Battle on the Boardwalk

Roland Isra Overcomes Huge Chip Disadvantage at Final Table and Wins WSOP Circuit Championship at Caesars Atlantic City

Atlantic City, NJ – To win, all poker players must pay a price. More often than not, the price of victory is not measured by the size of the entry fee or the expenses of entering a poker tournament. For many poker players, the much greater sacrifice is the accompanying disappointment that comes with playing tournament poker full time. In between extraordinary moments of fulfillment manifested in tournament triumphs are torturous moments of defeat, disappointment, and despair.

Roland Isra, a 52 year old professional poker player from New York City, knows the perils of poker all too well. He has come to the threshold of a major tournament victory numerous times. But each and every prior occasion when it seemed that Isra might finally win big tournament, he suffered a bad bet or was the victim of some cruel misfortune. Nevertheless, Isra endured over the years and to his credit, finally earned a major breakthrough victory at the most recent World Series of Poker Circuit championship.

Isra overcame a number of significant chip disadvantages, outlasted many of the East Coat’s best poker players, and collected the top cash prize at Caesars Atlantic City, which totaled $264,715. He was also presented with his first gold ring, the ultimate token of achievement given out to all tournament champions who win WSOP Circuit events held around the country.

Isra, who was born in the former Soviet Union (actually the Republic of Georgia) worked as a jeweler for 25 years before he began playing poker seriously in 2002. Isra managed to cash in the 2005 WSOP Main Event, finishing 37th. He also achieved seven other WSOP cashes, and did well in many other tournaments played elsewhere. Yet, this victory marks his biggest tournament win ever.

This marked the fifth straight year Caesars Atlantic City has hosted a WSOP Circuit stop. The Main Event was the last of 12 tournaments played at Caesars, all of which are classified as “gold ring” events. This year’s championship attracted 174 entrants, from 20 states and seven different nations. The buy in was $4,900 (+250), creating a prize pool totaling $817,015.

The tournament was played over three days during March 12-14. More than half the field was eliminated on day one, which clocked in at 14 hours. Eight tables of survivors returned for day two which played for another 14 hours. The top 18 finishers collected prize money. Along those who cashed was Paul Wasicka, perhaps best known as the runner up finisher to Jamie Gold in the 2006 WSOP Main Event. Wasicka finished 12th. Another top pro who cashed was Jacobo Fernandez (14th), who enjoyed a huge year at the 2008 WSOP when he cashed seven times and made three final tables. Las Vegas pro Nick Binger also made the money, finishing in 17th place.

Final table play began on a Sunday afternoon and was held inside the Palladium Arena at Caesars. Christopher Mitchell arrived as chip leader and was in a comfortable position throughout the competition. He faced serious threats from various challengers, most notably Roland Isra and Dan Witcher in the late stages of the competition.

Chris Klondicki arrived at the final table ranked second in chips. He had a unique opportunity to pull off an East Coast poker parlay. Klondicki won the Main Event championship at Atlantic City’s earlier WSOP Circuit stop, played three months ago. Klodnicki won his first gold ring and $215,915 at Harrah’s Atlantic City last December. He was also the only player to make back to back WSOP Circuit final tables at Caesars. He finished 8th in last year’s championship event. This time, he took fourth place.

The low blinds (6,000-12,000) and average chip stack of 570,000 at the start of play gave all competitors plenty of time to be patient and wait for a hand. Tournament structures for all the tournaments played at Caesars this year have received overwhelmingly positive feedback from many players and postings at online poker forums. Tournament players have been given plenty of starting chips and blind increases have been incremental, allowing for skillful play to overcome the short-term luck factor which is a part of all tournaments. This has resulted in several lengthy final tables, which have lasted 8 to 10 hours on average. However, this final table clocked in at 12 hours.
Ninth Place: Lights Out for Austin
Richard Austin, a retail store owner from Lansdale, PA was the first player to be eliminated. He was low on chips and tried to steal a round of blinds and antes holding a marginal 10 8, but ended up making an ill timed bluff when he was called by an opponent holding pocket 9’s. Neither player improved, which meant Austin was out in ninth place. He collected $16,340 in prize money. Austin’s previous poker accomplishments include two other WSOP Circuit final tables, once for second place (two years ago in this same championship event) and the other for second place.

