Bill Michaelski Wins WSOP Circuit Tournament w/ 230$ buy-in. Read more ->

Las Vegas, NV

Bill Michaelski won the most recent World Series of Poker Circuit event held at Caesars Palace Las Vegas. He was declared the champion after an unusual deal was reached between the top seven finishers.  

While dealmaking is very much a part of the tournament poker scene, it’s rare for so many players to agree to a split. Michaelski was officially paid $15,413 for first place and was awarded the symbolic prize commemorating victory – the WSOP Circuit gold ring. This was Michaelski first time to cash in a WSOP event and first major tournament victory.

Michaelski, age 28, is originally from Syracuse, NY. He worked as a senior accountant before recently making the move to Las Vegas to play poker professionally full-time. Michaelski has been living in Las Vegas for only about two months and now, has a victory which should inspire some confidence in the months and years ahead. Michaelski’s previous cashes include two wins in smaller tournaments held at the Turning Stone Casino in upstate New York.

The $230 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em tournament was the 15th of 19 events on this year’s Caesars schedule. The two-day competition was played on April 23rd and 24th. The tournament attracted a large field of 331 players, which created a prize pool totaling $64,214. The top 36 players collected prize money. After 321 players were eliminated on Day One, the final table was held on Day Two.

There were no former gold ring winners among the final nine players, which meant a first-time champion was guaranteed. Tony De Felice arrived at the Final Table with a slight chip lead. But at least five players were all within striking distance, which meant a wide open finale was expected.

That’s exactly what happened, as players played conservatively during the early rounds. In fact, two hours passed before the first player was eliminated. After Neal Cooke went out in eighth place, the remaining players began discussing a deal, and with the stacks sizes very near even all around the table, an agreement was quickly made.

In other WSOP Circuit-related news, three-time gold ring winner Dwyte Pilgrim responded yesterday to the mischievous remarks made by Andrew Malott. Pilgrim’s response was posted in the blog written by veteran poker writer Kaelaine Minton who is currently working an event in Atlantic City.

Malott, who won his first gold ring at Caesars Palace on Friday, called out Pilgrim and told him he’s going for multiple rings which would challenge Pilgrim’s reputation as the WSOP Circuit dominant player in recent years. “I’m going to catch up to your rings,” Malott predicted.

“Anybody can win one ring,” Pilgrim replied. “Come see me when you’ve got two.”