Previewing the 2011-2012 World Series of Poker Circuit Caesars Atlantic City
March 1 marked the start of the World Series of Poker Circuit��s latest stop, which is happening at Caesars Atlantic City. The 12-ring event stop, which runs through March 12, is among the most anticipated tournament series on the East Coast, as evidenced by attractive numbers in the preliminary events.
The stop will culminate in the $1,600 Main Event beginning on March 10, but there were a number of motivating stories that developed throughout the prelims, though none more interesting than that of Brandon Croft, a 31-year-old recreational player from Sumter, South Carolina.
Croft��s story began in Event #3: $555 No-Limit Hold��em, which attracted 253 players and created a prize pool of $122,705. Croft managed to navigate the field and captured his first WSOP Circuit ring, not to mention the $30,062 first-place prize.
A few days later inEvent #5: $555 NLHE, which drew 263 entrants and created a prize pool of $127,555. Croft was at it again. He certainly had momentum and experience as the event was the same buy-in and nearly the same size as his previous win, so watching him capture the gold ring was basically d��j�� vu.
That win made Croft an early favorite, if not a virtual lock, to claim the Caesars Atlantic City Casino Championship, which would qualify him for the National Championship along with the eventual winner of the Main Event.
Here's a look at the WSOP Circuit Caesars Atlantic City events completed thus far:
WSOP Circuit Caesars Atlantic City Ring Event #1: No-Limit Hold��em
| Buy-in | Entrants | Prize Pool |
|---|---|---|
| $300+$45 | 667 | $194,097 |
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michael McGuinness | Toms River, NJ | $39,790 |
| 2 | Riley Hilton | Clintonville, WI | $24,621 |
| 3 | Norman Rodriguez | New York, NY | $18,059 |
| 4 | David Kim | Flushing, NY | $13,430 |
| 5 | Kevin Milton | Stewartstown, PA | $10,122 |
| 6 | Anthony Erekat | Lodi, NJ | $7,731 |
| 7 | Matt Iles | Atco, NJ | $5,982 |
| 8 | Peter Luo | New York, NY | $4,689 |
| 9 | John Ernst | Oakhurst, NJ | $3,723 |
WSOP Circuit Caesars Atlantic City Ring Event #2: No-Limit Hold'em Re-Entry
| Buy-in | Entrants | Prize Pool |
|---|---|---|
| $300+$45 | 887 | $258,121 |
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sarah Dygert | Alfred, NY | $50,333 |
| 2 | John Delrossi | Mantua, NJ | $31,103 |
| 3 | Russell Pittman | Roanoke, VA | $22,910 |
| 4 | Michael Green | Baltimore, MD | $17,098 |
| 5 | Rex Clinkscales | Las Vegas, NV | $12,926 |
| 6 | Stephen Scales | Red Bank, NJ | $9,899 |
| 7 | Chris Hoback | Alexandria, VA | $7,676 |
| 8 | Caroline Weng | Forest Hills, NY | $6,027 |
| 9 | Yevgeniy Sorkin | Rockville, MD | $4,791 |
WSOP Circuit Caesars Atlantic City Event #3: No-Limit Hold��em
| Buy-in | Entrants | Prize Pool |
|---|---|---|
| $500+$55 | 253 | $122,705 |
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brandon Croft | Sumter, SC | $30,062 |
| 2 | Joseph Stuckey | Hicksville, NY | $18,575 |
| 3 | Michael Muscatello | Seaford, NY | $13,420 |
| 4 | Samuel Elderfield | Nanaimo, BC | $9,876 |
| 5 | Jonathan Sorscher | Lynbrook, NY | $7,399 |
| 6 | James Governa | Richboro, PA | $5,638 |
| 7 | Abraham Faroni | Penn Valley, PA | $4,368 |
| 8 | Alex Rocha | S. Setuaket, NY | $3,439 |
| 9 | Brian Ali | Brooklyn, NY | $2,751 |
WSOP Circuit Caesars Atlantic City Ring Event #4: No Limit Hold��em
| Buy-in | Entrants | Prize Pool |
|---|---|---|
| $300+$45 | 495 | $144,045 |
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ali Navid | Centreville, VA | $30,969 |
| 2 | Rexford McCaffrey | Millville, NJ | $19,147 |
| 3 | Todd Brenn | Tallmadge, OH | $13,988 |
| 4 | Brian Grzywaczewski | Montgomery, NY | $10,969 |
| 5 | Edward Shade | Hurricane, WV | $7,799 |
| 6 | Robert Cochrane | Hagerstown, MD | $5,949 |
| 7 | Rajiv Khanna | Floral Park, NY | $4,602 |
| 8 | Chris Reslock | Atlantic City, NJ | $3,611 |
| 9 | Thomas Savitsky | Randolph, NJ | $2,873 |
WSOP Circuit Caesars Atlantic City Event #5: No-Limit Hold'em
| Buy-in | Entrants | Prize Pool |
|---|---|---|
| $500+$55 | 263 | $127,555 |
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brandon Croft | Sumter, SC | $31,251 |
| 2 | Thomas Ross | Brooklyn, NY | $19,309 |
| 3 | Timothy Little | Cheverly, MD | $13,951 |
| 4 | Stephen Scales | Red Bank, NJ | $10,267 |
| 5 | Benjamin Carli | Alliance, OH | $7,692 |
| 6 | Jesse Mercado | Brooklyn, NY | $5,861 |
| 7 | Michael O��Dea | Mt. Airy | $4,540 |
| 8 | Wesley Ismay | Tempe, AZ | $3,575 |
