Jonathan Tamayo Wins 2012-13 WSOP Circuit Palm Beach Kennel Club Main Event

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Feb 26, 2013 6 min read

The 2012-13 World Series of Poker Circuit Palm Beach Kennel Club Main Event officially came to a close early Tuesday morning. The event drew 670 entrants over two starting flights and generated a prize pool of over $1 million. In the end, Jonathan Tamayo was able to rise above the rest and earn the $206,020 in first-place prize money, as well as the championship gold ring and a seat to the WSOPC National Championship in May.

The final day of play began with 30 players returning to the felt to vie for a spot at the prestigious final table. As play progressed, however, players dropped like flies. Some of the notables who exited exit before the final table were Pedro Rios (29th), Abbey Daniels (27th), Sheddy Siddiqui (19th), and Bryan Campanello (16th). It was Campanello's third deep run in in the four last WSOPC Main Events; he finished fourth in the WSOPC Choctaw Main Event and 36th in the WSOPC Harrah's Tunica Main Event.

Sam Panzica also made a deep run but met his demise before the final table in 21st place. There was a silver lining for Panzica: his deep run solidified his position as Casino Champion. As such, he earned a seat for the WSOPC National Championship in May.

The final table was finally set when Ryan Carter became the final table bubble boy. Only a few hands after combining to the unofficial final table of 10, Carter got all his chips in for his tournament life holding two red jacks. Unfortunately for Carter, he was up against the Q?Q? of Clint Tolbert. A board of 10?6?6?2?A? was spread out on the felt and Carter was forced to settle for 10th place.

WSOPC Palm Beach Kennel Club Final Table

Nancy Birnbaum, the last woman standing, was also the first casualty of the final table. Birnbaum entered as the short stack and was even shorter by the time she put the last of her stack at risk. With the blinds at 20,000/40,000/5,000, she moved all in for 290,000. Tamayo quickly called her from the next seat over and the rest of the table folded. Birnbaum held A?6? but was crushed by Tamayo's A?10?. Birnbaum found no help on the board and she was eliminated from play in ninth place. She collected $19,276 for her efforts.

A few hands later William Looper opened to 85,000 from under the gun, and action folded to Tom Gleason who three-bet jammed all in for 850,000 from the cutoff. The rest of the table released, and Looper snapped it off. Gleason rolled over Q?Q? but was crushed by Looper's K?K?. A runout of 7?9?7?10?9? sealed Gleason's fate as the eighth-place finisher.

After a series of double-ups and chip exchanges, David Grandieri, the man who began Day 3 as chip leader, fell in seventh place. Grandieri got the last of his stack all in with 8?8? but was crushed by the 10?10? of Mark Rose. Grandieri could not catch up as the board dropped down 4?Q?6?4?9? and was eliminated in seventh place. Grandieri pocketed $30,974 in winnings.

Luke Graham was the next to go. With the blinds at 25,000/50,000/5,000, Graham opened to 120,000 on the button. Looper three-bet to 305,000 from the big blind and Graham four-bet shipped all in for about 900,000. Looper snapped him off and the hands were tabled.

Graham: K?J?
Looper: 10?10?

The flop fell 9?4?7?, giving Looper backdoor straight and flush draws, and the turn was the 8?, keeping both draws and taking away Graham's jack outs. The 3? bricked on the river and Graham was eliminated in sixth place.

Chris Hyden met his untimely demise later in the level when he four-bet all in for his last 1.75 million against Tamayo. Tamayo called with K?K? and was well ahead of Hyden's A?9?. The dealer spread a flop of 8?5?J? which did not change much. The A? on the turn, however, allowed Hyden to skyrocket into the lead. Though Hyden enjoyed a momentary moment of joy, the K? came down on the river, giving Tamayo a winning set of kings. Hyden's fifth-place finish ensured him a payday of $52,411.

During four-handed play, Tamayo suffered a hit that would shake most players when Tolbert caught four diamonds to make a flush and double up. From there, the final four players continued to exchange chips over the felt until a confrontation between Tolbert and Looper came to a head. At 40,000/80,000/10,000, Tolbert opened to 160,000 from under the gun. Looper three-bet to 360,000 from the button and Tolbert replied by four-betting his entire stack. Looper called all-in and the cards were tabled:

Tolbert: A?K?
Looper: J?J?

Looper was ahead for the moment but was racing with Tolbert's overcards. The flop brought even more outs for Tolbert when it fell 8?2?2?. The 7? on the turn gave Tolbert the ace-high flush, and he leaped into the lead in the hand. Looper needed to catch a full house on the river to earn victory in this hand but the deck had a different idea. The river brought the 10? and Tolbert was able to score the elimination.

Three-handed play lasted for several hours with each player playing the roles of chip leader and short-stack. Rose went on a particularly wild ride toward the end of three-handed play where he went from a few big blinds back up to 4 million in chips. Eventually, though, Tamayo took him down. Tamayo opened to 240,000 out of the small blind and Rose flatted from the big. The dealer dropped down K?8?3? and Tamayo led for 275,000. Rose made it 730,000 to go and Tamayo moved all in over the top. Rose called for his tournament life and showed K?7? for top pair. Tamayo flipped up 3?3? for bottom set and it was able to hold through the turn and river. Rose walked away with $93,505 for third place and his elimination sent Tamayo and Tolbert into heads-up play.

Tamayo began the match with about a 2-to-1 chip lead. There was an issue going into heads-up play as the Palm Beach Kennel Club closed at 5 a.m. EST and if the two did not finish within 40 minutes they would have to return for a Day 4. The suspense intensified while the clock ran down, but the two finally put an end to the tournament with just six minutes remaining. At 60,000/120,000/20,000, Tolbert opened with a raise from the button. Tamayo three-bet to 475,000 and Tolbert quickly four-bet to 900,000. Tamayo five-bet all-in and Tolbert called for his tournament life.

Tolbert: 5?5?
Tamayo: A?J?

The dealer fanned a flop of 9?K?3?, causing Tolbert to stand up from his seat, two cards away from a double-up. Tamayo's rail called for an ace and the dealer obliged as the A? spiked the turn. Suddenly Tolbert was one card away from elimination and needed to find a five on the river to stay alive. The 10? bricked out on the river and Tolbert became the second-place finisher, collecting $127,484 in prize money. Tamayo, meanwhile, had won his first WSOP Circuit Main Event ring.

Final Table Payouts

That does it for PokerNews' coverage from the WSOP Circuit in sunny Florida this week. Be sure to stay tuned to the PokerNews Live Reporting page when the WSOP Circuit makes its next stop at Caesar's in Atlantic City in March.

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