Congratulations to the newest member of the Champions Club, Keven Stammen, for taking down the title winning $1.35M in cash, a Hublot King Power Unico watch, gold Monster 24K headphones, seat to next season’s World Championship, and his name engraved on the Champion Cup.
Final Table Line Up…
The impressive and (interesting) line-up in the final table kept the energy up at the final table set. Curt broke the ice with his colorful hoodie and antics during the player entrance.
The all-in hands at the final table were kicked off by Ryan D’Angelo on the ninth hand of play. His pocket kings topped the 
of Abe Korotki on a dramatic board dealt 
. That hand left Korotki quite low on chips and he got the last of his stack into the middle on Hand 34. D’Angelo raised to 130,000 preflop on the button and Abe Korotki reraised all in for 690,000 on the big blind. D’Angelo calls with [Ax][Jx] and Korotki reveals [Ax][7x]. The board is dealt [tx][8x][4x][3x][Jx] and Korotki is eliminated in sixth place, good for $235,341.
Out Next
Second to be eliminated was Curt Kohlberg. Curt got crippled in a hand against Byron. Then a few hands later, he found himself all-in with 
. but he was behind the 
of Byron. The board was dealt 
and Byron rivered a six to knock Curt out in fifth place ($286,292).
Tony Doubles Up
A few hands later, Tony Dunst doubled through Ryan D’Angelo which crippled him. D’Angelo was all in on the very next hand. D’Angelo moved all in preflop for 870,000 on the small blind and Kaverman called on the big blind after some thought. D’Angelo revealed 9s5c and Kaverman held Qs2c. The board fell 
and D’Angelo was eliminated in fourth place ($363,930).
Then He Busts Out
The action continued to move quickly as four hands later there was another elimination. Dunst moved all in for 1.47 million and Stammen called after getting the exact count. Dunst held 
and he was ahead of the [K6] revealed by Stammen, but the board was dealt 
. That was all she wrote for Dunst, who was eliminated in third place and took home $452,729.
Heads Up
Just like that, we’re down to heads up play. At the start of heads-up play Stammen held the chip lead with 10,905,000 and Kaverman was behind with 5,505,000. Kaverman was able to even things back up pretty quick at the start of the final match, but then Stammen pulled ahead once more. Stammen won a pot worth three million to really start to pull away and 38 hands into the final match everything came to an end.
Keven’s brother, girlfriend, and friends all drove from Ohio for 11 hours but had been secretly watching the final table action from the partypoker lounge. Keven is very superstitious and do not like any pressure seeing his family and friends sweating for him at a final table. So, they will all leave the lounge during break and go back when play starts. Keven had no idea and was surprised when they all came to the set when he won.
Final Table Results:
1: Keven Stammen – $1,350,000
2: Byron Kaverman – $727,860
3: Tony Dunst – $452,729
4: Ryan D’Angelo – $363,930
5: Curt Kohlberg – $286,292
6: Abe Korotki – $235,341
WPT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP LIVE STREAM
Live streaming video by Ustream
Day 4 Roundup
The recent champion of the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown, Eric Afriat was the chip leader for the past two days. But it seemed that nothing worked for him today. In a massive hand against Byron Kaverman and Curt Kohlberg which resulted to his elimination.
Byron Kaverman raises under the gun to 65,000, Eric Afriat calls from the cutoff, and Curt Kohlberg calls from the big blind.
The flop comes 
, Kohlberg checks, and Kaverman bets 90,000. Afriat and Kohlberg both call.
The turn card pairs the board with the 
, Kohlberg checks, and Kaverman bets 210,000. Afriat and Kohlberg both call.
The river card is the , Kohlberg checks, and Kaverman goes into the tank. After about a minute, Afriat calls for a clock, and a short bit later, Kaverman bets 350,000.
Now it’s Afriat’s turn to spend some time in the tank, and after about a minute he calls all in for 340,000. Kohlberg folds.
Kaverman shows 
for two pair, tens and fives, and Afriat mucks as he is eliminated from the tournament in 11th place.