| 9 | Heather Sue Mercer | New York, NY | $2,859 |
WSOP Circuit Caesars Atlantic City Ring Event #6: No-Limit Hold��em Six Handed
| Buy-in | Entrants | Prize Pool |
|---|---|---|
| $300+$45 | 369 | $107,379 |
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Keith Binder | Highland Mills, NY | $23,623 |
| 2 | Dave Fox | Coram, NY | $14,598 |
| 3 | Dejuante Alexander | Houston, TX | $10,667 |
| 4 | Arkadiy Tsinis | Las Vegas, NV | $7,920 |
| 5 | Rusian Dykshteyn | Brooklyn, NY | $5,972 |
| 6 | Anthony Pesce | Saint James, NY | $4,571 |
WSOP Circuit Caesars Atlantic City Ring Event #7: No-Limit Hold��em
| Buy-in | Entrants | Prize Pool |
|---|---|---|
| $500+$55 | 286 | $138,710 |
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Abraham Araya | Carrollton, TX | $33,290 |
| 2 | Wooyang Lin | Morristown, NJ | $20,573 |
| 3 | Michael Wolf | Staten Island, NY | $14,928 |
| 4 | Amanda Musumeci | Philadelphia, PA | $11,014 |
| 5 | Joseph Desanto | New York, NY | $8,260 |
| 6 | Austen Johnson | Woodsboro, MD | $6,295 |
| 7 | Justin Turner | Manassas, VA | $4,871 |
| 8 | Christopher Halkitis | St. Louis, MO | $3,828 |
| 9 | Leo Whitt | Louisville, KY | $3,054 |
WSOP Circuit Caesars Atlantic City Ring Event #8: Limit Omaha Eight or Better
| Buy-in | Entrants | Prize Pool |
|---|---|---|
| $300+$45 | 160 | $46,560 |
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | David Key | Baton Rouge, LA | $12,571 |
| 2 | Chris Reslock | Atlantic City, NJ | $7,769 |
| 3 | Dale Beaudoin | Bar Harbor, ME | $5,592 |
| 4 | Gregory Law | Mount Laurel, NJ | $4,099 |
| 5 | James Toth | Leesburg, VA | $3,057 |
| 6 | Robert Gray | Atlantic City, NJ | $2,320 |
| 7 | Zachary Kramer | Syosset, NY | $1,791 |
| 8 | Charles Levinsohn | Monmouth Beach, NJ | $1,405 |
| 9 | Laurence Goldstein | Commack, NY | $1,120 |
WSOP Circuit Caesars Atlantic City Ring Event #9 No-Limit Hold��em
| Buy-in | Entrants | Prize Pool |
|---|---|---|
| $1,000+$80 | 145 | $140,650 |
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Daniel Blakeman | Houston, TX | $39,382 |
| 2 | Josh Brikis | Pittsburgh, PA | $24,341 |
| 3 | Todd Brick | Scarsdale, NY | $17,570 |
| 4 | Sean Miller | Rockville, MD | $12,910 |
| 5 | Arkadiy Tsinis | Las Vegas, NV | $9,651 |
| 6 | Oliver Jenkins | Fort Lauderdale, FL | $3,557 |
| 7 | Bradley Whiteside | Little Orleans, MD | $5,672 |
| 8 | Eracles Panayiotou | Toms River, NJ | $4,456 |
| 9 | Anthony Ibrahim | Annadale, VA | $3,557 |
With several events yet to be determined, the race for the WSOP Circuit Caesars Atlantic City Casino Champion is undecided. 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 a handful of players 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 |
| Freddy Deeb | Bicycle Casino Main Event Winner |
| Huy Quach | Bicycle Casino Champ |
| Raja Kattamuri | Choctaw Casino Champ |
| Abraham Araya | Choctaw Main Event Champion |
| Gary Bolden | Caesars Palace Casino Champ |
| Kevin Calenzo | Caesars Palace Main Event Winner |
| Matthew Weber | Harrah��s Tunica Casino Champ |
| Kurt Jewell | Harrah��s Tunica Main Event Winner |
| Charles Flett | Palm Beach Casino Champ |
| James Harnden | Palm Beach Main Event Winner |
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 | 165 | 1 | 7 | $56,209 |
| Mark ��P0ker H0�� Kroon | 137.5 | 1 | 6 | $61,156 |
| Chris Parsons | 132.5 | 0 | 6 | $72,849 |
| Russell Ivy | 130 | 0 | 7 | $72,703 |
| Benjamin Kramer | 130 | 1 | 8 | $58,600 |
| Michael Cooper | 130 | 0 | 7 | $55,092 |
| Roman Valerstein | 125 | 0 | 5 | $116,282 |
| Chris Tryba | 125 | 0 | 7 | $31,673 |
| Daniel Lowery | 122.5 | 0 | 6 | $240,522 |
| Matthew Chang | 122.5 | 1 | 7 | $25,468 |
*Leading up to the WSOP Circuit Caesars Atlantic City 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.
Remaining 2011-2012 WSOPC Schedule
| Event | Location | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Circuit Event | Harrah��s Rincon | March 15 - 26, 2012 |
| Circuit Event | Horseshoe Council Bluffs | March 29 - April 9, 2012 |
| Circuit Event | Harrah��s St. Louis | April 12 - 23, 2012 |
| Circuit Event | Harrah��s Chester | April 26 - May 7, 2012 |
| Circuit Event | Harrah��s New Orleans | May 10 - 21, 2012 |
*Photos courtesy of Eric Harkins and ImageMasters.
Get all the latest PokerNews updates on your social media outlets. Follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook today! In the meantime, see who qualifies for the National Championship this week by following our Live Reporting Team��s coverage from the Caesars Atlantic City.
