World Poker Finals Foxwoods
Foxwoods Resort & Casino will host the 2019 World Poker Finals from 4 th till 21 st of October. The poker finals will attract players from the mini tournaments and currently running leagues. Other events will however attract new sign-ups.
- World Poker Tour is the premier name in internationally televised gaming and entertainment with brand presence in land-based tournaments, television, online, and mobile.
- The third stop of the 2019/20 World Series of Poker Circuit crowned a new champion at Foxwoods in the $1,700 Main Event as Justin Carey emerged victorious, denying Maurice Hawkins his fourteenth.
The latest broadcast of the World Poker Tour Season X on Fox Sports Network featured the World Poker Finals from Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut. We thought it would be a good idea to catch up with last year’s winner, Jeff Forrest, for our latest Where Are They Now piece.
Foxwoods Poker Live Update
Now, we admit that Forrest’s victory wasn’t that long ago, and that he is certainly still active in the poker world, so the question shouldn’t be about where he is now. The question should be about what he has been up to lately.
For those who don’t know, Forrest is a professional poker player from Orlando, Florida, who made a big splash in the poker world in October of 2010 when he won the WPT World Poker Finals for $548,752. That marked the biggest cash of his career, surpassing a score of $117,291 from a second-place finish in a $1,500 No Limit Hold’em event at the 2010 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, a tournament he lost to Michael “Timex” McDonald.
PokerNews caught up with Forrest, who has $788,563 in career tournament earnings, while he was at the WPT Seminole Hard Rock Showdown to see what he’s been up to since his big win.
We know this is a very broad question, but can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
Foxwoods World Poker Finals 2018 Results
My full name is Jeffrey Paul Forrest, I went by “jp4est” on PokerStars back in the good ole days. I was born in Orlando, Florida, and have lived there my whole life. I learned to play poker online from my roommate, Travis Klein, freshman year of college at FSU. After playing a couple of SNGs and small MTTs online, I quickly became addicted to the game. The feeling of winning a tournament can't be matched, so I grinded my way up the stakes and was playing all high-stakes MTT's until Black Friday. Luckily, Foxwoods happened before Black Friday, and I've been able to transition right into playing live tournaments consistently since.
How did you come to play the WPT Season IX Foxwoods World Poker Finals?
I was offered a freeroll by Jason Somerville. He covered the buy-in, I would get 20 percent of whatever I made in the tournament. I'd actually never played a WPT before that one.
The final 12 of that event was stacked with players like Hoyt Corkins, Jason Mercier and Sorel Mizzi. What was it like playing against such players? Intimidating? Did you like your chances?
World Poker Finals Foxwoods 2019
I have tons of respect for all those guys. Sorel bubbling the final table was pretty crucial for my chances of winning, and having Tom Marchese on my direct left at the final table wasn't ideal either. The guy was at the top of every player-of-the-year race in 2010 and couldn't lose. But I don't really get intimidated playing with anybody. It's my job to have confidence in myself and just make adjustments based on whom I'm playing and how the game is flowing. Plus I'd already had good experience and results before Foxwoods.
Aside from winning, what’s your best memory from that tournament?
My best memory is from Day 5 with two tables left. I started the day as one of the chip leaders but immediately dropped to the bottom half of the field early. Then my dad surprises me and pops up on the rail, he had flown in from Orlando to watch. It gave me a good boost, and I was able to turn it back around and finish that day strong.
Did you do anything fun with your $548,752 prize? Make any big purchases?
The only purchase I made after the event was a big flat screen TV. Other then that, I was just happy to have a good new bankroll.
You've obviously had success at Foxwoods. Where would you rank this in terms of casinos you like?
I've won a tournament both times I've been there, so if I keep getting results and winning money, I'll keep going back.
Have you been doing a bit of traveling since your win?
Since the win in late 2010, I've been traveling a bit more. I play most of the good tournament series that run in Florida and get to Atlantic City and Vegas every now and then. I'm down in Ft. Lauderdale now for the $10,000 WPT and then heading to Jacksonville next week for the WPT there.
Before Black Friday, you played online. How influential was online poker in your life?
I still see myself as an online player first. It's been nice over the years getting to meet the people I used to grind against online and putting screen names with faces. I'm looking forward to online poker returning to the U.S., whenever that may be, and am debating going abroad to get back on the grind sooner. I will say I'm planning to keep my new account names a secret when sites open in the U.S. It's such an advantage to be an unknown player.
Do you have any money stuck on Full Tilt Poker?