Eighth Place: Pastry Chef Rolled
Konstantino Dimitroulakos, a Greek-born pastry chef now living in Tinton Falls, NY arrived at the final table with the shortest stack. He survived for about an hour before going bust with A 8 offsuit, which lost to pocket 10’s. The final board showed QQJ28, giving Dan Witcher two pair. Dimitroulakos earned a nice payout totaling $24,511. He is one a nice run in tournaments, having cashed in three consecutive events.

Seventh Place: Feming Chan is No Johnny Chan
Feming Chan, who is self-employed and lives in Atlantic City, NJ went out on a bluff. He tried to steal pre-flop holding 9-6 suited. Grayson Ramage had a much bigger big stack and decided to fade the raise from the big blind with J 10 offsuit. Chan picked up a big draw, when the flop came J95, with two cards to Chan’s suit. But he ended up missing both the flush and straight draws, while Ramage’s top pair (J’s) held up. Chan settled for a payout which amounted to $32,681.

Sixth Place: Bucknell College Student Expelled
Grayson Ramage, a college student at Bucknell University, went out on a disappointing hand when he called an all in raise by the chip leader, Chris Mitchell. Ramage had pocket Q’s. But Mitchell held pocket A’s. Neither player improved, which meant Ramage was eliminated. Ramage’s take from the prize pool came to $40,851. Among his accomplishments are a 35th place finish in the 2009 WSOP Main Event, and a 3rd place showing at the Harrah’s Atlantic City WSOPC championship last December.

Fifth Place: Chinni Takes the Fifth
Jesse Chinni, a poker pro from Ellicott City, MD went bust when he moved all in with pocket 5’s, which lost to Dan Witcher’s A J. The board made a straight for Witcher. That meant Chinni had to settle for fifth place, which paid $49,021. Chinni, a 24-year-old graduate of the University of Maryland, has now made it to two WSOP Circuit final tables.

Fourth Place: Former WSOP Circuit Champion Ousted
Chris Klodnicki’s shot to win back to back WSOP Circuit championships in Atlantic City came to an abrupt end when he took the final table’s worst beat. Klodnicki, a poker pro who now lives in Philadelphia, PA moved all in with pocket 9’s. He was called by Dan Witcher, holding pocket’s 8’s. It looked like Klodnicki would double up, but an 8 of the river made Witcher a full house and also ejected one of the tournament’s most dangerous players. Klodnicki, a graduate of Lehigh University, who has enjoyed great success in tournament poker the last few years, collected $65,362.
Third Place: Witcher Bewitched
Dan Witcher, from Mount Pleasant, SC battled three-handed for nearly four hours before he busted out in third place. He moved all in with pocket 10’s, which turned out to be a base of terrible timing for the 25-year-old. Chris Mitchell called the big bet and flipped over pocket A’s. The better hand held up, which removed Witcher from the tournament. Third place paid $81,702.

Second Place: Christopher Mitchell Finishes as Runner Up
Chris Mitchell, a poker pro from Sumter, SC dominated this tournament over three full days. He held a dominant chip lead at the conclusion of Day One. By Day Two, Mitchell had increased his chip advantage to the point he was more than 2 to 1 over every other player that remained, except one. He also arrived at the final table with about one-third of the total chips in play. His runner up status and $138,894 in prize money for second place did not mask his disappointment with the final outcome. Mitchell suffered a serious of beats in the final stages of the tournament, and went card dead at the worst possible time. He ultimately lost his remaining chips when he missed an outside straight draw, which was topped by the champion’s two pair.
First Place: Roland Isra Wins!
Roland Isra, from New York, NY collected the $264,715 top prize, plus a seat into to the 2010 WSOP Main Event ($10,000 entry and expenses paid) to be held in Las Vegas in July.
This concludes the WSOP Circuit at Caesars Atlantic City. This was the seventh WSOP Circuit stop of the 2009-2010 season following previous tournaments held in Chicago, Southern Indiana, Lake Tahoe, Harrah’s Atlantic City, Tunica, and Council Bluffs. Upcoming Circuit events will take place at Harrah’s Rincon, Harrah’s St. Louis, Caesars Las Vegas, and Harrah’s New Orleans. Harrah’s Rincon comes next and runs from March 17-31.

