Attilio Bitondo, an 89-year-old New York resident, captured his first-ever WSOP Circuit gold ring last night after beating a tough final table with several former WSOP Circuit champions. The player collected $16,069 for his triumph.

Bitondo played in a $365 No-Limit Hold’em Double Stack Re-Entry tournament at Harrah’s Atlantic City, the current host of the popular series. The event drew a field of 206 entries, some of whom WSOP Circuit regulars and winners of jewelry pieces from the series.

There were only 18 players left by the end of Day 1. Bitondo, a Veteran and a long-time recreational player, was 11th in chips at that point with 150,000. The final day of the two-day event began with Andrew Dubuque as the chip leader with a stack of 774,000.

The player managed to extend his advantage even more over the first stages of play. By the time there were only ten players left in contention, Dubuque had accumulated a stack of 1.076 million and was the only participant to have passed the one million mark. The player has cashed three times in the series so far and has won one gold ring. Despite his excellent run at Harrah’s Atlantic City yesterday, he was eventually eliminated in seventh place good for $2,308.

The tournament’s official nine-handed final table featured four former WSOP Circuit gold ring winners, including Roland Israelashvili who has five gold pieces from the series in his collection. Despite the tough competition, Bitondo did not feel discouraged to pursue the title and to eventually claim it.

The 89-year-old Veteran eventually faced one very tough competitor heads-up. Bitondo played against Maxwell Young in a two-handed match that lasted over an hour. Young was vying for a fourth gold ring from the series. The player previously won titles at Choctaw Durant in January 2018, Harveys Lake Tahoe in November 2017, and Palm Beach Kennel Club last February. Despite his efforts, Young only made it to a second-place finish last night, good for a little less than $10,000.

Asked about his victory, Bitondo said that it felt really good to finally win a WSOP Circuit gold ring. The player went on to say that playing poker has been his constant hobby for the past 15 year. However, he has been playing the game for much longer. He revealed that he actually started playing when he was 17, even before he went into the army.

The 206 entries who registered into the No-Limit Hold’em tournament at Harrah’s Atlantic City created a prize pool of $61,800. The money was split into 21 payouts, minimum cashes worth $685. The event was the fourth gold ring one to be completed within the ongoing Harrah’s Atlantic City festival. There are eight more such tournaments scheduled to take place, including the $1,675 Main Event, starting March 16.

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