Posts Tagged ‘ashton griffin’
Tobias Reinkemeier Leads PCA Super High Roller Event After Day 1
One day of play is in the books in the $100,000 buy-in Super High Roller Event at the 2011 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA). Thirty-eight players put up the six-figure admission fee and, when the smoke had cleared after nine levels, Tobias Reinkemeier held a stack of 896,000 for a slight lead over Team PokerStars Pro front man Daniel Negreanu.
Reinkemeier doubled up late in the day with pocket queens against Bryan Colin’s A-10 to move to 420,000 in chips and eventually bagged up more than twice that total to make a run at the $1.5 million top prize. The $100,000 buy-in event set a new standard for tournaments at the PCA and brought out some of the game’s best, including Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier. “Elky” watched as Negreanu and 2010 Bluff Player of the Year Sorel “Imper1um” Mizzi hit top pair on an ace-high board. Grospellier, who was all-in against both, sent his final hand into the muck to depart in 25th place.
Grospellier wasn’t the only star to exit the Super High Roller Event on its opening day. Viktor Blom, the many presumed to be behind the “Isildur1” moniker, was also in the house and called all-in on a board reading 9-A-7-9-3. His opponent, Vivek “Psyduck” Rajkumar, tabled K-9 for trips. Blom mucked and that was all she wrote for the Swede, who lasted eight levels.
For Blom, the start of the day was ominous. Text found on the PokerStars Blog details the opening minutes of his $100,000 buy-in tournament run: “‘Long travels’ is how Blom described it, having just flown from London to New York to Miami to Nassau five hours late and without his baggage. He’s now filling in waiver forms.”
North American Poker Tour (NAPT) Venetian Bounty Shootout champ Ashton Griffin also found the rail on Thursday in the Bahamian poker tournament. Griffin committed his stack pre-flop with Q-10, but ran into Nick Schulman’s A-2. The board ran out A-J-2-K-A and, despite making a straight, Griffin fell to Schulman’s full house on the river.
Jason “JCarver” Somerville’s pocket jacks were no match for Victory Poker pro Antonio Esfandiari’s pocket aces to seal his exit from the $100,000 buy-in tournament. Also without chips was math whiz Bill Chen, whose A-5 found trips on a 5-7-5-6-8 board, but David Benyamine, one of the few Full Tilt Poker pros in the tournament, held Q-9 for a straight.
Departing in particularly brutal fashion was DoylesRoom pro Hoyt Corkins. The “Alabama Cowboy” called all-in with ducks on a board of 2-9-6-5-10 only to see that Bryn Kenney had rivered a set of his own with pocket tens. Among those seated at the same table were Phil Laak and Jason Mercier, the latter of whom told Kenney, “I really didn’t think you had two tens.”
Twenty-three players remain at the end of Day 1 of the three-day tournament, whose final table will be filmed for airing on ESPN2. Here’s how the field stacks up entering Day 2 on Friday:
1. Tobias Reinkemeier – 896,000
2. Daniel Negreanu – 848,000
3. Bryn Kenney – 828,000
4. Nick Schulman – 705,000
5. Daniel “jungleman12” Cates – 622,000
6. Eugene Katchalov – 551,000
7. Vivek “Psyduck” Rajkumar – 483,000
8. Jason Mercier – 459,000
9. Andrew “luckychewy” Lichtenberger – 444,000
10. Caio Pimenta – 409,000
11. Sandor Demjan – 401,000
12. James “Andy McLEOD” Obst – 390,000
13. Antonio Esfandiari – 330,000
14. Andrew “good2cu” Robl – 324,000
15. Humberto Brenes – 318,000
16. Mike “timex” McDonald – 269,000
17. Sorel “Imper1um” Mizzi – 249,000
18. Shawn Buchanan – 209,000
19. David Benyamine – 202,000
20. Matt Glantz – 148,000
21. Bryan Colin – 134,000
22. Justin “Boosted J” Smith – 116,000
23. Phil Laak – 99,000
The action will pick back up at Noon ET today and five places will pay out when the tournament wraps up on Saturday. Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest from the 2011 PCA.
Image courtesy PokerStars Blog
PCA $100,000 Super High Roller Field Includes Daniel Negreanu, Jason Mercier
On Thursday, the first ever $100,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em Super High Roller Event will kick off the 2011 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure. The inaugural running of the tournament has attracted nearly 30 players so far and Saturday’s final table will be filmed for coverage on ESPN2.
In a press release sent out by PokerStars on Thursday, the names of 26 entrants appeared, including a variety of members of Team PokerStars Pro. Among those who will take to the felts in the richest tournament in PokerStars Caribbean Adventure history is Daniel Negreanu, whose Twitter spat about Prahlad Friedman’s rumored signing with UB.com has taken center stage in recent days. Negreanu owns four World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelets, the most recent of which came in 2008 in a $2,000 Limit Hold’em tournament.
The hottest player on the tournament circuit right now, Jason Mercier, will also participate in the $100,000 buy-in Super High Roller Event starting tomorrow in the Bahamas. Mercier is firmly entrenched in the #2 spot on the ESPN poker rankings dubbed “The Nuts” and recorded five in the money finishes at this year’s WSOP. Mercier final tabled the PokerStars North American Poker Tour (NAPT) Los Angeles Main Event for $84,000 in November and won the tour’s Mohegan Sun Bounty Shootout for $475,000 earlier in 2010. Mercier is a former European Poker Tour (EPT) champ and WSOP bracelet holder.
The 2010 CardPlayer and Bluff Players of the Year will also head to the Bahamas for the six-figure price tag tournament. Tom Marchese and Sorel “Imper1um” Mizzi are both listed among the 26 entrants so far. Marchese is six weeks removed from a win in a $1,000 No Limit Hold’em preliminary event during the Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic and claimed CardPlayer’s 2010 Player of the Year honors. Mizzi, who earned the 2010 Bluff Player of the Year title, won two preliminary tournaments during EPT Snowfest in March 2010 for a combined haul of $140,000, just enough to cover tomorrow’s buy-in.
Bryn Kenney, who drove deep in the 2010 WSOP Main Event, will be part of the festivities at the Atlantis Resort and Casino, as will Scott Seiver. Other players who will make up the extremely talented field include Lex Veldhuis, Unabomber Poker front man Phil Laak, former “Big Game” player Bill Perkins, Humberto Brenes, Eugene Katchalov, Dan Shak, Bill Chen, Bryan Colin, Justin “Boosted J” Smith, Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier, Andrew “good2cu” Robl, DoylesRoom pro Hoyt Corkins, Victory Poker’s Antonio Esfandiari, Masa Kagawa, Nick Schulman, Matt Glantz, James “Andy McLEOD” Obst, Vivek “Psyduck” Rajkumar, Shawn Buchanan, and Ashton Griffin.
Needless to say, there won’t be any soft spots in the field. The 2011 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure schedule features 48 tournaments that span a 10-day period.
On his way down to Nassau for the tournament series, Negreanu posted on Twitter on Wednesday morning, “That’s random. Three bums sit right behind me on my flight and they look very much like Antonio Esfandiari, Jonathan Duhamel, and Sorel Mizzi.” Before that, Negreanu remarked that he was taking advantage of the in-flight internet offered aboard Delta Airlines: “I love Delta; you are beautiful baby. Wifi on my flight to Atlanta means I can get some VPPs on PokerStars.Headed to PCA, obv, traveling solo.”
On January 15th, the final table of the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event will air on ESPN3.com and ESPN2. You can catch the action beginning at 5:00pm ET that day on ESPN3.com on a one-hour delay. Five hours later, ESPN2 will join the telecast in progress. Hole cards will be shown during the broadcast, which will make for a unique experience for viewers unable to make the trip to the Bahamas.
Visit PokerStars for more details on the 2011 Caribbean Adventure.
Tags: 2008, 2010, 2011, ashton griffin, Daniel Negreanu, Doyle Brunson, european, poker player, pokerstars, tournament, WSOP
Poker World Bahamas-Bound as PCA Begins
The 11-day poker festival that is the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure gets underway at the Atlantis Hotel & Casino with the first of 48 events - A $100,000 buy-in Super High Roller event that will feature poker's elite.
In fact, 26 players have already registered, including stars like Phil Laak, Daniel Negreanu, Jason Mercier, Bertrand Grospellier, Tom Marchese, Sorel Mizzi, Antonio Esfandiari, Vivek Rajkumar and online poker phenom Ashton Griffin.
With 24-hours left to get in on the action, Pokerstars is expecting it to be the largest and richest Super High Roller poker tournament in history.
Of course, the $10,000 Main Event runs Jan. 8-15 this year and will feature a tape-delayed televised final table with hole cards revealed on ESPN and PokerStars.tv, in addition to a unique behind-the-scenes look at the PCA right here on PokerListings.com.
Last year, 19-year-old Floridian Harrison Gimbel outlasted a record-setting 1,529-player field to ship the $2.2 million first-place prize and organizers are expecting an even larger field this time around.
To follow all the action from a perspective never seen before in live tournament reporting, click through to PokerListings' Live PCA coverage beginning Friday, Jan. 8.
Visit www.pokerlistings.com
The Online Railbird: Ashton Griffin Top Dog with $111,723 During Midweek Action
Another Winning Weekend for Hansen
Hansen once again booked a few marathon sessions on Full Tilt Poker this weekend and by the time the dust had settled, he was up a total of $280k.
The Great Dane played Pot-Limit Omaha at varying stakes throughout the weekend and took on some extremely tough competition in harrington25, luckexpress10, DrugsOrMe and Ashton “ASHMAN103” Griffin.
