2018 World Series of Poker Circuit
Seminole Casino Coconut Creek
Coconut Creek, Florida
$1,675 Main Event
$1,000,000 Guaranteed
Entries: 827
Prize Pool: $1,240,500
February 16-19, 2018

The World Series of Poker Circuit Main Event concluded late Monday night at Seminole Casino Coconut Creek in South Florida. The $1,675 buy-in series headliner saw Kammar Andries of Ocoee, FL claim the title along with $241,898 and the tour’s token prize, a gold ring. In addition, he punched his ticket into the Circuit season-ending Global Casino Championship.

The 2018 WSOP Circuit marked the property’s first time to host the tour and the series went off without a hitch. In total, there were 13 gold ring events including a $365 re-entry opener with a total prize pool of over $525,000, a $3,250 buy-in High Roller that drew more than 70 entries and, of course, the $1,675 Main Event. With a $1,000,000 guarantee, the finale drew players from around the world. Over the course of two starting flights, the field topped out at 827 entries generating a total prize pool of more than $1,200,000.

Day 2 saw 155 players return to play for one of the 90 in-the-money spots including Mukul Pahuja, Matt Stout, Wally Maddah, Phil Hui, and Ian O’Hara. Andrew Pacifico returned with the lead but he was unable to ride it to the last day of the tournament. The bubble came and went as Florida’s Jerry Wong, TK Miles, Paul Balzano, Wally Maddah, and O’Hara were among those to finish in the money. The field narrowed to only 15 remaining by the time Day 2 wrapped and it was Altman that claimed the lead with Day 3 around the corner.

The decisive day moved fast to start as it took barely 90 minutes to trim the field to 10 and consolidate to the unofficial final table. Altman retained his lead until only three players remained. He lost a huge hand with queens versus kings for an unexpected exit against Andries.

Altman flopped a queen but Andries returned the favor with a king on the turn.

“I didn’t even flinch when the queen came out,” Andries said of the big hand. “The king came and I knew that was it.”

Andries went into a heads-up play with better than a two-to-one advantage against Mike Linster. The match was over after 16 hands and Andries had to take a moment away from The Pavilion to appreciate what he accomplished.

For Andries, the win marked a successful series that included a fourth, eleventh, and fourth place finish followed by his Main Event win.

“I took a week off from work to take a legit shot,” Andries said. “I wanted to be serious and I wanted to win a ring.”

“My wife stayed home with the kids,” he said of his wife Jackie. “She’s been supportive since I met her.”

Andries, a physical therapist by trade, finished off his big series with the WSOP Circuit Main Event win and he looks forward to taking part in the Global Casino Championship later in the year.

Congrats to Andries and everyone else for a great ending to the series.

Main Event final table results:

1st: Kammar Andries – $241,898
2nd: Mike Linster – $149,480
3rd: Brian Altman – $110,107
4th: Jason Hill – $82,171
5th: LaVann Williams – $62,124
6th: Dafney Adisson – $47,573
7th: Michael Foley – $36,892
8th: Kevin Schaffel – $28,966
9th: David Gunas – $23,024
10th: Dominique Mosley – $18,521