This is the central page for information about the ongoing WSOP Circuit series at Tulsa Hard Rock. Check back here daily for updated schedule and results.
29 August 2022 (Tulsa, OK) - The World Series of Poker circuit at Hard Rock Tulsa has come to and end after more than $2-million in prizes awarded. The series spanned almost two weeks at the Hard Rock just outside of Tulsa, OK.
There were several familiar faces making deep runs this series, but the story of the series was first-time ring winners. Greg Jennings finally won a ring in Event #5 at his 12th circuit final table. He decided to follow that up with back-to-back tournament wins and won Event #7 as well for ring number two.
Jennings, who said he was a little burned out from poker and traveled here simply to take a shot at finally winning a ring managed to do that twice over. Then he threatened a run at ring number three before finishing 23rd in the $1,700 Main Event.
Arthur Morris was another first-time ring winner after taking the $182,379 top prize in the Main Event. He defeated Michael Cordell heads up and managed to navigate a stacked final table which included Blair Hinkle, Ceddric Trevino, and Michael Marder.
Allen Roberts, Jessica Vierling, Thomas Ross, Gabriel Walter, and Bryant Lipscomb were among other first-time ring winners at this stop.
The Hard Rock's schedule featured two Seniors events which drew some of the biggest fields of the series and awarded almost $200,000 in prizes over both events.
Pamela Belote made her regular showing at the Ladies Event final table and took down her third such event.
The Circuit series had been away for almost three years before returning on the 17th. The previous circuit stop was cancelled because of the pandemic, but the staff and players didn't skip a beat, returning with solid numbers setting the bar high for the Circuit's return in March 2023.
Ring Events:
Satellites:
Other Events:
Completed Events
Event #1: $400 No-Limit Hold'em Double Stack - John McMahan has won Event #1 at the Hard Rock Tulsa WSOP Circuit. This is McMahan's first gold circuit ring. He defeated Dan Lowery heads up to claim his first ring.
Official Report | Winner Photo | Results
Event #2: $250 No-Limit Hold'em - Reggie Tynes took down Event #2 shortly before the players were supposed to bag for Day 2.
Official Report | Winner Photo | Results
Event #3: $400 Multiflight No-Limit Hold'em - Rania Nasreddine wins first WSOP circuit ring at home casino.
Official Report | Winner Photo | Results
Seniors Event #1: $250 No-Limit Hold'em - Bryant Lipscomb wins first Seniors event at Hard Rock Tulsa.
Winner Photo | Results
Event #4: $400 No-Limit Hold'em - Nathan Huey wins first-ever WSOP event.
Official Report | Winner Photo | Results
Event #5: $400 Monster Stack - Greg Jennings wins first WSOP circuit ring after 12 final tables.
Official Report | Winner Photo | Results
Event #6: $250 No-Limit Hold'em -Shawn Sparks wins third WSOP Circuit ring after heads up battle.
Official Report | Winner Photo | Results
Event #7: $400 Double Stack No-Limit Hold'em - Greg Jennings wins second circuit ring in three days.
Official Report | Winner Photo | Results
Event #8: $400 No-Limit Hold'em - Jessica Vierling wins first WSOP circuit ring after a few close calls.
Official Report | Winner Photo | Results
Event #9: $400 No-Limit Hold'em Double Stack - John McMahan has won Event #1 at the Hard Rock Tulsa WSOP Circuit. This is McMahan's first gold circuit ring. He defeated Dan Lowery heads up to claim his first ring.
Official Report | Winner Photo | Results
Event #10: $400 No-Limit Hold'em Double Stack - After a prize pool was calculated, 98 players were able to take a piece of it, but it was Arthur Morris who walked away with the lion's share, as he claimed Hard Rock Tulsa’s $1,700 Main Event title that came with a $182,379 top prize, and a seat into the 2023 Tournament of Champions.
Official Report | Winner Photo | Results
Event #11: $400 No-Limit Hold'em 6-Max - Thomas Ross took down Event #11 $400 6-Max. He defeated 221 players and played about ten hours to claim his first WSOP ring and the $17,392 top prize. Ross came into the final table third in chips and battled to three handed before he won a three-way all in which eliminated Joe Ferguson in third place. Ross won the main pot off Ridge Gault and then made quick work of the heads up match.
