Peter Ippolito has won the event 5, $365 H.O.S.E at WSOP Circuit Harrah’s Philadelphia. He received a total prize money of $8,640 and the circuit ring, which is his fourth. This win was very special for him as it marked Ippolito’s name in an elite sodality of players who have won four or more circuit rings. Also this was his first win at mixed events as all his previous achievements were at No Limit Hold’em events.
There were 99 players at the beginning of event 5 and the accumulated prize money was $49,500. The competition was fierce as some long time pros like Ari Engel, Allen Kessler and Chris Reslock were also competing for the title. But the biggest challenge for Ippolito came from 28 year old New Yorker, Kevin Marcus. Marcus, who is the winner of 2010 H.O.R.S.E event at Horseshoe Council Bluffs was leading the final table with maximum number of chips. As expected Marcus maintained his lead and faced Ippolito for battle heads-up. Ippolito was an underdog as everyone was expecting Marcus to triumph the final table but Ippolito’s outstanding game denied him the title. Marcus finished at second place with $5,340.
With this win ippolito is leading the race with 20 points to get a shot at Harrah’s Philadelphia Casino Championship and if he will maintain his winning streak he may also get a chance to play in the World Series of Poker (WSOP) National Championship at Harrah’s New Orleans this May.
From past 5 years Ippolito has been a regular attendee to three poker venues (Harrah’s Resort Atlantic City, Caesars Atlantic City and Philadelphia) which all are located along the east coast. And his performances on all these locations has been terrific. It raises a million dollar question- How many rings can Ippolito really win if he’ll appear at more venues rather than only these three