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Tuesday, February 13, 2018 12:25 PM Local Time
Local grinder turns $65 into a big payday, WSOP Circuit ring
Monday night, Robert Tanner found himself at a final table full of WSOP Circuit winners with cards that were struggling to cooperate. Tanner overcame a series of obstacles, though, outlasting the table to claim his first Circuit victory. He topped a total field of 256 entries in the $365 Turbo, winning his first ring and $18,810. It’s his largest result on record.
Tanner is a 54-year-old forensic accountant from just up the road in Wellington. He’s married with seven children, five in college and two on the way there soon. His wife was on the rail for the duration of the final table, and the two explained that poker plays an important role in their relationship. They’re both avid recreational players.
“In the last 10 years, we’ve had disagreements, but no arguments,” Tanner said. “We don’t fight because we’re very supportive [of each other].”
The happy couple decided to spend some quality time together in the hours before this event began. Mrs. Tanner explained: “I was like, ‘Honey, we’re going to spend time together. We’re going to the casino, and we’re playing the satellite.’”
They jumped in the $65 satellite at 9 a.m., and Tanner won his seat into the ring event. The rest of the story is evident.
Although he got the result he desired, he took a pretty difficult path to get there. Tanner had pocket aces and pocket kings cracked twice apiece on the way to victory. At one point, the frustrated hero had to take a step back and clear his head.
“I just had to walk away and get over it,” he said. “I just said to myself let me get to the break. Take a break and refocus. There’s always another hand.”
All’s well that ends well, right?
Tanner had enough of a chip cushion to fend off his share of bad beats, and he eventually found himself four-handed against three previous ring winners. Martin Ryan (5 rings), Mark Stephen Edwards (2), and David Gunas (1) all stood in between Tanner and his own ring.
Tanner eliminated Ryan in fourth place, and Gunas took care of Edwards in third to leave the two men heads-up just after midnight. They waged war with their short stacks for a good while before getting it all in with nearly identical counts. Tanner’s pocket fours held against Gunas’ deuces to leave the latter with just a single ante, and the match was over on the next hand.
Before the final table began, the players filled out information sheets for the staff. Mrs. Tanner did the paperwork for her husband. In the “interesting things” section, she wrote this: “The best part about life is living life.”
Tanner made an edit to his information in the postgame interview, though. “You know, I’d like to change that,” he said. “The best part of life is playing poker with your wife.”
Tuesday, February 13, 2018 12:46 AM Local Time
Martin Ryan's exit in fourth place left the door open, and Robert Tanner was happy to step through it.
Tanner eventually found himself heads-up against David Gunas, who won a ring in South Florida late in 2017. The two men traded big pots back and forth for a while before getting it all in with nearly dead-even stacks. Tanner's pocket fours had Gunas' pocket deuces in bad shape, and a board full of blanks all but ended it. Gunas was left with just a single ante, and he was eliminated as the runner-up one hand later.
The 54-year-old Tanner resides in Wellington, Florida. He's added another win for the part-time players at Coco, making it three for four so far. Tanner is married with seven children, he's a forensic accountant by day, and he's now a WSOP Circuit winner. This result is one of the largest on his tournament record.
More about Tanner's performance will be published shortly.
Monday, February 12, 2018 9:23 PM Local Time
It took 10 hours to trim the field to 10 players, and they're now seated around the final table for Event #4. Here's the remaining lineup:
Seat 1: Mark Stephen Edwards - 448,000 (19 bb)
Seat 2: Eliezer Gonzalez - 452,000 (19 bb)
Seat 3: Martin Ryan - 642,000 (27 bb)
Seat 4: Charles Rizzo - 950,000 (40 bb)
Seat 5: Mark Nahama - 295,000 (12 bb)
Seat 6: Errol Massey - 338,000 (14 bb)
Seat 7: David Gunas - 339,000 (14 bb)
Seat 8: Robert Tanner - 250,000 (10 bb)
Seat 9: Ariel Rosello - 423,000 (18 bb)
Seat 10: Michael Merisier - 1,007,000 (42 bb)
Martin Ryan is at it once again. The part-time player from Trinidad won his fifth WSOPC ring here just a couple days ago in Event #1, and he enters this final table with the third-largest stack.
Ryan isn't the only ring winner at the table this time, though. Mark Edwards has two of his own, and Gunas has one, too.
Blinds are 12,000/24,000 with a 4,000 ante in the current level, putting the average stack under 13 big blinds. Everyone left is now guaranteed to earn at least $1,399, but they're all eyeing that ring.
Monday, February 12, 2018 5:26 PM Local Time
This $365 event ended up with 256 entries, creating a prize pool worth $78,800. That money will be shared by the final 27 players, with a min-cash worth $621. The winner will earn $18,810 and the series' fifth gold ring.
The full breakdown of the payouts can be found in the Prizepool tab above.
Play continues tonight all the way to the finish line.
Monday, February 12, 2018 11:28 AM Local Time
The series' fourth ring event is under way.
There is an error on the structure sheet. Registration and re-entry are available until the start of Level 13.
Sunday, February 11, 2018 10:07 PM Local Time
