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Michael Scarborough – Photo Credit: WSOP Circuit
Michael Scarborough took down the title at the World Series of Poker Circuit main event final table that concluded on May 22nd at Caesars Southern Indiana for the top prize worth $123,587. It was the first gold ring for the Cincinnati resident, and fifth win of his career to take his total earnings over $670,000.
“I want to dedicate this to my best friend, who just passed away in October. He was my best poker friend, he would travel all around with me to the tournaments, and he would be here today. His name is Sean Loring. The most amazing person in the world. So many people know him in poker. He was my best friend, my biggest fan, he had my back. We traveled together for the last ten years. So obviously, I just wish he could be here for this,” said an emotional Scarborough to the WSOP Circuit reporters after the win.
Scarborough continued, “I have had some personal struggles as well lately with health issues, and I lost my job, so this win is a big blessing for me. I just wish Sean could be here to see it.” He even wore Loring’s hoodie at the final table in tribute.
The $1,700 buy-in no limit hold’em event attracted a field of 406 entries thanks to two starting flights, and that created a prize pool worth $615,090. The final 62 players in the tournament all took home at least $2,512 in prize money. Day 2 saw 41 players return for 10 hours of play before stopping with six remaining.
Notables lost on the penultimate day of play included Trace Henderson (12th), Russell Sullivan (18th), Carl Masters (21st), Robert Hankins (25th), Jake Bazeley (35th), and all-time gold ring record holder Maurice Hawkins (38th). Keven Stammen held the chip lead at the conclusion of the second day of the tournament, and Scarborough was in the bottom half of the final half-dozen players.
Scarborough took the chip lead during four-handed play on the final day without eliminating any opponents on the way to building his large stack. Stammen fell in fourth place, and it wasn’t until three-handed play that Scarborough scored his first knockout punch. He took out Jeffrey Copeland in third place to take 7.3 million into the heads-up final against the 4.9 million held by Luke Graham.
That final match was a quick one. It didn’t even take 30 minutes for the final two players to get the last of their chips into the middle. Graham was all in preflop holding J
9, and Scarborough called, having him covered, with K
7. The board was dealt 98
32
8, and that ended Graham’s tournament run. He took home $76,383 as the runner-up to increase his career earnings to more than $1.45 million, falling just short of his third career gold ring.
Here is a look at the payouts awarded at the final table:
| Place | Player | Earnings | POY Points |
| 1 | Michael Scarborough | $123,587 | 720 |
| 2 | Luke Graham | $76,383 | 600 |
| 3 | Jeffrey Copeland | $54,900 | 480 |
| 4 | Keven Stammen | $40,154 | 360 |
| 5 | Bryan Reisner | $29,895 | 300 |
| 6 | William Watson | $22,662 | 240 |
| 7 | Derek Nold | $17,500 | 180 |
| 8 | Brian Jones | $13,768 | 120 |
| 9 | Ron Fletcher | $11,042 | 60 |
The next WSOP Circuit event will take place at the Choctaw Casino Resort in Durant, Oklahoma, and the full tournament series runs from July 20-31. The $1,700 buy-in main event begins on Friday, July 29.
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