March 01 2012, Chad Holloway
Ever since Raymond Rahme made the final table of the 2007 World Series of Poker, the game has expanded greatly in Africa. In South Africa, in particular, native players such as Warren Zackey, Jarred Solomon and Darren Kramer have found success. For the second year in a row, the World Series of Poker Circuit returned to the Emerald Casino in Johannesburg to host the continent’s most prestigious tournament series.
The premier tournament of the six-event stop was the $3,300 Main Event, which attracted 218 players and created a prize pool of $634,380. However, there were five other ring events, plus a ladies event, to keep things busy. Here’s a look at the action from the 2nd Annual WSOP Circuit Africa.
Main Event (Event #4)
The three-day event saw the field reduced to 134 players after the first day, with the aforementioned Zackey – the defending champ – finishing with the chip lead. However, he was unable to get anything going on Day 2 and was eliminated just shy of the 24-player money bubble. When players bagged and tagged heading into the final day, only 14 players remained.
On Day 3, it took just two hours to reach a final table, which included two players who had won rings just days before in Gregory Ronaldson and Jason Straus. The two Johannesburg natives trailed fellow local pro James Parker, who began the final table with a healthy chip lead.
WSOP Circuit Africa Main Event Final Table
| 1 | James Parker | 1,756,000 |
| 2 | Marc Joseph | 525,000 |
| 3 | Brian Bouwer | 189,000 |
| 4 | Jason Straus | 400,000 |
| 5 | Ivan Pakkiri | 949,000 |
| 6 | Joe-Boy Rahme | 737,000 |
| 7 | Gregory Ronaldson | 1,223,000 |
| 8 | Matt Mullhall | 300,000 |
| 9 | Brad Flynn | 450,000 |
Between Parker and Ronaldson, nearly half the chips were accounted for, which meant there were bound to be some early eliminations. The first was 29-year-old Brian Bouwer, who began the final table as the short stack. He was followed out the door by the other short stack, 22-year-old college student Matt Mullhall. Another college student, Brad Flynn, 24, was the next to go in seventh place.
After Marc Joseph was felted in sixth place, 28-year-old Ronaldson was eliminated despite having begun the final table second in chips. Days earlier, Ronaldson took down Event #1, which was the largest live poker tournament field in Africa’s history. This title came just weeks after he won the Heads-Up Championship at the 2012 Crown’s Aussie Millions Poker Championship. Needless to say, it has been quite the year for Ronaldson, who took home $39,649 for his fifth-place finish.
Parker followed in Ronaldson’s footsteps after his big stack was dispersed among his opponents. The amateur player made his way to the payout desk in fourth place, collecting $52,780.
Joe-Boy Rahme then got lucky to double when his 
outdrew the 
of Straus, who was unable to recover and was eliminated in third place. That left Rahme to battle a self-employed father of two by the name of Ivan Pakkiri. There wasn’t much to the heads-up match as Pakkiri was soon all-in holding 
against the 
of Rahme. The board failed to help Pakkiri, who earned $98,012 for his runner-up finish.
“This feels great; I’ve been working toward a WSOP championship for 25 years. This is fabulous,” said Rahme, who earned $158,595, said after the win. “Poker has really grown over the last five years, we’re sending more and more players to Vegas for the annual WSOP each year and they are having great results. We play mostly home games, but casinos are starting to recognize us and more games are becoming available.”
WSOP Circuit Africa Main Event
| $3,000+$300 | 218 | $634,380 |
| 9 | Brian Bouwer | Jeffrey’s Bay, South Africa | $14,654 |
Event #1
The Main Event was preceded by the largest live tournament in Africa’s history. Event #1, a $350 no-limit hold’em event, drew 324 players to generate a prize pool of $97,200. Tournament Director Jack Effel and five-time WSOP bracelet winner Scotty Nguyen addressed the crowd and gave the ceremonial “Shuffle up and deal!”
The field ended up so big that a third day was added to the schedule, which worked to Greg Ronaldson’s advantage as he managed to overcome a big chip disadvantage at the final table to take home the ring. As mentioned before, this marked his second major win in less than two months, not to mention his Main Event final table appearance.
Gregory Ronaldson, winner of Event #1
WSOP Circuit Africa Ring Event #1 No-Limit Hold’em
| $300+$50 | 324 | $97,200 |
| 8 | Eugene Du Plessis | Stellenbosch, South Africa | $2,642 |
| 9 | Mark Botha | Benoni, South Africa | $2,046 |
Event #2
Even though a chop had been negotiated during heads-up play in Event #2, Jason Strauss and David Crookes were determined to battle it out for the ring. The heads-up match lasted six hours, and it wasn’t until 7 a.m. that Strauss bested Crookes for the title.
“[Crooks] was a very tough opponent, picking good spots and keeping the pots small,” Strauss said after the win. “This is a great feeling, winning such a prestigious tournament. It’s unbelievable, really … unbelievable.” As we already mentioned, Strauss went on to final table the Main Event and established himself as a major player in South Africa.
