Beth Hall is known for playing characters like Caroline on AMC’s Mad Men and Wendy Harris on CBS‘ Mom. But this week, the Los Angeles-based actress played a different role, that of a World Series of Poker Circuit ring winner.
Earlier this week, Hall topped a 166-player field in a $400 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em event at the WSOP Circuit The Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles to win $13,885 and her first Circuit ring, while Cory Ryan finished runner-up for $5,585.
While surely the most famous, Hall is just one of a handful of players who have picked up rings at the latest Circuit stop, which got underway on March 4 and is wrapping up this week.
Rhode Island’s Tae Gon Kim topped a field of 338 runners in the $1,700 buy-in Main Event to win his first ring and a career-best $111,075, while other players who picked up Circuit rings at The Bike including longtime LA grinder Shirley Rosario (Event #12: $400 Omaha 8 or Better – $9,775), Pedro Rincon (Event #2: $400 No-Limit Hold’em Monster Stack – $48,955) and Utah all-time money leader Jared Griener (Event #6: $2,200 No-Limit Hold’em High Roller – $42,555)
Check out this PokerNews review of The Bicycle Casino!
Put a Ring On It
Hall has IMDb credits dating back to 1997, but her first poker cash was a decade later when she finished eighth in a $50 Queen of Hearts event at the 2007 Sweetheart Weekend at Bell Gardens. Hall continued to rack up cashes around Los Angeles before picking up a career-best $24,000 from a 14th-place finish at the 2016 Socal Poker Championships at Bell Gardens.
The recent victory at The Bike gives Hall her second-biggest live cash and first live tournament win and brings her up to $94,454 in live earnings.
On Twitter, the actress and Circuit crusher thanked Faraz Jaka of Jaka Coaching for her recent success on the felt.
WSOPC Event #10: $400 No-Limit Hold’em Final Table Results
| RANK | PLAYER | HOMETOWN | PRIZE | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Beth Hall | Los Angeles, CA | $13,885 | |
| 2 | Cory Ryan | N/A | $8,585 | |
| 3 | Jason Thomas | Bakersfield, CA | $5,985 | |
| 4 | Scott Shannon | Los Angeles, CA | $4,275 | |
| 5 | John Zentner | Las Vegas, NV | $3,125 | |
| 6 | Michael Ung | Montclair, CA | $2,345 | |
| 7 | Altynai Fung | Hacienda Heights, CA | $1,805 | |
| 8 | William Vanderburgh | San Diego, CA | $1,430 | |
| 9 | Ara Abkarian | Rancho Cucamonga, CA | $1,160 |
Hall is not the only Hollywood star to land a poker victory this year. Last month, acclaimed actor James Woods took down a Tag-Team mixed game event at the Los Angeles Poker Classic (LAPC) at The Commerce with the help of partner Lynda Tran.
Rosario Wins Second Circuit Ring
Later in the series, Shirley Rosario, an LA poker veteran with $720,324 in live earnings, picked up her second Circuit ring and $9,775 with a victory in $400 Omaha 8 or Better event. The event drew 103 and the mixed game specialist bested Pasadena’s Jesse David, who took home $6,040 for his runner-up finish.
But the biggest winner of the series was Providence’s Tae Gon Kim, who got through 338 players in the Main Event to win the bulk of the $512,070 prize pool.
Bracelet winner Sean Yu was looking for his ninth Circuit ring but bowed out in 7th place for $15,500, while other players who made deep runs included Spain’s Santiago Cortijo (2nd – $68,655), Sweden’s Mats Gavatin (4th – $36,115) and poker legend Phil Laak (38th – $2,485).
Kim had just a single live cash heading into the event from a 214th place finish in the 2021 WSOP $1,500 Closer, but that didn’t stop him from taking down the event for six figures and a first Circuit ring.
WSOP Circuit The Bike Main Event Final Table Results
| RANK | PLAYER | HOMETOWN | PRIZE | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tae Gon Kim | Providence, RI | $111,075 | |
| 2 | Santiago Cortijo | Spain | $68,655 | |
| 3 | Peter Cross | Glendale, CA | $49,410 | |
| 4 | Mats Gavatin | Stockholm, Sweden | $36,115 | |
| 5 | Ari Shin | Hermosa Beach, CA | $26,810 | |
| 6 | Andy Ghebre | N/A | $20,220 | |
| 7 | Sean Yu | Los Angeles, CA | $15,500 | |
| 8 | Travis Tachibana | Torrance, CA | $12,075 | |
| 9 | Michael Ung | Montclair, CA | $9,565 |
Other players who took home decent hauls at The Bike this Circuit stop include Pedro Rincon, who got through 559 players, the biggest field of the stop, to win the $400 Monster Stack for $48,955, as well as Jared Griener, who took down the $2,200 High Roller to add $42,555 to his $2.5 million in earnings.
Next up on the WSOP Circuit schedule is a stop at Turning Stone Resort Casino in New York, which will culminate with the $1,700 buy-in Main Event on March 23.
A full list of WSOP Circuit The Bike winners is available in the table below.
2023 WSOPC The Bike Ring Winners
| EVENT | ENTRANTS | PRIZE POOL | WINNER | HOMETOWN | PRIZE (IN USD) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WSOPC Event #1: $250 No-Limit Hold’em Double Stack | 520 | $106,000 | Marshall Cooper | Santa Clarita, CA | $20,145 | |
| WSOPC Event #2: $400 No-Limit Hold’em Monster Stack | 559 | $221,470 | Pedro Rincon | N/A | $48,955 | |
| WSOPC Event #3: $250 No-Limit Hold’em Turbo | 217 | $43,400 | John Topham | N/A | $10,180 | |
| WSOPC Event #4: $1,100 No-Limit Hold’em | 65 | $63,375 | Edvin Setaghian | Glendale, CA | $20,665 | |
| WSOPC Event #5: $1,700 Main Event | 338 | $512,070 | Tae Gon Kim | Providence, RI | $111,075 | |
| WSOPC Event #6: $2,200 No-Limit Hold’em High Roller | 67 | $134,000 | Jared Griener | Huntington Beach, CA | $42,555 | |
| WSOPC Event #7: $500 No-Limit Hold’em Mammoth | 323 | $138,890 | John Sul | Los Angeles, CA | $30,105 | |
| WSOPC Event #8: $300 No-Limit Hold’em | 259 | $62,160 | Dustin Wills | Spotsylvania, VA | $13,965 | |
| WSOPC Event #10: $400 No-Limit Hold’em | 166 | $54,780 | Beth Hall | Los Angeles, CA | $13,885 | |
| WSOPC Event #11: $400 No-Limit Hold’em | 128 | $42,240 | Alexis Lopez | N/A | $11,415 | |
| WSOPC Event #12: $400 Omaha 8 or Better | 103 | $33,990 | Shirley Rosario | Redondo Beach, CA | $9,775 | |
| WSOPC Event #13: $250 No-Limit Hold’em | 252 | $50,400 | Rick Mechammil | Tarzana, CA | $11,380 |
Lead image courtesy of WSOP