David Larson Wins Two Circuit Rings in 24 Hours; Four in Calendar Year
The World Series of Poker Circuit Choctaw Durant $1,700 Main Event is just one of a dozen gold ring events at the stop. One man, 48-year-old poker pro David Larson from Appleton, Wisconsin, managed to claim two titles back-to-back within a 24-hour period.
Larson was making the trek to Harrah’s Cherokee in North Carolina for the Global Casino Championship – which he qualified for by finishing as Casino Champ at the WSOPC Horseshoe Hammond last October – when he decided to stop at Choctaw and play Event #7: $400 No-Limit Hold’em, a tournament that attracted 123 entries and created a $40,590 prize pool. Larson bagged the Day 1 chip lead, which he took into the final table before winning it all for $11,057 and his third career ring.
With the first win, the former software engineer became the 132nd player to win three or more WSOP Circuit rings.
Event #7: $400 NLH Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | David Larson | Appleton, WI | $11,057 |
| 2 | Larry Green | Houston, Texas | $6,834 |
| 3 | Khoi Lang | McKinney, Texas | $4,754 |
| 4 | Lauren Bunch | Tulsa, Oklahoma | $3,390 |
| 5 | Trent Trinidad | Big Spring, Texas | $2,480 |
| 6 | Lisa Schuessler | Durant, Oklahoma | $1,862 |
| 7 | Gary Harbison | Addison, Texas | $1,435 |
| 8 | Bernard Morrow | Grand Island, Nebraska | $1,138 |
| 9 | Lisa Smith | Spring, Texas | $928 |
He didn’t stop there as the next day he fired Event #9: $250 NLH and bested a 180-entry field to win it for $9,137.
“Today I felt more pressure because I won yesterday but also people were afraid of me because I won yesterday,” he told WSOP officials. “People definitely played a little more conservative today so it was harder for them to give-up their chips and yesterday people were a lot more splashy.”
Larson became the 55th player to win four or more rings, though his have all come in the last calendar year.
“This is definitely the most fun I’ve had,” he said. “I’ve won a lot more money playing poker but this is for sure the most fun I’ve ever had.”
The back-to-back wins also gave Larson 100 points on the WSOPC Choctaw leaderboard, which puts him out front and in a good position to win a seat into next year’s Global Casino Championship.
Event #9: $250 NLH Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | David Larson | Appleton, WI | $9,137 |
| 2 | Benjamin Thompson | Lake Elm, Texas | $5,644 |
| 3 | Glen Goldsmith | Palestine, Texas | $3,946 |
| 4 | Thomas Neville | Carrollton, Texas | $2,820 |
| 5 | Marcus Villarreal | Pleasanton, Texas | $2,060 |
| 6 | Carson Wieland | Montgomery, Texas | $1,540 |
| 7 | Suzan Samuels | Bellaire, Texas | $1,178 |
| 8 | Vincent Moscati | Verplanck, New York | $922 |
| 9 | Phillip Teel | Broken Arrow, Oklahoma | $740 |
To see who all has captured gold rings at the Choctaw Durant stop, click here.