April 11 2012, Paul Oresteen

After three long days of action and an off day for the Easter holiday a winner has been crowned at the World Series of Poker Circuit Horseshoe Council Bluffs Main Event. Scott Stanko emerged victorious after a two-hour heads-up battle against Charles “Woody” Moore. For the win, Stanko takes home a seat to the $1 million National Championship freeroll in Las Vegas, a WSOPC gold championship ring, and $101,266.

Stanko began the final table as the chip leader at the start of the day:

The first player to depart the final table was Jeremy Jagoda. He was significantly out-chipped at the beginning of the day, and was looking to double up early. He shoved from the button holding after Stanko opened. Jagoda failed to connect with anything on the board and Stanko flopped a pair of tens with queen-ten, making Jagoda’s day a short affair.

Pej Niyati entered play with an above-average chip stack, but the early goings were brutal for him. He lost three key hands in the second level of the day to Stanko, Casey Cavanaugh and Mark Bonsack. In his elimination hand, Niyati shoved from the cutoff and James Smith called from the small blind. Niyati held and Smith held . Smith spiked an ace on the flop and Niyati’s day was done.

The next elimination occurred when Sean Moore jammed from the small blind and James Smith called from the big blind. The two were almost dead even in chips with Smith holding a 40,000-chip advantage. Moore was on a hope and a prayer holding but Smith crushed those dreams when he tabled . Moore didn’t connect with the board and was eliminated, earning nearly $15,000 for his efforts in Council Bluffs.

Charles Moore ended James Smith’s fate about 15 minutes later. The two saw a flop of , Smith three-bet all in, and Moore called with . Smith was outkicked holding , he bricked on the turn and river, and was eliminated in sixth place.

Mark Bonsack’s day ended with a curious hand that arched a few eyebrows around the room. Charles Moore opened for 80,000, Bonsack called from the button, and the flop rolled out . Moore bet 375,000 and Bonsack said aloud, “I have a pair Woody.” Bonsack just called, leaving only 120,000 behind. The turn was the and Moore pushed out enough to put Bonsack all in. Bonsack called and tabled pocket fives. Moore showed pocket eights, the river bricked, and Bonsack was eliminated.

Stephen Ma entered four-handed play close in chips with his opponents. He slipped under 1,000,000 when he shipped about 300,000 to Moore, and then got involved in a hand with Stanko. Ma, holding , called all in on the turn of a board reading . Stanko had pocket aces and eliminated Ma when the fell on the river.

There were dramatic swings for each player during three-handed play. Stanko, Moore and Casey Cavanaugh were not shy about getting chips into pots. Cavanaugh’s fateful hand occurred when all three committed 80,000 preflop and watched the flop fall . After two checks, Stanko bet 80,000, Moore folded, and Cavanaugh check-raised to 275,000. Stanko shoved and Cavanaugh called. They each held a ten but Stanko had him out-kicked with an ace. Cavanaugh couldn’t boat up and was eliminated in third place.

The heads-up match between Stanko and Moore lasted nearly two hours. Moore doubled up with pocket aces and seemed to have gained the momentum, but Stanko would not relent. He ground Moore down over the next level and a half, taking mostly medium-sized pots. During the last 20 minutes of play, Moore was teetering just over 1,000,000.

The final hand began when Moore limped on the button and Stanko raised to 250,000. Moore moved in and Stanko called holding . Moore held and looked to double up after catching an eight on the flop. But this day belonged to Stanko and the turn brought the . Moore bricked on the river and Stanko claimed the title.

WSOPC Horseshoe Council Bluffs Final Table Results

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March 24 2012, Chad Holloway

Harrah’s Rincon is one of the most popular World Series of Poker Circuit stops each and every year. The California poker crowd is apt to make the trip to the 662-room property north of San Diego, and Las Vegas locals often make the four-hour drive.

This year, Rincon marked the 14th out of 17 stops of the 2011-2012 World Series of Poker Circuit season and began on March 15. With 12 rings up for grabs and two spots being awarded to the $1 million WSOP Circuit National Championship (July 6 through 7 with the final table being played out July 11), not to mention the 100 guaranteed seats reserved for the top 100 point earners on the Circuit, Rincon was generating a lot of excitement, especially during Event #2: $565 No-Limit Hold’em.

That event drew 155 players and created a prize pool of $75,175, but it wasn’t until the last day of play, which began with 12 players, that all eyes turned to Alexandru Masek, a local part-time poker player from San Diego who was making a push for the final table. The four-time WSOP Circuit ring winner was looking to capture his record-tying fifth ring. Masek, a 27-year-old law school graduate, made the unofficial final table of ten with an above-average count, but the deck soon turned against him and he was eliminated in tenth place.

One man who did have some luck was Dean Buchanan, a 22-year-old professional poker player from Kirkland, Washington. The young pro navigated the final table all the way down to heads-up play where he ran into John Piotrowski. Their battle lasted three hours, but when the final hand fell, Buchanan ended up with all the chips and took home $19,934.

Here’s a look at the WSOP Circuit Harrah’s Rincon events completed thus far: