Just when it appeared a better bow couldn’t be tied on the WSOP Circuit Series here at Graton following John Koo winning his second ring of the series, his good friend Craig Carrillo went and made Monday night one that will become WSOP Circuit legend.
Not 30 minutes after Koo won, Carrillo won his second ring of the series as well, defeating a field of 197 entries in the $250 Seniors event.
The celebrations for Koo quickly moved over to Carrillo’s table and the Graton Event Center became an amazing Northern California poker love-in as the duo enjoyed their victories together with their many mutual friends.
“Winning is great obviously, but doing it a half hour after Johnny won his, it’s just a beautiful thing. It just makes it all the more special because the rail was here cheering him on, and then they saw that I was competing as well, all that good energy.”
Carrillo then thanked Koo for not only bringing the party, but for bringing the rungood, saying that this wasn’t the first time they’ve won tournaments in close proximity.
“John’s been my good luck, because when he wins one, oftentimes that’s when I get one as well. As soon as he won it, I felt really good about it.”
Carrillo won the Omaha 8 or Better ring earlier in the series for $7,193 a day after Koo’s first win, and for his win Monday, Carrillo added another $9,176 to his series total.
Even when asked when we could expect him to win his third ring after knocking off two in a week, his friend was in Carrillo's thoughts.
“Well, he’s got some catching up to do, you know. I’m 66, so he’ll be playing a long time. He’ll catch me, but to answer your question, when are you guys coming back?”
We already couldn’t wait to get back to Graton, but after this conclusion to the series, we’re dying to see what this duo has in store for an encore next time.
Event #17: $250 Seniors No-Limit Hold ‘em final table results:
- Craig Carrillo - $9,176
- Thomas Timbreza - $5,961
- Johnny Tran - $3,996
- Robert Zarzycki - $2,766
- Laura Westfall - $1,980
- Michael Coleman - $1,467
- Alexander Plachutin - $1,127
- Jimmy Zeledon - $898
- Lester Avela - $744
- David Rose - $642