Jason Strauss, winner of Event #2
WSOP Circuit Africa Ring Event #2 No-Limit Hold’em Six Handed
| $500+$60 | 189 | $94,469 |
| 2 | David Crookes | Johannesburg, South Africa | $16,048 |
| 3 | Steven Brown | Camps Bay, South Africa | $11,340 |
| 4 | Wayne Monks | Cape Town, South Africa | $8,061 |
| 5 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 6 | David Cornell | South Africa | $4,139 |
| 7 | Ryan Shandel | South Africa | $2,296 |
| 8 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 9 | Uzi Aronson | N/A | $2,174 |
Event #3
The third of the six ring events, the $10,000 High Roller Event, was designed to appeal to South Africa’s elite poker players. The event drew 20 players, including Scotty Nguyen who was eliminated in ninth place. Day 1 halted with just seven players, with only three making the money on Day 2.
One of the men who managed to secure a payday was Bennie Lingenfelder, a 40-year-old married entrepreneur from Kempton Park. He finished in third place for $38,800. That left Rob Fenner, a 34-year-old consultant, to do battle against Kinesh Pather. Both players abandoned Event #2 to play the high roller event.
“I would say it turned out well,” Pather said.
Fenner echoed those sentiments: “I purposely busted out of the six-max event so that I could play in the high-roller event. I’m glad I did.”
The heads-up battle lasted about an hour and saw Fenner, who had finished fifth in the inaugural WSOP Africa Main Event, take down the top prize of $97,000.
“The online poker ban really hurt the economy in South Africa, you know and it came at a bad time as poker has grown tremendously here over the last few years,” Fenner said after the win. “Players are going to play regardless, whether in casinos of in a friends’ garages, we play because we love the game. We hope the government reverses course, but in the meanwhile tournaments like WSOP Africa are helping to keep the up momentum we’ve built here over the years.”
Event #5
The first tournament after the Main Event was Event #5, a $350 no-limit hold’em tournament, which drew 247 players, creating a prize pool of $71,877. The two-day event saw more than 60 players survive Day 1, and it took all afternoon on Day 2 to reach the final table, which saw Greg Tucker, a 29-year-old self-employed poker player from Johannesburg, enter as the dominating chip leader.
While Tucker had the chips, he couldn’t use them for victory, making his exit in fourth place. Instead, the day belonged to Armand Saayman of Witpoortjie, South Africa, who captured the ring and $17,610 top prize after playing into the early morning hours.
Event #6
The last ring event of the WSOP Circuit Africa, a one-day event, drew 89 entries and created a prize pool of $25,946. It took all day, but in the end, Heau Pienaar, a 34-year-old poker player from Johannesburg, took down the last ring and earned himself $7,784 … not bad for a day’s work.
Ladies Event
Given that South Africa is comprised of 52 percent women, it only makes sense that the WSOPC would hold a Ladies Event. The tournament managed to draw 68 entrants, the largest ladies event in Africa’s short poker history.Pippa Rockas, a restaurant owner from Johannesburg, ultimately captured the $4,617 first-place prize.
“It’s not as promoted as it should be here,” Rockas said of the state of ladies poker in South Africa. “This was an amazing event and of course, I’m very happy that it was held here,” she said.
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February 20 2012, Chad Holloway
On Sunday night, Fox Sports Network aired its first tournament of Season X of the World Poker Tour – the Legends of Poker from the Bicycle Casino in Bell Gardens, California. The Legends of Poker is one of the most prestigious titles in all of poker and has been on the WPT schedule from its inception.
Last year, Andy Frankenberger topped a field of 462 to claim the $750,000 first-place prize, joining the likes of Doyle Brunson and Dan Harrington as past Legends of Poker champions. In Season X, the tournament, which was originally held Aug. 25 through 30, 2011, featured a $3,500+$200 buy-in and attracted 757 entrants, creating a prize pool of $2,570,015.
This year, the WPT’s television coverage was expanded and now includes three hours of airtime from each event, including in-depth coverage of the tournament’s early days, and more comprehensive coverage of the final table.
Prelude: The broadcast got under way with footage of Day 1a, which drew 322 players including Dwyte Pilgrim, Faraz Jaka, Matt Affleck, Phil Hellmuth, and of course the defending champ. “No one’s ever won the same tournament in the WPT twice,” Frankenberger said before the start of the action. “So I wouldn’t say there’s a lot of pressure to do it, but I put a lot of pressure on myself anyways. I always put pressure on myself to win. I hate losing.”
Not everyone was able to avoid defeat on Day 1a as Gavin Smith, Kathy Liebert, and Matt Mafafioti hit the rail, though each had the option of reentering on Day 1b. Likewise, Frankenberger busted late in the day and was not among the 141 Day 1a survivors. A few players who were, included chip leader Matt Berkey (248,500), Will “The Thrill” Failla (148,300), and Zach Clark (126,400).
