Matthew Waxman Takes the Gold! ($117,797)
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The final nine players returned to the ballroom inside Harrah's Atlantic City today to play it out for the title of champion at the World Series of Poker Circuit Main Event. After just about eight hours of play, Matthew Waxman took the crown, pocketing $117,797, the gold ring, and a golden ticket to the season-ending National Championship in May.
Brandon Croft came into the day with the big stack, but he could not manage to hang on to his chips. Croft would't be the first player out, but it was close. It was Manish Patel who fell first, getting his 10 big blinds in with 
against Waxman's 
. The 
flop all but ended Patel's hopes, and he was out the door in ninth place to give Waxman the chip lead once again with close to 2 million. A few minutes later, Croft lost his last 309,000 chips when his 
ran into Jesus Cabrera's to send him out in eighth place.
Once the knockouts began, they did not relent. Tam Ly lost a flip to go out in seventh place, and Mike Summers followed him right out the door when his flush draw failed to materialize against Waxman's pocket aces. Just a couple hands later, Waxman woke up with aces again, and this time Dave Cubeta gave him all-in action with 
. A 
board full of blanks sealed Cubeta's demise, relegated to the rail in fifth place.
It was only another few hands before Chris Bonita was ushered to the door in fourth place, and Mark Sykes went right behind him in third. He had about 12 big blinds when he went with 
, but Cabrera had the chips to call with 
. No ten on board ended Sykes' day early and concluded a brutal Level 28 that was responsible for five eliminations.
When the match went heads up, Matthew Waxman had about a 3:2 lead over Cabrera, and the battle was a good one. Cabrera drew even with a couple quick pots, but Waxman recovered to once again whittle Cabrera down toward the felt. After about 45 minutes of dueling, the big one finally came. Waxman opened the pot with a raise, and the betting action ended with him calling a five-bet shove for Cabrera's last 2.11 million. The 
of Waxman was dominating Cabrera's 
, and the first four board cards were blanks (
). There were a few chop outs to be had, but there would be no chop. The 
slammed the river, saving Cabrera's tournament life and stealing the ring off Waxman's finger.
That pot turned the tables and gave Cabrera the 3:2 lead, but Waxman worked it back to all square within a few hands. The duel continued for more than three hours, and Cabrera got himself short on a couple different occasions before finding a tournament-saving double up.
Just before 8:00, the final hand was dealt. A preflop raising war saw Matthew Waxman's 
up against Cabrera's 
, and it looked like another double up was going to give Cabrera life once again. The flop was a miraculous 
to all but end it, and the turn meant the at-risk player was dead to a six. The river was the 
, though, and Waxman and crew celebrated his first Circuit win. Along with it comes the gold ring, a ticket to the National Championship at Caesars in May, and $117,797 in cash.
Here's the full list of payouts for the finalists:
| Place | Player | Payout |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Matthew Waxman | $117,797 |
| 2 | Jesus Cabrera | $72,824 |
| 3 | Mark Sykes | $53,126 |
| 4 | Chris Bonita | $39,406 |
| 5 | Dave Cubeta | $29,685 |
| 6 | Mike Summers | $22,704 |
| 7 | Tam Ly | $17,618 |
| 8 | Brandon Croft | $13,869 |
| 9 | Manish Patel | $11,073 |
That wraps up our coverage for this Main Event, but we're not done at Harrah's Atlantic City just yet. The $10,000 Northeast Regional Championship kicks off right here next Sunday, and we'll be back in these seats to bring you some high-stakes action and crown our final ring winner of the 2010 calendar year.
As we depart for now, we send our congratulations go out to Matthew Waxman for a fine performance here in the Main Event!