Richard Bai Takes Down WSOP Circuit Potawatomi Main Event

The World Series of Poker Circuit (WSOPC) came visiting the Potawatomi Hotel and Casino in Milwaukee for the second time this year. The series played out over 12 days from September 12 to 23 and mustered a total of 3,797 entries through its 13-event run.

While among the early highlights of the series was Nicholas Pupillo taking down the series opener $400 NLHE Double Stack for his third gold ring and $19,413, the biggest buy-in event at the stop was the $1,700 Main Event that saw 447 hopefuls register through the two starting flights. The fight was over the prized WSOPC gold ring and a seat into the 2020 WSOPC Global Championship and winning them both was Chicago’s Richard Bai (cover image).

Bai, who had final-tabled the 2015 WSOPC Horseshoe Southern Indiana Main Event way back in 2015, had a tumultuous ride on the final table. During the four-handed play, he went short-stacked, but he managed to maneuver his way back into contention, that saw him ultimately lifting the trophy and the top prize of $138,317. “Incredible. I got short, I had like nine or ten bigs, and I thought, y’know, I was destined for fourth. I was frustrated, but I tried to not let it affect me, I kinda winged it and played my game,” he later admitted.

Only 70 players (Day 1A – 31, Day 1B – 39) could make it to Day 2 with two players set to walk back empty-handed as only 68 places were to take home a share of the $677,602 prize pool with a min-cash worth $2,533.

Scott Hall (13th for $8,195), Indian-origin Ravi Raghavan (16th for $6,793), Forrest Raleigh (25th for $4,248), Joshua Reichard (32nd for $3,367), Alexander Ziskin (38th for $2,852) and Jill Bryant (50th for $2,693) was among the prominent payout earners.

The 10-handed final table was formed towards the latter part of Day 2 after Natan Chaitin`s (11th for $10,037) elimination.

Leading the charge coming into the final table was Jack Torcolese (2,320,000) with Jorden Helstern (1,790,000) and Bai (1,600,000) placed second and third in chips.

Final Table Chip Counts

1. Jack Torcolese – 2,320,000
2. Jorden Helstern – 1,790,000
3. Richard Bai – 1,600,000
4. James Pupillo – 1,470,000
5. Nikolas Stone – 1,380,000
6. Matthew Levin – 1,310,000
7. Brett Apter – 1,295,000
8. Michael Esquivel – 1,275,000
9. Henry Zou – 640,000
10. George Pappas – 415,000

Final Table Recap

The first casualty on the final table was George Pappas who bowed out in 10th place after his pair of nines was run down by Nikolas Stone’s rivered set of aces.

Michael Esquivel and Jack Torcolese followed Pappas to the rail in ninth and eighth place respectively.

The play continued for an hour before the bags were brought out. By then, Bai had climbed up into pole position and carried 3,385,000 into the final day. Jorden Helstern (2,515,000) and Matthew Levin (2,475,000) were the next big stacks.

Final Day Recap

Just as play resumed on Day 3, WSOP bracelet winner Brett Apter suffered a bad beat, his all-in move with ace-queen finding a caller in Matthew Levin who held ace-jack. Levin flopped a jack pair ending Apter’s run in seventh place.

Several hands later, Nikolas Stone ran out of chips crashing out in sixth place after his flopped pair of jacks were dominated by Bai’s rivered straight.

Levin claimed another victim in the next hand when Jorden Helstern shoved all-in preflop with ace-king, and Levin called with ace-queen. Levin once again got lucky as he completed an ace-high straight that sent Helstern packing in fifth place.

The four-handed play went on for a while during which time Bai and James Pupillo were the two most active players seen exchanging blows. Bai was once on the brink of elimination; however, he managed to score a crucial double through Pupillo to reclaim the chip lead. He went on to eliminate Pupillo in fourth place, his set of eights holding up against the latter’s set of fours.

Next up, Bai eliminated Henry Zou in third place. Bai moved all-in from the small blind putting Zou at risk. Zou called with his last 425,000 turning over against Bai’s . Bai was already ahead and the runout only confirmed Zou`s elimination.

Matthew Levin was at a distinct disadvantage entering the heads-up play – he had a paltry 2 Million in chips compared to Bai’s 11.41 Million, and it didn`t take long for the latter to win the title.

On the final hand of the tournament, Levin jammed for 1.05 on the button and Bai snap-called from the big blind.

Matthew Levin

Richard Bai

The flop of gave Levin a gutshot straight draw, but his chances started dimming as the landed on the turn. The on the river declared Bai the champion while Levin had to make do with a runner-up finish.

Final Table Results (USD)

1. Richard Bai – $138,317
2. Matthew Levin – $85,488
3. Henry Zou – $62,298
4. James Pupillo – $46,017
5. Jorden Helstern – $34,460
6. Nikolas Stone – $26,167
7. Brett Apter – $20,151
8. Jack Torcolese – $15,742
9. Michael Esquivel – $12,478
10. George Pappas – $10,037

Content & Images Courtesy: World Series of Poker