On Day 1b, 435 players showed up and brought the total field up to 757 entrants. Among the entries was Chris Karagulleyan, who won the Legends of Poker in Season I, and Season V champ Joe Pelton. By the time action ended, only 197 players remained, meaning 338 returned for Day 2, with JC Tran leading the way with 265,000.
The eliminations mounted quickly on Day 2 including Frankenberger, Maria Ho, and Michael Winnett. After a long day, the field had been reduced to 99 with Ken Aldridge (659,500) leading, though Cody Slaubaugh (658,000) was hot on his heels, followed by Failla (550,500) and Berkey (502,000).
On Day 3, the money bubble loomed as 81 players were slated to be paid, meaning 18 players would leave disappointed. “Titan” Tom Braband and Dylan Hortin were among the early eliminations, and Joe Ressler earned the unfortunate distinction of being the bubble boy.
Once in the money, the eliminations came furiously. Jamie Gold scored his first WPT cash with a 67th-place finish for $7,300, and WPT Season IV Player of the Year Gavin Smith followed him out the door a short time later in 57th place for $7,710. Tran (39th – $9,250), Jonathan Little (38th – $9,250), Slaubaugh (35th – $10,280), Pilgrim (33rd – $10,280), Berkey (30th – $10,280), Allen Kessler (28th – $10,280), and Keith Kozar (23rd – $14,135) all hit the rail before play ended with just 21 players and Jeff Vertes leading the way with 2,712,000.
Day 4 saw the final 21 reduced to six, losing Dan Heimiller (20th – $14,135), Brent Hanks (16th – $19,275), Christina Lindley (15th – $24,415), Buchanan (13th – $24,415), Matt Kay (10th – $29,555), and James Carroll (8th – $51,400) along the way. Ray Henson (7th – $64,250) ended up being the final-table bubble boy.
Here is a look at the seating assignment at the start of the final table:
WPT Legends of Poker Final Table
Ugliest Hat in History: Jeff Vertes opened for 325,000 with 
only to have Owais Ahmed move all-in for 1,630,000 with 
. The rest of the field folded and as Vertes was contemplating his options, Will Failla told Ahmed, “That has got to be one of the ugliest hats in history.”
“I don’t want to play from behind,” Vertes said before laying down his hand, allowing Ahmed to swipe another pot without so much as a flop.
Action Flop: In the very next hand, Jeff Vertes opened for 325,000 with 
and received a call from Will Failla, who was on the button holding 
. Ken Aldridge also came along for the ride from the big blind holding 
, and there was three-way action to the 
flop. The players checked to Failla, who put out a bet of 300,000. Aldridge folded, and Vertes gave a bad acting performance before making the call.
When the 
hit the turn, Vertes checked and surprisingly Failla did the same. The 
river saw Vertes give another bad acting performance, sighing deeply and acting conflicted, before he put out a bet of 500,000. Failla seemed to know something was up, but felt compelled to make the call nonetheless. Even though he lost the hand, it almost seemed like a win for Failla as both the crowd and commentators acknowledged that he could have lost a lot more on the hand.
Ahmed Eliminated in Sixth Place: Action folded around to Owais Ahmed in the small blind and he once again moved all-in. Will Failla was in the big blind and took a peek at his cards before making the call.
Showdown
Failla was a 54 percent favorite, and tried to get the crowd pumped up before the flop fell 
. Failla still wasn’t convinced that he was going to win the hand and proceeded to stare down the board and chant, “Ace of diamonds, ace of diamonds, ace of diamonds.” Wouldn’t you know it, the 
spiked on the turn to fulfill his request and leave Ahmed drawing dead. The meaningless 
was run out on the river for good measure as the short-stacked Ahmed was eliminated in sixth place for $77,100.
“Don’t Listen to Anything He Says:” Will Failla opened from the cutoff for 300,000 only to have Adam Aronson move all-in from the button for 1,895,000. Both blinds got out of the way, Failla stood from his seat, and announced a call.
Showdown
“I want you to think of the queen of hearts,” Failla told the dealer.
“Don’t listen to anything he says,” Aronson joked. In this case, the dealer, or rather the cards, favored Aronson as the board ran out 
. With that, Aronson chipped up to 4,070,000.
To Be Continued: Who’ll be the next player to join the prestigious list of Legends of Poker winners and take home the $758,085 first-place prize? Part II is set to air on Sunday, Feb. 26, on FSN, so be sure to check your local listings. If by chance you miss it, check back next week for the latest recap of all the action right here on PokerNews.
Past Legend of Poker Champions
| 1 | Chris Karagulleyan | $258,000 |
| 2 | Mel Judah | $579,375 |
| 3 | Doyle Brunson | $1,198,290 |
| 4 | Alex Kahaner | $1,125,900 |
| 5 | Joe Pelton | $1,577,170 |
| 6 | Dan Harrington | $1,635365 |
| 7 | John Phan | $1,116,428 |
| 8 | Prahlad Friedman | $1,034,500 |
| 9 | Andy Frankenberger | $750,000 |
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*Picture courtesy of World Poker Tour.
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