Stephen Granner is the Bicycle Casino WSOP Circuit Event No. 2 Champion

Bicycle Casino LA Blog

Posted by: Marie-Lizette C. Acoba in Tournaments
Posted on JAN 04, 2012

Los Angeles, CA (January 4, 2012) – The World Series of Poker Circuit continued today at The Bicycle Casino, located in the Bell Gardens section of Los Angeles.

The latest tournament champion is Steve Graner, from Henderson, NV. He is a 23-year-old self-described “aspiring” poker pro.

Graner’s descriptive moniker about what he hopes to do for a living and attention to detail reveals far more than what might be obvious as first glance. While many younger poker players call themselves “professionals” without any real proven results nor demonstrated ability to beat the game over the long haul, Graner’s self-demarcation is both a healthy dose of reality and a revelation that he knows better than anyone that it takes far more than just calling yourself a “poker pro” to really be one.

Nonetheless, Graner appears well on his way to success in his chosen professional, his most recent progress punctuated by a thrilling and convincing victory in the most recent WSOP Circuit event, played in Los Angeles. Graner earned $25,020 in prize money for his victory. He was also presented with his first WSOP Circuit gold ring.

But what Graner really won tonight was self-confidence and the assurance that he is well on his way to fulfilling his aspirations, and becoming a bona fide poker pro.

Event #2 was a two-day $500 (+55) No-Limit Hold’em tournament, which attracted 191 entrants. Play began on Tuesday at noon and concluded on Wednesday night. The total prize pool came to $92,635. The top 18 finishers were paid. All players who cashed received WSOP Circuit National Championship ranking points – used to qualify for a seat in the season-ending championship, to be played in Las Vegas.

A full list of all players who cashed in Event #2 can be seen at WSOP.COM

The first day resulted in the elimination of 182 players. Nine survivors resumed action at the final table, which commenced play on an unseasonably warm Wednesday afternoon inside The Bicycle Casino’s tournament room. The nine finalists and their chips counts were as follows:

SEAT 1: John Kral (San Diego, CA) – 184,000 in chips
SEAT 2: David J. Hassett (Canyon Country, CA) – 47,000 in chips
SEAT 3: Sam Rachedi (Venice, CA) – 284,000 in chips
SEAT 4: Aaron Motoyama (Alhambra, CA) – 251,000 in chips
SEAT 5: Vigen Manukyan (Los Angles, CA) – 166,5000 in chips
SEAT 6: Andrew Sapiro (Alamo, CA) – 392,500 in chips
SEAT 7: Steve Graner (Las Vegas, NV) – 403,500 in chips
SEAT 8: Jeff Madsen (Los Angeles, CA) – 309,500 in chips
SEAT 9: Casey Stewart (Canyon Country, CA) – 254,500 in chips

Steve Graner arrived in the finale with a slim chip lead over Andrew Shapiro. As things turned out, Graner and Sapiro would end up playing for the title as the two finalists.

But from the start, many eyes were focused on the player ranked in third place. Jeff Madsen, a two-time WSOP gold bracelet winner and the “Player of the Year” at the 2006 WSOP appeared to be within striking distance of what would have been a first WSOP Circuit gold ring victory. Unfortunately for Madsen, he will have to wait a bit longer, after finishing a relatively disappointing sixth place.

Final table play began at noon local time. Play finished at 5 pm making the total duration about five hours. The official order of finish was as follows:

9th Place – David J. Hassett finished in ninth place. He is a professor of mathematics at UC-Glendale and resides in Canyon Country, CA. This marked his first time to cash in a WSOP-related tournament.

8th Place – Aaron Motoyama finished in eighth place. He is a 34-year-old poker pro from Alhambra, CA. Motoyama previously had a million-dollar win at another tournament played in Los Angeles. This was his first time to cash in a WSOP Circuit tournament. However, he did previously cash in an event at the WSOP last year.

7th Place – Sam Rachedi, a.k.a. “aS2voyou” ended up was the seventh-place finisher. He is a 36-year-old artist who was born in Algeria. Rachedi now lives in Venice, CA. This was his first-ever WSOP-related entry. He made this most of his debut performance, by making the final table in his first try.

