Darryll Fish Hooks WSOP Circuit Palm Beach Kennel Club Title and $173,189
The 2014/2015 World Series of Poker Circuit completed its latest $1,675 Main Event at Palm Beach Kennel Club, a tournament that attracted 537 entries and created a prize pool of $805,500. After three days of play, it was establish poker pro Darryll Fish of Cape Coral, Florida, who captured the $173,189 first-place prize, the gold championship ring, and a seat into the season-ending National Championship.
Fish's first major win, and third-largest career score, came a day before Fish's 29th birthday, and brought his live tournament winnings up to $1,620,046.
"I won! I'm so incredibly grateful for all the support, I don't think words can really express how much it means to have people genuinely rooting for you to succeed," Fish said on social media after the win. "$174K and a ring is a pretty swell birthday gift from the universe. I love you all."
He also told WSOP officials: "I’m not in the game for the titles, but taking one down is a really satisfying feeling, and even though I know I'm capable of winning, it's nice to have that reinforced by actually doing it."
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Darryll Fish | Cape Coral, FL | $173,189 |
| 2 | Don Icawat | Austin, TX | $107,075 |
| 3 | Nancy Nguyen | Denton, TX | $78,222 |
| 4 | Sam Panzica | Saline, MI | $57,988 |
| 5 | Daren Stabinski | Miami, FL | $43,610 |
| 6 | Aaron Rosenthal | Miami Beach, FL | $33,267 |
| 7 | Maurice Hawkins | West Palm Beach, FL | $25,736 |
| 8 | Hans Winzeler | Miami, FL | $20,194 |
| 9 | Jonathan Gaviao | Gainesville, TX | $16,070 |
| 10 | Joseph Alensa | Richwood, TX | $12,960 |
Notable finishes: Joe Kuether (19th - $7,370), John Dolan (24th - $6,267), Corey Burbick (26th - $5,397), Jason Mercier (30th - $4,712), Barry Hutter (40th - $3,375)
According to live updates from the event, the final table was comprised of some heavy hitters including Sam Panzica, who won a gold ring earlier in the week; circuit regular Maurice Hawkins; and the red-hot Don Icawat. Hawkins and Panzica bowed out in seventh place and fourth place, respectively, but Icawat, who began the day as one of the shorter stacks, managed to make it all the way to heads-up play, albeit at a slight chip disadvantage.
In what would be the final hand of the tournament, which took place in Level 30 (40,000/80,000/10,000), Fish limped and then called when Icawat raised to 160,000. The 9♦8♦4♠ flop saw Fish call a bet of 150,000, and then watched Icawat bet 250,000 after the dealer burned and turned the 5♣. Fish raised to 800,000, Icawat moved all in for 4.21 million, and Fish tanked for five minutes before making the call.
Fish: 5♦4♥
Icawat: J♠10♣
Fish was ahead with two pair, but Icawat was drawing live to an open-ended straight draw. The dealer burned one last time and put out the 6♦ river. Icawat missed and finished as runner-up for $107,075 while Fish earned the title of champion and $173,189 in prize money, not to mention his first WSOP Circuit gold ring.
"I play for my love for the game, and the ability to earn a living doing it is something that I'm really fortunate to be able to do," Fish concluded. "So I'm gonna keep grinding, keep doing what I love. Nothing much will change. I'm wearing this shirt, it's 'People Over Politics.' It’s an organization that's about activism and revealing corruption, so I try to bring attention to things that help unite people, rather than divide them."
In addition to Fish, Marshall White earned a National Championship seat while at Palm Beach Kennel Club. White won Event #8 $365 No-Limit Hold'em for $12,181 and a gold ring. He proceeded to follow up that victory with a 10th-place finish in Event #9 $1,125 NLHE for $3,014; 16th in Event #11 $365 NLHE for $640; and third in Event #12 $365 NLHE Turbo for $4,357. White, who cashed in a third of the stop's dozen ring events, captured the title of Casino Champion and will have a chance to compete for a WSOP bracelet later this spring.
Here's a look at all those that captured gold rings at the WSOP Circuit Palm Beach Kennel Club.
| Event | Winner | # of Entries | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 $580 NLHE Reentry | Juan Restrepo | 2,050 | $161,452 |
| #2 $365 PLO8 | Mitch Meltzer | 114 | $10,261 |
| #3 $365 H.O.R.S.E. | Jeff Charlton | 81 | $7,776 |
| #4 $365 NLHE | Scot Masters | 193 | $15,056 |
| #5 $365 NLHE | John Drikakis | 192 | $14,976 |
| #6 $365 NLHE Six Max | Alex Nguyen | 93 | $15,925 |
| #7 $365 NLHE | John O. Matson | 196 | $15,289 |
| #8 $365 NLHE Turbo | Marshall White | 145 | $12,181 |
| #9 $1,125 NLHE | Sam Panzica | 147 | $41,162 |
| #10 $1,675 Main Event | Darryll Fish | 537 | $173,189 |
| #11 $365 NLHE | Rob Tannebaum | 159 | $12,879 |
| #12 $365 NLHE Turbo | Justin “Choctaw” Kruger | 110 | $9,901 |
The 2014/2015 WSOP Circuit continues at Lumiere Place in St. Louis from Feb. 19 through March 2. PokerNews will have a recap of that Main Event upon its conclusion.
*Photos and data courtesy of the WSOP.
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