Winner’s Circle: December Online Poker Highlights Include Victories By Rampage, Matt Stout; 25 Wins in 22 Days & More
December provided gifts under the tree and wins in players’ bankrolls. Grinders produced some nice-sized wins in legal US online poker regions last month.
US regulated poker sites saw a few of the usual suspects grab some hardware and cash. Names like Matt Stout and Ethan “Rampage” Yau scooped up rings in December.
One player, Jeremy “Jermz” Sissman, collected presents all month long on WSOP.com, BetMGM, and PokerStars. The hot streak came after setting out to win 25 online tournaments in New Jersey in one month.
♠♠♠ Each month, Winner’s Circle highlights online poker winners and notable players in the US market. Here’s a look at some players making a name for themselves online. ♠♠♠
Current legal online poker states
In the US, online poker is legal in the following states:
♠♠♠ Winner’s Circle offers a recap and highlights some recent action at the online tables. For players winning big online events, please tag @USPoker on Twitter each month to be featured. ♠♠♠
WSOP.com
The official site of the World Series of Poker held double the action last month as the Fall Online Championships wrapped up along with the monthly Online Circuit Series.
The events offered a combined series in New Jersey and Nevada markets. Pennsylvania and Michigan hosted separate monthly Circuit Series.
Starting in the shared player pool of New Jersey and Nevada, a few big names rose to the top. Poker vlogger and YouTuber Ethan “Rampage” Yau grabbed his fifth ring and scored $45,722.
A few days later he almost doubled down, but settled for second in the high roller event.
Matt Stout was also supposed to be on an off day when he won his eighth ring and $14,488.
In Michigan, Jason “1WinAtAtime” Johnson scored his first ring and $17,987. Also in the Wolverine State, KC Vaughan secured two rings in two days for a total of about $11,000.
In Pennsylvania, some familiar names keep popping up including Kyle Ciccarello. He scored his second ring in only a couple months when he won Event 7 for $10,087.
Some other December Online Circuit winners include:
- Jonathan Dokler – Event 3, $16,581 (NJ/NV)
- Michael Mercaldo – Event 4, $38,474 (NJ/NV)
- Blaze Gaspari – Event 5, $12,197 (NJ/NV)
- David Somers – Event 7, $14,903 (NJ/NV)
- Michael Wolf – Event 2, $6,505 (PA)
- Michael Mcnicholas – Event 3, $5,510 (PA)
- Sebastian Harasim – Event 5 $14,917 (PA)
- Denis Pchelkin – Event 12, $18,234 (PA)
- Andrew Korby – Event 2, $6,751 (MI)
- Anthony Vickers – Event 5, $13,007 (MI)
- Robert Moldovan – Event 6, $7,108 (MI)
- Richard Dykhouse – Event 8, $6,542 (MI)
All bracelet and ring winners through July 2023 earn a seat in the WSOP Tournament of Champions. The $1 million freeroll is held during the live WSOP in Las Vegas this summer.
PokerStars
PokersStar held the site’s 25 Days of Tournaments series in December. During the month players got a chance to get in more events for some juicy prize pools.
One player decided to take it to the next level. Jeremy Sissman (aka “Jermz”) aimed to win 25 online events in the month. He played across all sites including Stars.
On Dec. 22, just a few days before Christmas, Sissman accomplished his mission. The regular online grinder won 25 online tournaments in 22 days, scoring over $27,000 in the process.
Jermz wasn’t all about receiving presents though, he gave some back as well. He took a night off from poker and co-hosted a charity fundraiser for St. Jude’s Foundation. The online Twitch streaming event raised over $500 for the cause.
A few other players had some nice wins on PokerStars as well. In Michigan, “BlacknBlueReign” shipped a $10,000 event for a nice payday at the beginning of the month.
One of the biggest returns on investment for the month came for a player named “NowThatWasFunny.” He turned a $5 satellite ticket into a $2,300 payday.
BetMGM
In December, BetMGM ran the Double Trouble Series. Players got in on the action all month long and some came away with some impressive wins.
In the Wolverine State, Dan Schill continues to make a name for himself. He scored big in a $100,000 guaranteed event grabbing a huge payout of $31,250.
In Pennsylvania, “Law_RK” scored three final tables in one night with one victory.
In New Jersey, Michael Bohmerwald won the six-figure Sunday event for almost $33,000. This was his biggest win to date.
BetMGM, which also includes the partypoker US and Borgata Poker skins, ran online qualifiers to their live event “The Return” event scheduled in January. Winners scooped seats into the Return Main Event.
Winners were rewarded with a $6,000 package and some sweet swag.