He managed to rake several huge $80,000+ pots against DrugsOrMe and luckexpress10, which definitely did not hurt his cause.
Hansen is now down $1.1 million this year and for the first time since July has a shot at slipping below the $1 million loss mark.
Fellow Team Full Tilt pro Patrik Antonius also logged a successful weekend taking over $100k from IHateJuice in Limit Hold’em and around $80k from Dan “jungleman12” Cates in $300/$600 HA.
IHateJuice, harrington25, Erik “DIN_FRU” Sagstrom all lost considerable stacks of cash this weekend.
Finally the epic live cash games in Macau seem to finally be subsiding (check our blog later today for more information) so Phil Ivey and Tom Dwan may once again hit the virtual tables over the next couple weeks.
Here’s a look at a few big hands between Hansen and ASHMAN this weekend. For more information check our online stats section.
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Sagström Struck for $112k
Sagström, who was one of the first hugely successful online cash players, has had a volatile history in high-stakes poker to say the least.
He spun his roll all the way up to nearly $2 million in the summer of 2009 before losing it all in the span of a few months and going $591k in the red.
Sagström finally resurfaced this summer and in three months was once again a massive winner with $1.2 million in profit.
Despite his strong play over the last few weeks, that didn’t stop him from donating $112k to Brian “sbrugby” Townsend in 675 hands of $500/$1,000 H.O.R.S.E. last night.
If it’s any consolation for Sagström there’s a good chance Townsend needed it more than he did as the former CardRunners instructor is down over $4 million in the high stakes games this year.
Unknown online player IReadYrSoul was the biggest winner last night, adding $139k to his bankroll. The majority of IReadYrSoul’s profit came against Ashton “ASHMAN103” Griffin, who lost $108k on the evening.
Some of the other winners included davin77 (+$40k), David Benefield (+$39k) and Van Marcus (+$29k).
Meanwhile LokoIsBack (-$60k), trex313 (-$47k) and chipchip (-$21k) were among the loss leaders.
Below are a collection of the best hands from the IReadYrSoul and Ashton Griffin session. For more information check our online poker stats section.
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North American Poker Tour, Canterbury Park Forge Partnership
Recently, the Canterbury Park Racetrack and Card Casino announced a new partnership with the North American Poker Tour (NAPT) and PokerStars, the tour’s headline sponsor. What makes the partnership interesting is that there are no NAPT events held at the Shakopee, Minnesota poker room.
With the freshly inked deal, Canterbury Park will host four super satellite tournaments for various NAPT events, starting with the Los Angeles stop, which will take place at the venerable Bicycle Casino from November 12th to November 17th. The first super satellite is tomorrow, October 21st, at 6:30pm local time. One $7,000 NAPT Los Angeles prize package will be awarded for every $7,000 in the prize pool (we assume that at least one will be awarded even if the prize pool falls below $7,000, but there are no terms that state this). The prize package will include the $5,000 seat in the NAPT tournament, airfare to Los Angeles, and accommodations.
The super satellite has a $100 buy-in and $20 entry fee, so it is likely that more than one prize package will be awarded. Considering that the tournament is part of Canterbury Park’s popular Fall Classic series and this Monday’s Noon $200 + 30 event attracted 231 players, chances are the super satellite will have a healthy field. Extra money in the prize pool once the prize packages are taken out will be paid out to other top finishers. Each player will begin the competition with 5,000 chips, blinds will start at 25/50, and levels increase every 20 minutes.
Canterbury Park’s card room also runs Texas Hold’em, Omaha Hi-Lo, and Seven Card Stud cash games with betting limits ranging from $2/$4 to $30/$60. The racetrack and casino is located approximately 20 miles southwest of the Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport.
While the $5,000 Main Event is the big attraction at the North American Poker Tour’s Los Angeles stop, the entire poker festival will actually feature 35 different tournaments, including super satellites to the Main Event and to next year’s PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA). The first two days, November 8th and November 9th, will see only super satellites run. The first “real” event, on November 10th, is a $645 bounty tournament, with $100 of the buy-in set aside for the bounty prizes. The first of many $5,000 events will take place the next day, as a maximum of 64 players will sit down for a heads-up tournament. The final day of NAPT Los Angeles will be November 21st, featuring a 128-player heads-up tournament, a randomized bounty event, $200,000 guaranteed re-entry event, and 2011 PCA super satellite.
The NAPT was launched by PokerStars in January 2010 with its inaugural stop at the PCA in the Bahamas, which is also part of the European Poker Tour (EPT). 1,529 players turned out for the $10,300 Main Event, 974 of whom were PokerStars qualifiers. Harrison Gimbel put his name in the record books as the first NAPT Main Event winner ever, taking home $2.2 million. The other headline tournament at each NAPT is the $25,000 High Roller event. 84 players took part in that one at the PCA and William Reynolds emerged victorious, winning $576,240.
In February, the NAPT moved to the Venetian in Las Vegas. The field for the Main Event was 872 players, just more than half what it was the PCA. The buy-in was reduced to $5,000, producing a $827,648 first prize, won by Tom Marchese. In addition, Ashton Griffin took down the High Roller event for $560,000.
The last NAPT stop was way back in April at the Mohegan Sun. Two popular young players won the big events: Vanessa Selbst bested 715 opponents in the $5,000 Main Event to win $750,000, while Jason Mercier won $475,000 in the High Roller event.?
WSOP Rookie Roundup: Recapping a First Summer in Vegas
ESPN: No Decision Made Whether to Broadcast NAPT Los Angeles
In 146 days, the fourth stop on the PokerStars North American Poker Tour (NAPT) will pan out from the Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles. The tournament, which kicks off on November 12th, will crown a champ five days later. Still undecided is whether ESPN, which aired NAPT action from the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, Venetian, and Mohegan Sun, will also broadcast the Bicycle Casino event.
An ESPN representative told Poker News Daily, “There is nothing in the works yet, but our programming team expects to meet with PokerStars on possibilities.” At the time of writing, no decision has been passed down as to whether NAPT Los Angeles will air on the cable giant, which carries related programming like the World Series of Poker (WSOP) and WSOP Europe every year.
The five-day Main Event in Los Angeles will carry a $5,000 buy-in, the same price tag as other U.S.-based NAPT stops. Despite potentially not having television coverage, a representative of The Bike commented in a press release distributed by PokerStars, “We are very enthusiastic to secure the West Coast tour stop. We clearly recognize the NAPT as the next major happening in the evolution of poker and we have no doubt this tour will entice and attract players from all over the world.”
Three months prior to the NAPT’s arrival at The Bike, the storied card room will host the annual World Poker Tour (WPT) Legends of Poker. The 2010 running of the WPT Legends of Poker is slated for August 20th to 25th, but in a new twist, the event will come with a $5,200 buy-in, one of the cheapest on the WPT schedule. Meanwhile, NAPT officials are expecting a sellout at The Bike, which drew 279 players for its 2009 Legends of Poker event.
In April and May, ESPN aired action from the NAPT Venetian High Roller Bounty Shootout and Main Event, Mohegan Sun High Roller Bounty Shootout and Main Event, and PokerStars Caribbean Adventure High Roller tournament. A total of 10 hours of NAPT coverage aired, hosted by longtime ESPN poker faces Lon McEachern and Norman Chad.
Harrison Gimbel won a record-setting PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event in the Bahamas, collecting $2.2 million. Back on U.S. soil, the inaugural NAPT Venetian Main Event drew 872 players and Tom “kingsofcards” Marchese emerged victorious and banked $827,000. Then, 21 year-old Ashton Griffin landed in the top spot in the High Roller Event at the Las Vegas Strip casino for $560,000.
The NAPT then traveled to Mohegan Sun in Connecticut in April, where Yale law student Vanessa Selbst defeated over 700 players for the title. In addition, more than 20 countries were represented. Finally, Team PokerStars Pro member Jason Mercier brought home the High Roller title at Mohegan Sun for $475,000. The victory marked Mercier’s second High Roller title at a PokerStars sponsored event in two years.
In addition to the NAPT, PokerStars, the world’s largest online poker site, also manages the European Poker Tour (EPT), Latin American Poker Tour (LAPT), Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT), Australia New Zealand Poker Tour (ANZPT), U.K. and Ireland Poker Tour (UKIPT), Czech-Slovak Poker Tour (CSPT), Italian Poker Tour (IPT), and poker series in Russia, Spain, and France. Its “Big Game” cash game franchise can be seen nightly during the week on Fox.
According to Pokerati, the future of NAPT stops in Las Vegas appears to be in doubt due to the involvement of PokerStars. Other alternative landing spots for the NAPT include Chicago, Tunica, Biloxi, Atlantic City, and St. Louis. The latter is home to PokerStars pro Dennis Phillips and features Harrah’s, Isle of Capri, and Lumiere Place. Also potentially on tap is an NAPT stop in Canada.
Tags: 2009, 2010, ashton griffin, Australia, Canada, european, Online Poker, poker player, pokerstars, Russia, spain, tournament, vegas, WSOP
Pros, Amateurs Mix on Day 2 of 2010 WSOP
The poker rooms at the Rio were filled with a unique mixture of elite poker players and relative amateurs.
With nearly 3,000 players all playing simultaneously the day was a good forecast of what's to come at the 2010 WSOP.
Here's a closer look at the tournaments that played out today:
Event 2 - $50,000 Player's Championship
Action picked up in a big way on Day 2 of the $50,000 Player's Championship.
Although only six players busted on Day 1, a total of 56 players were relieved of their $50k buy-in on Day 2.
