The World Series of Poker Circuit kicked off the new year with a special engagement: the first WSOPC stop in Bell Gardens, California. From Jan. 1 through 12, 2012, the Bicycle Casino will play host to 12 ring events, including the $1,600 Main Event, which begins Tuesday, Jan. 10.
Only half of the events have finished, but some big stories have already emerged. Michael Rosenbach won his third WSOPC ring when he won Event #4 Six-Handed No Limit Hold��em for $22,035. What��s especially incredible is that Rosenbach won all three rings within the last two months, the first two coming at the Harvey��s Lake Tahoe stop. The 29-year-old pro��s performance in November earned him the ��Best All Around Player�� distinction, which guaranteed him a spot in the National Championship.
Speaking of players who have multiple rings, La Sengphet, who you may recall as last year��s National Championship fourth-place finisher, took down Event #5 $345 No-Limit Hold'em, making her the first woman to win three WSOPC titles. Sengphet outlasted a field of 377 players to claim the $25,242 first-place prize, and in doing so, joined an exclusive list of players that have three or more rings including Kyle Cartwright, Dwyte Pilgrim, and Mark ��Pegasus�� Smith.
La Sengphet
This week, the PokerNews Live Reporting Team will be providing coverage of the Main Event. Here's a look at the WSOP Circuit Bicycle Casino events completed thus far:
WSOP Circuit Bicycle Casino Ring Event #1 No-Limit Hold��em Re-Entry
Buy-in
Entrants
Prize Pool
$300+$45
748
$217,668
Place
Player
Hometown
Prize
1
Huy Quach
West Covina, CA
$44,663
2
Joshua Evans
Plano, TX
$27,610
3
Ryan Buckholtz
Encino, CA
$20,250
4
Travis Carson
Los Angeles, CA
$15,060
5
Joseph Saccone
Venice, CA
$11,350
6
Kevin Olsta
Bartlett, IL
$8,670
7
Arthur Cole
Mission Viejo, CA
$6,710
8
Robert Ross
Stockton, CA
$5,260
9
Joseph Dickstein
Los Angeles, CA
$4,175
WSOP Circuit Bicycle Casino Ring Event #2 No-Limit Hold'em
With several events yet to be determined, the race for the WSOP Circuit Bicycle Casino Champion is wide open. Whoever captures that title, along with the eventual winner of the Main Event, will automatically qualify for the Second Annual $1 Million National Championship. That event is limited to 100 players, and so far only 12 have qualified:
National Championship Qualifiers
Player
Qualified
David Nicholson
Horseshoe Bossier City Main Event Winner
Chris Gamboa
Horseshoe Bossier City Casino Champion
Robert Castoire
Horseshoe Southern Indiana Main Event Winner
Mark ��Pegasus�� Smith
Horseshoe Southern Indiana Casino Champion
Bob Chow
Horseshoe Hammond Main Event Winner
Drazen Ilich
Horseshoe Hammond Casino Champion
Gene Dudek
IP Biloxi Casino Champion
Jerry Monroe
IP Biloxi Main Event Winner
Michael Rosenbach
Lake Tahoe Casino Champ
Bryan Schultz
Lake Tahoe Main Event Champion
Tuan Phan
Harrah��s AC Main Event Winner
Hao Le
Harrah��s AC Casino Champ
In addition to the qualifiers, players who earn enough points on the National Leaderboard will be able to buy-in to the National Championship:
WSOPC National Leaderboard Top Ten*
Player
Points
Rings
Cashed
Earnings
David Clark
135
1
5
$46,532
Matthew Chang
112.5
1
6
$23,149
Beverly Cheney
107.5
0
6
$27,753
Felicia Johnico
107.5
1
4
$21,998
Russell Ivy
102.5
0
4
$65,035
Gregory Joslyn
95
1
5
$37,533
Thomas Cronin
95
0
4
$21,396
Matthew Colvin
87.5
1
7
$27,741
Nicholas Long
87.5
1
5
$22,996
John Evans
87.5
0
5
$12,551
*Leading up to the WSOP Circuit Bicycle Casino stop.
Don��t miss your chance to qualify for the National Championship. There are still plenty of opportunities to play, including any of the remaining stops on the WSOP Circuit schedule.