More Giants Lost
Eric was obviously not happy as he hopes to become the first Champion to win back to back events.
Aside from Eric, the notables lost along the way during the play-down stretch today included Glenn Lafaye (17th place), Hans Winzeler (16th place), Justin Young (15th place), Ray Qartomy (13th place), Bobby Oboodi (12th place), Eric Afriat (11th place), Brock Parker (10th place), and Tom Dobrilovic (eighth place).
TV Bubble Boy
Season 11’s champion Anthony Gregg was the TV final table bubble boy when he was eliminated in 7th by Keven Stammen.
Byron Kaverman raises from the button to 85,000, Anthony Gregg calls from the small blind, and Keven Stammen calls from the big blind.
The flop comes 
, Gregg checks, and Stammen bets 125,000. Kaverman and Gregg both call.
The turn card is the 
, and it checks to Kaverman, who bets 325,000. Gregg check-raises to 1,000,000, and Stammen reraises to 1,600,000. Kaverman folds, and Gregg moves all in for about 1.85 million.
Stammen calls, and Gregg shows Kc9s for trip nines. But Stammen turns over for a flopped queen-high straight, and Gregg needs to improve to stay alive.
The river card is the , and Stammen wins the pot with his straight to eliminate WPT Champions Club member Anthony Gregg on the TV bubble in seventh place.
Final Six
Seat 1. Abe Korotki – 2,560,000 (51 bb)
62 year-old Abraham Korotki was born in Florence, Italy but is now residing in Ventnor City, NJ. He is a retired real Estate Developer. He’s been playing poker for 8 years and is nicknamed . Abe have had quite a few decent finishes at the WSOP and the Borgata Spring Open Series. His biggest tournament cash to date is $433,000
Seat 2. Byron Kaverman – 4,070,000 (81 bb)
Ohio-born Byron Kaverman had a good WPT season cashing in 6 events in Season 12 including this World Champinoship. This is also Byron’s 3rd final table appearance. He finished 4th in Grand Prix de Paris in Season 10 and 2nd in bestbet Fall Poker Scramble in Season 11. His total live earnings is close to $2M. He studied Psychology and played soccer at Tiffin University.
Seat 3. Keven Stammen – 5,650,000 (113 bb)
Keven Stammen was born and raised in Coldwater, Ohio. He’s been playing poker for 9 years and has amassed over $2.2M in live career earnings. He finished 3rd in this season’s Lucky Hearts Poker Open good for $122,197. He enjoys snow moiling and hanging out with his girlfriend, Hannah, when he is not grinding on the felt.
Seat 4. Tony Dunst – 1,330,000 (26 bb)
Our very own Tony Dunst, one of the most if not the mos fashionable poker players, has once again made a deep run. This is his second final table this season, and third total. In fact, we can say we is free rolling into the World Championship event as his seat was part of his prize package when he won the WPT Caribbean event in November. Tony had been playing poker for 11 years and watching WPT shows got him to start playing poker. Since then, he has amassed over a million live career earnings. One fun trivia about Tony that he wrote in his bio sheet: He used to be a sandwich artist at Subway one summer.
Seat 5. Ryan D’Angelo – 1,220,000 (24 bb)
Ryan D’Angelo or Golfa to most, was born in Endwell, New York. Ryan had been successful since he started playing poker 9 years ago, both online and live. He have 3 WCOOP bracelets as well as a number of decent finishes. His total live earnings is over $1.5M. Ryan and his girlfriend, Ronit Chamani, are biggest advocates of raw vegan diet and juicing. They attribute their recent success in tournaments by eating healthy. Ryan will be donating a portion of his winnings to Food Gardens Foundation. The Foundation provides organic seeds and builds gardens at every less fortunate schools in Soweto, South Africa. Ryan’s girlfriend and current GPI’s # 1 female poker player Ronit Chamani is from South Africa.