It was hard to keep track of the big-name pros that busted as Daniel Negreanu, Phil Hellmuth, Michael Binger, Isaac Haxton, Hoyt Corkins, Patrik Antonius, Carlos Mortensen, Ashton Griffin, Tony G and Mike Matusow were all eliminated.
On the other hand Kirk Morrison has come out of nowhere to wield an impressive stack of 760,000 chips.
Morrison went on a massive heater in 2007, placing second in the WPT Championship for $2 million and then cashing four times in that year's WSOP.
Since then Morrison has been non-existent on the tournament circuit and his appearance in this event was unheralded.
Morrison is joined at the top by Andy Bloch who finished with 716,000 chips and Nick Schulman who bagged 683,000.
Doyle Brunson, Phil Ivey, Erik Seidel, Justin Bonomo, Cole South, David Bach and Chris "Jesus" Ferguson made it through the day as well.
Day 3 of the $50k Player's Championship begins tomorrow at 3 p.m. PST. Join us for ongoing live updates of this elite tournament.
Event 3 - $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em
To say the first $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em event was packed was an understatement.
A total of 2,601 clambered into the Rio in the first real test of the building's expanded poker facilities.
It passed with flying colors as it took only a few levels to fit ever player into the cavernous Pavilion Room.
The relatively shallow structure of the tournament helped cut the field down to size and by the end of the day over 2,300 players had been relegated to the rail.
Among the players to be eliminated were Shannon Elizabeth, Sam Stein, Joe Cada and Shannon Shorr.
Meanwhile Vanessa Rousso, Joe Sebok, Bryan Devonshire and Jonathan Little found themselves amongst the 290 players to secure a trip to Day 2.
Action resumes at noon PST time tomorrow with records on the line as organizers are expecting even more players. Tune in to PokerListings for all your live updating needs.
For even more on Day 2 in Las Vegas check out PokerListings WSOP Live! below:
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Future of PokerStars North American Poker Tour Unclear
In an article that appeared on Friday on Pokerati, it was revealed that the PokerStars North American Poker Tour (NAPT) might be on the outs with the Venetian and other casinos in Nevada. The Venetian hosted the NAPT’s first U.S.-based stop in February.
According to Pokerati, the phenomenal success of the inaugural season of the PokerStars-backed tour may ultimately be its undoing. The Venetian Main Event attracted a starting grid of 872 players and a total prize pool of over $4 million. Tom Marchese, who walked away with the title after defeating Sam Stein heads-up, banked a healthy $827,000. The first three stops of the NAPT – the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, Venetian, and Mohegan Sun – all received coverage on cable station ESPN.
Pokerati explains that Nevada gaming officials “began receiving both informal and formal requests from specific casino companies, industry representatives, as well as federal and state authorities to reconsider [the Nevada Gaming Control Board’s position on allowing casinos to work with offshore gambling sites] and at a minimum, clarify the state’s stance.” A Board member told Pokerati, “To be clear, we’re talking about poker specifically. That’s what’s being debated. A new policy is developing as we speak.”
According to the NAPT’s website, “tons of PokerStars qualifiers” made their way to Las Vegas to compete in the Venetian event. The stop’s High Roller Bounty Shootout also appeared on ESPN and ended with young Ashton Griffin laying claim to the title and $560,000 in cash. At Mohegan Sun, 716 players turned out to the East Coast casino for its Main Event, where the Year of the Woman rolled on with Vanessa Selbst winning the title. Meanwhile, Jason Mercier took down the High Roller Bounty Shootout.
What appears to be in question is whether we’ll see another NAPT event in Las Vegas. Pokerati forecasted, “PokerStars has not acknowledged that they’ve actually been booted out of Nevada tournament fare by anyone, nor that they were preparing to challenge the World Series head-on in Las Vegas with another NAPT. Venetian poker room management are not commenting on the matter either, other than to say they are looking forward to an exciting summer Deep Stacks.”
Gaming officials did not specify who was knocking on the doors of the Control Board. On the NAPT’s website, a countdown clock to the next NAPT event reads 51 days at the time of writing. However, that figure has moved down – and up – in recent weeks and no press release has been distributed by the world’s largest online poker site detailing its future. Possible destinations for the next NAPT event include Tunica, Atlantic City, and Chicago.
PokerStars already operates a handful of land-based poker series, including the European Poker Tour (EPT), Latin American Poker Tour (LAPT), and Australia New Zealand Poker Tour (ANZPT), successfully navigating various legal arrangements around the world. Appropriately, a poster on the online poker forum TwoPlusTwo pointed out, “If it weren’t just Nevada casinos, but all U.S. casinos that couldn’t be affiliated with a PokerStars sponsored event, would Indian casinos jump at the chance to host an NAPT event?”
Complicating the Board’s decision is the looming compliance deadline with the regulations of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) on June 1st. Traditionally, sites like PokerStars, Full Tilt, and Absolute Poker have sent players to live events donning patches for dot-net sites, which are billed as educational outlets instead of for-money poker rooms.
Poker News Daily could not reach PokerStars officials for comment.
Tags: absolute poker, ashton griffin, Australia, european, legal, Online Poker, poker player, pokerstars, tournament, vegas, woman
WSOP Rookie Roundup: Ashton Griffin
Ashton Griffin Destroys URnotINdanger2
Griffin's day started at $200/$400 Cap Pot-Limit Omaha where he lost $72k in his 160 hand stay at the table. After losing $6k in a quick 10 hands of $25/$50 heads-up PLO, Griffin sat for 470 hands of $100/$200 No-Limit Hold'em Six-max.
Making back $65,872 and cutting his losses to just $13k, Griffin took three and a half hours off before returning to play URnotINdanger2 heads up at $200/$400 NLHE.
The match lasted for 1,085 hands and saw two pots worth over $100k.
Griffin took the largest pot, worth $136k, after raising with one of the worst possible heads-up hands, 2♦ 3♣. The flop came 3♠ 2♠ J♣, giving Griffin bottom two pair against URnotINdanger2's top pair and flush draw with J♠ 9♠.
After a four-bet all in and a call on the flop, URnotINdanger2 could only watch as the 2♥ fell on the turn, giving Griffin a full house and leaving URnotINdanger2 with just two outs to catch up.
URnotINdanger2 missed sucking out on the river, shipping the pot and most of his stack to Griffin.
This latest session moves Griffin into second place among the year's profit leaders with over $2 million made on Full Tilt so far this year.
For the full story on how Griffin got to where he is, head to the PokerListings interview: Ashton Griffin: From Bust to Bobby's Room.
Below are the three largest pots from the heads-up match. For more hand replays, head to our online poker stats page.
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Ashton Griffin – Poker Player Profile
Known as Ashman103 online, Ashton Griffin is one of the most recognizable and fierce online cash game players around. He found the game playing small stakes with his mother and sister, but eventually began playing $60 Sit-and-Gos online. After some moderate success, Ashton took a few shots and found himself with only $200 remaining in his account. In less than a month, he turned that into $10K, at which point he decided to quit school to focus on poker.
For all his skill and competitiveness at the tables, Ashton Griffin has never been known for bankroll management or tilt control. At one point in August of 2008, he ran his account up over $1 million, but it was all gone just a week later. Whereas most players would blame bad luck, Griffin knows why he lost his money. In an interview with PokerListings, Griffin said that game selection and ego were his main problems. “I was playing a mix of $500/$1,000, $200/$400, $300/$600, and $2,000/$4,000 Limit O8. Most of my losses were to [Phil] Ivey and [Hac] trex [Dang].”
After battling back to about $500K, Griffin made a public prop bet on the 2+2 forums that he could make $500K in a year playing no higher than $25/$50. He promptly lost the bet when he dumped $400K in one sitting. He then played on a stake to scrape together $10K, and once he was back on his own feet he won $600K in less than a month. The incredible run also won him $23K in a second prop bet, which he used to buy in to a Full Tilt Online Poker Series $25K heads-up event. He won the tournament for $551K and just like that, he was back on top.
Due to his age, Griffin has limited experience on the live tournament circuit. In 2008, he made the final table at the Latin American Poker Tour, taking seventh in Costa Rica for $28K. More recently, he notched his first big score, taking down the 2010 North American Poker Tour $25K Invitational High Roller Bounty Shootout for $560K.
While his volatile nature and his extremely public swings are often what put him under the spotlight, Ashton Griffin is also an incredible poker talent who will be a force at the tables for years to come.
Tags: 2008, 2010, ashton griffin, interview, Online Poker, poker player, skill, small stakes, tournament
Brian Townsend May Be Next Opponent in Durrrr Challenge
CardRunners instructor Brian Townsend is next in line to take on Tom “durrrr” Dwan in the online version of the Million Dollar Challenge, according to Bluff Magazine. However, Dwan shot down the rumors in a post on TwoPlusTwo.
The cover story of the May issue of Bluff Magazine, “Facing All Challenges,” chronicles the 15-month saga of the Durrrr Challenge. In it, Dwan revealed that his next opponent would be none other than Townsend, who is known as “sbrugby” online. The article sheds some light on the structure of the rumored match against Townsend: “Dwan says his goal for the match against Townsend – the starting day for which is still being worked out, while parameters such as buy-ins, number of hands, choice of games, etc. are staying the same – is simple: Make the action fast, exciting, and get the buzz going once again about the Durrrr Challenge.”
