Congratulations to Jonathan Tamayo, Winner of the 2013 WSOP Circuit Palm Beach Kennel Club Main Event ($206,020)!
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The 2012-13 World Series of Poker Circuit Palm Beach Kennel Club Main Event has officially come to a close. 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 field and earn the $206,020 in first-place prize money, 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 among the prestigious final table. As play progressed, however, players dropped like flies. Some of the notable finishers to see an exit before the final table include Pedro Rios (29th), Abbey Daniels (27th), Sheddy Siddiqui (19th), and Bryan Camapnello (16th). This marks Campanello's third deep run in three out of the four last WSOPC Main Events. Campanello scored a 4th place finish in the WSOPC Choctaw Main Event and 36th in the WSOPC Harrah's Tunica Main Event.
Sam Panzica also made a deep run but saw his demise before the final table as he was eliminated in 21st place. There was a silver lining for Panzica, however, as his deep run solidified his position as Casino Champion and he will make an appearance at the WSOPC National Championship in May.
The final table was finally set in motion when Ryan Carter became the final table bubble boy. Only a few hands after combining to the unofficial final table of ten, Carter got all of his chips in for his tournament life holding two red jacks. Unfortunately for Carter, he was up against the 
for Clint Tolbert. A board of 
was spread out on the felt and Carter was forced to settle for 10th place.
WSOPC Palm Beach Kennel Club Final Table
| Seat | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Clint Tolbert | 2,880,000 |
| 2 | William Looper | 1,740,000 |
| 3 | Chris Hyden | 845,000 |
| 4 | Nancy Birnbaum | 520,000 |
| 5 | Jonathan Tamayo | 2,035,000 |
| 6 | Mark Rose | 1,250,000 |
| 7 | Tom Gleason | 1,320,000 |
| 8 | Luke Graham | 580,000 |
| 9 | David Grandieri | 2,280,000 |
Nancy Birnbaum was the last woman standing and she was also the first casualty of the final table. Birnbaum entered as the short stack as was even shorter when she shipped the last of her stack. With the blinds at 20,000/40,000/5,000, Birnbaum open shipped all in for 290,000. Tomayo quickly called her from the next seat over and the rest of the table folded. Birnbaum held but was crushed by Tomayo's 
. 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 
but was crushed by the 
of Looper. A runout of 
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 
but was crushed by the 
of Mark Rose. Grandieri could not catch up as the board dropped down 
and he 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: 
Looper: 
The flop fell 
, giving Looper backdoor straight and flush draws, and the turn was the 
, keeping both draws and taking away Graham's jack outs. The 
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 
and was well ahead of Hyden's . The dealer spread a flop of 
which did not change much. The 
on the turn, however, allowed Hyden to skyrocket into the lead. Though Hyden enjoyed a momentary moment of joy, the spiked down on the river, giving Tamayo a winning set of kings. A fifth-place finish ensured the Hyden would pocket $52,411 in winnings.
During four-handed play, Tamayo suffered a hit that would shake most players when an all in Tolbert caught four diamonds to make a flush in order to 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 announced a call and as Tolbert had him covered the two were racing for Looper's life.
Tolbert:
Looper: 
Looper was ahead at the moment but was racing with Tolbert's overcards. The flop brought even more outs for Tolbert when it fell 
. The 
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 and Tolbert was able to score the elimination.
Three-handed play lasted for several hours with each player playing the role of chip leader and short-stack at one point of another. Rose went on a particularly wild ride toward the end of three-handed play where he went from a few mere blinds back up to 4 million in chips. Eventually, however, Tamayo opened to 240,000 out of the small blind and Rose flatted from the big. The dealer dropped down 
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 for top pair. Tamayo flipped up 
for bottom set and it was able to hold through the subsequent streets. Rose walked away with $93,505 for third place and his elimination thrust Tamayo and Tolbert into heads up play.
Tamayo began with about a 2:1 chip lead going into heads up play. There was an issue heading into heads up play as the Palm Beach Kennel Club closed at 5 AM EST and if the two did not finish within 40 minutes they would have to return for a Day 4. As the crowd was in suspense to see if the two would finish by the night's end, the two finally came to a head with only six minutes left in the evening. 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 shipped and Tolbert called for his tournament life.
Tolbert: 
Tamayo: 
The dealer fanned a flop of which caused Tolbert to stand up out of his seat, a double up in his sights. Tamayo's rail called for an ace and the dealer obliged as the spiked the turn. Suddenly Tolbert was one card away from elimination and needed to find a five on the river to stay alive. The bricked out on the river and Tolbert became the second-place finisher collecting $127,484 in prize money. Tamayo, on the other hand, became a champion.
Final Table Payouts
| Place | Name | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jonathan Tamayo | $206,020 |
| 2 | Clint Tolbert | $127,484 |
| 3 | Mark Rose | $93,505 |
| 4 | William Looper | $69,536 |
| 5 | Chris Hyden | $52,411 |
| 6 | Luke Graham | $40,029 |
| 7 | David Grandieri | $30,974 |
| 8 | Tom Gleason | $24,281 |
| 9 | Nancy Birnbaum | $19,276 |
We here at PokerNews extend our deepest congratulations to Tamayo on his circuit victory. That does it for our coverage here from sunny Florida. Be sure to stay tuned to our coverage as the WSOP Circuit makes its next stop at Caesar's in Atlantic City.