Florida Casino Hosts World Series of Poker Circuit Stop, Combined Prize Pools Top $2 Million

Written By Hill Kerby on October 27, 2022
WSOP Circuit Isle tourney tops $2 million prize pool

The World Series of Poker Circuit recently came through South Florida, stopping at Isle Casino Pompano Park from Oct. 13-24. The total prize pool topped $2 million.

Each tournament event had a different winner

The Floride poker scene has taken off. The fifth-largest field in World Poker Tour history happen earlier this year at Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood.

At Isle Casino Pompano Park, 15 gold ring events ran, creating $2,721,269 in total prize pools over the 12-day series. The $1,700 Main Event more than doubled its $500,000 guarantee, resulting in a seven-figure prize pool and a $200,000-plus first-place prize.

Each event had a different winner, meaning all 15 players also earned a seat in the $1 million Tournament of Champions freeroll, held at the end of the 2022-23 WSOP Circuit season in Las Vegas.

Series generated mostly first-time ring winners

For 13 of the 15 winners, this was their first time winning a WSOP Circuit event. Yuval “Yuvee” Bronshtein and Marshall White were the only two to add to their collections.

Bronshtein, an Israeli pro who lives in South Florida, earned his second-career gold ring in Event No. 5 ($1,700 Purple Chip Bounty). He also took eighth place in the opening event of the series.

Bronshtein has two WSOP gold bracelets and an impressive 18 wins on his Hendon Mob database, which totals over $2.6 million in lifetime earnings.

White took down Event No. 14 ($2,200 High Roller), earning his fourth-career circuit title and bringing his career live earnings above $2 million in the process.

WSOP Circuit Isle Casino Tournament Winners

TournamentWinnerPrizeEntriesPrize Pool
Event #1: $600 No-Limit Hold'emRoberto Schmeda$71,776805$332,937

Event #2: $400 SeniorsDaniel Cruz$17,317

227$74,910

Event #3: $1,100 No-Limit Hold'emNiall Costigan$39,024

151$147,225

Event #4: $400 No-Limit Hold'emVenkat Chivukula$20,081

277$91,410

Event #5: $1,700 Purple Chip BountyYuval Bronshtein$25,201

82$124,230

Event #6: $400 Monster StackMathew Kaplan$45,653

791$203,627

Event #7: $600 Black Chip BountySpinella Carmine$21,150

217$90,055

Event #8: $400 Pot-Limit OmahaMatthew Bretzfield$10,468

112$36,960

Event #9: $1,700 Main EventMike Chiappetta$200,196

726$1,099,890

Event #10: $400 No-Limit Hold'emKevin Macdonald$14,747

180$59,400

Event #11: $400 No-Limit Hold'emJoseph Gargiulo$15,920

202$66,660

Event #12: $600 No-Limit Hold'emNino Natale$17,353

123$63,345

Event #13: $400 SeniorsTamara Goldshteyn$16,158

205$67,650

Event #14: $2,200 High RollerMarshall White$56,414

97$194,000

Event #15: $400 Double Stack TurboBenjamin Robinson$16,342

209$68,970

Main Event eclipses $1 million prize pool

The $1,700 Main Event ran the final weekend of the series, with three starting flights between Oct. 20 and 22. A combined 726 entries generated a total prize pool of $1,099,890, of which 77 returned for Sunday’s Day 2 already in the money.

Eventual champion Mike Chiappetta bagged a top-five stack going into Day 2, which he rode through a full day of play that finished with just seven remaining. Floridians James Calderaro, David Tuthill and Matthew Zarcadoolas were also in contention.

Calderaro, both a WSOP and WPT champion with over $5 million in lifetime earnings, took the chip lead into the final day. However, Chiapetta caught heat early, notching two eliminations and surpassing “Caldo” in the counts.

After four hours of play, the two got heads up with even stacks, and Chiapetta came out on top after a back-and-forth, 90-minute battle.

Main Event Final Table Results

PlacePlayerPrize
1Mike Chiappetta

$200,196

2James Calderaro

$123,731

3Rafael Reis

$90,744
4Eric Yanovsky

$67,399

5Anibal Salazar

$50,705
6David Tuthill

$38,644

7Matthew Zarcadoolas

$29,841

8Steve Karp

$23,353

9Evan Beard

$18,523

Upcoming Florida poker tournaments

If you missed out on the recent action or are looking for the next stop, you’re in luck. Florida has some of the best poker tournament series in the US, and they run on a near-monthly basis.

Upcoming festivals to check out:

  • Oct. 27 – Nov. 14: CardPlayer Poker Tour – bestbet Jacksonville
  • Nov. 16-30: WPT Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open – Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood
  • Nov. 30 – Dec. 12: 2022 Winter Poker Open – Seminole Hard Rock Tampa
  • Jan. 12-25: Lucky Hearts Poker Open – Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood
  • Feb. 2-13: WSOP Circuit – Florida: Isle Casino Pompano Beach
  • Feb. 8 – March 12: Escalator Series – Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood
Photo by Shutterstock.com
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Hill Kerby

Hill Kerby is a proponent of safe, legal betting, and is grateful to be able to contribute to growing the industry. He has a background in poker, sports, and psychology, all of which he incorporates into his writing.

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