Dwan forecasted that the match against Townsend could take as little as six weeks, although play could stretch for two or three months. Dwan told Bluff Magazine, “With Brian, there will be days when we’ll probably play 5,000 hands. With Patrik, we didn’t really have any of those days. It’s possible we could get it done in six weeks.” Townsend is apparently ready to play immediately, whereas Full Tilt Poker’s website contends that Phil Ivey and David Benyamine are next in line to play. Dwan, Antonius, Ivey, and Benyamine are all sponsored pros of the world’s second largest online poker site.
While the Bluff Magazine article, which was devoted mainly to the Durrrr Challenge, seems to indicate that Townsend is the clear-cut favorite to step up to the plate, Dwan recanted his story in an April 20th post on TwoPlusTwo: “Long story, but he’s not next. I’ll blog after seshy.” No blog was submitted after Dwan’s “seshy,” as its most recent entry is an advertisement for the Full Tilt Poker Academy that came on April 15th. Bluff officials and the poker community were equally perplexed.
Dwan’s post ignited a flurry of discussion in a TwoPlusTwo thread even though the poker pro failed to reveal who his next opponent would be. Poster “britewire” chimed in, “I’d love to see Ashton Griffin or aejones take up the challenge, but I don’t think they have the [bankroll] for it.” Others demanded that Dwan publish a new blog post to shed some light on the situation: “Wtf is this thread still running? Durrrr came on at like post #20 and shot the rumor down (although he’s failed to deliver the blog about it that he promised).”
The Durrrr Challenge featuring Patrik Antonius is nearing the 40,000-hand mark thanks in part to extensive sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday. The total number of hands played and the amount Dwan is up remain unclear due to conflicting reports from various poker outlets, but the latter number is likely around $1.9 million. Full Tilt officials told Poker News Daily that challenge stats on their website would be corrected by the end of the day on Thursday.
Townsend, meanwhile is fresh off a 30-day suspension of his Red Pro status for sharing hand histories with fellow CardRunners instructors Brian Hastings and Cole South to fend off the Swedish mystery pro Isildur1. On his $4 million day against Isildur1, Hastings told ESPN in a December interview, “Obviously I’m happy and I’ll take it, but Brian [Townsend] did a ton of work. The three of us discussed a ton of hands and the reports that Brian made, so I’m very thankful to him and to Cole [South] as well.” Townsend was suspended for multi-accounting in 2008.
Many in the poker industry have grown weary of play between Dwan and Antonius that started in the beginning of 2009. Antonius told Bluff, “Obviously, we failed when it comes to keeping it interesting. Everyone was following it, and then we… didn’t play.” Diversions included the annual World Series of Poker (WSOP), high-stakes games against Isildur1, and extensive traveling.
Check out our sister site, DurrrrChallenge.com, for the latest news from the Tom Dwan Million Dollar Challenge.
Gus Hansen loses $600k as Ivey takes on Griffin
NAPT Venetian Bounty Shootout, Main Event Final Tables Air on ESPN
On Monday night, the final tables of the PokerStars North American Poker Tour (NAPT) Venetian High Roller Bounty Shootout and Main Event aired on ESPN2. The latter included a blowup of epic proportions.
The first hour of coverage featured the seven-handed final table of the Bounty Shootout. ESPN commentator Lon McEachern previewed the field: “A Main Event champion, a poker superstar, and some of the greatest online players in the world.” The winner-take-all tournament’s finale also featured $5,000 bounties and a $100,000 bonus to the player who served up the most eliminations.
NAPT on ESPN coverage features the faces of each player next to their chip counts along with a flag showing the country they represent. A white arrow signifies whose action it is, while a red “SB,” “BB,” or “D” shows whether a person was in the small blind, big blind, or on the button, respectively.
After taking hits to his stack early, Scott Seiver doubled up with pocket aces against the K-J of 2008 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event champion Peter Eastgate. Now flush with new chips, Seiver sent Eastgate packing with pocket jacks against pocket eights when the board ran out K-5-4-Q-7. Shortly thereafter, Brett Richey moved all-in with A-Q for 25 big blinds and Ashton Griffin, the youngest player at the table at age 21, made the call with K-Q of clubs. In a dramatic hand, Griffin spiked a king on the river to send his opponent home.
Seiver picked up his eighth bounty by knocking out Faraz “The-Toilet” Jaka, the only player to make the Bounty Shootout final tables at the NAPT events at the Venetian and Mohegan Sun. Jaka was all-in with Q-10 against Seiver’s A-J of clubs. Seiver hit an ace and two clubs on the flop to add insult to injury and “The-Toilet” was flushed in fifth place.
Seiver’s ride came to an abrupt end at the hands of DoylesRoom front man Hoyt Corkins. First, Seiver doubled up the wily veteran after running pocket fives into Corkins’ pocket jacks. Corkins hit a jack on the turn to seal the win and double up. Then, Seiver committed his remaining chips with Q-10, but ran into Corkins’ A-K. The board ran out 6-7-A-K-7 and Seiver was dismissed in fourth place.
Joe Cassidy was eliminated in third place. He was all-in with A-2 of diamonds against Griffin’s A-9; Griffin hit a nine on the flop and never looked back. Cassidy’s elimination meant that Seiver officially picked up the $100,000 bounty bonus after recording a colossal eight knockouts, including all six members of his Round 1 table.
The heads-up match in the NAPT Venetian Bounty Shootout featured the oldest player at the table taking on the youngest. Only one hand was shown and featured Corkins busting with 9-3 against Griffin’s 9-8 on a nine-high flop. Griffin collected $560,000 for the win and the credits rolled.
The second hour of coverage was devoted to the final table of the NAPT Venetian Main Event. The eight-handed table featured “Miami” John Cernuto, who collapsed during a Razz event at last year’s WSOP, as the short stack. Eric Blair was the first casualty, as his pocket sevens could not hold in a race against Sam Stein’s A-K. Then, Cernuto’s run came to an end, as he called all-in with A-5 of clubs, but fell to Stein’s J-10. Stein hit runner-runner two pair to send Cernuto home in dramatic fashion.
Thomas Fuller was out in sixth place after committing his chips with pocket jacks against Dan Clemente’s pocket queens on a flop of 3-A-7. With his newfound chips, Clemente promptly doubled up Stein and Yunas Jamal. Then, David Paredes, who appeared in the “60 Minutes” feature about the Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet scandals two years ago, reappeared on television airwaves and busted in fifth.
Jamal was eliminated in fourth place when his pocket tens fell to Tom Marchese’s A-Q. Marchese hit an ace on the flop and Jamal could not catch up. Then, Clemente was eliminated in third place to set up a heads-up duel between Stein and Marchese. The former held an 18.6 million to 7.6 million advantage, or nearly 2.5:1.
Despite the chip lead, two questionable calls that had ESPN commentator Norman Chad up in arms led to Stein’s demise. In the first, Marchese raised to 500,000 pre-flop with K-9 and Stein made the call with J-5 of diamonds. The flop came 6-K-5 and Stein, holding bottom pair, check-called a bet of 625,000. The turn was a four and Stein once again check-called a bet from Marchese, this time 1.45 million. The river was a 10. Stein checked, Marchese moved all-in with top pair, and Stein called. Marchese doubled up to take the chip lead, leaving Chad to gasp, “What was Sam Stein thinking? He can only beat a bluff.”
Then, Marchese picked up pocket tens and raised to 500,000. Stein peeked down at 4-2 of spades and made the call to bring a flop of 4-5-9. Stein check-called bets on the flop and after a three hit on the turn. The river was a 10, giving Marchese a set, and Stein checked. Marchese pushed all-in and Stein made the call for his tournament life with just a pair of fours.
Three more weeks of NAPT coverage will air on ESPN2:
May 3rd: Mohegan Sun Shootout: 9:00pm to 11:00pm ET
May 10th: Mohegan Sun Shootout: 9:00pm ET
May 10th: Mohegan Sun $5,000 Main Event: 10:00pm ET
May 17th: PokerStars Caribbean Adventure $25,000 High Roller: 9:00pm to 11:00pm ET
Gus Hansen loses $600k as Ivey takes on Griffin
NAPT Debuts on ESPN2 with Venetian High Roller Bounty Shootout
On Monday night, the PokerStars North American Poker Tour (NAPT) debuted on ESPN2 with the opening round of the Venetian High Roller Bounty Shootout. The unique tournament featured a field of 49 of the game’s best spread over seven tables.
Although the theme music and b-roll were different than the annual World Series of Poker (WSOP) broadcasts on ESPN, the NAPT featured the same announcing team we’ve come to love, Lon McEachern and Norman Chad. In a stark change from other ESPN poker broadcasts, a player’s face and country flag appeared next to their bets and images on the screen denoted whether players were in the small blind, big blind, or on the button. Every player who won their table would take home $75,000. In addition, each player carried a $5,000 bounty; a $100,000 cash bonus would be awarded to the person who recorded the most number of knockouts.
UB.com pro Phil Hellmuth and DoylesRoom’s Hoyt Corkins headlined the feature table during the first episode, which aired at 9:00pm ET and chronicled three Round 1 tables. Hellmuth’s radar was off early and often, folding A-K face up against European Poker Tour (EPT) founder John Duthie in the first hand shown. At Table 2, Scott Seiver doubled up at the expense of Victory Poker pro Antonio Esfandiari. Seiver later busted Barry Greenstein after coming out on the winning end of a race with A-K against queens.
Seiver sent Esfandiari packing to record his second bounty, while Faraz “The-Toilet” Jaka ousted Vanessa Rousso to pick up his second bounty. Seiver then sent high-stakes cash game pro Chau Giang and Brian “tsarrast” Rast home the same hand after flopping an ace against Giang’s pocket kings and Rast’s pocket nines. Following the rare double knockout, Seiver was up to four bounties.
