The World Series of Poker Circuit kicked off the New Year at the Bicycle Casino in Bell Gardens with the first non-satellite event starting Jan. 2. Also, the 12 WSOPC rings events were supplemented with an additional 23 events. This provided a cornucopia of events for the everyday grinder or the weekend hack (raises hand slowly) on a limited bankroll.
Once again, there were many names you may recognize. Ylon Schwartz, the ex-November Niner, had a couple of cashes while well-known pros Joe Tehan and Nam Le went deep in the main event. The winner of the $1,675 main event was Baptiste Chavillaz, who took home the top prize of $216,275 and briefly held the top spot for the 2013 Ante Up Player of the Year award. As far as I can tell, this his first official cash, so good on you, Baptiste!
With the L.A. Poker Classic at the Commerce Casino ending March 3, that can only mean one thing: There must be another tournament series starting. In this case, it’s back to the Bike for the annual Winnin’ O’ The Green, which begins March 4.
Made up of 25 events, generous stacks and good structures, this is one of my favorite annual events. With the exception of four events, all buy-ins are $150 or less, with many less than $100. In addition to no-limit hold’em, you can find pot-limit Omaha/8, H.O.R.S.E. and a stud/8-Omaha/8 mix.
Even with the number of tournaments and formats, in my eyes there are definitely two keystones of this event. First, there are two of tournament director Mo Fathipour’s patented Quantum Reload events, which I’ve written about in the past.
The centerpiece is the Mega Millions VI, which guarantees a million-dollar prize pool and first place gets at least $200K. There are flights starting every day at 1 and 6 p.m. March 15-25. Last year’s event had a prize pool of more than $1.25 million.
There are other distinct features of this event, too. Blind levels increase to 40 minutes on Day 2, 50 minutes on Day 3, and an hour for the final table. There’s also a provision allowing the blinds to be adjusted at the final table to allow for better play.
I know I’ll be taking a shot at one or more of these events. If you do, too, be sure to say hello.
— Dave Palm is Ante Up’s Los Angeles Ambassador. Email him at LA.AnteUp@gmail.com.
WSOPC, Bicycle Casino, Bell Gardens, Jan. 3-15
Event 1 • $365 NLHE
Entries: 273• Pool: $81,900
Clark Harney, $19,660
Event 2 • $580 NLHE
Entries: 167 • Pool: $83,500
Wendy Freedman, $22,545
Event 3 • $365 NLHE
Entries: 723 • Pool: $216,900
David Yoon, $43,340
Event 4 • $365 NLHE
Entries: 198 • Pool: $59,400
Amir Ghazvinian, $15,440
Event 5 • $580 NLHE
Entries: 157 • Pool: $78,500
Nathan Bjerno, $21,180
Event 6 • $365 NLHE
Entries: 193 • Pool: $57,900
Michael Taylor, $15,050
Event 7 • $1,125 NLHE
Entries: 157 • Pool: $157K
Ray Henson, 42,390
Event 8 • $365 Omaha/8
Entries: 177 • Pool: $53,100
Stephen Gibbs, $14,350
Event 9 • $365 NLHE
Entries: 212 • Pool: $63,600
Alex Masek, $15,905
$1,675 Main Event
Entries: 721 • Pool: $1.08M
Baptiste Chavillaz, $216,275
Event 11 • $365 NLHE
Entries: 211 • Pool: $63,300
David Lavin, $15,810
Event 12 • $365 6-Max
Entries: 146 • Pool: $43,800
Krzysztof Stybaniewicz, $12,470