Seat 6. Curt Kohlberg – 1,580,000 (31 bb)
55 year-old Curth Kolberg or “Psycho Ninja) from Pittsburg is no stranger to a WPT final table. He made 4 final table at WPT including this event. His biggest tournament cash was when he finished second to Taylor Kriegenberg at the Seminole Hard Showdown in Season 11. Curt owns a Management Consulting firm which definitely keeps him busy when he’s not playing poker.
SHOW ME THE MONEY!
Here is the prize money that is up for grabs among the final six:
1: $1,350,000 (including the $15,400 seat for next season’s World Championship)
2: $727,860
3: $452,729
4: $363,930
5: $286,292
6: $235,341
Cards are in the air tomorrow, April 26, at 4PM ET. You can also watch the stream right here. The stream will be hosted by Dave Farra and will feature a pre-game show with Rich Ryan joining the booth. Commentary will also be provided by partypoker’s Jamie Kerstetter and Scott Baumstein. party poker pro Kara Scott will pop into the commentating booth as well.
Day 3 Roundup And The First To Go Is…
Day 3 of the WPT World Championship has wrapped, and we’re down to the final 18 players! The final 68 players gathered together in a new location today – the Borgata Poker Room. The Signature Room was being converted to the WPT Arena for Saturday’s WPT Final Table.
One of the first ten players to go was Champions Club member Matt Waxman who was eliminated by one of the only women left in the tournament, Catherine Dever.
Matt Waxman moved all in pre-flop for less than 50,000, and Catherine Dever called. She had him covered just slightly, and the two players flipped over their cards. Dever had 
, and Waxman had 
. The board came out to 
. Dever won the hand to grow her stack to 127,000, and Waxman busted out of the tournament.
Next Up
About an hour and a half later David Tuthill was eliminated by Glenn Lafaye. Glenn Lafaye raised to 18,000, Jeff Gross called from the small blind, and David Tuthill moved all in from the big blind for 56,000. Lafaye and Gross both called. The flop came out to , Gross checked, Lafaye bet 115,000, and Gross tanked for a while before he folded. Tuthill showed 
(ace high), and he needed to improve to stay alive against Lafaye’s . When Gross saw Lafaye’s pocket nines, he smiled and told the table he folded the two red nines. The turn was the Qs, the river was the 
, and Lafaye won the pot with his pocket nines to eliminate Tuthill from the tournament.
No Goal!
We also lost renowned NFL Wide Receiver Miles Austin to George Kelly just a few minutes after David Tuthill’s departure from the tournament. Champions Club member Bobby Oboodi raised to 13,000 pre-flop, and Miles Austin re-raised all in for 67,000. Loni Harwood called on the button, and George Kelly then re-raised all in for 148,000. Oboodi tanked a bit before folding. Harwood went into the tank next, but she decided to call. The three players then revealed their hands.
Kelly:
Harwood: 
Austin:
The board came out to 
. Austin was eliminated on the hand and Kelly more than doubled up to 373,000. Harwood took a hit down to 365,000 after the hand.
Greer vs Schulman
About an hour later, Garrett Greer busted after his hand couldn’t hold up against Champions Club member Nick Schulman. Schulman raised to 18,000, Garrett Greer moved all in for about 82,000, and Schulman called with . Greer turned over , and he needed it to hold to stay alive. The board came out to 
, and Schulman won the pot with trip aces to eliminate Greer from the tournament.
One To Watch
This season’s Ones to Watch was Premier League 7 featured pro Jeff Gross busted less than half an hour later. Jason Koon raised to 18,000, Glenn Lafaye called from the button, and Jeff Gross moved all in from the big blind for 206,000. Koon folded, and Lafaye called. Gross turned over , and he needed to improve to stay alive against Lafaye’s . The board came out to 
, and Lafaye won the pot with his pocket kings to eliminate Gross from the tournament.
Phil’s Out
Hall of Fame player Phil Hellmuth departed from the tournament area earlier this evening when he lost in a hand to Byron Kaverman. Byron Kaverman raised to 22,000, Phil Hellmuth moved all in for about 100,000, and Kaverman called with . Hellmuth turned over , and he needed to improve to stay alive. The board came out to 
, and Kaverman won the pot with his queen kicker to eliminate Hellmuth from the tournament.
A Quiet Bubble…
The money bubble happened quicker than anticipated. Yuval Harosh min-raised to 20,000, Maurice Hawkins called from the button, and Nick Schulman called from the big blind.The flop came out to [3x], and it checked to Hawkins, who bet 35,000. Harosh accidentally folded out of turn, and then action was on Schulman, who check-raised all in for about 150,000.
Hawkins called with for a gutshot Royal Flush draw, and Schulman turned over [Q9] for an open-ended straight draw. Schulman needed to improve to stay alive. The turn was a [2x], the river was the , and Hawkins won the pot with a pair of aces to eliminate Schulman from the tournament.
Both Nick Schulman and Michael Lavoie (who was at a different table) were eliminated on the final hands of the level that extended into the dinner break. In fact, a lot of the remaining players left for dinner when there were still 38 players remaining, two spots away from the money. When they returned, they would learn that the Money Bubble had actually burst before hand-for-hand play could even begin. The remaining 36 players would all be guaranteed at least $30,085 each.
Quickly They Fall
Other notables who started busting after the money bubble included Athanasios Polyhronopoulos ($30,085), Premier League 7 featured pro Jason Koon ($30,085), Matt Stout ($30,085), Loni Harwood ($30,085), DraftKings Qualifier Jonathan Tamayo ($30,085), Champions Club member Jordan Cristos in 27th place ($33,967), and Maurice Hawkins in 25th place ($33,967). The ClubWPT Qualifier David Daggett had a great run, though he was eliminated late in the night in 22nd place ($33,967). When I asked him what he planned to do with his earnings, he said he “might buy a Harley, but [his]kids [wouldn’t] be too happy about it!” He said he has enjoyed his time here, and he’s definitely glad that he had this opportunity to play in a major live tournament. Congratulations and a job well done to Dave!
Seiver Gets Beat By A Ninja
After Dave, Premier League 7 featured pro Scott Seiver was eliminated in 21st place and took home $33,967. Curt “Psycho Ninja” Kohlberg raised to 36,000, Scott Seiver moved all in for about 300,000, and Kohlberg called with . Seiver turned over , and he needed to improve to stay alive. The board came out to 
, and Kohlberg won the pot with his pocket kings to finish Seiver.
Heading Towards The Final Table…
Leonardo Palermo went out in 20th place and took home $33,967, while Jeff Madsen was crippled against Chris O’Rourke. In the next hand, Madsen’s time in the tournament was up when he went home in 19th place and took home $33,967. With 18 players remaining, action stopped for the night. Play will resume tomorrow at 12:00 noon with about 22 minutes left in Level 20.
WPT 500
Today, we announced a new addition to the WPT experience, and it’s called partypoker presents: WPT500 at Aria Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. It will take place July 1 – 6 inside Aria’s Poker Room, and it will be a $500 + $65 no-limit hold’em tournament with a guaranteed prizepool of at least $1 million. First prize will be worth at least $200,000. The WPT500 will feature five Day 1s (July 1-5), and players are allowed one re-entry per day. There is even a special last chance turbo heat on July 6th at 9:00 am with 15-minute levels. To celebrate the announcement of this event, all players who advance to Day 4 of the WPT World Championship will receive a non-transferable $565 seat into the WPT500. It should be a great event!
Day 2 Roundup
Day 2 of the WPT World Championship is in the books, and 68 players have survived from the 200 that started the day!
We started off the day with quite a few notables in the field including (breath in) Lee Markholt, Tony Dunst, Joe Serock, Jason Koon, Orson Young, Anthony Gregg, David Tuthill, Faraz Jaka, Nick Schulman, Ravi Raghavan, Sean Jazayeri, Amir Babakhani, Daniel Buzgon, Layne Flack, Matt Glantz, Athanasios Polychronopoulos, NFL player Miles Austin, Andy Philachack, Chris Klodnicki, Matt Waxman, Jeff Gross, Chris Moorman, Loni Harwood, Christina Lindley, Joseph Cheong, Alexey Rybin, Jonathan Little, Scott Seiver, Matt Giannetti, Paul Volpe, Anthony Zinno, John Hennigan, Phil Hellmuth, Garrett Greer, Kevin Eyster, Eric Afriat, Matt Salsberg, Bobby Oboodi, Jordan Cristos, James Carroll, John Racener, partypokers very own Marvin Rettenmaier, Lily Kiletto, David Baker, Shannon Shorr, Byron Kaverman, Will Failla, Mukul Pahuja, Andy Frankenberger, Jared Jaffee, and Jeremy Kottler, to name quite a few (breath out).