What a Comeback!

Rohan Long Wins WSOP Circuit Event and First Gold Ring at Caesars Atlantic City

Jamaican-Born Recreational Player Survives Eight All-Ins and Overcomes 20 to 1 Chip Disadvantage in Thrilling Victory

Generous Tournament Structure at WSOP Circuit Continues to Gain Positive Feedback

Atlantic City, NJ – There’s a classic rock song made famous by Janis Joplin where the lyrics go, “Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose.” What the lyric means is, there’s a certain sense of emotional contentment that comes with being on a free roll, whether the situation is life or poker. Once you’ve committed yourself to the notion you can’t lose, in fact – you have won.

Rohan Long, a real estate broker from Windsor, CT knows the feeling all too well. He pretty much resigned himself to a middle of the pack finish at what was his first World Series of Poker Circuit final table recently. Long managed to survive far longer than either the cards or odds normally would have dictated. With each near miracle dealt from the deck, he gained the confidence and aggression necessary to overcome massive odds and ultimately pulled off a stunning upset victory.

Long survived at least eight all in situations when play was at three handed, and later heads up. Each time, he doubled his stack size up to the point where he ended up achieving the greatest comeback of the year of any player in a WSOP Circuit tournament. Once play became heads up versus a tough-minded online poker pro named Alex Pawlyk, Long pretty much summed up his feelings by announcing, “I’m on a complete free roll now. Nothing can stop me.”

In a sense, having Long in a complete care free zone made him the worst possible adversary for a skilled professional. Rather than the usual tense atmosphere that characterizes the later stages of many major poker tournaments, Long’s presence and attitude ended up creating a great comeback drama, which was unquestionably the most exiting final table of this year’s series at Caesars Atlantic City.

Long, who was born in Jamaica and now lives in Connecticut, won the $560 buy in No-Limit Hold’em tournament and collected the top cash prize totaling $32,592. He was also presented with his first gold ring, which is the ultimate token of achievement given out to all tournament champions who win WSOP Circuit events held around the country.

This marked the sixth of 12 WSOP Circuit events on this year’s Caesars schedule. The two-day tournament attracted 210 entrants. Most of the field was eliminated on day one, which clocked in at 14 hours. Four tables of survivors returned for day two which played another 10 hours. The top 27 finishers divided up prize money from a $101,850 prize pool.

Final table play began on a Tuesday night and was held inside the Palladium Arena at Caesars. There was only one previous WSOP Circuit winner among the final nine. Local poker player Howard Wolper arrived with the goal to win his second gold ring. But Wolper went out early, thus guaranteeing a first time champion. Meanwhile, Juan J. Lopez arrived as chip leader and was in a comfortable position throughout the competition until he crashed and burned in third place.

The low blinds (5,000-10,000) and average chip stack of nearly 250,000 at the start gave all the competitors plenty of time be patient. In fact, the tournament structures for all the tournaments played at Caesars this year have received overwhelmingly positive feedback from many players and online poker forums. Tournament players have been given plenty of starting chips and blind increases have been incremental, allowing for skillful play to overcome the short-term luck factor which is a part of all tournaments.
Players were eliminated in the following order:

Ninth Place: Artist Gets No Respect
Howard Evan Wolper, an artist and semi-pro poker player from Atlantic City, was the first player eliminated. He was low on chips and managed to catch A K. But Rohan Long was dealt pocket 10’s, which ended up scooping the pot after Wolper failed to improve. Wolper has earned many awards for his work in the performance arts. He has also done well in poker, with four major tournament wins within a 13 month span, including back to back wins a few years ago. He won a WSOP Circuit gold ring in 2007 at Harvey’s Lake Tahoe. Wolper pocketed $2,037 in prize money.

