Frank Lagodich Wins Debut WSOPC Grand Victoria Main Event for $275,896

Name Surname
Editor & Live Reporter U.S.
4 min read
Frank Lagodich

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.

Read about Sami Bechahed's recent victory at WSOPC Choctaw!

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).

Frank Lagodich
Frank Lagodich

��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).

Jill Bryant
Jill Bryant

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

 PLACEPLAYERHOMETOWNPRIZE (IN USD)
 1Frank LagodichCanton, OH$275,896
 2Jill BryantAurora, IL$170,577
 3Timothy GundrumSammamish, WA$125,964
 4Renato SpahiuLombard, IL$94,064
 5Brek SchuttenGrand Rapids, MI$71,040
 6Aleksandar CvijovicCarol Stream, IL$54,268
 7Robert KozikChicago, IL$41,938
 8Kenneth BaimeGlenview, IL$32,790
 9Richard BaiSchaumburg, 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.

Shouyi Gao
Shouyi Gao

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

Shouyi Gao
Shouyi Gao captured two gold rings at the stop.
 TOURNAMENTENTRIESPRIZE POOLWINNERHOMETOWNPRIZE
 WSOPC Event #1: $400 No-Limit Hold'em Double Stack725$239,250Jason MangoldChicago, IL$43,221
 WSOPC Event #2: $600 No-Limit Hold'em1,815$748,875Dennis LaurenceDekalb, IL$138,084
 WSOPC Event #3: $400 No-Limit Hold'em448$147,840Anwar BaigHanover Park, IL$29,340
 WSOPC Event #4: $300 Seniors Event660$158,400Thomas HahneWonder Lake, IL$29,354
 WSOPC Event #5: $400 No-Limit Hold'em374$123,420Michael MoncekNorth Barrington, IL$25,679
 WSOPC Event #6: $400 No-Limit Hold'em 6-Max355$117,150Aaron FloresSummit, IL$25,415
 WSOPC Event #7: $400 Pot-Limit Omaha290$95,700Greg KoutelidakisBuffalo Grove, IL$20,765
 WSOPC Event #8: $400 No-Limit Hold'em Monster Stack1,200$314,531Shouyi GaoArlington, VA$64,239
 WSOPC Event #9: $250 Ladies Event113$22,600Marnie SalernoLa Grange, IL$6,400
 WSOPC Event #10: $1,700 No-Limit Hold'em Main Event1,069$1,621,050Frank LagodichCanton, OH$275,896
 WSOPC Event #11: $400 No-Limit Hold'em316$104,280Dimitre DimitrovElk Grove Village, IL$22,719
 WSOPC Event #12: $400 No-Limit Hold'em370$122,100Gediminas PoskaPalos Hills, IL$25,521
 WSOPC Event #13: $400 No-Limit Hold'em359$118,470Kevin KrieterHickory Hills, IL$25,013
 WSOPC Event #14: SENIORS Event622$149,280William BlythChicago, IL$28,041
 WSOPC Event #15: $1,100 No-Limit Hold'em229$223,275Shouyi GaoArlington, VA$52,837
 WSOPC Event #16: $400 Last Chance Double Stack387$127,710Michael ParisiElmhurst$26,332

Photos courtesy of WSOP

Share this article
author
Editor & Live Reporter U.S.

Connor Richards is an Editor & Live Reporter for PokerNews and host of the Life Outside Poker podcast. Connor has been nominated for two Global Poker Awards for his writing.

More Stories

Other Stories

Recommended for you

Denis Gergoc Wins the 2022 WSOP International Circuit Autumn Edition €1,700 Main Event Denis Gergoc Wins the 2022 WSOP International Circuit Autumn Edition �1,700 Main Event