Moorman Out
In less than one level, Season 12 Champions Club member Chris Moorman was eliminated by this season’s Ones to Watch, Loni Harwood. Chris went all in for about 70,000 with , and he needed to improve to stay alive against Loni with and about 90,000 in chips. The board came out to , and Harwood flopped a set of tens to win the pot and eliminate Moorman from the tournament.
Very shortly after Moorman’s bust, Season 11 Champion, Ravi Raghavan, fell short to Allen Kessler. Ravi opened, Brian Lemke called on the button, and Allen Kessler three-bet from the small blind. Raghavan four-bet, Lemke folded, and Kessler called to see a flop. Kessler checked to Raghavan who shoved for roughly 67,000. Kessler called immediately. Raghavan had , while Kessler had . Ravi found no help from the turn or river, scoring the elimination for Kessler.
Can He Spell Poker?
Although detailed accounts of their eliminations weren’t captured, Lily Kiletto, Joseph Cheong, Tim West, and Ronit Chamani all busted within the second hour of play today. In the same hour as each of these eliminations, Season 12 Champion Anthony Zinno who won the first event held at Borgata this season busted against the one-and-only Phil Hellmuth. Hellmuth raised to 4,500, the player in the small blind called, and Zinno three-bet all in from the big blind for 11,400. Hellmuth isolated the pot with a four-bet and had , while Zinno had . The board came out to 
, giving Hellmuth tens and eights to eliminate Zinno from the last Borgata event in Season 12.
Dine And Dash?
Later on in the evening, Allen Kessler, Dan Buzgon, Chris Tryba, John Hennigan, Eli Berg, and Greg Merson were, unfortunately, among those who were eliminated in the first 20 minutes back from the dinner break. A couple of hours later, Season 11 WPT Canadian Spring Championship winner Amir Babakhani was eliminated by Abe Korotki. Babakhani went all in for 61,500 with against Korotki’s . The board ran out to , which was no help to Babakhani, giving the pot to Korotki.
Double Pot Luck Dinner For Seiver?
And just after the break East Coast pro Matt Glantz busted in a double elimination against Season IX WPT World Championship winner, Scott Seiver. Seiver min-raised to 8,000, Matt Glantz moved all for about 50,000, and Bryn Kenney moved all in over the top for about 75,000. Seiver called, covering both of them. Here are their cards in descending order of chip counts:
Scott Seiver:
Bryn Kenney: 
Matt Glantz:
The board came out to , and the pocket jacks held up for Seiver to win the pot, eliminating both players from the tournament!
Heading Into Day 3
The final 68 players will return tomorrow to play down into the money when 36 players remain. The chip leader at the end of play tonight is Eric Afriat (pictured above) with 1,003,000 and he is way ahead of the rest of the field. Other top stacks were bagged up by Anthony Gregg (567,000), Athanasios Polychronopoulos (542,500), Scott Seiver (539,500), and Ryan D’Angelo (519,500). Poker Hall of Fame member Phil Hellmuth has advanced with 54,000
NFL wide receiver Miles Austin (pictured below with Jason Koon) made it through with 74,500. Other notables still left in the field include Jason Koon (500,500), Jonathan Tamayo (411,000), Byron Kaverman (347,500), Garrett Greer (330,000), Season X Borgata Poker Open winner Bobby Oboodi (301,000), Lee Markholt (270,500), Jordan Cristos (267,500), two of this season’s Ones to Watch Loni Harwood (225,500) & Jeff Gross (221,500), Orson Young (217,000), WPT Alpha8 Florida winner Steven Silverman (200,500), Matt Waxman (160,000), our very own Tony Dunst (143,500), Nick Schulman (128,500), and our ClubWPT Qualifier David Daggett with 368,500 in chips!