Eighth Place: Groom Gets Divorced
Willie A. Groom, a scenic artist from Brooklyn, NY became the second creative personality within five minutes to make an exit. He was dealt A 9 and moved all in on what became his final hand. Unfortunately, Alex Pawlyk picked up pocket 9’s and made an obligatory call with a large chip advantage. Groom failed to hit an ace or improve and thus went out with a payout totaling $3,056. Groom would be the first of three consecutive players who were eliminated by Pawlyk.

Seventh Place: Las Vegas Player Gets Ripped
Mitchell Martin, a real estate investor from Las Vegas, NV took a tough beat on his final hand of the tournament. He was dealt A 10 and moved all in after the flop came with a ten high. But Alex Pawlyk woke up in the big blind with 4 3 and managed to flop two small pair. It was the perfect trap set up, which snapped shut on Martin’s chance for victory. Martin ended up going out in seventh place, which paid $4,074. Martin previously won a major tournament called the Ultimate Poker Challenge, held in Las Vegas.

Sixth Place: Online Poker Pro Busts
Carlos Alarcon, an online poker pro from Clifton, NJ made no attempt to hide his disgusted when his pocket 7’s were cracked on the turn by the chip Pawlyk’s K 9. When the fateful K fell, Alarcon ran away from the table with his hands over his face while his friends hurled off a slew of profanities. That pretty much ended Alarcon’s night. Nevertheless, Alarcon did collect $5,093 in prize money which now puts him in excess of $400,000 in tournament winnings.

Fifth Place: Sage Takes the Fifth
Francis Sage, a 21 year old college student from Morton, PA took a terrible beat and went out in fifth place. The University of Pittsburgh senior was dealt pocket A’s and moved all in. Rohan Long called the raise with pocket Q’s and pumped his fist in jubilation when the flop came Q88, good for a full house. Sage shook his head in disbelief and failed to hit one of the two remaining A’s in the deck. That meant Sage has to settle for $6,111 on his spring break vacation.

Fourth Place: Cramer Creamed
Joe Cramer, a restaurant owner from Carlisle, PA became short stacked and moved all in on his final hand with A J. Juan J. Lopez, who held the chip lead, made the call and tabled pocket 4’s. When a 4 flopped, Lopez suddenly had a set and Cramer was left drawing dead. That meant Cramer, playing at his first WSOP Circuit final table, ended up settling for $7,130.

Third Place: Juan J. Lopez Takes Third
Juan J. Lopez, the manager of a bail bonds business from Wilmington, DE appeared to be close to winning his first major tournament. But the Cuban born part time poker player suffered a late rush of misfortune, which ultimately resulted in a third place finish. Lopez exited when he was dealt A K and moved all in after an ace flopped. But Alex Pawlyk had A 2 on the critical hand, which best Lopez when the final board showed AQ287. The two pair scooped the largest pot of the tournament, knocking Lopez to the rail. Lopez, who made it into the money in a WSOP Circuit event held at Harrah’s Atlantic City last December, received a payout totaling $9,167.

