Over the past several years, WSOP Circuit attracted the attention hundreds of thousands of poker fans, giving them the opportunity to win a long-coveted poker trophy and a staggering money prize. The iconic festival turned into a dear event for poker fans of all different calibers. As for now, the WSOP Circuit at Thunder Valley is entering its closing stage, but the most interesting is yet to be seen.
The Main Event is going to be the cherry on the cake, which does not mean that the other events are worth less attention. Another World Series of Poker Circuit ring has been awarded at Thunder Valley and the lucky winner is Larry Odegard from San Jose. It is interesting to note that the player managed to reach the final table in Event #8: $580 No-Limit Hold’em, which was played last night. Unfortunately, Lady Luck favored Ron Brown, who walked away with the gold. But as people say, every cloud has a silver lining.
The player continued to chase his ultimate goal to win a Circuit ring. Odegard’s persistency finally rewarded him with the WSOP-branded trophy. Winning the gold ring is no more a pipe dream for Odegard. In a post-victory interview, the recently-crowned winner shared that he likes the game since he was a kid. But he discovered poker in its full glamor when he started to work at a casino 10 years ago.
Odegard’s Thorny Road to Victory
With a total of 253 entries, a prize pool of $75,900 has been created. The top 27 spots earned a money prize of no less than $516. Checking the list of the cashed-in players, one can easily notice that all of them played under the American flag, except one. The Maple Leaf was waving next to the name of the Canadian poker player James Albion, who was eliminated in 26th place for the cash prize of $516.
Just before the money bubble burst, Odegard found himself among the shorties in the tournament. However, the player managed not only to recover, but also to build an emporium of chips. Locked in a heads-up battle, Larry Odegard and Daniel Chio had the hard task to determine who will be the bride and who will be the bridesmaid in the tournament. Eventually, it turned out that Odegard is the one to leave with the trophy and $20,116 in prize money. This is an exciting moment for the winner, as this is his first-career Circuit ring and first ever first-place finish. Chio needed to succumb in 2nd place for a five-figure payout of $12,438.
