Daniel, an entrepreneur from South Carolina, claimed his first WSOP Circuit title and a cash prize of $94,002 for taking down the Monster Stack
After three days of action at Harrah’s Cherokee North Carolina, Zuheir Daniel topped the behemoth field of the Monster Stack or Event #7 on the schedule of the ongoing WSOP Circuit stop for his largest-ever poker cash and his first-ever gold ring from the series.
The three-day $400 buy-in tournament drew a field of 1,725 entrants who crushed the $300,000 and created a prize pool of $569,250. The Monster Stack featured two starting flights and one more day of action. Day 2 of the event was played on Thursday at the host casino. There were only 89 runners for the title of the massive field of more than 1,700 contenders who registered into the tournament, eyeing the gold ring, the lion’s share of the money, and the accolades accompanying the champion.
The top 186 finishers went home with a cash from the Monster Stack. Minimum payouts started from $588. But all eyes were on the top prize of $94,002 and the piece of WSOP Circuit jewelry.
Day 2 of the Monster Stack started with Wayne Lovell as the chip leader. The player registered into the event through its first starting flight and bagged and tagged an impressive stack of 1.642 million at the end of Day 1A. Lovell, a two-time gold ring winner, eventually finished third for $43,429.
Who’s the Winner?
Daniel does not play poker for a living. The 52-year-old from Hilton Head, South Carolina is an entrepreneur. However, the player told WSOP staff after last night’s victory that he plans to begin playing more tournaments.
Daniel went on to say that he has been playing almost all week and that while he might have made a lot of mistakes, he has also learned a lot.
The newest WSOP Circuit champion was among the chip leaders into a tough final table that featured former gold ring winners, including Lovell and Rex Clinkscales. It was in fact Clinkscales who led the final ten into the closing stage of the tournament with 7.95 million. The eventual winner held 5.63 million at the time, good for the third largest stack.
Daniel’s ride to victory was a bumpy one. The player was down to just a couple of big blinds at one point. However, a series of good hands helped him double up and then triple up to regain momentum, and claim the title in the end.
Daniel faced Harold Kizzire heads-up. With nine WSOP Circuit and four WSOP cashes, Kizzire was certainly a scary and experienced opponent. However, the Monster Stack title was Daniel’s to win and the player sent his final opponent to the rail to claim what was his. Kizzire had to settle for a consolation prize of $58,518 for his deep run.
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