however, was Kevin Eyster who is currently ranked at number one on Louisiana’s “All Time Money List”.
In the end, Eyster managed to overcome Orlando Romero heads-up to claim a first place prize of $22,538, as well as a third career WSOPC ring. The pro has also picked up 2 WPT titles over the years, including winning the 2015 WPT Five Diamond Classic for $1,587,382, and in 2014 capturing a bracelet at the WSOP $5k NLHE Six Handed event for $622,998. Following his latest triumph, Eyster now boasts $4,380,080 in career winnings since 2007.
Blair Hinkle Wins $2,200 High Roller
Blair Hinkle also tops his state’s “All Time Money List”, and the Missouri pro subsequently added a further $50,319 to his earnings after overcoming a field of 74 players at Event #12: $2,200 High Roller No-Limit Hold’em. As a result, the 32 year-old pro has now amassed five WSOPC rings to go with the WSOP bracelet he captured in 2008 at the $2,000 No-Limit Hold’em event for $507,613.
In total, Hinkle has $4,108,671 in live tournament winnings, with his biggest score recorded in 2013 after taking down the $5,300 Seminole Hard Rock Championship Event for $1,745,245.
Tulsa Main Event
Finally, Event #9: $1,675 Main Event attracted 721 players, including Jonathan Poche who in 2011 booked his first cash after taking down the WSOP Circuit New Orleans Main Event for $121,017. This time around, the Louisiana pro made it past a number of other notable players, including the likes of Tommy Vedes, Ravi Raghavan and all-time WSOPC rings winner Maurice Hawkins, to make it all the way through to the final table.
There he faced-off against a number of tough competitors, including 6-time Circuit winner Josh Turner and 2-time ring winner Jeff Fielder, eventually meeting Chad Smith heads-up for the title, albeit at a small chip disadvantage. Poche soon managed to swings things back in his own favor, though, and after taking a 4-to-1 advantage the deciding hand was played with him moving all-in holding 9d-2d on a 10h-6h-2s-2h-8s board. Smith (As-Kh) decided to make the call with just ace high and so collected $133,349 for his runner-up finish, while Poche doubled his ring tally, collected $216,307 for the victory, and now boats $645,215 in career winnings.
Next Stop: Planet Hollywood
After its conclusion in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the WSOP Circuit has since moved onto Planet Hollywood in Nevada (March 29-April 2), after which it will visit Horseshoe Council Bluffs in Iowa (March 29-April 9), Harrah’s Cherokee in North Carolina (April 12-23), and then Horseshoe Baltimore in Maryland (April 26-May 7).