Chopped pots prevail at latest WSOPC events

Over the past few days, Events 5, 6 and 7 of the World Series of Poker Circuit (WSOPC) at Caesars Indiana have taken place. The dominant theme seems to be chopping the pot and playing mainly for the glory of a WSOPC ring as that's how two of the three games went down.

Event 5 was the $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em event, which saw 233 people buy-in to create a $220,860 prize pool. It also saw the appearance of a poker pro, as Men "The Master" Nguyen played and was the bubble boy when he busted in 28th place.

Brian "Doc" McKain, a poker player and property manager from Scottsburg, Ind., was the lucky one to come out on top of the field. It came after a complex deal with two other players after they got down to three-handed play.

McKain, Ronnie Kevin and Bradley Hood agreed to chop the pot according to chip stacks, giving McKain $45,000, Kevin $35,000 and Hood $32,000.

That left an extra $17,407, plus a seat in the championship event and the gold and diamond trophy ring for the winner. In the end, the three finished in the same order they chopped the pot.

Final table results for Event 5 are:

Event 6 was the $500 No-Limit Hold'em event with 453 participants and a $214,555 prize pool.

There weren't any deals this time as John Quinlan (pictured), a 24-year-old who was just out with his buddies and decided to take a shot at a tournament, took home $64,367, plus the ring and prestige of a WSOPC event win.

The Oak Lawn, Ill., native said he has no particular style of play except to put all his chips in when he thinks he has the best had.

That strategy and his admitted luck for getting cards when he needed them paid off for the mortgage salesman.

The final table results for Event 6 are:

Note: Two players busted out at the same time for ninth and 10th place, leaving only eight players for the final table.

For Event 7, $500 Pot-Limit Omaha, the pot may have been chopped once again, but it was 42-year-old John Brandenburg who proved that experience playing some of the poker's biggest legends can get you to the top.

As a kid, Brandenburg played with, and learned from, player such as Puggy Pearson, Stu Ungar and Johnny Moss, playing at the Dunes and Flamingo in Vegas. Though he has strayed from professional play, his past experience came in handy at the WSOPC.

Mohammed Yennes, a 63-year-old floor covering business owner from New Albany, Ind., started the final table as chip leader with nearly double his nearest competitor. Brandenburg battled from the second-place position to take the chip lead when the two went into heads-up play.

When the two pulled about even in chips, they agreed to chop the pot and play for the ring. It came down to two pair versus a higher two pair, and Brandenburg got the first-place position and the ring.

Final table results for Event 7 are:

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