Greenfield Player Finishes Ahead at World Series of Poker

Anselmo Villarreal of Greenfield won $19,359 dollars at the 2011 42nd Annual World Series of Poker championships.

With a buy-in of $10,000, Villarreal walked away with $9,359 while finishing tied for 681st in the no-limit hold'em competition.

The event began July 7 and ran through July 19, in Las Vegas as 6,865 contestants were whittled down to nine. Those nine will play the final round in November. It was the third-largest live poker tournament in history and includes a total prize pool of nearly $65 million.

It was Villarreal's first WSOP event since 2006, according to the WSOP Web site, a year that featured a handful of solid finishes for the Greenfield man.

At the 37th Annual World Series of Poker championships in June of that year, Villarreal placed 17th in pot-limit hold'em to win $14,290 ($1,500 buy-in). One month earlier, he won a WSOP no-limit hold'em circuit event at Caesars Palace and earned $14,667 ($500 buy-in).