Event #9: $1,675 MAIN EVENT

 

Robert Kuhn is the newest champion of the WSOP Circuit, dominating a tough final table to win the Harrah's Atlantic City Main Event for $122,098, a diamond-studded gold ring, and a reserved seat in the 2016 WSOP Global Championship.

Kuhn is a 25-year-old poker pro from Barnesville, Ohio, who splits his time between Mexico (where he plays online poker) and Ohio. This is the first six-figure score for Kuhn, whose previous high was earning $72,137 for finishing sixth at the WSOP Circuit Hammond Main Event last October.

At the start of the final table, the favorite to win was Ari Engel, who won Event #7 ($580 No-Limit Hold'em) earlier this series and was playing for the ninth WSOPC ring of his career to tie the all-time record. Kuhn may have started the final table with the chip lead, but Engel was second in chips and had position on Kuhn, sitting on his left.

Engel wasn't the only tough spot, as WSOP bracelet winner Jared Jaffee and two-time WSOPC ring winner Joseph Liberta were also in the mix, though with much smaller chip stacks. But Kuhn was so focused on Engel that he sacrificed sleep to study Engel's recent victory at Aussie Millions.

“I watched about four hours of Aussie Millions footage last night. I had a really good grasp on Ari -- a really good grasp," said Kuhn. "I went to bed at 2:00 and woke up at 7:00 and just studied. I wanted to sleep in, but I just couldn’t.”

The extra preparation worked for Kuhn, who was never in danger at the final table, only giving up the lead for a single hand with six players remaining. Kuhn immediately bounced back in the next hand by five-bet shoving against Dorian Rios, who tanked for about two minutes before folding. That pot reclaimed the chip lead for Kuhn, who steamrolled the final table after that point, knocking out four of his five remaining opponents in the next 48 hands to win the title.

Poker is a game of both skill and luck, and it's sometimes difficult to tell how much of a role each one plays. While Kuhn wasn't born under a lucky star, his middle name was directly inspired by some good fortune. “The day before I was born, my dad said, ‘If I win at Keno, we’re going to name him Keno.’ And he ended up winning like fifteen grand — that’s a hard game to win at. And mom was like, ‘Yeah, I guess his middle name is Keno.’”

Here are the official chip counts from the table before heads-up play begins, along with the final table prizepool:

Robert Kuhn  -  6,305,000  (158 bb)
Nenad Cvetkovic  -  1,105,000  (28 bb)

1st:  $122,098
2nd:  $75,452

3rd:  Dorian Rios  -  $55,134
4th:  Ari Engel  -  $40,937
5th:  David Cossio  -  $30,869
6th:  Joseph Liberta  -  $23,626
7th:  Joseph Cappello  -  $18,348
8th:  Jared Jaffee  -  $14,452
9th:  Oliver Entine  -  $11,544

Reminder:  In heads-up play, the button has the small blind and acts first before the flop.

Hand #99  -  Robert Kuhn min-raises from the button to 80,000, and Dorian Rios calls from the big blind. Both players check to the river on a board of      , Rios bets 100,000, and Kuhn calls. Rios shows    to win the pot with two pair, tens and nines, and Kuhn mucks.

Hand #100  -  Dorian Rios raises from the small blind to 90,000, and Robert Kuhn calls from the big blind. The flop comes    , Rios checks, Kuhn bets 100,000, and Rios folds. Kuhn takes the pot.

Hand #101  -  Robert Kuhn raises from the small blind to 120,000, Nenad Cvetkovic moves all in from the big blind, and Kuhn folds. Cvetkovic takes the pot.

Hand #102  -  Robert Kuhn min-raises from the button to 80,000, Dorian Rios moves all in from the big blind, and Kuhn folds. Rios takes the pot.

Hand #103  -  Dorian Rios completes the small blind to 40,000, Robert Kuhn moves all in from the big blind, and Rios folds. Kuhn takes the pot.

Hand #104  -  Dorian Rios min-raises from the button to 80,000, taking the blinds and antes.

Hand #93  -  Robert Kuhn min-raises from the button to 80,000, and Dorian Rios calls from the big blind. The flop comes    , Rios checks, Kuhn bets 90,000, and Rios calls. The turn card is the  , and both players check.

