Horseshoe Tunica, one of Mississippi’s most popular poker destinations, is currently playing host to the 2015/16 WSOP Circuit. As usual, as many as 12 gold rings are to be distributed and 7 such pieces have already found their owners. Event #7 on the schedule was the latest to be completed. It was a $365 No-Limit Hold’em one and saw poker pro Robert Hankins from Murfreesboro, Tennessee emerge victorious to collect the top payout of $17,621 and his fourth career gold ring.
Event #7 attracted a total of 235 entries from around the nation as well as several international ones and those generated a prize pool of $70,500. The top 24 finishers received a share of the money, payouts starting from $651 and gradually rising to $17,621 for the winner.
The event ran from January 26-27. A total of 21 levels were scheduled to be played on Day 1. And by its end, there were 8 remaining hopefuls who bagged up their chips for the night and returned for Day 2 to play down to a champion. John Longowa started the day as the chip leader with a total of 942,000 and a significant advantage over his opponents. Hankins was second in chips with 435,000.
And eventually, the two players faced each other heads-up. Despite his lead at the beginning of the day, Longowa could not hold up against Hankins’ pocket queens on what turned out to be the last hand in play. The player from Weldon Spring, Missouri took home the amount of $10,894 for his second-place finish.
Jason Walden from Madison, Tennessee took 3rd place in the event for $7,928. Clay Weatherford from Fulton, Mississippi finished 4th for $5,863. Justin Fields from Sikeston, Missouri collected $4,404 for finishing 5th.
James Harper from Prattsville, Arkansas collected a payout of $3,359 for his 6th place. Kyle Phillips from Hiram, Georgia finished 7th for $2,601. William Spangler from Baton Rouge, Louisiana scooped $2,045 for taking 8th place. Three time gold-ring winner Michael Schneider from Covington, Georgia finished 9th for $1,631.
As mentioned above, the event’s champion is no stranger to the WSOP Circuit stage. The player has previously won three Circuit tournaments and has captured three gold rings, respectively. Overall, his WSOP Circuit winnings amount to a little less than $300,000 and he has collected those in 35 events.
