Stefanski Wins WSOPC Foxwoods $3,250 High Roller for His Second Ring
The World Series of Poker Circuit Foxwoods $3,250 High Roller reached it’s conclusion Monday night after 44 entries played down to the circuit ring winner.
Dave Stefanski emerged as that winner and took down the grand prize of $47,652 and his second WSOP Circuit ring, the first also coming in the 2016 Foxwoods High Roller.
Stefanski is well known at Foxwoods as is one of the most consistent players based out of Connecticut. The East Lyme native credited his luck as a large part of how he was able to win the ring.
“I ran really well today. I rivered a full house, got flush over flush. It was a good Day 2 overall." he said afterward in reference to the hands that brought him to victory
The win is Stefanski’s third-largest cash at a WSOP stop, trailing only his previous ring victory of $51,300 in Foxwoods and of course, his massive $325,034 score for his 16th-place finish in the 2015 WSOP Main Event out in Las Vegas.
High Roller Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dave Stefanski | East Lyme, Connecticut | $47,652 |
| 2 | James Frangoulidis | Brighton, Massachusetts | $29,463 |
| 3 | Andrew Lauer | Granby, Connecticut | $19,430 |
| 4 | Tarun Gulati | Glastonbury, Connecticut | $13,332 |
| 5 | Paul Snead | Kings Park, New York | $9,517 |
| 6 | Scott Efron | Boca Raton, Florida | $7,089 |
| 7 | Lauren Monosson | Woodbury, New York | $5,517 |
Recapping Day 2 Action
Some 19 players came from Day 1 into Day 2 at the start of play. They were joined by two more late entries to create a field of 21 as the day began. Eliminations came at a relatively consistent pace as the field got closer and closer to the money. It was a rough day for the players who started the day on top of the chip counts as both Luke Graham and Dennis Brand hit the rail short of the money, as well as Josias Santos, who was the bubble boy when he was busted in eighth place to assure the final seven players a spot in the money.
Post-bubble play slowed for a bit with several players looking to ladder up and aiming to go for the big money up top. It took a while before the first in-the-money elimination happened as Lauren Monosson was taken out in seventh place.
As play was whittled down to the final four players, it was then that the chips started to fly. James Frangoulidis took a big chip lead when he hit an ace on the flop against the pocket queens of Andrew Lauer, who had been chip leader. Lauer would not recover from the hand and was eventually eliminated in third place, a result good enough to secure him the Foxwoods Casino Championship and a seat into the 2020 Global Casino Championship.
Heads-up play would be a cagey affair as Frangoulidis entered as a 2:1 chip leader over Stefanski. Both players knew each other well as they are good friends and have played together on many occasions. The first round of heads up featured the two just trading small pots without many changes in chip counts. After a lengthy dinner break, the players returned to battle more intensely. On two occasions Frangoulidis had the chance to win as Stefanski was at risk, but both times Stefanski would survive.
Eventually, Stefanski took over the lead and in the final hand of the tournament Frangoulidis got it in with ace-deuce of hearts but failed to hold there against the king-nine of Stefanski, who made a full house. Frangoulidis had to settle for second place and $29,463 in prize money.