More Great Memories of WSOP Circuits Past
Four Years in the Big Easy (2005-2009) – Part 3
New Orleans, LA (May 13 2009) – Here are more memorable highlights from WSOP Circuit action at Harrah’s New Orleans, from 2005-2008 (Note: This is the last of a three-part series):
Andy Philachack Winning 2007 Championship after Two Second-Place Finishes –
There’s an old saying that no one remembers who finishes second. Prior to entering the 2007 Winter Bayou Poker Challenge championship, Andy Philachack, a 33-year-old semi-pro from Dallas had finished twice on two occasions. One of those was to Phil Hellmuth at the 2007 WSOP when the poker legend won his record-setting 11th gold bracelet. Despite cashing for nearly $400,000 in that tournament for second place, Philachack was disappointed not to win. Six months later, Philachack came to New Orleans, won his first major title, and became the 2007 Winter Bayou Poker Challenge Champion.
Michael Vardman Has Friends in High Places – Michael Vardman, a retiree from Laneville, TX had not originally planned to come to New Orleans and play in the WSOP Circuit. However, Vardman was talked into coming to Harrah’s New Orleans at the last minute by some friends and reluctantly made the trip. He entered the $500 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em tournament with 272 entries. A day later, Vardman won his first gold ring and $42,214 in prize money.
Daphne Turner Becomes the First Female to Win an Open Event in New Orleans – An all-boys club pretty much existed during the first four years of the WSOP Circuit in New Orleans. There were no female winners in the first 47 tournaments, other than in the ladies championship. Then, Daphne Turner from Richmond, TX came along and made history. She won the 2008 Bayou Poker Challenge Event #11 ($300 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em) and collected $34,920. Turner's victory established several milestones. First, she became the first female to ever win an open event at the Bayou Poker Challenge. She also became only the sixth female to accomplish this feat nationwide since the WSOP Circuits began in 2005. Turner's victory was truly remarkable, considering she had no previous record of cashes in a major poker tournament.
Bad Beat Jackpot Now Over $120,000!
Harrah’s New Orleans set a new record as highest bad beat jackpot in its history. The bad beat jackpot currently stands at over $120,000 – and is increasing by the minute. The qualifying hand is four-of-a kind. The last time the bad beat jackpot was hit was over two months ago. When the bad beat jackpot is hit, the “loser” receives 50 percent of the prize amount. The winner gets 25 percent. The others players at the table split the remaining 25 percent.
Michael Raimon (Bradenton, FL) Wins Event #9
The ninth of twenty scheduled gold ring events was completed today at Harrah’s New Orleans. The $500 buy-in Six-Handed No-Limit Hold’em tournament attracted a strong field of 172 players, who entered the two-day competition.
Six-handed No-Limit Hold’em first started as an online game. It became popular in large part because some players prefer to play in short-handed games. Since there are six players (instead of nine or ten) at the table, players generally play more hands and get in more confrontations. Because the blinds and antes accelerate at a higher rate given the shorter orbits, players can’t be as patient in starting-hand requirements as at a full table.
Six-handed No-Limit Hold’em made its World Series of Poker debut in 2005. It has since proven to be a popular schedule addition, not only at the WSOP and Circuit events, but at many other tournaments, as well.
The tournament winner was Michael Riamon. He is a 37-year-old poker pro from Bradenton, FL. Raimon also owns a chain of retail show stores called “Athlete’s Foot.” He is originally from Massachusetts and played basketball while in college. He is married with two children.
Raimon started the final table ranked second in chips. He seized the chip lead on a critical hand when he made a flush on the turn against John “the Dancer” Riola, who finished as the runner up. Riola made two pair on the turn and had his adversary all-in. But the turn card also gave Raimon a flush, which ended up scooping the largest pot of the tournament. Some time later, Raimon took Riola’s last chips with a straight on what turned out to be the final hand of the event.
This was the fastest final table of any event play so far. Clocking in at the rapid pace of one hour and 45 minutes, the six-handed finale breezed by in comparison to other finales which have last 4 to 6 hours, on average.
This marked Raimon’s first major tournament victory. He previously cashed twice at the WSOP in Las Vegas. However, prior to this event none of his numerous in-the-money tournament finishes was better than 15th. Raimon usually plays poker at the Hard Rock Casino in Florida.
Raimon won first place prize money totaling $24,192. He was also presented with a gold ring, the ultimate achievement for winning a WSOP Circuit event.
The six-handed final table finished in the following order:
1st Place – Michael Raimon, a 37-year-old retail store owner and poker pro, won his first major tournament after cashing seven times previous at other tournaments, including twice at the WSOP.
2nd Place – The runner up was John “the Dancer” Riola, a retired former professional ballroom dancer from Biloxi, MS. Riola owned various dance studios and competed in top events. His poker record now includes six tournament cashes, and several final tables at daily events held near his home in Biloxi, MS. His official payout amounted to $15,016.
3rd Place – Brad Jones, a 28-year-old poker pro from Charleston, SC finished in third place. The former small business owner plays mostly online. He is now playing more live tournaments. This marked his first time to make it to a final table.
4th Place – The fourth-place finisher was former WSOP Circuit event winner Timothy Miles, from New Orleans. Miles won a gold ring here in 2007, cashing for $80,000. Miles, a.k.a. “TimKrank,” was also the runner up in the 2008 Bayou Poker Challenge championship held last year. This marked his fourth time to cash in New Orleans.
5th Place – Mike Anderson went out in fifth place. He is self-employed and lives in Houston.
6th Place – Chris Morrison (a.k.a. “Dashaiert”) finished in sixth place. The former medical salesman-turned-poker pro from Dallas works with an online poker site. He cashed two times earlier this year at the WSOP Circuit event at Harrah’s Tunica.
Notable Players Who Finished In-the-Money – Mark Wilds (14th place) cashed for the second time at this series. He’s won over $800,000 in his career, including 18 WSOP cashes, 9 WSOP Circuit cashes, and 62 in-the-money finishes overall. Jeffrey Brown (18th place) finished fifth in the 2007 Bayou Poker Challenge championship event. | 
