Erik Gorman Wins WSOPC Harrah’s Cherokee Main Event for $260,480

The WSOP Circuit Harrah’s Cherokee $1,700 Main Event ended Sunday and Erik Gorman wins the top prize of $260,480. The 43-year-old glassblower from Matthews topped a field of a smooth 1,000 entries to win his first gold ring. He also earned himself a custom Circuit ring and a seat into the 2020 Global Casino Championship.

Gorman came into the final day at the bottom of the counts but quickly turned that around early in the day. He went from 750,000 to 3.2 million in chips in no time, with one of the notable hands being a big double with aces versus the pocket nines of eight-time Circuit champion Kyle Cartwright.

Gorman defeated a worthy heads-up opponent in Hannah Guthrie, who took home $160,978 after booking her first ever WSOP cash and just her fourth one overall. She came into Day 3 as the chip leader and dominated a tough final table with many WSOP champions on it. The hand that turned the tides in Gorman’s favor while heads up was when Guthrie made a flush on a paired board and the two players got their chips in the middle on the turn. Gorman held a pair of sevens, but the dealer completed the board with a third four to give him fours full of sevens to double up.

As it turned out, the very next hand after that ended up being the final one of the tournament. Gorman opened the pot and Guthrie jammed her stack in the middle with ace-three suited. Unfortunately for her, Gorman held ace-queen and flopped a pair of queens to take the lead and eventually lock up the pot.

This win more than doubles Gorman’s lifetime career earnings and brings him just over the $500,000 mark overall. “I’m just happy and excited,” said Gorman. When asked what he will do with the money, Gorman laughed and said, “It has to become a reality first.”

Everyone has a reason for getting into poker, and Gorman’s links back to his family. “Just playing with my grandma at the kitchen table,” he said with a big smile. Based on many of the comments from his loud and supportive rail, this was certainly a long time coming for Gorman. The newly crowned champion has results dating back to 2011, but this is his first six-figure score.

Now that Gorman has gotten the elusive monkey off his back after winning this ring, he would like to win something outside of the scope of No-Limit Hold’em. “I really want a H.O.R.S.E ring, or an Omaha ring. I’d really like to get a non-Hold’em bracelet for sure,” explained Gorman.

The WSOP Circuit Harrah’s Cherokee $1,700 Main Event Results: