The World Series of Poker Circuit (WSOPC) had its debut at Grand Victoria Casino in Chicago and saw Frank Lagodich taking down the $1,700 buy-in Main Event for $275,896. The Ohio native, who had $680,782 in live earnings heading into the event, picked up his first Circuit ring and also finished ninth in Event #11: $400 No-Limit Hold’em for $1,971.
The WSOPC Grand Victoria Casino stop consisted of 16 ring events and awarded plenty of big winners, including Dennis Laurence, who took down Event #2: $600 No-Limit Hold’em for $138,084, and Shouyi Gao, who won Event #8: $400 No-Limit Hold’em Monster Stack for $64,239.
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Six Shooter
The Main Event attracted a total of 1,070 entrants for a prize pool of $1.6 million, not a bad turnout for the first Grand Victoria Casino Circuit stop.
Lagodich didn’t have an easy path to victory and busted five times before he finally ran up his stack and got to a final table that included Kenneth Baime (8th - $32,790), Brek Schutten (5th - $71,040) and Timothy Gundrum (3rd - $125,964).
“I fired six bullets into this event (the max),” Lagodich told WSOP. I was able to build some moment(um) on my final bullet and felt really confident coming into both day two and day three.”
Lagodich made the final bullet count and got heads-up against Jill Bryant of Aurora, Illinois, who was after her second ring after she took down the a 2019 WSOPC Milwaukee Seniors Event for $14,524, the same year that she was the last woman standing in the WSOP Main Event (116th place - $59,295).
According to WSOP updates, the two traded chip leads back and forth before the final hand where Bryant went all in with ace-four only to be dominated by the ace-jack of Lagodich, whose kicker held up to send Bryant out for a career-best $170,577.
After winning his first Circuit ring, Lagodich said he is looking forward to taking some time off for the holidays before hitting the tables again.
“I will eventually be heading to Florida to play more poker, but before that I will be heading home to spend Thanksgiving with my family,” he said. “I am really looking forward to getting to celebrate this with them.”
WSOPC Grand Victoria Casino Main Event Final Table Results
| PLACE | PLAYER | HOMETOWN | PRIZE (IN USD) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Frank Lagodich | Canton, OH | $275,896 | |
| 2 | Jill Bryant | Aurora, IL | $170,577 | |
| 3 | Timothy Gundrum | Sammamish, WA | $125,964 | |
| 4 | Renato Spahiu | Lombard, IL | $94,064 | |
| 5 | Brek Schutten | Grand Rapids, MI | $71,040 | |
| 6 | Aleksandar Cvijovic | Carol Stream, IL | $54,268 | |
| 7 | Robert Kozik | Chicago, IL | $41,938 | |
| 8 | Kenneth Baime | Glenview, IL | $32,790 | |
| 9 | Richard Bai | Schaumburg, IL | $25,943 |
Other Ring Winners
An early highlight of the series was Dennis Laurence winning the second event of the series, which drew a huge 1,815 entrants for a prize pool of $748,875. The Dekalb, IL native picked up the top prize of $138,084 and his first Circuit ring, while Don Sarubbi finished runner-up for $85,341.
Later in the series, Virginia’s Shouyi Gao took down a $400 buy-in Monster Stack event for $64,239 and his first bracelet after navigating through a field of 1,069 runners and defeating Donovan Dean during heads-up play, who in turn took home $39,706.
Other winners at the WSOPC Grand Victoria Casino stop include Jason Mangold (Event #1: $400 No-Limit Hold’em Double Stack - $43,221), Aaron Flores (Event #6: $400 No-Limit Hold’em 6-Max - $25,415) and Kevin Krieter (Event #13: $400 No-Limit Hold’em - $25,013).
After wrapping up in Chicago, WSOPC will head to North Carolina for WSOPC Harrah’s Cherokee, which will take place Nov. 24-Dec. 5.
A full list of ring winners at the WSOPC Grand Victoria Casino stop is available in the table below.
WSOPC Grand Victoria Casino Ring Winners
| TOURNAMENT | ENTRIES | PRIZE POOL | WINNER | HOMETOWN | PRIZE | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WSOPC Event #1: $400 No-Limit Hold’em Double Stack | 725 | $239,250 | Jason Mangold | Chicago, IL | $43,221 | |
| WSOPC Event #2: $600 No-Limit Hold’em | 1,815 | $748,875 | Dennis Laurence | Dekalb, IL | $138,084 | |
| WSOPC Event #3: $400 No-Limit Hold’em | 448 | $147,840 | Anwar Baig | Hanover Park, IL | $29,340 | |
| WSOPC Event #4: $300 Seniors Event | 660 | $158,400 | Thomas Hahne | Wonder Lake, IL | $29,354 | |
| WSOPC Event #5: $400 No-Limit Hold’em | 374 | $123,420 | Michael Moncek | North Barrington, IL | $25,679 | |
| WSOPC Event #6: $400 No-Limit Hold’em 6-Max | 355 | $117,150 | Aaron Flores | Summit, IL | $25,415 | |
| WSOPC Event #7: $400 Pot-Limit Omaha | 290 | $95,700 | Greg Koutelidakis | Buffalo Grove, IL | $20,765 | |
| WSOPC Event #8: $400 No-Limit Hold’em Monster Stack | 1,200 | $314,531 | Shouyi Gao | Arlington, VA | $64,239 | |
| WSOPC Event #9: $250 Ladies Event | 113 | $22,600 | Marnie Salerno | La Grange, IL | $6,400 | |
| WSOPC Event #10: $1,700 No-Limit Hold’em Main Event | 1,069 | $1,621,050 | Frank Lagodich | Canton, OH | $275,896 | |
| WSOPC Event #11: $400 No-Limit Hold’em | 316 | $104,280 | Dimitre Dimitrov | Elk Grove Village, IL | $22,719 | |
| WSOPC Event #12: $400 No-Limit Hold’em | 370 | $122,100 | Gediminas Poska | Palos Hills, IL | $25,521 | |
| WSOPC Event #13: $400 No-Limit Hold’em | 359 | $118,470 | Kevin Krieter | Hickory Hills, IL | $25,013 | |
| WSOPC Event #14: SENIORS Event | 622 | $149,280 | William Blyth | Chicago, IL | $28,041 | |
| WSOPC Event #15: $1,100 No-Limit Hold’em | 229 | $223,275 | Shouyi Gao | Arlington, VA | $52,837 | |
| WSOPC Event #16: $400 Last Chance Double Stack | 387 | $127,710 | Michael Parisi | Elmhurst | $26,332 |
Photos courtesy of WSOP