Suller Out
Shaun Suller also busted today, which means that Mukul Pahuja has locked up WPT Season XII Player of the Year honors. Pahuja cashed five times this season, including three final tables, and won a total of $1,426,240. His POY point total of 3,450 is the record for most in a season. Day 3 will begin tomorrow at noon. The plan is for the field to play down to the final 27 players, but that could change based on the pace of play.
And Did We Mention That You Need To Stay Tuned For The LIVE STREAM?!
Don’t forget stay tuned for the final table live stream as if the The WPT National Canadian Spring Championship was anything to go by you won’t want to miss a second!– Re-watch the LIVE STREAM Now!
Day 1B Roundup
Day 1B of the WPT World Championship, sponsored by partypoker, officially wrapped at Borgata in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Mike Sexton along with the Royal Flush Girls Tugba Ercan, Ivy Teves, Jeannie Duffy & Brittany Bell, were back for Shuffle Up & Deal this morning a little after 11:00 AM.
Players who busted yesterday were allowed to buy-in again today, though anyone who decided to make today their first day and busted, were not able to buy back in and fire a second bullet. To reach the $5 million guaranteed prize pool, we would need at least 334 entries.
Last night, partypoker & Borgata hosted a players party at mur.mur for service industry night at the famous nightclub. The event was a lot of fun, and the Royal Flush Girls and Anna Khait pictured had a chance to get some dancing in during their last player party of Season 12.
Famous Faces
The second day of the event started off with a stacked field of players that included Garrett Greer, Allen Bari, partypoker’s Scott Baumstein, Ryan Riess, Nancy Birnbaum, Allen Kessler, Kevin Saul, Glen Chorny, Andy Philachack, Shaun Suller, Matt Stout, Keven Stammen, Kara Scott, Eugene Katchalov, Ray Qartomy, Ryan D’Angelo, Ronit Chamani, Corrie Wunstel, Matt Affleck, Ty Reiman, Barry Hutter, Kunal Patel, Chris Tryba, Brett Richey, Dan Buzgon, Ones To Watch Loni Harwood, Aaron Massey, and Christina Lindley, and Champions Club members Andy Frankenberger, Shawn Cunix, Noah Schwartz, Nabil Hirezi, and Jared Jaffee.
Previous WPT Champs Under Fire
Early this afternoon, Season 12 WPT Prague winner Julian Thomas was eliminated by Ronit Chamani right before a break. Chamani raised to 500, the player in the small blind called, and Julian three-bet to 1,700. Chamani four-bet to about 4,700, the player in the small blind folded, and Thomas five-bet to roughly 11,500. Chamani called and the flop came to 
. Thomas continued for 11,775 and after a little while in the tank, Chamani raised all in for about 37,000. Thomas called instantly. Chamani had , while Thomas had . The fell on the turn to give Chamani a set of queens and she held up through the river to eliminate Julian. As soon as the hand was over, Chamani admitted, “I’m not proud about it, but I’m happy.”
Another One Bites The Dust
Another Season 12 Champion, Derrick Rosenbarger was eliminated early this evening. Rosenbarger won the WPT Montreal event last November. There was 4,900 in the pot and the flop read when Derrick Rosenbarger bet 3,500. Lee Markholt raised to 8,800 and the button and John Hennigan (big blind) folded. Rosenbarger tanked for a bit and eventually moved all in. Markholt called, and they revealed their cards. Markholt had , while Rosenbarger had . The turn and the river came out to . Markholt made a straight on the river to grow his stack to 120,000 and Rosenbarger was eliminated on the hand.
Kara Scott Out
Unfortunately, Kara Scott did not make it through to Day 2 when she was eliminated by Season 12 WPT Jacksonville Fall Poker Scramble winner Jared Jaffee. With the board reading 
, Kara Scott was all in for about 24,000 with , while Jared Jaffee had . The turn was , and the river was – both of which were no help to Kara.