Corkins eliminated 2004 WSOP Main Event champ Greg Raymer with A-5 against Raymer’s Q-6. Raymer promptly signed over a fossil to Corkins, who won the World Poker Tour’s (WPT) Southern Poker Championship in January. Shortly thereafter, another Main Event winner, Joe Hachem, was sidelined at the hands of Jennifer Tilly, who found a flush with A-5 of clubs against Hachem’s pocket fives. Back at the feature table, Hellmuth was eliminated and exited quietly, leaving Chad to comment, “I don’t know if it’s meditation or medication, but a nice, gracious, sedated Hellmuth exit.”
Following his elimination of Betfair pro Sorel “Imper1um” Mizzi, Seiver had busted his entire table to pick up all six bounties. Jaka then eliminated 2010 National Heads-Up Poker Championship winner Annie Duke to take down his table and four bounties. Also advancing to the final table was Corkins, who doubled up against Duthie with A-2 of diamonds against A-Q before putting the nail in the coffin with A-9 against Duthie’s A-6. This time, the better ace held and Corkins advanced.
The second one-hour episode profiled the remaining four first round tables. Daniel Negreanu headlined the feature table, where his giddiness ultimately sent him home as its first casualty at the hands of Phil “OMGClayAiken” Galfond. Negreanu’s pocket eights could not hold against Galfond’s pocket threes after Galfond found a set on the flop. Elsewhere, Joe Cassidy picked up his second bounty by eliminating Bodog pro David Williams.
2003 WSOP Main Event Champion Chris Moneymaker made a royal flush on the river against Jason Mercier. Moneymaker walked away from the table every time his chips were at risk, causing Chad to yell “Take it like a man” on multiple occasions. Victory Poker pro Lee Markholt also scored a double elimination, sending John “World” Hennigan and new DoylesRoom Brunson 10 member Alex “AJKHoosier1” Kamberis to the rails in the same hand.
“Poker2Nite” host Joe Sebok was bumped from the NAPT Venetian High Roller Bounty Shootout when his A-3 fell short of Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo’s wired pair of tens. Then, Cassidy won his table and collected four bounties. Elsewhere, Peter Eastgate was all-in holding K-Q against Isaac Haxton’s 9-8 of diamonds. The flop of 6-7-10 gave Haxton the nuts and a 97% chance of winning the hand. However, a running A-J gave Eastgate Broadway and the 2008 WSOP Main Event champion doubled up. Eastgate promptly busted Haxton to win his table and move on to the finale.
Brett Richey sent Markholt packing with pocket kings against pocket eights to win his table and three bounties, while Ashton Griffin outlasted Moneymaker to take down the feature table after collecting two bounties. The final table of the NAPT Venetian High Roller Bounty Shootout features Seiver, Cassidy, Griffin, Jaka, Corkins, Richey, and Eastgate.
The final table will air next Monday, April 26th, at 9:00pm ET on ESPN2, followed by action from the NAPT Venetian Main Event at 10:00pm ET.
NAPT Mohegan Sun High Roller Bounty Shootout Final Table Set
A talented cast of characters will assemble at Noon ET on Tuesday for the final table of the PokerStars North American Poker Tour (NAPT) Mohegan Sun High Roller Bounty Shootout. Each player to win his table on Day 1 pocketed $60,000.
In addition, every entrant had $5,000 placed on his head as a bounty. Luis Vazquez and Shawn Buchanan both barreled through the competition during Monday’s Day 1 play, knocking out four players to collect $20,000 in additional bounty money. Vazquez’s table was played five-handed, meaning that he took out every single person seated around him. In his final hand of action on Monday, Vazquez called the all-in of Peter Jetten holding A-9 of hearts on a board reading A-Q-2-9-3 for two pair. Jetten showed J-10 for a busted straight draw and Vazquez advanced to the final table on Tuesday. Other players who fell victim to Vazquez included Team PokerStars Canada member Greg DeBora, Curt Kohlberg, and NAPT Venetian Main Event winner Tom Marchese.
Buchanan moved all-in on a flop of A-Q-5 with two clubs and his opponent, Steve Sung, called all-in for his tournament life. When the cards were flipped up, Buchanan showed A-2 of clubs, while Sung held A-2 offsuit. Sure enough, the king of clubs hit on the turn, giving Buchanan the nut flush and sending Sung out in agonizing fashion. Buchanan navigated a veritable mine field to make the final table of the NAPT Mohegan Sun High Roller Bounty Shootout, as his competition included World Poker Tour (WPT) Southern Poker Championship winner Hoyt Corkins, Joe Cassidy, Scott Paston, and Team PokerStars Canada member Marcello Del Grosso.
Also advancing was 2009 Bluff Magazine Player of the Year Jason Mercier, a sponsored pro of PokerStars. Elijah Berg shoved with 9-7 on a flop of 10-9-4 for middle pair and received a call from Mercier, who held pocket aces. A six on the turn gave Berg an inside straight draw to an eight, but a king on the river punched Mercier’s ticket to the final table. Mercier’s competition also included Dan Smith, Steven Goosen, Team PokerStars Canada’s Anh Van Nguyen, and Matt Woodward. Mercier took third in the L.A. Poker Classic’s High Roller event in February, boosting his bankroll by $141,000.
Faraz “The-Toilet” Jaka, who finished fifth in the NAPT Venetian High-Roller Bounty Shootout, also made the final table of the Mohegan Sun version. Perry Horwich pushed all-in with A-J on a flop of Q-3-4 for air and Jaka called with J-3 for bottom pair. Horwich failed to catch up and Jaka collected $60,000 for reaching the final table plus $15,000 in bounties. Jaka manhandled a starting group that included World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner Brian Lemke, Team PokerStars Pro front man Daniel Negreanu, Betfair young gun Sorel “Imper1um” Mizzi, and Joe Gibbons.
Matt Glantz defeated NAPT Venetian High Roller Bounty Shootout winner Scott Seiver to advance. Seiver was all-in with pocket queens on a board of 8-2-8-5, but Glantz held 10-8 for trips. The river was a three and Seiver hit the rails. Seiver is fresh off a fourth place finish in the NAPT Mohegan Sun Main Event on Sunday for $190,000. Other players at the table on Monday included Chau Giang, Pat Pezzin, Gregory Dyer, and Ashton Griffin.
In a battle of Steins, Sam Stein defeated Barry Greenstein to advance in the NAPT Mohegan Sun High Roller Bounty Shootout. In the duo’s final hand, Stein held pocket aces against Greenstein’s pocket fives and no help came on the board for the “Robin Hood of Poker.” Greenstein signed over a copy of his book, “Ace on the River,” and Stein moved on. Stein was the runner-up to Marchese in the NAPT Venetian Main Event, where he pocketed $522,000.
All players will start today’s action with 150,000 chips except Vazquez, who will receive 125,000 because of his five-handed table on Monday. He told the PokerNews.com Live Reporting team on Tuesday, “It’s no big deal, I’m used to starting with less chips. I’m used to coming from the bottom, this is my time to make it happen.” Here’s a look at the table draw for Tuesday:
Seat 1: Sam Stein
Seat 2: Jason Mercier
Seat 3: Matt Glantz
Seat 4: Shawn Buchanan
Seat 5: Faraz “The-Toilet” Jaka
Seat 6: Luis Vazquez
The player who collects the most number of bounties during the entire tournament will receive an all expenses paid trip to the next NAPT High Roller Bounty Shootout, although a date and location have not been announced. Tuesday’s champion will pocket $350,000 in the winner-take-all format, meaning that the other five players will only receive any bounties they claim. Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest from the NAPT Mohegan Sun High Roller Bounty Shootout.
Tags: 2009, aced, ashton griffin, Barry Greenstein, Canada, Daniel Negreanu, pokerstars, tournament, trips, WSOP
North American Poker Tour Heads to Mohegan Sun
On Wednesday, the Main Event of the PokerStars North American Poker Tour (NAPT) Mohegan Sun will kick off from Uncasville, Connecticut. Running April 7th through April 11th, the five-day No Limit Hold'em tournament will cost players $4,700 + $300.
The first two days of the Main Event will start at Noon and likely end sometime in the evening. Day Three on Friday will also begin at Noon, but will conclude when the tournament is down to 24 players. Day Four will go until there are only eight players remaining and on Sunday's Day Five, a champion will be crowned. The eight-handed final table, a format unique to the NAPT, will be filmed for broadcast later this year on ESPN2.
Fifteen preliminary events have already been contested at NAPT Mohegan Sun, including deepstacks, freezeouts, shootouts, and bounty tournaments. Most have been No Limit Hold'em, but Omaha Eight or Better, Seven Card Stud, Pot Limit Omaha, and H.O.S.E. have also been featured. The largest event to date was actually the very first one, the two-day $550 + $50 No Limit Hold'em Deepstack tournament that concluded on March 28th. Michael Hills outlasted 379 competitors to claim the $38,000 first prize from the $202,730 prize pool. In that event, the top three finishers - Hills, Aaron Smith, and Derek Buonano - received $38,000, $35,210, and $32,207, respectively. The drop off to the next finisher, Daniel Cai ($14,191), was fairly steep.
