Shane Gonzales Grabs WSOP Circuit Ring and $30K at Harvey's Lake Tahoe

Admitting that the patience required to be a successful tournament player is not one of his strong points, Shane Gonzales may need to reevaluate that assessment of himself after topping 530 entries in a $365 Re-Entry event at Harvey's Lake Tahoe Resort & Casino in Nevada to win $30,814.

The 47-year-old from Concord, California had live tournament cashes of only $12K before capturing his first title and WSOP Circuit ring, including a third place finish at the same venue last year and a min-cash in the identical Re-Entry event the year before. Gonzales finally made it to the winner's circle in 2017, but don't expect him to travel the tournament circuit after tasting victory.

"This is the only place I really play tournaments," the new champ told WSOP reporters. "I run really good here."

California Camaraderie

A prize pool of $153,900 made winners of the top 57 finishers, at least according to the payout list that saw 57th place worth $601. But if the bottom feeders of the in-the-money players shot any additional bullets in the Re-Entry tournament, some may have walked away with their pockets lighter than before the tourney began.

That certainly wasn't the case for Gonzales or his final table opponents, most of whom were fellow Californians. That included Iris Angeleri, Erle Mankin, and Victor Paredes. But it was Louisiana native Stephen Bierman who gave Gonzales the most trouble, finishing runner-up for $19,053.

Bierman won a Heartland Poker Tour Seniors event earlier this year, then followed that victory with another one in May at the Asian Poker Tour in Manila. His lifetime earnings are over $200,000, per the Hendon Mob database.

But this day belonged to Gonzales, who stated that he's unemployed, with the bulk of his time committed to "just hustle poker and play golf." He was the chip leader when final table action began, and rode that stack to his first live tournament championship.

Final Table Results - $365 NLHE Re-Entry - WSOP Circuit