Second Place: Online Pro Alex Pawlyk Gets Disconnected
Alex Pawlyk, from New Brunswick, NJ was the runner up. He played extremely well from start to finish, but was helpless to stop his final opponent’s onslaught. Pawlyk began heads up play with nearly a 15 to 1 chip advantage, but was slowly grinded away one hand at a time until he finally was at a slight disadvantage to Long. He ended up settling for an official payout amounting to $17,926.
First Place: Rohan Long Wins
Rohan Long, a Jamaican born real estate broker who now lives in Windsor, CT enjoyed the greatest roller coaster ride of any player at the final table. He was all in several times, and managed to avoid elimination via some skillful play and catching an occasional miracle card which prolonged his stay in the finale. In fact, he survived no less than eight all in situations when play was three handed and heads up, each time connecting with the cards he needed to survive. When play was heads up, Long agreed to a deal with his final adversary and ended up winning the tournament with a pair of aces.
The WSOP Circuit at Caesars Atlantic City continues through March 14. This year’s schedule includes 12 gold ring events, along with multiple second-chance tournaments, single table and mega satellites, in addition to cash games going around the clock inside the Caesars Poker Room. This marks the fifth straight year that Caesars Atlantic City has been a part of the WSOP Circuit. This is the seventh WSOP Circuit stop of the 2009-2010 season following previous tournaments held in Chicago, Southern Indiana, Lake Tahoe, Harrah’s Atlantic City, Tunica, and Council Bluffs.

A total of 945 players from 48 countries entered the €5,300 Main Event creating a total prize pool of €3,686,400.

MacPhee has a phenomenal track record of winning seats to EPT events but has never before had a big cash. He’s been following the EPT circuit since the beginning of Season 5 and has competed in 15 events, winning seats to 14 of them. He was one of 243 players who won their seats to EPT Berlin on PokerStars.

MacPhee is a well-known online player who broke the PokerStars record for most Tournament Leader Board points in April 2008, accruing more than $100,000 profit in a month. EPT Berlin was the second time he had found himself heads-up against Tahkokallio. The first was last October in a £1,000 side event at EPT London – which Tahkokallio won.

MacPhee said: “Winning an EPT was a real goal of mine. I have worked very hard for this. It feels awesome. Ilari is an extremely good player and I’ve got a lot of respect for him.”

EPT Berlin, which was held by Casino SPIELBANK Berlin, was interrupted on Saturday – Day 4 of the event – when an armed robbery took place. The gunmen targeted the registration desk outside the tournament area at the Grand Hyatt Hotel but no one was seriously injured and the suspects fled after a security guard intervened. The tournament resumed after a few hours and a police investigation is now under way.

At the time of the raid, Tahkokallio was involved in a huge pot with Italian Luca Cainelli. Cainelli was ahead with AQ v Tahkokallio’s AT. When the event resumed, tournament director Thomas Kremser said the players could consider the hand dead and take their chips back. However, despite the fact that he was losing the hand, Tahkokallio said the river card should be dealt – a sporting gesture greeted by applause. Tahkokallio, a professional poker player for two years, said: “I like to be fair and play in good spirit. It wasn’t even really a choice for me.” He later busted Cainelli and his second place finish netted him €600,000

Among those who made a deep run in the EPT Berlin Main Event were Russian EPTLive commentator Ilya Gorodetskiy, who came 16th for €25,000 and Team PokerStars Pro Jude Ainsworth who went out in 19th place for €23,500. Other Team PokerStars Pros to make the money were Johannes Strassman, Ben Kang and George Danzer from Germany, Vlad Zguba from Ukraine, Vadim Markushevski from Belarus, Briton Julian Thew, the “Flying Dutchman” Marcel Luske and William Thorson from Sweden.

In EPT Berlin side events, Team PokerStars Pro Noah Boeken came fifth in the €1,000 PLO tournament and Team Poker SportStar Fatima de Melo made the final of the €330 Ladies Event.

In fourth place is Jude Ainsworth. Ainsworth, from Ireland, only joined Team PokerStars Pro late last year but has gone deep in every EPT he’s played so far. The other Team Pros still in the running for the €1 million first prize are Vlad Zguba from Ukraine, William Thorson from Sweden, Julian Thew from the UK, the “Flying Dutchman” Marcel Luske and German Benjamin Kang.

A total of 945 players from 48 countries competed in the EPT Berlin Main Event – a fiercely-contested, record-breaking €5,300 tournament. Twenty players have already snagged their share of the €4,725,000 prize pool including Team PokerStars Pros George Danzer and Vadim Markushevski.

The tournament – being run in partnership with Casino Spielbank Berlin – is the first EPT to take place in the German capital and the biggest poker tournament ever held in this country.