Tiffany Michelle Gets Gold at WSOP Lake Tahoe; Minghini Calls Shot in Main Event

Tiffany Michelle Gets Gold at WSOP Lake Tahoe; Minghini Calls Shot in Main Event
Tiffany Michelle and Jarod Minghini

The latest World Series of Poker Circuit (WSOPC) stop at Harveys Lake Tahoe is wrapping up this week and awarded several Circuit rings across more than a dozen events.

Among the latest Circuit ring winners are California’s Tiffany Michelle, a poker presenter and longtime grinder who took down WSOPC Event #14 $400 No-Limit Hold’em for $11,602 and her first Circuit ring, and Jarod Minghini, who won the $1,700 buy-in Main Event for $153,368 and his fourth ring.

Tiffany’s Gold Ring

Tiffany Michelle
Tiffany Michelle

Michelle is no newcomer to the poker industry and has long been a presenter for PokerNews, WSOP, 888poker and other outlets.

Michelle first made a name for herself when she finished 17th in the 2008 WSOP Main Event for $334,534, which makes up a significant chunk of her $406,263 in Hendon Mob-reported live earnings.

The poker commentator made the trip to WSOPC Lake Tahoe and ended up winning Event #14: No-Limit Hold’em, a $400 buy-in event that drew 130 runners and generated a prize pool of $42,900. Michelle found herself heads-up against Sacramento’s Sean Drake, a WSOP bracelet winner who bowed out in second for $7,168.

After the victory, Michelle wrote on Twitter that she had traveled to the Lake Tahoe stop to “create some content” and “get in the action.” Making the trip to western Nevada surely paid off for the longtime poker presenter.

WSOPC Event #14 $400 No-Limit Hold’em Final Table Results

  PLACE PLAYER HOMETOWN PRIZE (IN USD)
  1 Tiffany Michelle Newhall, CA $11,602
  2 Sean Drake Sacramento, CA $7,168
  3 Julian Ruvalcaba N/A $4,923
  4 Gary Pisarek Cebu $3,476
  5 Rex Clinkscales Las Vegas, NV $2,526
  6 Patrick Testoni Santa Cruz, CA $1,890
  7 Erik Homan N/A $1,457
  8 Jeffrey Day Berkeley, CA $1,160
  9 Jeff Troeger California $953

Winning for Bobby

The WSOPC Lake Tahoe stop culminated with the $1,700 buy-in Main Event, which attracted 513 runners to generate a prize pool of $777,195. The top prize of $153,368 went to South Lake Tahoe native Jarod Minghini, who defeated San Diego’s Jonathan Smith in a short heads-up battle that lasted just one hand.

According to WSOP live updates, Smith moved all in with ace-eight in the first hand of heads-up play and Minghini called with king-nine before making two pair and eliminating the fellow Californian.

Jarod Minghini
Jarod Minghini

It was an emotional victory for Minghini, who told WSOP his brother, Bobby, had passed away just weeks before. Minghini called his shot among friends early in the tournament and said he would win his fourth Circuit ring for Bobby, which is exactly what he ended up doing.

“As dumb as it sounds, I expected to win this tournament,” he told WSOP. “Bobby was with me the whole way. From the end of dinner break on Day 1 I just started spinning it up from there. All of Day 2 I was just chip leading all day long, winning every hand.”

Minghini’s previous rings were earned in 2019 WSOPC Bally’s $400 event that brought him $11,371, a 2019 WSOPC Thunder Valley $1,125 event for $37,782 and a 2018 WSOPC Thunder Valley $365 Pot-Limit Omaha event for $9,180.

Jarod Minghini
Jarod Minghini

WSOPC Event #11: $1,700 Main Event Final Table Results

  PLACE PLAYER HOMETOWN PRIZE (IN USD)
  1 Jarod Minghini South Lake Tahoe, CA $153,368
  2 Jonathon Smith San Diego, CA $94,782
  3 Jesse Tinsley N/A $68,615
  4 Taylor Hart Newberg, OR $50,396
  5 Casey McCarrel Walnut Creek, CA $37,564
  6 Scott Stewart Lakewood, CA $28,419
  7 Rayo Kniep Germany $21,829
  8 John Soares San Francisco, CA $17,027
  9 Brandon Zuidema Corona, CA $13,490

Other Winners

Other winners at the WSOPC Lake Tahoe stop include Taylor Pollard, who won Event #1: $400 No-Limit Hold’em Double Stack for $15,838 and San Francisco’s Albert Gorelik, who took down Event #7: $400 No-Limit Hold’em 6-Handed for $18,205.

The WSOPC Lake Tahoe stop wrapped with Event #16: $400 No-Limit Hold’em Double Stack, which saw Texas’ Wadih Kaawar getting through a field of 166 runners to win $13,894.

A full list of winners at the WSOPC Lake Tahoe stop is available in the table below.

WSOPC Lake Tahoe Ring Winners

  TOURNAMENT ENTRIES PRIZE POOL WINNER HOMETOWN PRIZE
  WSOPC Event #1: $400 No-Limit Hold’em Double Stack 199 $65,670 Taylor Pollard Concord, NV $15,838
  WSOPC Event #2: $250 LADIES EVENT 59 $11,800 Rachel Cho N/A $4,019
  WSOPC Event #3: $400 No-Limit Hold’em 8-Handed 178 $58,740 Rex Clinkscales Las Vegas, NV $14,898
  WSOPC Event #4: $400 No-Limit Hold’em 424 $139,920 Thomas Masinter N/A $27,513
  WSOPC Event #5: $250 SENIORS EVENT 312 $62,400 Wade Smith Denim Springs, LA $13,671
  WSOPC Event #6: $600 No-Limit Hold’em Mystery Bounty 172 $88,580 Oscar Alvarez California $18,304
  WSOPC Event #7: $400 No-Limit Hold’em 6-Handed 235 $77,550 Albert Gorelik San Francisco, CA $18,205
  WSOPC Event #8: $400 Pot-Limit Omaha 129 $42,570 Christopher Probst Novato, CA $11,510
  WSOPC Event #9: $400 No-Limit Hold’em Monster Stack 394 $130,020 Allan Sheffer Stateline, NV $26,680
  WSOPC Event #10: $400 No-Limit Hold’em 214 $70,620 Terence Reardon Quincy, MA $16,585
  WSOPC Event #11: $1,700 Main Event 513 $777,195 Jarod Minghini South Lake Tahoe, CA $153,368
  WSOPC Event #12: $400 No-Limit Hold’em 171 $56,430 Westley Cannon Edina, MN $14,177
  WSOPC Event #13: $400 No-Limit Hold’em 169 $55,770 Christopher Funari Media, PA $14,007
  WSOPC Event #14 $400 No-Limit Hold’em 130 $42,900 Tiffany Michelle Newhall, CA $11,602
  WSOPC Event #15: $250 SENIORS EVENT 208 $41,600 David Page Las Vegas, NV $9,858
  WSOPC Event #16: $400 No-Limit Hold’em Double Stack 166 $54,780 Wadih Kaawar Arlington, TX $13,894

Photos courtesy of WSOP

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