Nancy Birnbaum Wins Event #3
Mother’s Day was truly memorable for Nancy Birnbaum. She
won the most recent World Series of Poker Circuit tournament held at
Harrah’s New Orleans. Birnbaum became the first woman to win an open
event in New Orleans in the five-year history of the WSOP Circuit
events (aside from the annual ladies-only tournament).
Event #3 on this year’s Bayou Poker Challenge schedule was a $500
buy-in No-Limit Hold’em tournament, which was played over two days.
The competition attracted a strong field of 341 entries. The top
payout was one of the largest cash prizes awarded to the winner in any
non-Main Event held in New Orleans over the past two years. The
finale was played on Mother’s Day.
Birnbaum works in real estate and lives in Atlanta. She has become
quite a serious poker player within the past year, winning her way
into last year’s WSOP Main Event in Las Vegas. She also won the
ladies championship event (Spring Break Poker Championship) at the
Beau Rivage in Mississippi a few months ago. She also finished 17th
in the 2007 WSOP Ladies Championship held in Las Vegas. This
performance in New Orleans marked her eighth career tournament final
table appearance.
Birnbaum started off the final table as one of the largest
stacks. But she lost some momentum early on day two and needed a big
hand to seize the chip lead. That happened when play was
three-handed. Birnbaum was dealt pocket aces, and doubled up versus
the then-chip leader and never lost her advantage from that point
forward.
The final hand of the tournament came when runner-up Todd
Wood was dealt pocket fours and moved all-in. Birnbaum was dealt A-J
suited and called. Birnbaum caught a jack on the river to take the
last pot and her biggest poker win ever.
Birnbaum won first place prize money totaling $51,269. She
was also presented with a gold ring, the ultimate achievement for
winning a WSOP Circuit event.
The top ten finishers were as follows:
1st Place – Nancy Birnbaum, a.k.a. “Trouble” became the first female
champion to win an open event at Harrah’s New Orleans. Appropriately,
her victory came on Mother’s Day. This was Birnbaum’s third time to
cash in a major tournament this year, and second win.
2nd Place – The runner up was Todd Wood, from New Orleans, LA. This
was his first recorded cash in a major tournament.
3rd Place – Tyler Smith came close to having the best comeback story
of them all. He was down to less than 2,000 in chips at one point
late on day one (players began the tourney with 6,000 in chips). He
coasted all the way to the final table and ended up finishing in third
place. Smith, who won a gold ring last year in the $500 buy-in
No-Limit Hold’em at Harrah’s New Orleans, now has over a quarter
million dollars in lifetime tournament earnings.
4th Place – Keechi Settlemyre, from Missouri City, TX finished in
fourth place. Settlemyre is a tree farmer, who raises pine trees.
This was his highest major tournament finish, to date.
5th Place – Shawn P. Quillin, a.k.a. “Doc” was eliminated in fifth
place. The physician and radiologist from Charlotte, NC enjoyed his
best previous finish two years ago in the WSOP Circuit championship at
Caesars Indiana, where he took 11th place. So making the final table
in this event was a first.
6th Place – Larry Price went out in sixth place. The insurance
adjuster from Gretna, LA previously finished as the runner up in last
year’s Bayou Winter Poker Challenge (good for $83,058). This marked
his third major tournament cash.
7th Place – The seventh-place finisher was John Payne, from Guntown,
MS. The former aircraft worker, who is now retired, cashed for the
second time in a major tournament, this time for $6,615.
8th Place – Dave Chocheles ended up as the eighth-place finisher. The
litigation adjuster from New Orleans and LSU graduate won a charity
tournament (“Habitat for Humanity”) previously.
9th Place – The ninth-place finisher was Randal DuBois, from
Abbeville, LA. He previously took fourth place in the 2009 Acadiana
Series of Poker tournament.
10th Place – Nick Nicoletta, a retiree from Gulfport, MS finished in
tenth place. Last year, the former plywood manufacturer nailed down
365th place in the 2008 WSOP Main Event.
Notable Players Who Finished In-the-Money – Mark Wilds, from Gulfport,
MS is one of poker’s most consistent under-the-radar performers. He’s
won nearly $800,000 in his career including 18 WSOP cashes, 8 WSOP
Circuit cashes, and 61 in-the-money finishes overall. Wilds finished
14th in this event. The 21st-place finisher was Gabriel Andrade.
This was his fifth WSOP Circuit cash at Harrah’s New Orleans. The
22nd-place finisher was George Guzman. He took third place last year
in Event #6 at the WSOP in Las Vegas, good for $93,806. Kevin Tran
finished in 24th place. Tran took third place last year at the
Caesars Poker Classic in Las Vegas. Joseph McGuire finished in 25th
place. He previously won a WSOP Circuit gold ring at Caesars Palace
Las Vegas in Event #6.
Note: The WSOP Circuit’s fifth season concludes with its final stop
at Harrah’s New Orleans. The two-week tournament runs from May 8th
through 21st. It’s not too late to come and play. Poker players may
call and receive discount hotel accommodations at the Hilton New
Orleans Riverside. Players should call 1-800-HILTONS. When booking,
players must request -- CODE: WSP. Reservations can also be made
through: www.harrahsneworleans.com
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