WSOP Circuit Lake Tahoe begins

The latest stop on the new WSOP tour appears to be getting off to a good start. Event 1 had 542 entrants. Of course, it was only a $200+25 NLHE event. Tournament report follows:

Coming Home: World Series of Poker Returns to Where It All Began

Event #1
No-Limit Hold’em
Buy-in: $200 (+25)
Number of Entries: 542
Total Prize Money: $105,148

Official Results:
1. Tony Prestigiacomo, Genoa, NV, $31,563
2. Steven Lunn, Arroya Grande, CA, 16,940
3. Jody Thompson, Lithonia, CA, 8,410
4. Ron Collins, Oakley, CA, 7,360
5. John Buchanan, Las Vegas, NV, 6,310
6. Kevin Kanemasu, Sacramento, CA, 5,255
7. Jeff Bond, Thousand Oaks, CA, 4,205
8. Hien Le, San Francisco, CA, 3,155
9. Don Mullins, Mooresville, NC, 2,105
10. Stephen May, 1,155
11. Jory Post, 1,155
12. Nick Garcia, 1,155
13. Vin Pham, 945
14. Gary Smith, 945
15. Michael Nelson, 945
16. Austin Jones, 735
17. Michael Nelson, 735
18. Josh Paul, 735
19. Dustin Fox, 525
20. Joseph Seimas, 525
21. Tony Dedo, 525
22. Vic Campana, 525
23. Jim Hoppersteag, 525
24. Tom Nguyen, 525
25. Matt Letourneau, 525
26. David Goodell, 525
27. Tammy Ritter, 525
28. Ted Milkey, 420
29. Tony Yuke, 420
30. John Gorman, 420
31. Earl Odom, 420
32. Larry Gilbertson, 420
33. Tim Briscoe, 420
34. Ernie Meier, 420
35. Chris Ekwall, 420
36. Ken Kootstra, 420
37. Anthony Lee, 315
38. Louis Cara, 315
39. Matt Baltz, 315
40. Tim Watkins, 315
41. Anthony Greco, 315
42. Ryan Swenson, 315
43. Matt Gunby, 315
44. Manny Danarra, 315
45. James Filippi, 315

Local poker player Tony Prestigiacomo wins largest major poker tournament ever held in Northern Nevada

In 1969, Texan Tom Moore bought the Holiday Casino in Reno, Nevada. Moore thought he could create some publicity for his casino by staging an exclusive by-invitation-only poker tournament, which he called the “Texas Gamblers Reunion.” Although the gathering attracted many top Texas-based poker rounders including Doyle Brunson, Amarillo Slim Preston, and Johnny Moss – other famous gamblers such as legendary pool hustler Minnesota Fats and oddsmaker Jimmy ‘The Greek’ Snyder attended as well. A 66-year-old casino owner from Las Vegas named Benny Binion also happened to be at the “Reunion.’ The rest -- as they say -- is history.

The following year, Benny Binion transformed the Texas Gamblers Reunion into a bona fide poker tournament, which he christened as the inaugural 1970 World Series of Poker. Indeed, if there was a forerunner to what would eventually become the world’s longest-running and most prestigious gambling spectacle, it was most certainly the pioneering event held in the ‘Biggest Little City in the World’ 36 years ago.

Fast forward to 2005; The World Series of Poker has now returned to the region where it all began. Harveys Lake Tahoe, nestled at an altitude of 6,200 feet high in the snow-capped Sierra Nevada Mountains hosted the fourth WSOP Circuit stop on this year’s tournament series. After successful events in Atlantic City, San Diego, and Las Vegas -- the focus of the poker universe has now shifted to the beautiful Lake Tahoe region.

Given poker’s long history and dedicated following at Lake Tahoe and nearby Reno, it’s no surprise that Lake Tahoe Circuit Event #1 attracted the largest field in Northern Nevada history. A whopping 542 players entered the $225 buy-in no-limit hold’em event. Play on Day One lasted 12 hours. 497 players left the cardroom with a bad beat story, while places 10 through 45 received prize money ranging from $315 up to $1,155. The nine finalists returned for Day Two, with Tony Prestigiacomo from nearby Genoa, NV holding a decisive 2 to 1 chip lead over his closest rival. On Thursday, April 28th the final table was played in front of a packed standing-room only gallery adjacent to the Hard Rock Café on the second floor at Harveys Lake Tahoe. Players were eliminated as follows:

9th Place – Don Mullis arrived with the second-lowest chip count. Mullis, a car dealer from North Carolina, had won several online poker tournaments, but his final table stay lasted only a few hands. Mullis went out ninth and received $2,105.

8th Place – Vietnamese-born Hien Le went out next. Le, who now lives in San Francisco and plays poker full-time, made it past 535 players, an impressive feat – but he could not crack the final seven. He collected $3,155 for his 8th-place finish.

7th Place – When one hears the name “Bond” in gambling circles, visions of a tuxedo-clad British spy sitting at a baccarat table come to mind. Distant cousin, Jeff Bond from Thousand Oaks, CA hoped to double up and challenge for the chip lead, but he lost a coin flip hand and was busted. His final hand, 5-5, lost to John Buchanan’s A-K when an ace flopped. Bond was bounced off the final table in 7th-place, good for $4,205.

