Monday, September 28, 2015 6:28 PM Local Time
John Vale Wins PBKC Casino Championship; Javier Zarco Leads Unofficial Final Table
Event #12, a $365 one-day tournament, kicked off today at noon ET. Less than seven hours later the 112-player starting field is down to 10 and combined to the unofficial final table.
The finale boasts a pair of headliners in John Vale (pictured) and Javier Zarco. Vale is in the midst of his fifth cash of the series and has officially secured the title of Palm Beach Kennel Club Casino Champion. Having locked up a 10-point score in Event #12 thus far, he's guaranteed a total of at least 120 points putting him comfortably in front of second place Bobby Hodson. His efforts over the last two weeks have included first-, fourth-, eighth- and ninth-place finishes and he's earned himself a seat in the season-ending WSOP Global Casino Championship.
Second in the headline department is chip leader Javier Zarco. Less than five hours ago, Zarco finished runner up in the $1,675 Main Event to Peter Vitantonio. The deep run marked his fourth career second-place WSOP-related finish. If he's able to hang on to his advantage here at the Event #12 final table he'll earn an ever-elusive WSOP trophy.
Other notables still in the hunt include Daniel Gilmer, Brian Reinert and Mark Dumonski.
Seating assignments and chip counts:
Seat 1: Blake Dennison - 38,000
Seat 2: Javier Zarco - 239,000
Seat 3: Mark Dumonski - 150,000
Seat 4: Daniel Gilmer - 188,000
Seat 5: Christian Rodriguez - 258,500
Seat 6: John Vale - 40,500
Seat 7: Steve Bennett - 29,500
Seat 8: Gopaul Haribhai - 70,000
Seat 9: Brian Reinert - 88,000
Seat 10: Elliott Merlin - 41,500
Cards are in the air for the tournament's final playing session now. Roughly 15 minutes remain in the 2,500/5,000 with a 500 ante level. All players are assured a score of at least $702 while the tournament's winner earns $10,079, a Circuit gold ring and 50 points toward an at-large WSOP Global Casino Championship berth.
We will update you again when the tournament concludes.