The World Series of Poker completed a 12-day stay in South Florida earlier this week with a WSOP Circuit series at Harrah’s Pompano Beach. The Circuit stop featured a 16-event schedule that produced more than $3.8 million in total prize pools.
It’s the first major Florida poker series at the recently renamed casino. The property was formerly known as the Isle Casino at Pompano Beach before Caesars Entertainment merged with Eldorado Resorts in 2019. Afterward, the then-Eldorado-owned property fell under the new Caesars umbrella.
A year ago, Caesars announced the casino would undergo renovations and a rebrand to become Harrah’s Pompano Beach. The company is still working on several upgrades, but the name change became official last December.
Main Event blows away $1 million guarantee
The $1,700 no-limit hold’em main event, which ran from Feb. 9-13, headlined the schedule with a $1 million guaranteed prize pool. Two starting flights produced 1,015 entries, putting more than $1.5 million into play, with Michigan’s Christopher Trombley coming out on top and earning a career-best $266,186.
WSOP and Harrah’s made a splash for the first stop under the new name, doubling last year’s $500,000 guarantee to $1 million for the main event.
And players responded. The event drew 1,015 entries over two starting flights, creating a $1,537,725 prize pool that paid out the top 145 finishers. That number became nine after two full days of play, with eventual winner Trombley sitting in fifth.
Trombley scored the first elimination of the final table to boost his stack. But he eventually fell back to where he started the day. With five remaining, he sat fourth before chipping up to the top of the leaderboard.
Trombley eventually entered heads-up play with the chip lead after eliminating two-time bracelet and four-time circuit ring winner Ryan Eriquezzo. He fell behind eventual runner-up Robert Lupo after doubling his pocket aces, and a back-and-forth match ensued before he regained control and claimed victory.
WSOP Circuit Harrah’s Pompano Beach Main Event
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Christopher Trombley | $266,186 |
| 2 | Robert Lupo | $164,511 |
| 3 | Ryan Eriquezzo | $121,111 |
| 4 | Vitalijs Zavorotnijs | $90,196 |
| 5 | Roman Hrabec | $67,961 |
| 6 | Jeremy Eyer | $51,816 |
| 7 | Blake Whittington | $39,981 |
| 8 | Chet Sickle | $31,225 |
| 9 | Ian Cohen | $24,686 |
Baumstein, others win first rings
Sixteen different players each won rings at WSOP Circuit Pompano Beach. Fourteen did so for the first time.
Scott Baumstein topped the list of winners, finally earning his first piece of WSOP jewelry by winning the High Roller event for $242,000. Baumstein now has over $4.6 million in live earnings after the win.
Other first-time champions included Joel Deutsch (Event No. 5) and Ariel Williams (Event No. 12).
Deutsch’s road to victory came through a stacked final table that included former WSOP Tournament Director Jimmy Sommerfeld (8th place), Ryan Hogan (7th), Raminder Singh (6th), Seminole Hard Rock Tournament Director Jason “Nitty Jay” Heidenthal (3rd) and Charlemagne Benjamin (2nd).
Though less stacked, Williams earned her ring in the Ladies’ Event by defeating Loni Hui, denying the two-time bracelet winner of her sixth circuit ring.
As for repeat winners, Daniel Pearlman won his third career ring in Event No. 1, with his other two coming back in 2017, and Benjamin Robinson won his second during Event No. 14. Robinson beat Joey Gargiulo heads-up to deny him his second ring after both players won their first during October’s Isle of Capri circuit.
WSOP Circuit Harrah’s Pompano Beach Series Results
| Event | Players | Prize Pool | Winner | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Event #1: $400 NLH | 309 | $101,970 | Daniel Pearlman | $22,357 |
| Event #2: $600 NLH | 1,240 | $638,600 | Gary Gelman | $100,126 |
| Event #3: $400 NLH | 255 | $84,150 | Emily Xie | $18,873 |
| Event #4: $400 NLH Seniors | 350 | $115,500 | Neil Blumenfield | $24,514 |
| Event #5: $1,100 NLH 263 | 263 | $256,425 | Joel Deutsch | $58,536 |
| Event #6: $400 NH Monster Stack | 1,093 | $360,960 | Chad Lipton | $60,063 |
| Event #7: $600 NLH Black Chip Bounty | 274 | $113,710 | Pablo Valdivieso | $24,983 |
| Event #8: $400 PLO | 135 | $44,550 | Michael Newman | $11,872 |
| Event #9: $1,700 Main Event | 1,015 | $1,537,725 | Christopher Trombley | $266,186 |
| Event #10: $400 NLH | 192 | $63,360 | Stuart Greenbaum | $15,430 |
| Event #11: $400 NLH ($50 Bounties) | 173 | $57,090 | Julio Delgado | $12,166 |
| Event #12: $250 NLH Ladies | 82 | $16,400 | Ariel Williams | $5,007 |
| Event #13: $600 NLH | 156 | $80,340 | Caleb Piderit | $20,620 |
| Event #14: $400 NLH Seniors | 187 | $61,710 | Benjamin Robinson | $15,025 |
| Event #15: $2,200 NLH High Roller | 121 | $242,000 | Scott Baumstein | $65,930 |
| Event #16: $400 NLH Double Stack Turbo | 209 | $68,970 | George Coleman | $16,342 |