The river card is the  , Rios checks, Kuhn bets 100,000, and Rios calls. Kuhn shows   , but Rios turns over    to win the pot with a pair of aces.

Dorian Rios  -  1,400,000  (35 bb)
Robert Kuhn  -  5,450,000  (136 bb)

Hand #94  -  Everyone folds to Robert Kuhn, giving him a walk in the big blind.

Hand #95  -  Robert Kuhn moves all in from the small blind, taking the blinds and antes.

Hand #96  -  Everyone folds to Dorian Rios, giving him a walk in the big blind.

Hand #97  -  Nenad Cvetkovic moves all in from the button, taking the blinds and antes.

Hand #89  -  There is no small blind this hand. Robert Kuhn min-raises from the cutoff to 80,000, Ari Engel (pictured) moves all in from the button for 515,000, and Kuhn calls with   .

Engel turns over   , and he needs his hand to hold to stay alive.

The board comes      , and Kuhn pairs his ace on the flop to win the pot and eliminate Ari Engel in fourth place.

Robert Kuhn  -  5,200,000  (130 bb)
Ari Engel  -  Eliminated in 4th Place  ($40,937)

Hand #87  -  Chipleader Robert Kuhn moves all in from the small blind, and Ari Engel calls all in from the big blind for 260,000 with   . Kuhn turns over   , and Engel needs to improve to stay alive.

The board comes      , and Engel rivers an ace-high straight to win the pot and double up in chips.

Ari Engel  -  545,000  (14 bb)
Robert Kuhn  -  4,650,000  (116 bb)

Hand #75  -  Ari Engel raises from the cutoff to 70,000, and Nenad Cvetkovic calls from the small blind. The flop comes    , Cvetkovic checks, Engel bets 80,000, and Cvetkovic calls. The turn card is the  , and both players check. The river card is the  , and they check again. Cvetkovic shows    to win the pot, and Engel mucks.

Hand #76  -  Ari Engel raises under the gun to 70,000, and Dorian Rios (pictured) calls from the small blind. The flop comes    , Rios checks, Engel bets 80,000, and Rios calls.

The turn card is the  , Rios checks, Engel bets 150,000, and Rios check-raises all in for 470,000. Engel calls with   , but Rios turns over    for a queen-high straight. Engel is drawing dead.

The meaningless river card is the  , and Rios wins the pot with his straight to double up in chips.

Dorian Rios  -  1,295,000  (43 bb)
Ari Engel  -  420,000  (14 bb)

Hand #73  -  Robert Kuhn min-raises from the cutoff to 60,000, Joseph Liberta (pictured) moves all in from the small blind for about 660,000, and Kuhn calls with   .

Liberta turns over   , and he needs his hand to hold to stay alive.

The board comes      , and Kuhn pairs his jack on the flop to win the pot and eliminate Liberta in sixth place.

Robert Kuhn  -  3,620,000  (121 bb)
Joseph Liberta  -  Eliminated in 6th Place  ($23,626)

Hand #67  -  Robert Kuhn min-raises from the cutoff to 60,000, and Ari Engel calls from the button. The flop comes    , Kuhn bets 60,000, and Engel calls. The turn card is the  , and both players check.

The river card is the  , and they check again. Kuhn shows    for a pair of sevens, but Engel turns over    to win the pot with a pair of queens.

Ari Engel  -  1,970,000  (66 bb)
Robert Kuhn  -  2,290,000  (76 bb)

Hand #68  -  Dorian Rios raises under the gun to 70,000, Robert Kuhn reraises from the hijack to 200,000, and Rios folds. Kuhn takes the pot.

Hand #69  -  Robert Kuhn min-raises under the gun to 60,000, and Dorian Rios calls from the big blind. Both players check to the turn on a board of     , Rios checks, Kuhn bets 70,000, and Rios calls.

The river card is the  , Rios checks, Kuhn bets 200,000, and Rios quickly calls with    (pair of aces, missed flush draw). But Kuhn turns over    to win the pot with a pair of aces and a higher kicker.

Robert Kuhn  -  3,155,000  (105 bb)
Dorian Rios  -  700,000  (23 bb)