During and after the Main Event, there are seven side events to be played, the most anticipated of which is the $25,000 + $600 No Limit Hold'em Bounty Shootout, which will be contested on April 12th and 13th. NAPT organizers expect to be able to fill nine tables with nine players each. $5,000 of each player's buy-in will be a bounty on his head, awarded to the player who knocks him out. Each table will play down to a single winner and the nine survivors will battle it out at the final table. Every player at the final table will receive $50,000 and the eventual champion will take home the remainder of the prize pool. The $25,000 Bounty Shootout was introduced at the NAPT Venetian in February, with Ashton Griffin winning the first prize of $560,000. Like the Main Event, the Bounty Shootout will be televised on ESPN2.
Seiver Books LAPC High Roller Win
"It feels really great," Seiver told PokerListings. "It sounds silly to say how good it feels to win, but it feels really good. It's such a rush, it's just so exciting."
Seiver came into the six-man final table with a slight chip lead over respected pro Daniel Alaei.
But Alaei immediately chipped up when the final table started at Commerce Casino just after 1 p.m. Tuesday.
First he sent short stack Will Molson home sixth before his tens held against Tommy Vedes' K♣ 3♣ to rail him fifth.
Soon after, Alaei doubled through Seiver to take a commanding lead when he got it all in and turned a full house to crack Seiver's flopped trips.
Alaei's grip on the title looked even tighter when he busted Lee Markholt fourth, but Seiver soon picked up a few more chips and a little bit of momentum.
Seiver busted Jason Mercier third and when heads-up began, he had moved into the chip lead once again.
Despite being deep-stacked compared to the blinds, Alaei lost a massive pot when Seiver made a full house against him just a few hands into the match and soon shoved in with Q♦ J♦ facing a Seiver three-bet with A♠ J♠.
Seiver made the call and although the flop gave Alaei both a gutshot and a flush draw, he bricked out handing Seiver the title and $425,334 first-place prize.
"I don't know if I can stand up here and say I'm the best at these, but I like to think of myself as one of the better players," Seiver said, explaining his recent success in High Roller events. "It's always about walking a fine line between confidence and hubris.
"It's very tough in the poker world to know where you stand compared to other people. I try to accurately gage how good, or not, I am and I feel like I'm good enough to play in these events.
"Clearly these are some of the best players in the world, but I like to think I at least rank somewhere up there with them."
The event began Sunday with 41 of the biggest names in poker, including Season 7 WPT Player of the Year Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier, 2008 World Series of Poker Player of the Year Erick Lindgren and Ashton Griffin, who won the NAPT's $25k Bounty Shootout in Las Vegas last week.
Seiver, who moved up to just under $2 million in career tournament winnings with the victory, said it was a particular thrill to take on an esteemed player like Alaei heads-up.
"Daniel Alaei is my hero," he said. "He's one of the best in the world and to beat him heads up just felt so great."
The World Poker Tour's L.A. Poker Classic continues through March 4. For comprehensive coverage, tune in to PokerListings' Live Updates and News.
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Ashton Griffin Wins NAPT Venetian High-Roller Bounty Shootout
Poker pro Ashton Griffin edged out DoylesRoom personality Hoyt Corkins heads-up to win the PokerStars North American Poker Tour (NAPT) High-Roller Bounty Shootout at the Venetian. The $25,000 buy-in tournament awarded a top prize of $460,000.
The final table was stacked with a mix of veterans and young guns of the industry, with one former World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event champion, Peter Eastgate, who became the youngest winner ever of the $10,000 buy-in tournament in 2008 at the tender age of 22. Joe Cada would shatter Eastgate’s record one year later. Eastgate was the first casualty of the seven-handed High-Roller Bounty Shootout final table after pushing pre-flop with pocket eights and running into Scott Seiver’s pocket jacks. Eastgate could not catch up, but he collected $75,000 for reaching the final table plus a $5,000 bounty for any player knocked out along the way.
The next to go was Brett Richey, who first doubled up with A-K against A-8. On the following hand, he looked down at A-Q and pushed again. Griffin made the call and showed K-Q of clubs, giving Richey a commanding lead pre-flop and a tantalizing opportunity for another double up. The board read 4-4-4-7, setting Richey up for success, but a king on the river gave Griffin the win.
Young gun Faraz “The-Toilet” Jaka, who earned his online moniker after playing an inordinate number of suited cards as a beginner in poker, pushed all-in from the small blind with Q-10 and was up against Seiver’s A-J of clubs. The flop gave Seiver top pair and a flush draw to boot; Seiver won the pot with a boat. Jaka landed in fifth place in the made-for-television tournament.
Seiver then pushed with Q-10 and ran into Corkins’s A-K. Corkins turned two pair to seal the win in the hand and Seiver, a WSOP bracelet winner, was eliminated from contention. Corkins had doubled through Seiver just prior to the latter’s final hand with pocket jacks against Seiver’s wired pair of fives. Corkins turned a set to send Seiver’s chip stack plummeting.
Joe Cassidy was eliminated from the NAPT Venetian High-Roller Bounty Shootout after moving all-in from the small blind with A-2 of diamonds. Griffin, sitting in the big blind, woke up with A-9 and made the call. A nine came on the flop and Cassidy was ousted. Entering heads-up play in Las Vegas, Griffin held a 2:1 chip lead over Corkins, who is fresh off a win in the World Poker Tour’s (WPT) Southern Poker Championship.
Two hands into heads-up play, a winner was determined. Corkins called all-in with 9-3 on a flop of 4-5-9. However, Griffin held 9-8, out-kicking Corkins and handing him the final table’s winner-take-all $460,000 grand prize. He cashed in a Pot Limit Omaha preliminary event during the 2009 WSOP Europe for £15,000. One year prior, Griffin landed in seventh in the Latin American Poker Tour’s (LAPT) San Jose, Costa Rica stop for $29,000.
All was not lost for Seiver, however, who collected a $100,000 bonus courtesy of PokerStars for knocking out the most number of players. Seiver single-handedly sent all six of his opponents at his first round table to the rails and two more at the finale for a total of eight.
Four hours of coverage on ESPN2 will be dedicated to the NAPT Venetian High-Roller Bounty Shootout and Main Event. The action kicks off on April 19th and will air according to the following schedule:
April 19th: Venetian $25,000 High Roller Bounty Shootout: 9:00pm to 11:00pm ET
April 26th: Venetian $25,000 High Roller Bounty Shootout: 9:00pm ET
April 26th: Venetian $5,000 Main Event: 10:00pm ET
Next up for the NAPT is a trip to Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut. The $5,000 buy-in NAPT Mohegan Sun Main Event kicks off on April 7th and runs through the 11th.
PokerStars.net North American Poker Tour High-Roller: Ashton Griffin Wins
Ashton Griffin wins NAPT Venetian $25k High Roller
Tom Marchese Wins NAPT Venetian Main Event
The inaugural North American Poker Tour (NAPT) Venetian Main Event has crowned a champion. Tom Marchese, a 22 year-old from New Jersey, took down the first NAPT event on U.S. soil and earned $827,000.
Marchese defeated Sam Stein heads-up. In the $5,000 buy-in tournament’s final hand, Marchese pushed all-in, having Stein covered, on a board of 4-5-9-3-10. Stein made the call with just 4-2 for a pair of fours, but Marchese flipped up pocket tens for a set. The win was worth $827,000. Marchese told PokerStars officials following the grueling five-day tournament, “It’s a bit overwhelming. The event is definitely one of my new favorites. The turnout was great, the structure was really good, and the tournament staff did a really good job all week. I’ll definitely be back next year.”
Despite 35 countries being represented at the Venetian, the final table was wholly American poker players. Eric Blair was the first casualty of the group. Soon after the first break of the day, Blair pushed over the top of a raise by Marchese with pocket sevens and Stein re-shoved with A-K. The flop came king-high, sending Stein out in front in the hand for good. Blair earned $60,000 for his NAPT Venetian final table appearance.
Poker veteran “Miami” John Cernuto was ousted in seventh place, earning $104,000. Stein shoved over the top of a pre-flop raise by Cernuto with J-10 and Cernuto made the call with his tournament life on the line holding A-5 of clubs. The flop of A-9-4 hit Cernuto hard, giving him top pair and a commanding lead. The turn was a 10, giving Stein a pair of his own. Needing to catch a five-outer on the river to send Cernuto home, Stein was elated to see a jack fall.
Cernuto was the lone Full Tilt Poker pro at the final table in the PokerStars sponsored event. He’s also a three-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner, having taken down his first piece of hardware 14 years ago in a Limit Seven Card Stud High-Low event for $147,000. Cernuto has also made two World Poker Tour (WPT) final tables, including a runner-up showing in the Season 5 Celebrity Invitational.
Thomas Fuller was eliminated shortly thereafter in sixth place. Daniel Clemente put in a raise pre-flop and Fuller announced that he was all-in with pocket jacks. Clemente, however, showed pocket queens and was a 5:1 favorite heading to the flop. The board ran out 3-A-7-6-6 and Fuller collected $144,000.
Stein stamped his ticket to heads-up play after taking out David Paredes in fifth place. Moments after Paredes found pocket aces to move past four million in chips, he picked up pocket rockets again and committed his chips. Stein showed pocket jacks and hit a set on the flop, cracking Paredes’ aces. Stein stacked a colossal 70% of the chips in play by the time the hand was over.
Yunus Jamal was eliminated in fourth place, boosting his bankroll by $241,000. Jamal’s tournament life came down to a race, as he held pocket tens against Marchese’s A-Q. The flop was A-J-6, propelling Marchese into the lead with top pair, but a king on the turn left Jamal calling for a queen on the river to make a straight. Instead, a harmless deuce fell and Jamal was denied an NAPT title.
