Jesus wins WSOP Circuit

There were many firsts at the Harvey’s Lake Tahoe World Series of Poker championship, which concluded on 18 November.

First and foremost, Chris “Jesus” Ferguson, one of the world’s most electrifying poker personalities and accomplished tournament players became the first person ever to win three WSOP Circuit championship events.

He now owns three gold rings, each symbolizing a Circuit triumph, to go with his five gold bracelets won for World Series of Poker excellence. The way Ferguson is playing – between all his rings and bracelets — pretty soon he is going to be able to open up a jewelry store.

There were also firsts in the way Ferguson accomplished his feat. The 44-year-old tournament pro played near-flawless poker and then caught two monster hands in the closing minutes to shatter the dreams of a would-be “David” in his quest to slay one of poker’s true “Goliaths.”

Heads up play featured a 25-year-old local man named Dustin Fox, playing against the former world champion. It took just one hand for Ferguson to drag the final pot of the tournament, holding a set of tens over Fox’s pocket aces, which brought a packed house to its feet and ended the Lake Tahoe championship in dramatic fashion.

This was the fourth straight year the World Series of Poker Circuit has made a stop at Harvey’s Lake Tahoe. In fact, this was the largest turnout of the four tournament series held so far. More than 2,100 players entered the 11 events held on the south shores of beautiful blue Lake Tahoe.

The $5,000 championship event attracted 142 players, which created a prize pool totaling $677,700. The top 18 players all collected prize money. The tournament was played over three days. The first day eliminated much of the field, as only 39 players returned for day two. The second day eliminated another 30 players, leaving the nine finalists to play for the championship on day three.

Ferguson arrived at the final table with a sizable chip advantage. He arrived with 426,000 in chips. His closest rival was Mark “Bonsai” Bonsack, with 252,000 in chips. The remaining players each arrived with 158,000 or less. Ferguson held the lead for all but about 15 minutes of play, when his rival Dustin Fox managed to gain a slight lead. Indeed, the day, the night, and the tournament victory belonged to the famous icon dressed in all-black.

Final results:
1. Chris “Jesus” Ferguson, Pacific Palisades, CA, $203,649
2. Dustin Fox, Stateline, NV, $119,276
3. Mark Bonsack, Maple Valley, WA, $82,002
4. “Vesty” Geoghegan, Mulligar, Ireland, $56,928
5. Gabriel Testa, San Jose, CA, $43,035
6. Michael Banducci, Traverse City, MI, $33,208
7. George Saca, Folsom, CA, $26,431
8. Frank Lee, Los Gatos, CA, $19,653
9. Travis Erdman, San Francisco, CA, $14,231