Las Vegas, NV – Playing poker for a living has been called, “a tough way to make an easy living.” It’s even tougher when the player has a spouse and children at home, who count on financial support. But Jeff Clayton appears to be making the transition from working a steady job to playing poker full-time exceeding well. He just won the most recent World Series of Poker Circuit event held at Caesars Palace Las Vegas, and collected his first-ever gold ring.
Clayton, a 30-year-old poker pro from Glendale, CA lost his job last year. He was previously a news cameraman for FOX-TV in Los Angeles. Clayton played poker in his spare time, and had the perfect opportunity to pursue his recreational interest more seriously after the television network announced numerous layoffs, including a pink slip for Clayton.
He has other major developments on the horizon, as well. Clayton is married and already has a son. He and his wife are expecting their second child, in just four weeks. The delivery date coincides with the start of the upcoming WSOP in Las Vegas.
“I just got started (playing poker). I lost my job last year, so I wanted to give (poker) a shot because I had been doing well at it part-time,” Clayton said moments after officially winning $14,323 in the Caesars tournament.
“For me, playing this upcoming World Series of Poker will be everything, because I have only played in one event ever, so far. The amount of people they have (entering), the amount of money, it’s huge.”
The $300 (+40) buy-in No-Limit Hold’em tournament was played over two consecutive days during April 19th and 20th. There were 203 entries for the mid-week event, which generated a prize pool totaling $59,073. The top 27 finishers collected prize money.
One interesting side note was that for the second day in a row, a husband and wife both cashed in the same event. James Ignatieff, Jr. and Corinn Ignatieff both made the money, finishing in 19th and 27th place, respectively. In the previous tournament, Dan Zogman and wife Mary Jo Zogman both finished in-the-money as well.
Final Table play began on a Tuesday afternoon. There was only one prior WSOP Circuit gold ring event winner among the final nine players – Mike Ratcliff, who ended up finishing in second place. The finale also included two female players as well as three Canadian players. In fact, two of the players were from the same area in Saskatchewan.
Sebastian Smitdorff arrived at the Final Table with a slight chip lead. But Geoff Mulligan and Jeff Clayton were very close behind. Smitdorff ended up going out about midway through the finale, whereas Clayton enjoyed a flurry of good fortune from the moment he took his seat. Mulligan surprised everyone by being the first player to bust out.
When Final Table play began at 2:00 pm, the nine finalists and their starting chip counts were as follows:
|
Seat
|
Player
|
Hometown
|
Chip Count
|
|
1
|
Nelda E. Hopper
|
Anna, TX
|
115,000
|
|
2
|
Geoff Mulligan
|
Warman, SK
|
223,000
|
|
3
|
Jeff Clayton
|
Glendale, CA
|
207,500
|
|
4
|
Mike Shannon
|
Satellite Beach, FL
|
99,500
|
|
5
|
Mike Ratcliff
|
Martinsville, IN
|
184,000
|
|
6
|
Ernie Rafanan
|
Pacifica, CA
|
160,000
|
|
7
|
Sebastian Smitdorff
|
Victoria, BC
|
235,500
|
|
8
|
Neal Cooke
|
Loveland, CO
|
126,500
|
|
9
|
Caren Pfeil
|
Saskatoon, SK
|
103,000
|
Final table play lasted four hours and ended about 6:00 pm.
Players were eliminated in the following order:
Ninth Place: Goeff Mulligan Eliminated First, Takes Ninth Place
Goeff Mulligan experienced a nightmare at the final table. The early chip leader failed to win any pot of consequence and was quickly eliminated in ninth place. Mulligan, who cashed once at the WSOP in Las Vegas and has several other in-the-money finishes on the Canadian Poker Tour, earned $1,477 in prize money.
Eighth Place: Caren Pfeil Finishes Eighth
Caren Pfeil followed her fellow Canadian out the door when she went out a few minutes following Mulligan’s elimination. The self-employed part-time poker player, who has four cashes at the Harvest Poker Classic, cashed for the first time in a WSOP Circuit event. Eighth place paid $1,920.
Seventh Place: Michael Shannon Takes Seventh Place
Michael Shannon, from Satellite Beach, FL went out in seventh place, which paid $2,362. He had previously cashed four times in various tournaments held in Las Vegas. But this marked his first time to cash in a WSOP-related tournament.
Sixth Place: Sebastian Smitsdorff Ends Up Sixth
Sebastian Smitsdorff was the final Canadian player to bust out, when he lost his last hand with AQ versus AK. Smitzdorff, a marketing consultant from Victoria, BC previously cashed in a few tournaments played in Vancouver. He settled for $2,954 in prize money.
Fifth Place: Nelda E. Hopper Finishes in Fifth Place
Nelda E. Hopper went out when her two pair was squashed by a higher two pair. Hopper’s T7 was topped by K7. The stay-at-home mom from Texas collected $3,692 in prize money. Hopper has previously won an event at the Oklahoma State Poker Championship.
Fourth Place: Neal Cooke
When play reached four-handed, a deal was made. The terms were not disclosed. Neal Cooke, a professional saltwater fishing guide, hooked the fourth-place finish, which paid $4,578.
Third Place: Ernie Rafanan
Ernie Rafahan, from Pacifica, CA officially took third place, which paid $5,612. He is a semi-pro poker player. He has been playing full-time for about six months. He has amassed more than $30,000 in tournament winnings within this span, and expects to play in many future events.
Second Place: Mike Ratcliff is the Runner Up
Two-time gold ring winner Mike Ratcliff agreed to a four-way deal, and was officially designated as the second-place finisher. The business owner from Indiana previously won WSOP Circuit events at Harrah’s Tunica in 2009, and Caesars Indiana in 2008. This was his 12th time to cash in a WSOP Circuit tournament. His official payout for second place amounted to $8,861.
First Place: Jeff Clayton
Jeff Clayton is a 30-year-old poker pro from Glendale, CA. He has been playing full-time for about nine months. Clayton has previously won tournaments in Los Angeles and now has more than $300,000 in career tournament earnings. However, this was his first time to cash in a WSOP-related event. He has bigger goals ahead to play in more WSOP tournaments, while trying to maintain the proper balance between husband and soon-to-be new father and aspiring poker pro.
“I can’t wait for the WSOP to date,” Clayton said. “I’m drooling over it, already.”
An interview with Jeff Clayton at tableside moments after his win can be seen here:
http://www.twitvid.com/JRBFR