Official Report | Winner Photo | Results
Event #12: $400 No-Limit 1-day - Allen Roberts booked his second tournament win ever tonight in Event #12. He took home $13,723 and the WSOP circuit ring. He defeated a field of 164 players over ten hours of play, eventually coming from behind heads up to defeat Michael Marder and keep him from winning his fifth WSOP circuit ring.
Official Report | Winner Photo | Results
Event #13: $400 No-Limit Hold'em - Daniel Hughes won Event #13 on Sunday evening. Hughes defeated 165 players and several circuit regulars to collect his first WSOP ring. The final table looked more like a home game with Daniel Lowery, Eric Bunch, James Tabor, and the rest laughing and joking most of the time. Eventually Hughes took down his first WSOP ring and the $13,807 first place prize. With this win Hughes breaks $100,000 in WSOP earnings.
Official Report | Winner Photo | Results
Seniors #2: $400 No-Limit Hold'em - Mike Jones won Seniors Event #2
| Winner Photo | Results
Ladies: $250 No-Limit Hold'em - Pamela Belote wons the Ladies event.
| Winner Photo | Results
About the Winners
Event #1: John McMahan
"I was not the best player at this table. I was the worst player. I just got good cards," McMahan said, "This was a Jamie Gold moment."
McMahan added that he would have been happy to min-cash this event. The 69-year-old Tulsan doesn't travel the whole circuit, mostly staying in the Oklahoma and Missouri area. McMahan did travel to Las Vegas recently to go through what he called a "poker boot camp" where he played seven tournaments in 12 days to prepare for the circuit at the Hard Rock.
"The players here are tough. We're blessed in Tulsa, we have a lot of good players," he said.
This is only his second WSOP cash. He finished second in a circuit main in 2007 for $268,858. He plans on playing all the rest of the events for this circuit series.
Event #2: Reggie Tynes
Reggie Tynes took down Event #2 shortly before the players were supposed to bag for Day 2. Tynes says he took the day off work on a whim to come play satellites, but ended up jumping into Event #2 and he ended up winning first place after a three-year poker hiatus.
"I just had better things to do with my money," Tynes said.
The 51-year-old Aircraft Mechanic says that playing at the WSOP is a bucket list item for him. As he was celebrating his first WSOP circuit win, a few onlookers offered him congratulatory fist bumps.
"That's great man, really great," said the two gentlemen who approached him.
The one-day event drew a total of 289 entrants, generating a total prizepool of 57,800. With the win, Tynes earned $12,542, a gold ring, and a seat in the Tournament of Champions, held in Las Vegas the summer of 2023.
Event #3: Rania Nasreddine
Rania Nasreddine, a Tulsa local, won Event #3 the $400 No-Limit Hold'em Multiflight tournament for $60,380 and her first WSOP gold circuit ring.
Nasreddine came into the final table with a slight chip lead over her tablemates. Among the other final tablists were WSOP ring winners Bart Bogard, Gabriel Attoun, and Mark Martin - Nasreddine defeated Martin heads to claim the top prize.
Between taking her winner's photos, several players swung by the feature table to congratulate Nasreddine on her achievement. Though she says the ring is nice, it's more about finding a place where she can challenge herself and spend time with her friends. Considering the number of players who came by to offer their congratulations, she has plenty of friends here at her home casino.
"Who doesn't want a ring or a bracelet," Nasreddine said, "it's nice. I want to excel, whatever that means."
The win hasn't changed her plans for the rest of the series. She looks forward to playing the main event and possibly finding another ring to go with the most recent addition to her trophy case.
Event #4: Nathan Huey
Nathan Huey defeated 220 players to take down Event #4 for $16,981 and a WSOP circuit ring in his first-ever WSOP tournament. Huey defeated Todd Harry heads up after entering the final table sixth in chips. Huey and Harry were pretty even entering heads up play, but Huey earned an early double and left Harry reeling. Eventually, Huey finished him off to capture the win.
"When I heard that the WSOP was coming here, I said I'm definitely playing," Huey said.
The 35-year-old is in the Air Force and works in Medical Admin. He is stationed at Tinker Air Force Base and first got into poker when he was deployed in Qatar. Since then, he has had his eyes set on the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas. The Circuit stop he viewed as a stepping stone to the summer series.
"Possibly as soon as next year," Huey said. "I set the bar pretty high in my first WSOP event."
Huey's win has given him the chance to take another step before Vegas next summer in the Circuit Main Event here at the Hard Rock Tulsa next weekend.
