Philip Shing Wins WSOP Circuit Potawatomi Main Event for $151,284; Ken Donarski Wins Intense Casino Championship Race

Philip Shing

The 2020 World Series of Poker Potawatomi $1,700 Main Event began with 524 entrants, and on Monday it was 35-year-old Philip Shing, who was visiting Milwaukee for the first time, coming out on top to capture the $151,284 first-place prize, a gold ring, and a seat into the 2020 Global Casino Championship.

It actually marked the second ring for Shing, who revealed that he only plays poker a couple of times a year. Back in 2015, he won the WSOP Circuit Foxwoods Event #3: $580 Six-Max NLH for $14,543 and his first gold ring.

“Honestly it hasn’t really kicked yet but I think it feels really good,” Shing stated after his win. “I only play three events a year due to work but I actually had a week off of work so I came here.”

He added: “The casino was great, the people were amazing and I just had a blast here at the final table so I will definitely be making this trip again ... As you can expect I’m exhausted at this point and I’m ready to go home and see my kids.”

Final Table Results

PositionNameHometownPrize Money
1Philip ShingBrooklyn, New York$151,284
2Ken DonarskiWillow Brook, Illinois$93,498
3John GallaherLebanon, Tennessee$68,947
4James PupilloGilbert, Arizona$51,484
5Cero ZuccarelloMadison, Wisconsin$38,937
6Chris RothWaukesha, Wisconsin$29,829
7Michael HartzheimLittle Chute, Wisconsin$23,152
8Marcus YofonLas Vegas, Nevada$18,209
9Fadi HamadDanvers, Illinois$14,514

Final Table Action

The first final table casualty was the result of a classic flip when Marcus Yofon failed to get there with ace-king suited against Shing’s pocket eights.

Not long after, Mike Hartzheim bowed out in seventh after flopping top pair with a flush draw. He got it in on the turn against Cero Zuccarello, who was ahead with aces up. The ace of diamonds on the river gave Hartzheim his flush, but it was no good as it also filled up Zuccarello.

Chris Roth took his leave after jamming with nine-seven only to run into Zuccarello’s kings, and then the latter followed him out the door after running into kings himself after John Gallaher had limped with them from the small blind.

James Pupillo, who back in September finished fourth in the same tournament, got unlucky losing with ace-jack to the ace-eight of Shing all in preflop after an eight spike on the turn. That resulted in back-to-back fourth-place finishes for Pupillo, this one good for $51,484.

After Gallaher was dispatched in third place – the result of losing with queen-jack to Shing’s ace-jack – it took just one hand of heads-up play to crown a winner. Ken Donarski was at a 6:1 chip disadvantage and three-bet jammed with jack-eight. Shing called with ace-jack and held to nab by far the biggest score of his career.

Donarski Wins Casino Championship

Ken Donarski
Casino Champ Ken Donarski

The WSOP Circuit Potawatomi Casino Championship race was a tight one. Donarski had the early lead only to see Brett Reichard pass him up. Then, Vishal Patel took down the last two events on the schedule to win back-to-back rings and take the lead. Reichard’s elimination from the Main Event meant he was out of the running, but Donarski remained.

He needed to finish third or better to claim the title, so by finishing in second place he locked up the stop’s second seat into the 2020 Global Casino Championship. It was the cherry on top of an excellent series for Donarski, who finished fifth in Event #1: $400 NLH for $5,409 and then won Event #5: $400 NLH for $13,127 and his second gold ring.

TournamentEntriesPrize PoolWinnerPrize
Event #1: $400 NLH313$103,290Darin Utley$22,642
Event #2: $400 Pot-Limit Omaha164$54,120Kyle Klett$13,723
Event #3: $400 NLH Multi-Flight983$324,390James Gregg$54,155
Event #4: $400 NLH Turbo257$84,810Jorden Helstern$19,019
Event #5: $400 NLH One-Day155$51,150Ken Donarski$13,127
Event #6: $400 NLH 6-Handed224$73,920Todd Sladek$17,630
Event #7: $600 NLH 8-Hnaded162$83,430Brett Reichard$21,611
Event #8: $400 Monster Stack610$201,300Jason Farkas$38,039
Event #9: $1,125 NLH151$151,000Sam Cosby$39,250
$250 Ladies Event NLH69$13,800Kyna England$4,436
Event #10: $1,700 Main Event524$793,860Philip Shing$151,284
Event #11: $250 NLH One-Day366$73,200Josh Clanton$15,374
Event #12: $400 NLH One-Day190$62,700Vishal Patel$15,272
$250 Seniors Event #1311$62,200Scott Weinstein$13,642
$250 Seniors Event #2266$53,200Scott Reilly$11,835
Event #13: $400 NLH Double Stack255$84,150Vishal Patel$18,873

The World Series of Poker Circuit continues this week at Hard Rock Tampa. The PokerNews Live Reporting Team will be on-site later this week to offer live updates from both high rollers as well as that stop’s $1,700 Main Event.

Sharelines
  • Philip Shing won @WSOP Circuit @paysbigpoker Main Event for $151,284; Ken Donarski is Casino Champ.

Name Surname
Executive Editor U.S.

Executive Editor US, PokerNews Podcast co-host & 2013 WSOP Bracelet Winner.

More Stories

Other Stories

Recommended for you

Jaime Haletky Wins WSOP Circuit Thunder Valley Main Event ($147,706); David Valdez Casino Champ Jaime Haletky Wins WSOP Circuit Thunder Valley Main Event ($147,706); David Valdez Casino Champ