MONEYMAKER IS BACK: Probably the strongest critics of Chris Moneymaker are the Internet kids. It’s fitting he’s making headlines in their biggest tournament of the year. Mike Matasow once told an opponent the kiddies’ pool is down the street but a lot of old pros are finding out they would rather not swim in that pool because playing Texas Hold em poker with the kiddies can leave you broke. The PCA is the new kiddies pool and you better bring your A game if you want to have success.
At the PCA, in the Bahamas, where young online qualifiers descend on the Atlantis resort like a Star Wars clone army (a series of movies many of these kids still needed an adult to get them into), Moneymaker was one of 1560 entrants. Right now there are only 22 left and Moneymaker is second in chips, so much for the revered online poker strategy.
Even as he hopes to make redemption the story line of the tournament a girl by the name of Ana Marquez is first in chips. She’s seeking to win the most money ever by a woman in an MTT (Annie Duke’s Tournament of Champions was a sit ‘n go). Mike Sowers is keeping pace fifth in chips.
Even if Moneymaker were to hit the implode button, he would still cash for at least 75k. That would be his third largest cash behind the 2.5 million he won in WSOP championship and the 200k he won, in his second cash, the 2004 WPT Shooting Star tournament. Last April he bagged 35k in Monte Carlo which he’s guaranteed to out-earn. Top four places at the PCA all pay one million or more. If he were to win the PCA, he’d nearly match his 2004 WSOP title take with another 2.3 million. That would bump him all the way up to about Hoyt Corkins on the all time live tournament earnings list around 45th with about 5.2 million.
SPEAKING OF HOYT: Corkins cashed in the PCA Main Event too. Corkings made the money along with Dwyte Pilgrim, Super High Roller Eugene Katchalov, Bertrand Grospellier, Marcel Luske, Ted Lawson, Michal Binger, JP Kelly and Faraz Jaka, Hoyt Corkins spoke with Pokernews about his time at the PCA and heading to the Beau Rivage for the Southern Poker Championship. Click the link to read more.
EVENT 5, ALEX TASSIN THIRD: Luke Priour (pictured above) of Austing, TX won the event and the 31k and bragging rights to go with it. Joe Greene (what is this 70s Sports Icons Week at the Beau) of Panama City, Florida finished 2nd for 17k. Alex Tassin of Houma finished third for 9.4k. Thomas Doussan of Metairie 6th for 4,7k. Frank Alpandinar of Baton Rouge 7th for 3.7k.
EVENT 6, RYAN LENAGHAN JUST SHORT AGAIN: Joe Poole of Loris, SC won the Pot Limit Omaha tournament prevailing over Ryan Lenaghan, (pictured to the right) of New Orleans. Lenaghan took a break from playing online poker room. Joe won 12k and Ryan 6.4k.
EVENT THREE, YANKEE THESE NUTS: Ron “Don’t You Dare Call Me Don” Mattingly took down the event and pocketed 34k for his trouble. Seen here holding the world in his hands, Mattingly, finally won the big one. Doug Cox won 7k for 5th. Deanna Laurence of Bossier City won 3.5k for 8th. John Durio of New Orleans 2.2k for 9th. George Bronstein and BJ McBrayer also cashed outside the final table.
EVENT FOUR, KAI LANDRY GAGS: ‘Despite the presence of noted bracelet winner Eskimo Clark and the desire to give him some breathing room in every pot, Roland Israelashvili of New York prevailed in the 340 Limit Seven Card Stud. Kai Landry came to the final table as the chip leader but didn’t make the top four to cash. We have a feeling… spoiler alert… you haven’t heard the last of Kai at these old man events.
IT’S BEEN A GOOD YEAR OF SUNDAYS FOR TK: Tim “TimKrank” Miles was at it again. Different site, same result. TK who has been blowing up online poker including Full Tilt on Sundays got a big result on PokerStars yesterday. in the PokerStars $109+R NL Hold’em ($300k Guaranteed) TK made another final table and another 5 digit score. Miles pocket 12.2k for seventh place.
JOHN DOLAN DOING DOUBLE DAMAGE: Under the screen name JRD312, John Dolan finished 11th in PokeStars Sunday 2nd chance. He made 2.5k. The Full Tilt sponsored pro was also busy on his home site finishing 6th for 18.3k in the Full Tilt Sunday Brawl. Erica Schoenberg (pictured, because why not) and Allen Cunningham also cashed in that event.
MCKLEAN KARR GETS SOME FACETIME ON A SCOOTER: In the PokerNews series, the Sunday Grind, one time Gulf Coast resident McLean Karr, showed what his Sunday playing online poker during the PCA is like. He shares the video with Victor Ramdin and Faraz Jaka. He’s got a broken foot but dodges the question how he broke it. We are guesing it’s from living dangerously as he does say he drives his scooter at Rabbit, Rabbit speed. Go here to watch the video.
BEN “THE DESTROYER” MAKES MINTZ MEAT OF ALL BUT ONE: Ben Mintz of New Orleans, LA chopped the $550 Event one with Carl McGowan. Terms of the chop awarded first place to McGowan (pictured), a Pearson, GA native. Mark Wild of Biloxi finished fourth for just under 10k. Kenny Milam was back in the money finishing 7th for 5.6k. Ryan Cox of New Orleans, 10th. Also in the money were Rodney Shows of Hattiesburg and Robert Quinn of Metairie. Joseph Erwin, Raymond Bonavida, and Brandon Guillory, added to the Louisiana logjam at the tail end of the “In The Money” finishers.