Event #5: Greg Jennings
Greg Jennings won Event #5 $400 No-Limit Hold'em Monster Stack for $24,578 and his first WSOP gold circuit ring. Jennings defeated 350 entrants, including a stacked final table with several familiar faces. Jennings ultimately defeated Bradley Owens heads up - Owens entered the final table with the chip lead.
Jennings started heads up at a chip deficit, but after a huge double with a set of threes, he was finally able to earn one of the few accomplishments that has eluded him in his poker career.
"This is my twelfth circuit final table. I haven't really been that motivated to play poker over the past three years, but Tulsa is close to home and I thought I'd come play a full series to take a shot at finally winning a circuit ring," Jennings said.
With 30 cashes and over $200,000 in circuit winnings, Jennings now has the cherry on top of a great WSOP circuit resume.
Event #6: Shawn Sparks
Shawn Sparks is the winner of Event #6 $250 No-Limit Hold'em. He bested a field of 193 players to claim his third WSOP circuit ring and a spot in the Tournament of Champions. Sparks entered the final table with the chip lead and, after a long heads up battle with William Lahti, Sparks held to win the $9,402 first prize.
"I have two hobbies," Sparks said, "I play poker and I fly airplanes."
Sparks and his wife of almost ten years, Lisa, are both poker players and Sparks says he's thankful that his wife understands and supports his poker hobby. Sparks has three grandkids he says call him Grumps and he carries a "Let's Go Grumps" coin in his pocket while he plays.
With over $100,000 in WSOP cashes, Sparks seems to be having some success in one of his favorite hobbies. But has no desire for poker to be anything more than a hobby.
"I have a great job. I suck at golf, so I play poker. I never want to do this professionally," said Sparks.
Event #7: Greg Jennings
Greg Jennings just won Event #7 $400 Double Stack for his second WSOP circuit ring in three days. He beat a field of 286 players to claim the $20,953 first prize after entering the final table with a big chip lead, thanks to a hand with WSOP Hall of Famer Scotty Nguyen.
"That was the pivotal hand," Jennings said. "It never crossed my mind that this would happen two times until that last hand."
Jennings started the day by losing an all in to Mark Werre, but kept battling and eventually sent Werre to the rail in second place. He mentioned after his first ring win that he hadn't been that motivated to play poker for the past few years, but he wanted to come here and take a shot at winning a ring after 11 circuit final table appearances. Now in back-to-back events, Jennings says he may jump into Event #8 simply because of momentum. However, his feelings haven't changed too much.
"It's great, but it will not inspire me to play more poker."
Jennings has a few more events at least, and the Main Event this weekend, to go for his third ring, but regardless of how the rest of the trip turns out, it's mission accomplished for Jennings.
Event #8: Jessica Vierling
Jessica Vierling won Event #8: $400 No-Limit Hold'em and took home $13,641 along with her first WSOP circuit ring. She defeated 163 players and held a commanding chip lead with three players remaining. As Clayton Soliz was eliminated in third place, he wished Byron Abernathy luck. Abernathy was quite short, and the heads up match was over shortly after.
"Finally," Vierling said as the final card fell on the river.
She jumped out of her chair and walked over to shake Abernathy's hand.
The 36-year old poker pro says her main goal as a poker pro is to be consistent.
"I don't want to focus on the trophies. I wasn't even thinking about the money today," she said.
Vierling wanted the ring more than anything in today's tournament.
"I was wondering if it was ever going to happen."
Well it happened when she got pocket fives all in against Abernathy's king-nine. She mentioned that pocket fives was the hand she lost to the last time she was heads up for a circuit ring. Now, a few years later, pocket fives brings her a WSOP circuit ring. Now she's focused on the Main before deciding where she will be off to next.
Event #9: Gabriel Walter
Gabriel Walter won Event #9: $400 Pot Limit Omaha after defeating a field of 251 players. He will take home $18,714 and the WSOP circuit ring. Walter entered the final table third in chips and held a commanding lead three-handed and into the heads up match. He eventually finished off Brant Hale and claimed the top prize.
The room was packed today while Event #9 finished and Walter was debating joining the Main Event Day 1A flight after the win.
Usually, Walter is more of a cash game PLO player who lives in the area. He says he travels to PLO tournaments in the area. The 40-year-old part time player is a business owner who says he likes the ring.
"I'm not really one to brag, but I might show this off to the guys in the regular game," Walter said.
The Event #9 field returned today at 1 PM with 18 players left and Walter began the day sixth in chips. He finished the day with his first WSOP win, which also happens to be his first cash of any kind in a tournament.
No matter how the Main Event goes, Walter already has the bragging potential for his home game and has started to build a poker resume with his win here today.
Event #11:Thomas Ross
Thomas Ross took down Event #11 $400 6-Max. He defeated 221 players and played about ten hours to claim his first WSOP ring and the $17,392 top prize. Ross came into the final table third in chips and battled to three handed before he won a three-way all in which eliminated Joe Ferguson in third place. Ross won the main pot off Ridge Gault and then made quick work of the heads up match.
Ross has worked for 19 years at the Kellogg company.
"I work for Tony the Tiger," he said.
He said he doesn't play that much poker and that this is only his second tournament since before the pandemic. Despite not playing much poker, Ross still had his eyes set on the WSOP circuit ring over the money for his win.
"It was definitely a goal, even more than the money," he said.
Ross now plans on playing the main event and possibly some more tournaments down the road after booking this win. If the cards keep falling his way as they did in Event #11, he will be tough to beat.
"I had a blast and I ran good all day. Except for really just one hand."
Allen Roberts booked his second tournament win ever tonight in Event #12. He took home $13,723 and the WSOP circuit ring. He defeated a field of 164 players over ten hours of play, eventually coming from behind heads up to defeat Michael Marder and keep him from winning his fifth WSOP circuit ring.
Roberts, who first played the WSOP main event in 2006, but has never cashed it, said he plays golf and poker and is about as good at both.
"I'm a bogey golfer and a bogey poker player," Roberts said.
He also mentioned taking a lot of pride in winning a circuit ring. Roberts plays the World Series in Vegas often, but says he had a much better year last year than he did this year. Now with the WSOP circuit win at his home casino, Hard Rock Tulsa, Roberts will continue to take more shots in golf and in poker.
He was also excited to book the win a few days before he flies out to Seattle then Alaska to vacation with his daughter - one of his six kids. Roberts also has ten grandkids and couldn't keep from smiling as he talked about them. He also couldn't keep from smiling while he was taking his winner's photos.
After the photos, he asked the photographer to take a picture with his phone and to make sure she got all the chips in it.
Event #13: Daniel Hughes
Daniel Hughes won Event #13 on Sunday evening. Hughes defeated 165 players and several circuit regulars to collect his first WSOP ring. The final table looked more like a home game with Daniel Lowery, Eric Bunch, James Tabor, and the rest laughing and joking most of the time. Eventually Hughes took down his first WSOP ring and the $13,807 first place prize. With this win Hughes breaks $100,000 in WSOP earnings.
Hughes said winning the ring was, "kinda cool."
He said he and his brother kept getting close to winning a ring, so they made it kind of a contest to see who could win one first. Sadly, Eric Thompson, his brother, passed away four years ago. Hughes said this ring was for him and tapped the table quietly.
"I'm not supposed to win these," Hughes said, "not with all these guys."
Hughes was pointing out all the players who he final tabled the event with. But Hughes did manage to get the win, finally winning a circuit ring for himself and his brother.
Event #10: Arthur Roberts
Arthur Morris finally got the monkey off his back and secured his first tournament victory after he navigated his way through a 646 entry-field to take home the lion's share of the $978,690 prize pool.
After a prize pool was calculated, 98 players were able to take a piece of it, but it was Arthur Morris who walked away with the lion's share, as he claimed Hard Rock Tulsa’s $1,700 Main Event title that came with a $182,379 top prize, and a seat into the 2023 Tournament of Champions.
“Its been a long time coming,” stated Morris after his victory, “I’ve been playing for 17 years so it feels really good,” added Morris.
The victory may have been a first for Morris, but his WSOP resume dating back to 2011 and over a half million in WSOP earnings, it was only a matter of time before he was able to seal the deal.
“I’ve had an outrageous amount of unofficial final tables this past year and it’s really tough to make it that deep with nothing really to show for it but I really feel now that I’m getting over that hump,” said Morris.
The road to victory was no easy task for Morris, after coming into the final day second in chips only to fall to the bottom of the counts, he kept his composure and continued to build moment until all the chips were in his possession.
“I’ve had so many people rooting for me throughout the year and I just want to thank all my family and friends, especially my wife Pauleen and son jack, I’m excited to go home and spend the next week with them.”