The World of Series of Poker Circuit wrapped up its Cherokee stop in North Carolina this week before the gang packed up and moved across the country for 18 events at Graton Resort and Casino in Northern California.
About an hour north of San Francisco, Graton opened in 2013 and added a 200-room hotel in 2016. It held its first poker series in 2022 and built on the success with the addition of its first Circuit in 2023. The $1,700 Main Event at the inaugural Graton circuit drew 616 entries and destroyed the $500K guarantee with a prize pool of $933,240.
Big guarantees at Graton
The schedule is packed with several guarantees and headlined by another promised $500K prize pool in the $1,700 Main Event. It starts on Friday, August 26 with another flight on August 27 leading into Day 2 on Sunday. Other guarantees are on tap, like the $250K $600 Deepstack that kicks off this weekend with five opening flights. Elsewhere on the schedule, the $400 Monster Stack runs with two flights on August 20-21 and a $100K guarantee.
Meanwhile, Allen Kessler has made his presence known with an eye on several mixed game events that will be offered on the schedule next week. Check out the whole lineup here.
On the last episode
The Circuit is coming straight from Cherokee in North Carolina where Donovan Dean won the Main Event for $326,206. Other winners include Chris Conrad, who won his eighth Circuit ring, and Susan Faber, who won her first two.
Among the other highlights from the stop was Team Roberts, seen below in a heads-up match after both players survived the entire field in a benefit tournament for Special Olympics of N.C. Scott and Lisa Roberts, of Marietta, Georgia, might be the most accomplished married couple on the Circuit with a combined five rings (Scott has 3, Lisa has 2) — but it all came to a head on the last day of Cherokee:
"He asked me if I wanted to chop," Lisa told PokerOrg during the match. "I said no! I'm winning this thing."
Lisa ended up taking it down and earning a victory kiss from Scott, who can "sleep in the bed tonight." The special event did not award a ring to the winner, but we will consider this household ring race to be a spiritual tie.
The champ was here
Elsewhere at the Cherokee stop, 2023 Main Event champion Daniel Weinman dropped by his old stomping grounds to get a rare taste of the action. Weinman seems to consider Cherokee an exception to his light "poker retirement" and he nearly won the Main Event late last year.
It's a much different experience for the champ now, as seen below in a video where he busts out a player (a common occurrence) who asks for a selfie afterward (an uncommon occurrence).
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Lead photo courtesy of Graton/8131 Media.
