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Ethan van Klaveren Wins WSOP Circuit Event at Harrah's Rincon

The most recent tournament played at Harrah's Rincon was filled with remarkable poker hands, amazing comebacks, and a surprise victory by a first-time winner. Ethan van Klaveren, a professional massage therapist from San Francisco, CA won the World Series of Poker Circuit event, along with his first championship gold ring. But it wasn't just the victory that was memorable. It was the thrilling poker hands along the way, plus a couple of astounding comebacks by the final two players that should put this tournament in the history books.

At one point when play was down to the final eight players, Van Klaveren looked down and saw pocket kings. He moved all-in with the premium cards on what would become the most talked about hand of the tournament. One player was already all-in holding pocket Q's. Incredibly, a third player called, and then a fourth player also called. One of the callers tabled pocket aces. In an astounding hand, pocket queens, versus pocket kings, versus pocket aces which were turned up and all-in. Then, the real drama started. Wham! A queen on the flop completely disrupted the Pavilion Arena, the locale of the final table played at Rincon. Things went from crazy to absolute bedlam moments later. Kaboom! A king fell on the turn, once again completely changing the outcome of the tournament and disrupting the expectations of the players. As if no one could take any more excitement, a harmless blank fell on the river, which meant van Klaveren's pocket kings ended up making trips and he quadrupled up on a monster hand.

Indeed, it was the kind of night for Ethan van Klaveren.

Although the part-time poker player from San Francisco, CA ended up winning the tournament about four hours later, the trial and tribulation experienced the second-place finisher was just as amazing. Ali Yousri, a.k.a. "Chicago Ali" started at the final table as chip leader. But he took several early beats. At one point, he was down to a single 1,000-denomination chip, when the blinds were at 4,000-8,000. The true tale of poker legend Jack Straus in the 1982 World Series of Poker Main Event has been told many times, and Ali nearly pulled off an equally astounding feat. Starting with just one chip, he went on to win five consecutive pots when he was basically all-in and managed to come all the back to the point where he regained the chip lead when play was three-handed. It was an unthinkable turn of events for Ali to go from chip leader, down to a single chip, and then back to the chip lead, but that's exactly what happened. The colorful poker personality, born in Egypt and now living in Chicago ended up finishing in second place.

The No-Limit Hold'em tournament, which is the fourth event of this year's World Series of Poker Circuit stop in Southern California, was played at the Harrah's Rincon Casino and Resort, near San Diego. The $340 buy in competition was played over two days during March 22-22, 2010. Van Klaveren ended up scooping the biggest prize of his young career, collecting a payout totaling $15,079. Van Klaveren was also presented with his first gold ring, the coveted award which is presented to all champions of WSOP Circuit tournaments held around the country. This was his first time to cash in a WSOP Circuit tournament.

Final Table play began on a Monday afternoon. There were no prior WSOP Circuit gold ring event winners amongst the final nine players, thus guaranteeing a first-time champion. "Chicago Ali" arrived at the Final Table as the chip leader. But Ali lost his advantage early to Troy "Cowboy" Benjamin and later to Stephen Peterson, who were viable forces during most of the seven hour finale. Ethan van Klaveren also jumped into contention after he won the huge pot with pocket kings and acquired some chips.

The last hand came when Ali was dealt Tc 3h. After the flop came Ts 5d 4s, Ali moved all-in. Van Klaveren called and showed Qs Td. He had the best kicker. Ali needed help. The last two cards came Th followed by the 8s giving both players three-of-a-kind, with 10's. But Van Klaveren won with the better kicker.

The final hand of the tournament can be seen here:

http://www.twitvid.com/3B6A7

Ethan van Klaveren was absolutely thrilled with his victory. He received $15,079 in prize money. But he said the victory was really amazing because he had always hoped to win a WSOP event. Van Klaveren says he hopes to play in more events and win another WSOP tournament in the future.

An interview with van Klaveren at tableside just moments after his win can be seen here: http://www.twitvid.com/64A71

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by Nolan Dalla

Posted at 9:44 AM

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Ethan van Klaveren Wins WSOP Circuit Event at Harrah's Rincon

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