Ravi Raghavan Wins WSOP Circuit Horseshoe Hammond Main Event ($272,322)
The World Series of Poker Horseshoe Hammond $1,700 Main Event is now history and at the end of play on Day 3, it was a familiar Chicago name who emerged as the champion.
Ravi Raghavan conquered the gargantuan field of 1,063 to win a first-place prize of $272,322 and his second WSOP circuit ring, the first also coming in Hammond in 2016. At the beginning of the day, it was asked if Raghavan, who was the most accomplished player returning to action, could recreate the Hammond magic that has benefitted him in the past. And after nine and a half hours of play, the answer to that question was a resounding yes.
“Pretty good, pretty, pretty good” said Raghavan, who seemed overcome with glee when asked how it felt to take yet another title in his home casino.
One of the perks of winning a WSOP circuit ring is the qualification for the year end Global Casino Championship, which is something that Raghavan values as he wasn't up to date on the point system and how it worked.
“That’s a great feature to get the qualification to the GCC. Now I don’t have to chase it. It’s really tough to get it this year and it’s really a big load off my mind now that I don’t have to chase it.”
That won't change his poker playing plans drastically in the coming months: “I always play the driving-distance circuit events, so I will go [to those stops] as planned.” But he admits that it does in fact put a new perspective on things as he clarified a few moments later: "You know what I know, everything changes when you win a big one.”
Final Table Results
| Position | Player | Hometown | Prize Money |
| 1 | Ravi Raghavan | Northbrook, Ilinois | $272,322 |
| 2 | Michael Wolff | Madison, Wisconsin | $168,325 |
| 3 | Casey Carroll | Grand Rapids, Michigan | $126,749 |
| 4 | John Shannon | Woodstock, Illinois | $96,304 |
| 5 | Andrew Ostapchenko | Carlsbad, California | $73,837 |
| 6 | David Lindquist | Benton Harbor, Michigan | $57,131 |
| 7 | Matthew Shepsky | Glenview, Illinois | $44,615 |
| 8 | Michael Rossitto | Brooklyn, New York | $35,167 |
| 9 | Bryan Skreens | Winfield, Illinois | $27,981 |
| 10 | Blake Battaglia | Chicago, Illinois | $22,476 |
Early Action of the Day
Day 3 started at a tentative place as the original field of 19 players was cut down by only two in the first two hours of play, with players wanting to solidify their place in the chips counts rather than taking big risks.
Eliminations started to rev up after the first break of the day as WSOP bracelet Alan Percal was toasted by Raghavan in 17th when his ace-king ran into aces. A steady pace of elimination then began to develop as players dropped one by one from 16th down to 10th.
The pace would again hit a snag when the final table of 10 was formed, which saw Raghavan begin with the chip lead. But it was Michael Wolff who would take the initiative in the early part of the final table as he won several big hands to gather a substantial chip lead as everyone else began to fall behind him, including when he eliminated Blake Battaglia in 10th place to break the barrier.
Defining Hands
Wolff would continue to soar until one hand changed the course of the final table and wound up being the hand of the entire tournament. Raghavan flopped a set of eights against the top two pair of Wolff. The chips ended up all in on the flop and after the board ran out clean Raghavan was suddenly the huge chip leader while Wolff was knocked back down.
Just two minutes after that, Raghavan eliminated Michael Rossitto in eighth place when he woke up with pocket kings against the pocket nines of Rossitto to gain another critical pot, which Raghavan would specifically note afterward as being just as important to his win as the big hand against Wolff.
The eliminations came at a steady pace after that as Matthew Shepsky went down in seventh place, David Lindquist in sixth and Andrew Ostapchenko in fifth, two of which were sent to the rail courtesy of Casey Carroll. Raghavan would claim another victim when he eliminated John Shannon in fourth place when his flush got a river call.
Three-handed play would be defined by one hand when Raghavan flopped Broadway versus Carroll, who had a healthy stack at the start of the hand. Raghavan shoved on the river to send Carroll deep into the tank and eventually took all of his chips when Carroll called off with a pair of jacks.
Raghavan would take an overwhelming 7:1 chip lead heading into heads-up play against Wolff, who he would finish off in short order with ace-three running down pocket sixes to win the title.
In addition, Brian McDaniel won the WSOP Circuit Horseshoe Hammond Casino Championship title for a seat into the 2020 Global Casino Championship. He amassed 75 points at the stop and won a ring in Event #6: $400 Monster Stack, good for $32,864.
Here's a look at all those who won rings at the stop:
| Tournament | Entries | Prize Pool | Winner | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Event #1: $400 NLH | 1,710 | $561,330 | David Larson | $76,589 |
| Event #2: $250 NLH Double Stack | 464 | $92,800 | Ryan Abelseth | $18,810 |
| Event #3: $400 NLH Seniors | 211 | $69,630 | Michael Reed | $16,878 |
| Event #4: $600 NLH | 154 | $79,310 | Jerry Gumila | $20,773 |
| Event #5: $600 Pot-Limit Omaha | 121 | $62,315 | Victor Skrobacz | $16,977 |
| Event #6: $400 Monster Stack | 502 | $165,660 | Brian McDaniel | $32,864 |
| Event #7: $400 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better | 102 | $33,660 | Vu Hoang | $9,618 |
| Event #8: $400 NLH Bounty | 172 | $39,650 | Marla Grapsas | $10,140 |
| Event #9: $600 NLH 6-Handed | 163 | $83,945 | Mike Moncek | $21,751 |
| Event #10: $1,125 NLH | 167 | $187,000 | Justin Brown | $46,551 |
| Event #11: $400 NLH Multi-Bag Bonus | 894 | $300,000 | Greg Baird | $49,402 |
| Event #12: $1,700 Main Event | 1,063 | $1,610,445 | Ravi Raghavan | $272,322 |
| Event #13: $2,200 High Roller | 132 | $264,000 | Javier Zarco | $70,931 |
| Event #14: $250 NLH | 274 | $54,800 | Marvin Guss | $12,701 |
That wraps up thePokerNews of WSOP Circuit Horseshoe Hammond Main Event. Stay tuned for more WSOP Circuit coverage in the final months of 2019 to be provided by PokerNews.