Ring Event #7: $365 No-Limit Hold'em

Event #7
No-Limit Hold'em
Buy-In: $300 (+$65)
Total Entries: 331
Prize Pool: $99,300

Joseph Mattingly wins his second ring of the season and locks up a spot in the 2016 Global Casino Championship.

Cherokee, N.C. (April 20, 2016) -- Joseph Mattingly has won his second gold ring by defeating a 331 player in Event #7 - $365 No-Limit Hold'em. Last October Mattingly won the opening event at the Horseshoe S. Indiana series for his first gold ring. This victory at Harrah's Cherokee awarded Mattingly $22,840 and 50 Global Casino Championship points.

Mattingly has played several of the WSOP Circuit series' this season and came to Cherokee to chase points. He entered the series with 110 points on the season and wanted to get to 130 by the end of the season. The 50 points he earned in Event #7 gets Mattingly well above his goal of 130 points and will secure him one of the 51 at-large bids to the 2016 Global Casino Championship. Mattingly min-cashed the re-entry event earlier in the series for 2.5 points, so he now sits at 162.5 points with just one stop reaming after Cherokee. Mattingly had plans to go to New Orleans for the final stop of the season if he was unable to get to his goal of 130 points here at Cherokee, but said now he may skip the series.

Mattingly entered Day 2 10th in chips out of the 13 remaining players. He said that he played a little passive at the beginning of the day to try to avoid an early elimination and make sure he made it to the final table. Mattingly would have ended up with just 10 points if he would have busted short of the final table. Once the tournament was reduced to eight players, Mattingly was able to breathe easy knowing he reached his goal of 130 points on the season and he was able to open up his game and play for the win.

"After I got enough points I just loosened up and let the game come to me a little bit," said Mattingly.

Mattingly is a farmer from Springfield, Kentucky. He said that he is in the process of turning over his business and that has allowed his wife and him more time to travel and allowed him more time to player poker. He cashed at five different stops on the Circuit this year, including both of the Cherokee stops. He intends to play some of the gold bracelet events in Las Vegas this summer, including the senior's event.

This marked Mattingly's 8th cash of the season and fourth final table. This also was Mattingly's largest WSOP cash ever. He was the 10th player this season to win multiple gold rings. Finishing on the final table bubble was Mark Fink, Fink is a four-time gold ring winner who has also won two gold rings this season.

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Event #7 was the seventh of 12 gold ring events on the WSOP Circuit schedule at the Harrah's Cherokee series. The $365 No-Limit Hold'em tournament attracted 331 players generating a $99,300 prizepool. The top 36 players were paid.

Day 1 began Tuesday at 11 a.m. and lasted 21 levels. Day 2 began Wednesday at 2 p.m. with 13 players remaining. The tournament concluded at about 7:05 p.m. Tuesday midway through Level 27.

Final table results:

1st: Joseph Mattingly - $22,840 + Circuit gold ring
2nd: Daniel Kusnerak - $14,119
3rd: Steven Powers  - $10,300
4th: Robert Hankins - $7,640
5th: Eric Emerson - $5,755
6th: Christopher Heeney - $4,402
7th: Christopher Staats - $3,416
8th: Corey Bierria - $2,689
9th: Gregory Smith - $2,147

Complete results can be found above under the "Results" tab.

Daniel Kusnerak was the runner-up finisher. He earned $14,119 for his deep run.

Robert Hankins was eliminated in 4th place for $7,640. This marked the four-time gold ring winner's 42nd WSOP related cash and moves his career WSOP tournament earnings over $350,000.

With six players remaining, Hankins was down to just 1,000 chips plus an ante. He made a comeback to ladder up to 4th place.

Daniel Kusnerak has a slight chip lead over Joseph Mattingly for the top spot with five players remaining.

Chip Counts:

Seat 1: Steven Powers - 640,000 (21 bbs)
Seat 2: Joseph Mattingly - 950,000 (31 bbs)
Seat 3: Eric Emerson - 400,000 (13 bbs)
Seat 4: Robert Hankins - 265,000 (8 bbs)
Seat 5: Daniel Kusnerak - 1,040,000 (34 bbs)

- 50 minutes remain in Level 26: 15,000/30,000 with a 5,000 ante

Christopher Staats was eliminated in 7th place for $3,416. This marked Staats' 11th cash of the season. Staats will now be sitting 5th on the season leaderboard and has more than enough points to earn an at-large bid to the 2016 Global Casino Championship. He'll be back in Cherokee in August to play in that for a gold bracelet and six-figure payday.

Gregory Smith was the first players eliminated from the final table. His 9th place finish earned him $2,147. This marked the 21-year-olds first WSOP cash.

Cards are in the air for Day 2 of Event #7 - $365 No-Limit Hold'em. There are 13 players remaining including several gold ring winners. Gold ring winners remaining and looking to add another ring to their collection include Mark Fink, Christopher Staats, Joseph Mattingly, and Robert Hankins. All four of these players have won once already this season on the Circuit.

Here is a look at the start of Day 2 chip counts and seating assignments:

Players are bagging up and Day 1 is over. The 13 remaining player will return tomorrow at 2 p.m. for Day 2 and the conclusion of the tournament. The winner will take home $22,840 and a WSOP Circuit gold ring.

Here is a look at the Day 2 chip counts and seating assignments: