Event #5: $365 No-Limit Hold'em

Event #5
No-Limit Hold’em
Buy-In: $300 (+$65)
Total Entries: 107
Prize Pool: $32,100
September 21-22, 2015

Event #5 ($365 no-limit hold’em) nearly finishes in one day; Pack needs just three hands to seal the deal on Day 2.

Georgia pro complements second career ring with $9,630 and the Casino Championship points lead.

West Palm Beach, Fla. (September 22, 2015) — Cody Pack is a two-time ring winner following a victory in Event #5 of the World Series of Poker Circuit at the Palm Beach Kennel Club, a $365 no-limit hold’em tournament. In addition to his second trophy, Pack, a Cartersville, Ga. resident, earned $9,630 and surged into the Casino Championship points lead through five events.

The 107-player field in Event #5 narrowed to the 10-handed final table just 15 levels into Day 1. With the opening day of action not scheduled to conclude until after Level 21, that left plenty of room for play at the finale. Pack began the final playing session with the chip lead and remained headstrong.

“Winning three races and busting three people gave me almost half the chips with six [players] left,” Pack said. “That helped tremendously.”

As play narrowed, Pack’s chip lead grew. He eventually took the lead into heads-up play during one of the last levels of the night. Though it looked like the tournament may conclude a day early, Pack and eventual runner-up Christopher Staats were forced to bag following Level 22. Staats was crippled while Pack slept on a chip lead of better than 10-to-1.

“I knew if I continued to play the way I did yesterday, things would work out,” Pack said of taking a commanding chip lead home with him.

Per the players’ request, Day 2 resumed the following day at noon. It took Pack just three hands to pick up    and spike a set against the    of Staats all-in preflop. The pot made official what the rail knew was coming for a while. Staats earned $5,952 for his runner-up finish. The deep run marks his third Circuit final table appearance, 14th cash and moves him over $30,000 in earnings on the tour.

“Anybody can win [a ring] and get lucky one time, but as they start piling up — two, then three, then four — you get a little bit more respect,” Pack said of his win. “This is the second one. Onward to the third one, man.”

Pack is 39 years old and a newly turned pro. He resides in Georgia and first started playing tournament poker seriously at nearby Harrah’s Cherokee during the property’s Circuit series. His first cash came in 2013 and in the years since he’s logged three final table appearances and earned more than $50,000. In addition to almost $10,000 in prizes, his Event #5 victory gives him the Casino Championship points lead through five events.

Event #5 was the fifth of 12 gold ring events on the WSOP Circuit schedule at the Palm Beach Kennel Club. The $365 no-limit hold’em event attracted 107 players. The total prize pool came to $32,100 and the top 12 finishers were paid.

The tournament began Monday, September 21 at noon and Day 1 wrapped following Level 22 (at about 3 a.m.). Day 2 resumed Tuesday at noon with two players remaining and action concluded on the third hand of play.

Final results:

1st: Cody Pack - $9,630 + Circuit gold ring
2nd: Christopher Staats - $5,952
3rd: Lois Bovit - $4,238
4th: John Palace - $3,078
5th: Eric Ward -$2,280
6th: Conrad Lau - $1,722
7th: Jason Bolton - $1,324
8th: Brian Soroko - $1,037
9th: Carol Hackbarth - $827
10th: Edward Tronolone - $671
11th: Howard Darnold - $671
12th: Conley Howard - $671