Chris Bell Wins the WSOP-C Eastern Regional Championship ($358,295)!
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The final nine players returned to the felt at the World Series of Poker Circuit Eastern Regional Championship to play it out for a major title under the bright lights of the television set. From a field of 136 players, Chris Klodnicki had risen to the top of the pack to lead the finalists into the decisive day. After about 11 hours of card playing, he was just a straight draw away from closing the deal, but Chris Bell faded the outs to collect the chips, the ring, and the title of champion.
With the average stack sitting at a hefty 75.5 big blinds to start the day, it was no surprise to see all nine players still seated when the first full break hit. They were still there at the second break, and the third break also came and went without an elimination. The fourth break was for dinner, and Klodnicki was still leading the nine left together for their evening meal.
The chip average slipped under 30 big blinds as the next level kicked in, and the eliminations finally came at a torrid pace. Seth Fischer three-bet shoved his 
into Jason Burt's 
just a few hands into the after-dinner session to exit in ninth place and cue the procession to the payout desk. Nick Mitchell doubled his short stack a moment later, but he was next to fall in eighth place. Micah Raskin had been the aggressor on the flop and turn of a 
board, but he checked the river. When he did, Mitchell shoved his ten remaining big blinds into the pot with 
, and Raskin's 
(two pair) sent "agriffrod" to the exit.
Burt (seventh place) couldn't last much longer himself, shoving his into Chris Bell's 
, and the dead-man's hand struck another player as the 
sealed the day's third elimination. Just a few hands later, Andy Frankenberger and Klodnicki got it all in on a 
flop, and Klodnicki's 
had Frankenberger and his 
drawing slim. The 
turn put him in an even bigger hole, and the blank 
river cued his exit in sixth place just prior to the end of a brutal level.
A quick break saw five players return with the chips becoming polarized, and Todd Terry was on the bad end of that disparity. He had just over 6 big blinds when he shoved with 
against Klodnicki's 
. The 
was "not a good flop" as Terry astutely noted, and the turn and river 
and 
sent him off in fifth place.
Raskin was the shortest stack down under 100,000 at one point today, but he rallied back over 800,000 within a few orbits to put himself back in contention. That stack was eventually whittled back down to half of its former self, and the last 396,000 of those went into the middle on a three-bet with 
. It was Klodnicki doing the deed again as his 
held up on the 
board to eliminate Raskin in fourth place.
Klodnicki was soon over 2 million chips (of 4.08 million in play), and his lead was safe from there on out. Almost. It was Bell who took care of Ketan Pandya in third place when the two men each found a pocket pair in the hole. Klodnicki claimed he folded a pair as well, but Pandya and his 
fell to Bell's 
to bring the match nearly square as heads-up play began.
The pots were mostly small during the course of the duel, apart from one large split pot in which both men made jacks full of aces. The chip stacks were nearly even on the final hand when Bell's flopped set put him two cards from the ring. The dealer blessed him with blanks on both the turn and the river, and the deed was done.
So then, it's North Carolina's Chris Bell who wins this Eastern Regional Championship, his second WSOP title this year. Along with it comes some serious bragging rights, a gold-and-diamond ring, and $358,295 in cash. It was an unusually fun table to watch with tons of post-flop poker, and it ends with a very smiley Bell posing for the winner's photos with his new jewelry and some holiday spending money.
That concludes our coverage from the Eastern Regional Championship in Atlantic City. For that matter, it puts the final stamp on our 2010 calendar year. We want to thank you for joining us here and for the past 12 months, and we hope you'll help us in send our congratulations to Chris Bell on his big win here today!
Until January then, all that's left is goodnight.