The Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles is currently playing host to another stop on the 2015/16 WSOP Circuit schedule. Five gold pieces have already been handed to their owners, with the latest gold ring event being completed on Thursday. Zahi Bahar from Las Vegas, Nevada emerged victorious in a regular $365 No-Limit Hold’em tournament to collect his first-ever gold ring and $10,520 of the entire prize pool.
A two-day event, the $365 No-Limit Hold’em attracted 117 hopefuls from around the nation as well as from other parts of the world. A prize pool of $35,100 was created and it was distributed to the top 12 finishers, with lowest payouts totaling $735.
The unofficial ten-handed final table was reached late on Day 1. It started with Mark Kogan as the chip leader with a total of 250,000. Bahar was fifth in chips at that point with a stack of 95,000. It took a little more than three hours of play before the names of the two heads-up opponents became clear.
Bahar was to face Charles Bailey from West Chester, Pennsylvania. The two players bagged up their chips for the night and returned on Day 2 of the event to play down to a winner. Two-handed match kicked off with Bailey holding the chip lead. The player had 645,000 in chips against his opponent’s 525,000. The match lasted for a little more than an hour. Eventually, it was Bahar who claimed the gold ring and the lion’s share of the prize pool. As for Bailey, he took home the amount of $6,510 for his runner-up finish.
Brian Perzinski from Phoenix, Arizona finished 3rd in the tournament to collect a payout of $4,635. Start-of-the-day chip leader Mark Kogan from Oceanside, California took 4th place for $3,465. One-time gold ring winner Shawn Van Asdale from Reno, Nevada received $2,495 for taking 5th place.
Robert Young from Torrance, California finished 6th, good for $1,880. Harry Arutyunyan received $1,450 for taking 7th place. Three-time gold ring winner Joe Kuether from Elm Grove, Wisconsin collected $1,135 for his 8th place in the event. Brandon Long, another player from Torrance, California, took 9th place for $905.
One-time gold ring winner Chad Donnelly from Englewood, Colorado finished 10th. Edward Liu from Los Angeles, California, who has formerly won two gold rings, took 11th place in the event. Brian Manalany finished 12th. All three players collected $735 for their efforts.
