Right now, online poker players in Michigan are battling for gold rings. That’s because the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Circuit Online is well underway. The series actually kicked off back on February 17 and is slated to run through the end of the month (Tuesday, Feb. 28).
One of the biggest stories to come out of the series at around the midway point was that of Dakota Britton of Carney, Michigan. He not only won back-to-back events, but it marked his third WSOP gold ring of the year on WSOP MI.
Back on January 13, he won the Online Circuit Event #8: $15,000 GTD NLH Turbo Deepstack for $6,281. On February 18, he then won the latest Online Circuit Event #2: $20,000 GTD NLH PKO 8-Max for $6,783, and the very next day took down Event #3: $35,000 GTD NLH 8-Max for $9,812.
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Peter “petey_boy” Hotaling Nabs First Gold Ring
On Thursday, February 23, the $215 buy-in Event #7: $20,000 GTD NLH Double Stack had 110 players rebuy 35 times, which surpassed the guarantee by creating a $29,000 prize pool. After more than six hours of play, it was Peter “petey_boy” Hotaling coming out on top to claim the $7,145.60 top prize and his first gold ring.
“I almost didn’t even play last night because I was scared we might lose power due to a bad ice storm we had,” Hotaling admitted to PokerNews. “As a guy that played online for a living pre-Black Friday – I found a way back to the game once it got legalized in Michigan – this win means a lot.”
Hotaling has been playing poker since 2005 and with his dream always being able to win some WSOP hardware. Now, thanks to WSOP.com being available in Michigan, his dream came true.
“Very happy to finally win a ring and hope to win a bracelet next,” he said. In addition to the prize money and a ring, Hotaling is now eligible for the Tournament of Champions this summer, which he fully intends to play.
“The biggest hand for me was at the final table with five left. Blinds were moving quick and everyone had pretty even stacks,” Hotaling explained. “My opponent was playing pretty wild and opened the cutoff/ I decided to flat 
on the button. The flop was 
, he bet 71k into 210k, and I put in a small raise to 162k since stacks were so shallow. He called and the turn was the 
. He checked and I checked behind because he had been playing pretty crazy and I had around a pot-sized bet left. I thought he may try and bluff it off on the river if I checked. The river was the 
and he did shove. I snapped and he had 
off. This hand gave me a big chip lead and I never looked back.”
WSOP MI Online Circuit Event #7 Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Peter “petey_boy” Hotaling | $7,145.60 |
| 2 | “aardvark555” | $5,101.10 |
| 3 | “Teddy2Gloves” | $3,642.40 |
| 4 | “rkellyishere” | $2,604.20 |
| 5 | “JMAXX” | $1,858.90 |
| 6 | “Redeye11” | $1,328.20 |
| 7 | “BMFS33” | $948.30 |
| 8 | “Cableguy1740” | $675.70 |
| 9 | “MrStealChipz” | $614.80 |
Timothy “BMFS33” Bishop Claims 5th WSOP Gold Ring
The day before on Wednesday, the $215 buy-in Event #6: $15,000 GTD PLO Deepstack 6-Max had 74 players rebuy 32 times, which created a $21,200 prize pool. That was paid out to the top dozen finishers, and among those to cash but fall short of the final table was Daniel “DrDadPoker” Schill (10th – $530), Stephen “Joker49024” Vanwyhe (11th – $530), and Jared “KChimaev” Martin (12th – $530).
In the end, it was Timothy “BMFS33” Bishop defeating Michael “LazyGambler” Marsh in heads-up play to not only claim the $5,936 top prize, but also what was his fifth WSOP gold ring with three others also coming from WSOP MI last year.
WSOP MI Online Circuit Event #6 Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Timothy “BMFS33” Bishop | Haslett, MI | $5,936 |
| 2 | Michael “LazyGambler” Marsh | Troy, MI | $3,964 |
| 3 | Andrew “FlipWithEdge” Peplinski | North Branch, MI | $2,798 |
| 4 | Kristopher “Luck.Wagon.” Bradshaw | Scottville, MI | $2,035 |
| 5 | Nicholas “mangocoin” Shock | Macomb, MI | $1,484 |
| 6 | Bradley “LovePeaches” Oliver | Wyoming, MI | $1,113 |
| 7 | Rodney “RodneyGMoney” Grifka | Chesterfield, MI | $901 |
| 8 | Jaret “Jwv972311” Villarreal | Ypsilanti, MI | $742 |
| 9 | Kevin “GR4ND_THEFT” Ruscitti | West Bloomfield, MI | $636 |
A Look at All the 2022 WSOP Online Michigan Bracelet Winners
WSOP MI Online Circuit Results Thus Far
Four more rings are on tap over the next four days, each starting at 7 p.m. ET. On Saturday, there’s the $320 buy-in Event #9: $20,000 GTD NLH PKO 6-Max while on Sunday there will be the $525 buy-in Event #10: $50,000 GTD Main Event.
On Monday, the $215 buy-in Event #11: $15,000 GTD NLH PKO will take place while Tuesday’s $500 buy-in Event #12: $30,000 GTD NLH Big $500 will round out the series.
Here’s a look at those who’ve captured gold rings thus far in the series:
| Tournament | Buy-in | Entries | Prize Pool | Winner | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Event #1: $15,000 GTD NLH Turbo Deepstack | $215 | – | – | Jeremy McDonald | Rudyard, MI | $5,510 |
| Event #2: $20,000 GTD NLH PKO 8-Max | $320 | – | – | Dakota Britton | Carney, MI | $6,783 |
| Event #3: $35,000 GTD NLH 8-Max | $100 | – | – | Dakota Britton | Carney, MI | $9,812 |
| Event #4: $15,000 GTD NLH Double Stack | $320 | – | – | Garrett Lee | Southfield, MI | $5,544 |
| Event #5: $20,000 GTD NLH 6-Max | $320 | – | – | Johnny Kakos | Birmingham, MI | $9,505 |
| Event #6: $15,000 GTD PLO Deepstack 6-Max | $215 | 106 | $21,200 | Timothy “BMFS33” Bishop | Haslett, MI | $5,936 |
| Event #7: $20,000 GTD NLH Double Stack | $215 | 145 | $29,000 | Peter “petey_boy” Hotaling | Southfield, MI | $7,145.60 |
Executive Editor U.S.
Executive Editor US, PokerNews Podcast co-host & 2013 WSOP Bracelet Winner.