Clemente departed in third place after calling all-in with A-8 against Marchese, who showed pocket queens. The board ran out J-2-9-7-9 and Clemente earned $309,000. Stein held a 3:2 chip lead entering heads-up play against Marchese. From there, the two would need less than 45 minutes to determine a winner. Stein raked in $522,000 for second place. Here’s how the leaderboard shook out in the NAPT Venetian Main Event:
1. Tom Marchese - $827,648
2. Sam Stein - $522,306
3. Daniel Clemente - $309,366
4. Yunus Jamal - $241,064
5. David Paredes - $184,816
6. Thomas Fuller - $144,639
7. “Miami” John Cernuto - $104,461
8. Eric Blair - $60,266
Today is the final day of play in the NAPT tournament series. The $25,000 High-Roller Bounty Shootout will play down to a winner starting at Noon PT with a final table featuring DoylesRoom pro Hoyt Corkins, Scott Seiver, Faraz “The-Toilet” Jaka, Joe Cassidy, Peter Eastgate, Ashton Griffin, and Brett Richey.
Peter Eastgate, Scott Seiver Reach NAPT Bounty Shootout Final Table
Scott Seiver stormed through the competition on Day 1 of the PokerStars North American Poker Tour (NAPT) $25,000 High-Roller Bounty Shootout at the Venetian. Seiver ousted all six opponents at his starting table to move on to Day 2.
Seiver collected a $5,000 bounty for each player knocked out, or $30,000 total. In addition, his appearance at Thursday’s final table in the $25,000 buy-in event is worth another $75,000. All told, he’s a very happy camper heading into the finale, which will air as part of ESPN2’s coverage of the NAPT beginning in April. Seiver didn’t knock out a bunch of amateurs, either. Instead, he defeated Betfair pro Sorel “Imper1um” Mizzi heads-up. Also a victim of Seiver’s bloodbath was Season 7 World Poker Tour (WPT) Festa al Lago winner Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier.
Seiver sent Team PokerStars Pro member and “High Stakes Poker” regular Barry Greenstein to the rails first, followed by Victory Poker front man Antonio Esfandiari, cash game specialist Chau Giang, and online poker pro Brian “tsarrast” Rast. Seiver won his first World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet in 2008, when he took down a $5,000 No Limit Hold’em event for $755,000.
Joe Cassidy defeated Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo heads-up at Table 1 to move on to Thursday’s finale. Cassidy knocked out four of his six opponents, including reigning WPT Championship winner Yevgeniy “Jovial Gent” Timoshenko, Bodog poker pro David Williams, and Unabomber Poker namesake Phil Laak. Cassidy finished 13th in the inaugural $50,000 HORSE Championship during the 2006 WSOP for $137,000. Also eliminated from Table 1 were “Poker2Nite” host Joe Sebok and Tommy Vedes.
2008 WSOP Main Event champ Peter Eastgate emerged victorious from Table 2. Eastgate defeated fellow young gun Isaac Haxton heads-up to collect his $5,000 bounty. Haxton sent Alec “traheho” Torelli and poker bad boy Tony G packing in third and fourth places, respectively, to give Eastgate a run for his money. The table also featured James Calderaro, Italian stud Dario Minieri, and WPT Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic winner Daniel Alaei.
Ashton Griffin outlasted 2003 WSOP Main Event winner Chris Moneymaker at Table 3 to advance. Moneymaker eliminated fellow Main Event champion Joe Cada along with Hasan Habib and Jason Mercier before Griffin took out the former Tennessee accountant. Griffin finished 12th in the 2009 WSOP Europe £5,000 Pot Limit Omaha tournament for £15,000.
Over at Table 4, Brett Richey defeated three consecutive players down the stretch for the win, including Victory Poker’s Lee Markholt. Richey also sent Phil “OMGClayAiken” Galfond home in third place and Andrew “good2cu” Robl out in fourth. Markholt, meanwhile, eliminated rumored new DoylesRoom Brunson 10 member Alex “AJKHoosier1” Kamberis and poker veteran John “World” Hennigan.
An epic battle between Faraz “The-Toilet” Jaka and UB.com’s Annie Duke unfolded at Table 5, with the former finally reigning supreme. Jaka busted four players from his table, including Jennifer Tilly, Vanessa Rousso, and 2006 World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) Main Event winner J.C. Tran. Oddly enough, only three women competed in the 49-player event; all of them were seated at the same table and eliminated by Jaka. You can check out Annie Duke’s evaluation of Jaka’s poker game.
Finally, DoylesRoom pro Hoyt Corkins, fresh off of taking down the WPT Southern Poker Championship in Biloxi, bested European Poker Tour (EPT) founder John Duthie at Table 7 to move on to the finale. Corkins amassed five bounties in the process, including Adam Richardson, Hevad “RaiNKhaN” Khan, 2004 WSOP Main Event champ Greg Raymer, and Steven Paul-Ambrose (who now goes as Steven Paul).
PokerStars is awarding $100,000 to the player with the most number of bounties when the tournament concludes. As it currently stands, Seiver leads the way with six and Corkins has five. Cassidy and Jaka each own four bounties.
The tournament resumes at Noon PT on Thursday, as all eyes today are focused on the Main Event of the NAPT Venetian. The winner of the Bounty Shootout will earn $460,000 in addition to the $75,000 reward for making the final table.
The Top Winners and Losers of 2009
Below are summaries of the top five money earners, and top five losers of the year, including a month-by-month graph of their results.
To see more stats and hand replays from throughout the year, head to MarketPulse.
Patrik Antonius
It only makes sense to have the year’s top earner at the top of the list, so without further ado, we bring you the 2009 story of Patrik Antonius.
Patrik Antonius just might have hit the life jackpot. He was at one-time a model and tennis pro, before becoming one of the most respected, and feared, poker players in the world. He made the list of the top 10 top profit earners in 2007 under the username FinddaGrind with over $1.3 million earned.
In 2008, he made another $1.3 million, this time as part of Team Full Tilt.
This January Antonius made over $2 million and never dropped below that point. His year was filled with million dollar swings, but in the end, the Finnish pro always found a way to come out good.
On top of being the most profitable player on the year, Antonius was also busy breaking the records for the largest pots ever played online. Despite all of his profits, Antonius has fallen behind in the durrrr Challenge and needs to make close to $1 million in the second half to have a chance.
However, he finished 2009 as the top earner with a massive profit of over $8.9 million.
Phil Ivey
This year Phil Ivey has done exactly what Phil Ivey does every year: Win. In 2008, Ivey was the top online earner with over $7.3 million in profit. In 2007 he was the third largest earner with $1.9 million and this year he ends in second place with $6.3 million.
His story is the same every year: Any players, any game, any stakes. He’ll sit, and most of the time he’ll win. But even Ivey isn’t immune to the swings, starting off the year in the red he had to spend a couple of months getting back to even.
After an $800k loss in May, it was pretty much profit from that point on. Add these winnings to his two WSOP bracelets, Main Event final table appearance and prop bets won, and you have one hell of a good looking year.
Brian Hastings
CardRunners pro Brian Hastings has had one of the most interesting years out of anyone online. He started the year with a backing deal for playing the nose-bleed stakes against Gus Hansen.
Even with Hansen bleeding chips for months, Hastings struggled to get even for the majority of the year, finally showing a profit come August.
Come the end of November, it started to look as though Hastings would be having a positive year, but nothing too spectacular, or worth talking about. That was until he sat down with Isildur1 for possibly the biggest session in online poker history.
By the end of the single session with the game’s most explosive player, Hastings had made $4.2 million in profit; effectively ending Isildur1’s run at Full Tilt’s high-stakes tables.
The win was steeped in controversy when information came to light that Hastings, along with two fellow CardRunners pros Brian Townsend and Cole South, merged their hand history databases together to allow for an in-depth study of Isildur1’s heads up game.
For the full scoop on this controversy, head to: Full Tilt Suspends Brian Townsend.
theASHMAN103
Ashton “theASHMAN103” Griffin is only 20 years old, and began playing poker seriously in high-school. His downfall has always been bankroll management and tilt issues.
After a series of massive swings he went broke right at the beginning of the year, but Griffin finally got his head in the right spot coming in to April of 2009 when he was forced to get a stake to get back in the game.
Thanks to winning a prop bet for making $500k playing nothing higher than $25/$50 No-Limit immediately before the event was set to start, Griffin was able to enter into the $25k heads-up shootout, which he went on to win for another $500k.
Griffin’s heater continued over the next two months going from broke to the fifth most profitable player on the year. To read a full interview with Griffin about his heater, and life in poker, head to: Ashman103: The Interview Transcript.
Ilari Sahamies
Ilari “Ziigmund” Sahamies is one of the most well-known and entertaining online players in the world. Above all else he seems to have a love for gambling with sick amounts of money.
For a few days, Sahamies had convinced a few of the nosebleed players to convert the $500/$1,000 Pot-Limit Omaha tables into $3,000/$9,000. Along with all the massive flips Sahamies played over the year, it’s safe to say he is the biggest gambler at the tables.
But despite his love for gambling, Ziigmund is still one of the most profitable players in the world. The occasional swing aside, Ziigmund’s graph is mostly un-eventful, hovering around the $2-$3 million mark for the majority of the year.
It wasn’t until Ziigmund set his sights on Isildur1 that his graph took a violent swing upwards. After taking a few million from the unknown player, Ziigmund finished his year up an impressive $3.2 million.
Isildur1
True identity still unknown, Isildur1 showed up on the poker scene Sept. 16. He splashed around in medium to high-stakes for about a month before starting to take shots in the nosebleed games.
