Event #1 on the schedule of the 2015/16 WSOP Circuit Harveys Lake Tahoe is in the history. Poker player Tom Masinter from Dublin, California bested the field to collect a first-place prize of $12,181 and the second gold ring in his career.
The two-day $365 No-Limit Hold’em event attracted a field of 145 hopefuls and a prize pool of $43,500 was generated. The top 15 finishers were paid, with lowest payouts amounting to $734.
The nine-handed final table was reached on Day 1. It started with Robert Angeleri as the chip leader. The player had a total of 316,000 in chips. Masinter was eighth in chips at the beginning of nine-handed play with only 19 big blinds left. Clearly, the odds were in his favor last night as he managed to catch up and eventually get his hands on the gold ring.
Masinter had to face Craig Nicholls for the final heads-up match. Nicholls, too, is from Dublin, California and has long been a good friend of Masinter’s. The two even came together to play at the Harveys Lake Tahoe Circuit stop. Nicholls scooped $7,528 for his runner-up finish.
Commenting on his victory and his second gold ring, the winner said that he considered his achievement very important as he had the opportunity to share it with his friend. The player won his first gold piece in 2010 when he topped the field of the 2010/11 WSOP Circuit $345 No-Limit Hold’em event. He also collected the amount of $21,147 for his victory.
So far, Masinter has cashed in a total of 9 Circuit events and has collected more than $70,000.
And here are the rest of the players who made it to the final table and how much they were paid for their efforts:
Robert Angeleri from Napa, California collected $5,434 for his 3rd place in the event. William Watchman from Reno, Nevada took 4th place for $3,993. Tim Phillips from Rio Linda, California finished 5th for $2,985.
Anthony Banuelos from King City, California took 6th place to scoop $2,269 of the prize pool. Craig Gold from Belmont, California finished 7th for $1,754. Steve Foutty from Mill Valley, California received $1,378 for his 8th place in the event. Rounding out the final table, Julius Threadgill from Hallettsville, Texas was paid $1,100.