6th Place – Jeff Madsen went out in sixth place. The former wunderkind from Los Angeles burst upon the poker scene five years ago when pulled off one of the most stunning runs in poker history. Barely old enough to play, Madsen posted two wins and two third-place finishes at the 2006 WSOP. He went on to win “Player of the Year” honors. Madsen, who now has 18 WSOP cashes on his resume, made the money for the first time in a WSOP Circuit event. He now has more than $3.5 million in career tournament earnings, all at the age of 26.

5th Place – Vigen Manukyan, a poker pro from Los Angeles, ended up in fifth place. His best previous showing was finishing seventh in an event two years ago at the Legends of Poker. This was his first time to cash n a WSOP-related tournament.

4th Place – John Kral, a business developer who specializes in dry cleaning, was taken to the cleaners late in the tournament and ended up in fourth place. Kral, who is married and lives happily in San Diego with his five children, cashed for the third time in a WSOP Circuit event with this finish. His previous showings occurred two seasons ago at Harrah’s Rincon. This marked his highest finish yet in a WSOP event.

3rd Place – Casey Stewart, a construction engineer from Canyon Country, CA finished in third place. He enjoyed two cashes at the 2011 WSOP in Las Vegas. This was his first time to cash on the WSOP Circuit.

2nd Place – Andrew Sapiro could certainly claim the victory should have been his. He was eliminated after taking a brutal beat, and ultimately had to settle for second place. Sapiro is a college student, who also works part time. His previous poker successes all took place online. However, he hopes to play in more live tournaments in the future and perhaps turn pro at some point.

Sapiro was denied a possible breakthrough victory on a hand that was unquestionably the most thrilling and decisive of the tournament. He was dealt K-J. After catching a perfect flop – Q-T-9 – good for a straight, Sapiro has his opponent all-in and easily covered. As things turned out, Graner had Q-T and flopped two pair. But another ten fell making a full house, which rescued Graner and gave him a huge chip advantage. He would ultimately close out the victory with Graner: A♣ K♣ vs. Sapiro: 6♠ 6♣ | Flop: K♥ T♣ 9♦ | Turn: 4♦ | River: 8♥

Sapiro was all-in on what’s often referred to as a coin flip, but he actually had a slight edge. The advantage proved to be fleeting. A king on the flop all but deflated Sapiro’s chances, and he was eliminated when two blanks hit on the turn and river. Steve Graner was declared the new champion.

Stephen Granner

1st Place – Steve Graner won his first career WSOP Circuit gold ring. He collected $25,020 in prize money.

With his victory, Graner moves into the top spot alongside Huy Quach (Event #1 winner) as the two early leaders in this WSOP Circuit’s “Best All-Around Player” standings. The one player who accumulates the most overall points in The Bike’s twelve combined gold ring tournaments receives a pre-paid entry into the $1 million 2011-2012 WSOP Circuit National Championship, to be held in Las Vegas at the end of this season. At least two players from this tournament series will qualify for the WSOP Circuit National Championship, which is classified as a WSOP gold bracelet event. The other automatic qualifier will be the winner of The Bicycle Casino’s Main Event championship.

With the first and second tournaments wrapped up, there are still ten more gold ring events remaining in what is being billed as a “12 rings in 12 days” poker series. The WSOP Circuit at The Bicycle Casino continues through December 12th. This year’s schedule includes not only all the gold ring events, but multiple second-chance tournaments (at 5 pm and 7 pm most days), single table and mega satellites, plus cash games going around the clock inside the massive poker room.

Written by: Nolan Dalla
Media Director -- World Series of Poker
Las Vegas, Nevada

EVENT ALBUM
3rd Place: Casey Stewart ♠ $11,125.00	2nd Place: Andrew Sapiro ♠ $15,460.00
4th Place: John Kral ♠ $8,155.00	5th Place: Vigen Manukyan ♠ $6,080.00
7th Place: Samy Ali-Rachedi ♠ $3,565.00	6th Place: Jeff Madsen ♠ $4,615.00
8th Place: Arron Motoyama ♠ $2,795.00	9th Place: David Hassett ♠ $2,230.00

Photos by: Marie-Lizette Acoba
Marketing, Promotions & Events - Poker Netcast | Bicycle Casino
2012 WSOP Circuit Event No 2 Payout Schedule

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