No money stuck, but I was supposed to get paid to wear their patch at the Foxwoods final table and never did. It's a lesson to not connect my name with just any company in the future.
Aside from poker, what sort of things do you do for fun?
I really enjoy playing racquetball, though I'm still new to the game and learning the ropes. Go to the gym as much as I can. Always been a video gamer, but all I play these days are FIFA 12 and I just picked up the new Call of Duty recently. I'm big into music, so I try and see great performances when they come to Orlando.
What are your plans for the next few months? Can we expect to see you at the WSOP? If so, which event do you plan to play?
I'll be living in Vegas from May through July and plan to play a lot of events all summer. I hope to go deep a lot and would love to get my first gold bracelet. There are still a couple more WPT's coming up before then, ending with the season finally WPT Championship in a few weeks. I'd like to get a second title with them just as much as I'd like a WSOP bracelet.
If you love poker, be sure to follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook for all the latest updates on the World Poker Tour.
Tags
FoxwoodsJason SomervillePoker PlayersTom MarcheseWhere Are They NowWPTRelated Tournaments
World Poker TourRelated Players
Tom MarcheseJason Somerville
Foxwoods Poker Results
Registration remained open through the first level of play on Friday in the World Poker Tour’s (WPT) Foxwoods World Poker Finals. When the cash boxes closed for business, 242 players had registered for the $10,000 buy-in tournament, a drop of 31% from the 353 that entered last year.
In 2009, Cornel Andrew Cimpan took home $910,000 for besting the field at Foxwoods. This year, the winner will pocket $548,000, the smallest first place prize given out since the Hollywood Poker Open dished out $391,000 to its winner in March. Carlos Mortensen became the WPT’s all-time money leader in that event after besting Mike Mustafa heads-up.
Foxwoods Poker Room Open
Kyle Bowker, who goes by the handle “kwob20” online, leads the way after Day 2 with a stack of 260,100, or 162 big blinds. He’s barely edging out poker pro Josh Arieh, who will come armed to Day 3 this afternoon with a stack of 258,200, or 161 big blinds. Sixty-nine players remain in the hunt for the coveted WPT bracelet and a seat in the end-of-season Championship event at the Bellagio in Las Vegas.
Mortensen was a late casualty of the World Poker Finals last night, as his club flush draw failed to materialize on the turn or river when he was all-in. Josh Bergman was his executioner and scooped the pot with pocket kings. Also departing was former WPT champ McLean Karr, who moved all-in with K-Q on a board of J-8-6-J for complete air. Another player called with pocket nines, which held up when the river was a 10.
Full Tilt Poker pro Gavin Smith delivered back-to-back eliminations of Brian Lemke and Nick Schulman. The former is a World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner, while the latter was recently featured on MTV’s documentary series “World of Jenks.” Smith flopped a set of threes to send Lemke to the rails, while Schulman was sent home in a hand where both pros flopped top pair, but Smith had Schulman out-kicked.
Other pros sent packing on Friday included Victor Ramdin, Matt “All In At 420” Stout, and Cimpan. The defending champ Tweeted his exit for the world to read: “Out of Foxwoods. Had a chance to double for the 3rd time my AQ vs. QQ on a 10 X X K board with me having nut flush draw and over and a gutshot.” Needless to say, none of Cimpan’s draws hit and he was relegated to the rail.
Here’s how the top 10 in chips look after two days of play in the WPT Foxwoods World Poker Finals:
1. Kyle “kwob20” Bowker – 260,100
2. Josh Arieh – 258,200
3. Bryon Springer – 247,300
4. Gavin Smith – 245,800
5. Todd Freeman – 229,100
6. Ben Klier – 228,500
7. Besnik Ziba – 188,400
8. Ronald Lee – 187,100
9. Christopher Bonita – 184,400
10. Eli Berg – 177,200
The 69 players remain comprise a pro-heavy field. The survivors include:
Hoyt Corkins – 155,400
Mohsin “chicagocards1” Charania – 148,200
Barry Greenstein – 109,900
“Miami” John Cernuto – 106,300
Brock “t soprano” Parker – 105,000
Jason Mercier – 99,500
Chad Brown – 88,800
Jonathan “FieryJustice” Little – 81,100
Allen “Chainsaw” Kessler – 60,800
Erik Seidel – 50,500
Todd Terry – 37,000
When the action paused for the day, the blinds where in Level 11, where the price of poker is 800-1,600 with an ante of 200. The action resumes today at Noon ET. Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest WPT headlines.