6th Place – Kevin Kanemasu is used to dealing with lots of money. The 31-year-old auditor from Sacramento was third in chips at one point, but took a tough beat on his final hand. He started out with Q-Q and it looked like he might win a big pot when John Buchanan (with 7-5) flopped a smaller pair. But Buchanan caught a second pair on the turn and made two pair with 7s and 5s, eliminating Kanemasu. Sixth place paid $5,255.

5th Place – After eliminating two players, next it was John Buchanan’s turn to experience the bitter sting of defeat. Buchanan, a professional Internet poker player who lives in Las Vegas, tried to make a move at the wrong time and missed making a straight. Ron Collins, with a pair, busted Buchanan. Fifth place paid $6,310.

4th Place – Ron Collins made an impressive leap up in the money standings. Lowest in chips coming into the finale, Collins jumped up five places and finally went out in 4th place. On his final hand, he was dealt A-Q and moved ‘all in’ versus Jody Thompson’s 10-10. The board failed to connect for Collins, and the construction engineer from Oakley, CA was finally demolished. Collins earned $7,360 in prize money.

3rd Place – Despite a nice payday, the final result had to be disappointing for Jody Thompson. He seized the chip lead away from Tony Prestigiacomo about midway through the finale and appeared to be in good position to earn his first major tournament victory. But disaster struck in the final 15 minutes of play, and Thompson’s stack was machine-gunned down to the felt. His final hand of the night was particularly brutal. Thompson (with A-9) called an ‘all in’ raise by Prestigiacomo (with Q-J). Thompson loved the situation. The smile was suddenly wiped from Thompson face with the flop came 10-9-4. Thompson had flopped a pair, but Prestigiacomo still had plenty of outs with two overcards and a straight draw. Then, disaster struck. Boom! An ugly eight fell on the river, completing the dreaded straight and crushing Thompson’s hopes of doubling-up into a big chip lead. Thompson, an actor from Lithonia, CA exited off the poker stage in third place, with $8,410.

The heads-up duel between Tony Prestigiacomo and Steven Lunn began with the early chip-leader holding a 3 to 1 chip advantage – 404,000 to 139,000. By this time, Lunn had become an obvious crowd favorite, due largely to his underdog status. Everybody loves the underdog and Lunn had barked many times. Consider this: When play was five-handed, Lunn took a heartbreaking beat and believed he was knocked out of the tournament. He began to walk away from the table in disappointment, but when both stacks were counted down, it was discovered that Lunn still had two-chips remaining (a paltry 2,000). Then, the unexpected happened and lightning struck Lunn. Over the next 90 minutes, he won six ‘all ins’ and split two critical pots when he was at a clear disadvantage – thus ending up as the only obstacle to Prestigiacomo’s determination to win his first World Series of Poker event.

The final duel last for about 20 minutes. With blinds escalating, any pair was strong enough to commit a full stack. Fittingly, on the final hand of the tournament, both players were dealt pocket pairs – Prestigiacomo’s 6-6 versus Lunn’s 4-4. As the crowd rose to its feet, everyone wondered, would Lunn be able to do the impossible one more time? The flop answered the uncertainty very quickly. The flop showed Q-Q-6, giving Prestigiacomo a full house. That blow essentially left Lunn drawing dead and put an exclamation point to an event filled with several exciting moments, at least one inspiring comeback, and a convincing victory for the tournament winner.

This was Steven Lunn’s second time to be a bridesmaid. He took 2nd place at Harrah’s Rincon (2005 WSOPC) in Event #1. Lunn, a retiree from Arroyo Grande, CA received $16,940 as the runner up.

The ultimate winner was Tony Prestigiacomo, who like all poker champions has an interesting personal story to tell. Prestigiacomo, now 58, was born in Sicily (Italy) and came to the United States at the age of eight. He was the only person in his family to attend college and he earned a Masters Degree from New York University in computer science. Prestigiacomo was clearly way ahead of his time, since his degree came long before personal computers and the Internet. Prestigiacomo launched his own high tech company and eventually settled down in the nearby Carson Valley, in a town (oddly enough) named after a famous Italian city, Genoa (which Prestigiacomo proudly points out is the oldest town in the state of Nevada).

Indeed, this was a day when history was made. The World Series of Poker finally returned to the Lake Tahoe region, where the concept of hosting a big poker extravaganza was born long ago. And despite many other poker tournaments in the last three decades, most notably the Super Bowl of Poker which was held at Lake Tahoe in the 1980s, it is the World Series of Poker that is attracting record crowds.

“This was a tremendous privilege, honor, and experience to win this event,” said Prestigiacomo, who collected $31,563 and a gold ring for the victory. “I can say at this point, that more important than the prize money was the joy of competing and going heads up -- and ultimately winning.”

Report by Nolan Dalla – World Series of Poker Media Director
World Series of Poker Circuit Director – Ken Lambert
World Series of Poker Tournament Director – John Grooms
Harveys Poker Room Manager – Vince Contaxis
Harrah’s Full Service Games Manager -- Steve Schorr