The true story of Isildur1 started on Nov. 7 when he began his first serious upswing by crushing well known players like Haseeb Qureshi and UgotaBanana. After these wins, Isildur1 seemed fearless, willing to play anyone at any stakes.
Soon Isildur1 set his sights on Tom “durrrr” Dwan and over the next three days he absolutely destroyed him for over $4 million. At his highest point on Nov. 15, Isildur1 sat with over $5 million in profit, only to lose it all, mostly to Ivey and Antonius, by the 21st.
After making another quick run back up to almost $3 million in just one week, Isildur1 began his largest downswing.
It was during the downswing where Isildur1 shattered all the records for the largest pots of all time. He first broke the record with an $878k pot versus Patrik Antonius, only to break that record a few days later losing the first pot worth over a million at $1,356,947.
Mostly a result of losing over $4.2 million in a single session to Brian Hastings, Isildur1 saw his roll get almost entirely crushed, sitting down over $2 million for the remainder of the month.
With his only hands being played at the medium stakes tables, it appears at this point as if Isildur1’s run at the highest stakes games online is through.
David Benyamine
In 2008, David Benyamine was the sixth most profitable online player in the world. He finished the year having made almost $3 million profit and had snagged himself one of the most beautiful girls in poker, Erica Schoenberg.
At the very end of 2008, Full Tilt Poker dropped Benyamine as a red-name pro. As a result, he began 2009 playing under the username “MR B 2 U SON”. He played under that username until July of 2009 when his Team Full Tilt status was re-instated.
At the time of the username switch, Benyamine was down $731,128 on the year. Things continued to get worse for the French pro as he struggled throughout 2009, finishing down $2.9 million. To top it all off, many sources have reported an end to his relationship with Schoenberg.
All in all, 2009 might just have been the worst year in Benyamine’s career.
LarsLuzak
Sami “LarsLuzak” Kelopuro is a 22-year-old Finnish poker pro who showed up on the high-stakes scene in 2007. He made over a million dollars in both 2007 and 2008, plus a rumored large profit from $250/$500 No-Limit sessions played on Betfair poker.
Despite hopes of cementing his name as one of the top players in the world, 2009 turned out to be a complete disaster for Kelopuro.
Starting the year with an $810k loss, Kelopuro was almost able to grind his way back to even in February before beginning a landslide of losses.
At no point in 2009 did Kelopuro show a profit, despite his continued efforts at the games highest stakes. After reaching nearly $4 million in losses on the year, Kelopuro disappeared from the high-stakes games, sparking rumors of a busted bankroll.
With a laundry list of impressive results from both cash games and tournaments, it’s safe to assume the poker world will hear more from Kelopuro in 2010.
Tom “durrrr” Dwan
Tom Dwan has to be considerd one of the most entertaining poker players in the world. As a result, there has been more time spent talking about Dwan in 2009 than any other online player.
His year began by losing over $4 million in the first two months, only to grind back up to over $1.4 million in profit just four months later. However, the massive swings were only one of Dwan’s many stories on the year.
The first came with the introduction of the durrrr Challenge. After almost two months of speculation and rumors, Patrik Antonius stepped up as the first competitor, and the challenge was underway.
After a short period of consistent play between the two competitors, the Challenge took a hiatus as both players chose to focus on busting a new fish splashing around at the highest stake tables available.
It didn’t take Dwan, and the rest of the online regulars, long to bust a new fish calling himself Martonas, and the challenge seemed as if it would resume.
But it wasn’t long before another new face showed up on the scene and began stirring the pot. Luke “fullflush1” Schwartz proved to be as strong at the table as he was mouthy, focusing the majority of his insults at Dwan, including the now infamous “cork it durrrrballs”.
Schwartz successfully made over $700k at the tables before cashing out, and buying a house with his profits.
The next big story for Dwan came with the third unknown player to splash around in the big game. Unfortunately for Dwan, this player, Isildur1, would end up taking him for over $5 million, before giving it all away to everyone else.
Shortly after losing the majority of his online roll, Dwan became the newest member of Team Full Tilt, and began grinding his way back towards even. By the end of 2009 Dwan had brought himself back to -$4.3 million from his November low point of -$6.8 million.
On the bright side, he is ahead in the durrrr Challenge by over $937k.
Gus Hansen
This year’s story for Gus Hansen is simple: He made $3 million in the first month, mostly off Tom Dwan, then proceeded to lose almost exclusively for the remainder of the year. Although there were months in which he showed a profit, Hansen’s graph on the year is anything but encouraging.
Due to his consistent negative results, Hansen has become one of the most popular online players amongst the other regular high-stakes grinders. As he explained in an interview with PokerListings, the high-stakes games on Full Tilt simply follow him from table to table.
As a result, Hansen chose to play almost exclusively 7-Game for the remainder of the year, at times killing absolutely all high-stakes action for all other variants.
For a look into high-stakes, and how some of the other players in the game view Hansen, head to: State of the High Stakes Poker Nation.
Visit PokerListings.com
Tags: 15, 2008, 2009, 2010, 5, ashton griffin, Brian Hastings, Brian Townsend, Cole South, David Benyamine, durrrr, Erica Schoenberg, full tilt poker, gamble, Gambler, Gus Hansen, high stakes, High Stakes Poker, Ilari Sahamies, interview, jackpot, king, martonas, member, model, no-limit, nosebleed, Omaha, Online Player, online players, Online Poker, online poker history, online roll, Patrik Antonius, Phil Ivey, player, Poker, poker player, Pro, runner, Tom Dwan, tournament, WSOP
Antonius headlines sick 7-Game action
This most recent session saw a flurry of action with Daniel Alaei (FakeSky), Gus Hansen and Brian Hastings all making more than $300k.
Online regular, identity still unknown, Nizot Skizared took down $270k, while the Finnish action junky Ilari "Ziigmund" Sahamies made just under $140k.
Also showing modest profits on the night were Tom Dwan, Matt Hawrilenko, EazyPeazy and Di "Urindanger" Dang.
The most noteable losers of the day include Richard Ashby (-$530k), David Benyamine (-$434k), NEKOTYAN (-$336k), Cole South (-$218k), DIN_FRU (-$204k), Chau Giang (-$127k) and David Oppenheim (-$106k).
Posting smaller losing sessions were online stars Phil "OMGClayAIken" Galfond and Brian Townsend, both losing under $100k.
With this $434k loss, Benyamine continues his struggle to get anything going on the year. His 2009 losses now total almost $1.3 million.
Long after the 7-Game action had run dry, the $500/$1,000 No-Limit Hold'em game kicked off with two full ring tables collecting rake.
The nine-handed table Don Juan became the table of death, starting with all seats filled, including some of the biggest names in the game. Dwan, Ivey, Juanda, South and (Hac) Dang were all in on the high-stakes NL action.
On top of all of this, Tom Dwan took on Patrik Antonius heads up at $500/$1,000 Pot-Limit Omaha, winning the largest pot of the day worth $85k.
Over on PokerStars WSOP Main Event Champion Peter Eastgate managed to net only $193 after winning the second largest pot of the day, but losing the third worth almost exactly as much.
To see replays of all the largest NL and PLO pots of the day, head to MarketPulse, or you can find the three biggest pots of the day replayed below.
Visit PokerListings.com
Tags: 15, 2009, 5, ashton griffin, Brian Hastings, Brian Townsend, cent, Cole South, Dang, David Benyamine, Galfond, Gus Hansen, HB, Ilari "Ziigmund" Sahamies, king, no-limit, Omaha, Patrik Antonius, Peter Eastgate, player, Poker, pokerstars, Pro, Tom Dwan, WSOP
theASHMAN103 Grinded $3.3 Million In Three Months
Ashton “theASHMAN103″ Griffin continues to impress at the high stake tables. In the past three months he has won over $3.3 million already.
Mr. Grinder Griffin
Ashton Griffin’s earnings from the past three months are well over three million dollars. According to highstakesdb Ashton thrives at the Omaha tables. Most of his winnings came from Pot Limit Omaha during 542 sessions and 32585 hands. His win/rate is $102 for a hand.
Second biggest winner was Cole South who came just a bit short from Griffin with over $3.2 million profit. Then again South played a bit less hands during the last three motnhs.
Losses went to Denmark again
Holedigger Hansen
Gus Hansen hasn’t been able to have a good month after the nice heater earlier this year. He manages to win small only to lose massively later on. No wonder people wants to keep him at the tables. His losses from the past three months are about 3.5 million dollars. It seems that “The Great Dane” has dug the deepest hole of his career so far.
Some nice hands from the past three months:
theASHMAN103 vs martonas, $516k pot
martonas slowplaying his nuts when the turn hits Cole South, $452k pot
Gus Hansen with pocket rockets against Cole South, $446k pot
Benyamine’s set holds ’til the end in a three-way pot, $547k pot
Antonius has the nut flush against Durrrr, $581k pot
Gus Hansen with over pair and flush draw, $226k pot
Biggest Winners:
1.theASHMAN103 $3.338.270
2.Cole South $3.213.806
3.Richard Ashby $2.370.881
4.POKERBLUFFS $2.250.153
5.Brian Hastings $1.809.975
Most Losses:
1.Gus Hansen -$3.490.712
2.durrrr -$2.607.919
3.DIN_FRU -$2.380.490
4.KObyTAPOUT -$1.094.081
5.David Oppenheim -$1.022.549
Source: highstakesdb
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theASHMAN103 Grinded $3.3 Million In Three Months
Tags: 15, 2008, 2009, 5, ashton griffin, Brian Hastings, cent, Cole South, durrrr, Gus Hansen, HB, martonas, Omaha, Poker, Pro