TIMMMMMMBURT FINISHES 7th IN EVENT TWO: It was Timber! for Tim Burt in the $340 Limit Omaha 8 or Better. After nine made the money, Burt, a Grenada, MS local went out in seventh. No word yet if he asked the cage to fork over his crumbs. Anthony Bellao of New Orelans finished 5th. Todd Burrows of Friendswood, TX finished first for 11k.
SOME NEWS NUGS FROM THE BAHAMAS:
-Viktor Blum is Isildur1. As much mystery in that one as there was in who got shot… in the Who Shot J.R. Ewing cliffhanger. Think about it.
-GCPers atwitter. UPDATED: Bad news for Shannon Shorr, and Jonathan Little in the Main Event. See their twitter feeds with the gory news in the column on the right. Jason Mercier still alive.
-Eugene Catchalot Katchalov catches a lot of hands. Katchalov won the 2011 PCA Super High Rollers event for 1.5 million. Buy-in was a measley 100k. Nick Schulman and Humberto Brenes also tasted the money by finishing 4th and 5th.
-Daniel Negreanu’s second translates to first. Negreanu finished second in that same Super High Rollers event (interesting name for a poker event for a lot of young internet players in the Bahamas… Super High Roller… just saying) and now has passed Phil Ivey again for first all time in Live tournament winnings. Negreanu got it all in with pocket fives to the fours of Catchalot. Turn brought the set for Katchalove and cost Negreanu half a million. Yes, he still pocketed one million for the tournament.
COGAN’S TRADE, A “POKER” MOVIE STARING BRAD PITT, TO BEGIN FILMING IN NEW ORLEANS IN MARCH: Thou ght the genre was dead and then comes news about Rounders 2 and now this. Other stars rumored to be involved include Casey Affleck, who is not bad-beated Matt Affleck’s less successful brother, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin, Bill Murray, Mark Ruffalo, and Sam Rockwell. The plot is centered on the George Higgins novel about a “professional enforcer who investigates a heist that takes place during a high stakes poker game under protection of the mob.”
At any moment, we expect the producers to be firing us an email (now readily available in our Contact Us section) to ask for a guided tour of just such games in New Orleans and to help with filming locations, hand selections, how to spot a rigged poker game etc. Okay, we don’t expect that but we are available for just such consultation for a nominal fee. And we know capable realistic poker playing extras. No word yet if Brad Pitt is playing the role of Patrik Antonius.
BELLAGIO ROBBED AGAIN! Okay, if this blog is to believed, they didn’t get robbed but a player got robbed of slightly less than the 1.5 million taken from Bellagio at gun point recenly. This guy didn’t even see the thief. He got up from the table and his stack was gone. All told $430 to the bad. If it is true makes you a little uneasy about leaving you stack unattended next time you are at the casino. You’d hope they ran a tighter ship than this. No word yet if the two incidents were connected.
OT: IT TOOK A COUPLE OF YEARS FOR RED SOX FANS TO BECOME ANNOYING: Basically, when they became the evil empire light. Still, hard to dislike them unless you are a Yankees fan. But everybody hates a winner and it seems it took even less time for the haters to come out in force after the Saints victory in the Superbowl last year. This guy really seems to have his head up his ass.
FLORIDA’S GAMBLING INDUSTRY CAN THANK POKER FOR SAVING IT AND IF THEY ARE SMART THEY’LL EXPAND THAT RELATIONSHIP. Lots of stories out there on the internet giving weight to this Time Magazine piece. It can best be summed up by this quote “But there’s an added reason the Seminole Hard Rock complex is drawing such a horde of gamers these days: poker. Really high-stakes poker.” We all know that several Gulf Coast located pros have relocated to Florida to chase the deep pockets and action in the poker venues there. Yes, because of new laws upping the buy-ins and upping the action poker is going through a Sunshine State mini-boom.
Seems so many people are flocking to Florida it’s saving dogtracks and Jai-Alai venues. Yes, people other than on the opening montage of Miami Vice actually play Jai-Alai, but soon that many be the only archive of the sport. Miami is undergoing a bit of a gambling revolution.
The Jai-Alai stands used to pack in 10k worth of fans and now can only muster 100 semi-interested spectators. It’s like the Buy-ins on the high-stakes poker tables only in the inverse. This Miami Herald piece talks about how a once proud sport is reduced to offering poker to save their venue.
It’s not just Jai-Alai that has turned to poker for a save, it’s dog tracks too. The Sarasota Kennel Club’s card room One-Eyed Jacks has figured out a way to get customers in, and while they are playing poker take a wager or two on the races too (Bradenton.com). Seems like the smart thing to do would be to line up the poker room, like a luxury box, right over the race track and allow wagers to be made from the table. Also, put the dealer’s back to the track but allow the players to sit in a semi-circle like a black jack table. The games can pause as the races fly-by. Sounds desperate but it may the tracks’ and jai-alai venues’ only hope.
Leave a Comment
No comments yet.
Comments RSS TrackBack Identifier URI
