Atlantic City, NJ (March 5, 2013) – The fourth gold ring event here at this year's Caesars Atlantic City series will be remembered for some astounding poker hands, which determined the final outcome.
Standing all alone after the cranage of cards was Jeffrey Gurfinkel, from Hallandale, FL. The 27-year-old professional poker player born in Brooklyn has enjoyed great success here in Atlantic City. He not only won tonight's victory at Caesars. Gurfinkel also won a gold ring 14 months ago at Harrah's, less than two miles away. Indeed, Atlantic City has been very, very good to Jeffrey Gurfinkel.
Getting back to those amazing hands – once players consolidated to one table of ten, the very first hand set the pace for what would be a wild night of action. Michael Foulkrod (Syracuse, NY) with J-J looked to be in horrible shape against Jonathan Bakhshian (Dallas, TX), holding K-K. The flop brought all ten players to their feet in a state of disbelief. K-J-J gave Bakhshian kings full. But it also gave Foulkrod four jacks. That's the kind of night this would be for those that survived the longest.
Perhaps no hand was as critical as the one that took place late when eventual winner Gurfinkel was heads-up against Ciprian Tutu, who finished second. Tutu had his opponent covered and drawing to an inside straight – which was four outs. The river came, giving Gurfinkel his miracle. But wild and unpredictable moments were still to come.
The final hand of the tournament had both players close in chips. Both players tabled their cards and both showed A-J. However, Gurfinkel was drawing to diamonds, with suited diamonds in his hand.
Ka-boom!
Three diamonds flopped, leaving a stunned Tutu drawing stone-cold dead. It was the perfect way to end a wacky night.
Gurfinkel was cheered on by friends and supporters, including his girlfriend who gave the champion a tender hug and a kiss as a reward. Sweet.
So, the winner ended up taking it all – $25,740 in cash and his second gold ring. He even managed to get the girl.
With this victory, Gurfinkel becomes the new man to catch in the Casino Champions race. With a previous cash to go with this win, he now has 60 points – which leads all players for this series.
Also of note – the final table included one WSOP gold braclet winner. Mitch Schock, who won his title in 2011, ended up finishing in third place.
The final table finishers were as follows:
1 Jeffrey Gurfinkel Hallandale Beach, FL, US $25,740
2 Ciprian Tutu New York, NY, US $15,900
3 Mitch Schock Bismarck, ND, US $16,623
4 Michael Foulkrod Charlotte, NC, US $8,630
5 Gregory Graham Red Lion, PA, US $6,508
6 Ramin Azizoghli New Hope, PA, US $4,981
7 Jonathan Bakhshian Austin, TX, US $3,868
8 Wetherly Bristow Powhatan, VA, US $3,047
9 Patrick Socorro New York, NY, US $2,434