The World Series of Poker (WSOP) Circuit Isle Casino Pompano Park in Florida had a big highlight on Monday, Feb. 14 when Brian Altman took down Event #13: $1,700 No-Limit Hold'em MAIN EVENT to earn his third Circuit ring and the first-place prize of $204,935.
Altman’s victory came on the last day of the Isle Casino Pompano Park Circuit stop, which consisted of 15 events spanning the course of two weeks. The 15 events, with buy-ins ranging from $400 to $2,200, generated a massive $3.4 million in prize money.
Altman Takes Down Main Event
The three-day Main Event attracted a field of 725 runners to generate a prize pool of $1.1 million, making it the only prize pool to reach seven figures on the Circuit stop.
Altman, a tournament pro from Longmeadow, Massachusetts with $5.6 million in live tournament earnings who was the 2019-21 World Poker Tour (WPT) Player of the Year, entered Day 3 with a massive chip lead over the six remaining opponents. Altman started the day off strong by cracking the pocket kings of Michael Graffeo to send him out in seventh for $31,139.
Altman held onto his chips as the final table dwindled down, though he lost a big pot and the chip lead during heads-up play against Athanasios Polychronopoulos, a two-time bracelet winner who earned $126,653 for his runner-up finish.
Not long after, Altman doubled through Polychronopoulos with a rivered straight against second pair and used the double to propel himself to victory.
WSOP Circuit Isle Casino Pompano Park Main Event Full Results
| PLACE | PLAYER | HOMETOWN | PRIZE (USD) | |
| 1 | Brian Altman | Longmeadow, Massachusetts | $204,935 | |
| 2 | Athanasios Polychronopoulos | Delray Beach, Florida | $126,653 | |
| 3 | Will Failla | Smithtown, New York | $93,528 | |
| 4 | Timothy Little | Hyattsville, Maryland | $69,842 | |
| 5 | Raymond Brint | Sylvania, Ohio | $52,747 | |
| 6 | Paul Snead | Kings Park, New York | $40,294 | |
| 7 | Michael Graffeo | Fort Mill, South Carolina | $31,139 | |
| 8 | James Rubinski | Fort Myers, Florida | $24,346 | |
| 9 | Joseph Brewer | Lawrenceburg, Tennessee | $19,262 |
The victory gives Altman his biggest-ever live WSOP cash and second Circuit Main Event title, the first of which he earned in 2016 in Event #9: $1,675 buy-in MAIN EVENT No-Limit Hold'em at the International Circuit - Casino de Montréal, which brought him a payday of $167,700.
Two years later, Altman finished in third place in Event #10A/B: $1,675 MAIN EVENT at WSOP Circuit Seminole Casino Coconut Creek in Florida for $110,107.
The Massachusetts pro had a close call just months ago in December 2021 when he finished in 10th place in Event #10: No Limit Hold'em MAIN EVENT at WSOP Circuit Harrah’s Cherokee for $28,577.
Other notable players who made deep runs in the Isle Casino Pompano Park Main Event include Jesse Jones (10th - $15,423), Stephen Song (35th - $4,083), Chad Eveslage (53rd - $3,081) Yuval Bronshtein (70th - $2,884), Maurice Hawkins (89th -$2,636) and Loni Harwood (94th - $2,576).
Hebert’s First WSOP Jewelry
Another highlight of the Circuit occurred days earlier when Louisiana’s Joseph Hebert took down Event #10: $400 No-Limit Hold'em for $18,159.
Hebert had a much bigger score when he won the US portion of the 2020 WSOP Main Event for $1.6 million and was ultimately defeated by international champion Damian Salas, who took home the coveted bracelet.
“It’s a lot more fun here. It’s a different stage of poker,” Hebert said after his Circuit victory. “I’ve never won any jewelry before, so this is great.”
Hebert earned the ring after defeating Polychronopoulos, the eventual Main Event runner-up, during heads-up play. Polychronopoulos couldn't get the job done but earned a score of $8,021.
Hebert captivated the poker industry during his 2020 Main Event run when he used #ForLinda to document playing for his late mother, Linda, who died unexpectedly months earlier from pulmonary embolism.
As PokerNews reported in 2020, Hebert’s final text exchange with his late mother was about him winning a bracelet.
While he ultimately came up just short of winning the Main Event bracelet, Hebert now has a different piece of WSOP jewelry to his name, which he won days after completing a massive forearm tattoo memorializing Linda.
Trudeau Jr. Wins High Roller for 10th Ring
Earlier in the series, Jeffrey Trudeau Jr. of Winter Garden, Florida took down the largest buy-in of the Circuit stop, Event #11: $2,200 No-Limit Hold'em High Roller, to earn $93,116 and his tenth Circuit ring.
Trudeau Jr., who now has $2.7 million in tournament earnings, got through a field of 187 entrants and defeated heads-up opponent Jake Schwartz, who recently had a strong performance at the 2021 WSOP that earned him the 11th place spot on the Player of the Year leaderboard. For his runner-up finish, Schwartz earned $57,547.
With a tenth ring to his name, Trudeau Jr. now sits fourth on the all-time Circuit ring list, tied with Ari Engel and trailing only Maurice Hawkins (14), Valentin Vornicu (12) and Joshua Reichard (12).
Other players who made the High Roller final table include Kammar Andries (5th - $21,120), Ian O’hara (6th - $15,756) and Chad Eveslage ($12,085).
Last week, PokerNews reported on earlier highlights of the WSOP Circuit Isle Casino Pompano Park stop, which included Hawkins being denied a record-extending 15th ring and Phillip Hui earning a fifth title.
A full table of ring winners at WSOP Circuit Isle Casino Pompano Park is available below.
| Tournament | Entries | Prize Pool | Winner | Hometown | Prize | |
| Event #1: $600 NLH Multi-Flight | 1,162 | $598,430 | Fernando Rodriguez | Puerto Rico | $94,947 | |
| Event #2: $1,100 NLH | 154 | $150,150 | Kyle Lazzaro | Fort Lauderdale, Florida | $39,324 | |
| Event #3: $1,700 NLH Purple Chip Bounty | 71 | $72,065 | Angelina Rich | Seattle, Washington | $22,885 | |
| Event #4: $400 NLH Seniors Event | 353 | $116,490 | Thomas Curtis | Miami Springs, Florida | $24,732 | |
| Event #5: $400 NLH | 298 | $98,340 | Phillip Hui | San Antonio, Texas | $21,198 | |
| Event #6: $400 NLH Monster Stack | 1,156 | $381,480 | Moises Jattin | Miami, Florida | $62,580 | |
| Event #7: $600 Pot-Limit Omaha | 145 | $74,675 | William Toy | Mt. Sterling, Kentucky | $19,628 | |
| Event #8: $400 NLH | 243 | $80,190 | Elias Nassif | Plantation, Florida | $18,238 | |
| Event #9: $600 No-Limit Hold'em Mystery Bounty | 278 | $115,450 | Justin Matecki | Melbourne, Florida | $25,364 | |
| Event #10: $400 No-Limit Hold'em | 242 | $79,860 | Joseph Hebert | Metairie, Louisiana | $18,159 | |
| Event #11: $2,200 No-Limit Hold'em High Roller | 187 | $374,000 | Jeffrey Trudeau Jr. | Winter Garden, Florida | $93,116 | |
| Event #12: $400 Limit Omaha 8 | 129 | $42,570 | Victor Nassif | Davie, Florida | $11,510 | |
| Event #13: $1,700 No-Limit Hold'em MAIN EVENT | 725 | $1,098,375 | Brian Altman | Longmeadow, Massachusetts | $204,935 | |
| Event #14: No-Limit Hold'em Seniors Event | 251 | $82,830 | Gregory Baird | Hinsdale, IL | $18,714 | |
| Event #15: $400 No-Limit Hold'em Last Chance | 198 | $75,900 | Anthony Close | West Palm Beach, Florida | $17,550 |