Blah, out. Got it all in with AsKc vs QJss on a King-high, all spade flop@& couldn’t hit. Sucks to be out but I had some fun. #sigh
— Kara Scott (@KaraOTR) April 22, 2014
More Champs Fall
An hour and half after the dinner break had ended, Season 12 WPT Lucky Hearts Poker Open winner, James Calderaro, was also eliminated when he went up against Allen Kessler. Calderaro was all in for about 23,000 with against Allen Kessler’s . The flop came out to to give Calderaro the lead with a pair of aces. The turn changed nothing, but the landed on the river to give Kessler a set of kings and to send Calderaro home.
partypoker People
In addition to the two from yesterday, two more partypoker qualifiers played today’s field, Dmitrii Prusov is from Russia and Jeff Cote from Canada, both earned their full entry by winning online satellites at partypoker.com, and both qualifiers are still in and moving on to Day 2. Good Luck guys!
Coming Up In Day 2!
From the 223 players that entered today, only about 138 will continue on to Day 2. Day 2 will begin tomorrow at noon. The official prize pool has not been released yet, but that information should be available early tomorrow. The chip leader at the end of play today was Jason Koon with 252,800. Other top stacks were bagged up by Athanasios Polychronopoulos (223,100), Keith Lehr (220,900), Lee Markholt (217,700), and Kevin Rabichow (189,700). The notables that will not be joining the returning field of 200 players for Day 2 are Noah Schwartz, Mike Linster, Mohsin Charania, Zo Karim, Tony Ruberto, Scott Clements, Vinny Pahuja, Ryan Riess, Shawn Cunix, Eugene Katchalov, Guillaume Darcourt, Amanda Musumeci, Kara Scott, Dan Smith, Kyle Julius, Raj Vohra, James Calderaro, Isaac Baron, and Mike Matusow.
Day 1A Roundup
Day 1A at the World Poker Tour World Championship has ended at the Borgata Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City and there are 62 players that have advanced from the 105 entries on Monday.
They will return on Wednesday for Day 2 action but first Day 1B will take place on Tuesday. Any player who busted today can re-enter on Day 1B while registration remains open until the start of Level 7.
It’s Time To Shuffle Up and Deal!
The Ambassador of Poker Mike Sexton, and the Royal Flush Girls, Tugba Ercan, Ivy Teves, Jeannie Duffy & Brittany Bell kicked off the start of the event with Shuffle Up & Deal this morning a little after 11:00 AM. This is the third event held at Borgata this season, and it is also the inaugural World Championship at this property.
Previous Champions In The House…
The chip leader at the end of play tonight is Paul Volpe with 215,300. Other top stacks were bagged up by Jerry Wong with 198,000, Brandon Steven with 195,500, Premier League Champion Scott Seiver with 192,500, and Anthony Gregg with 190,600. NFL wide receiver Miles Austin also advanced today and he bagged up a chip stack of 81,300.
Trust Us When We Say Yes The Big Guns Are All Here…
The big names that we saw today included Mohsin Charania, Nick Schulman, Lily Kiletto, Matt Stout, Micah Raskin, Ryan Eriquezzo, Ryan Riess, Shawn Cunix, Chris Moorman, Dan Smith, Eugene Katchalov, Jared Jaffee, John Racener, Guillaume Darcourt, Abe Mosseri, Barry Hutter, James Carroll and Phil Hellmuth.
Here’s Some Background Info For You About WPT World Championship…
The tournament will feature two Day 1’s, and players will only be allowed to fire a total of two bullets, once a day. The blinds will last for 75 minutes on each Day 1. Day 2, 3 & 4 levels will last 90 minutes. The buy-in is $15,400, and there is also a $5 million guaranteed prize pool on the table. Any player who busted today can re-enter on Day 1B while registration remains open until the start of Level 7.
Previous Winners
Season 12 Champions Club member James Carroll (this year’s Bay 101 Shooting Star winner) did not have a lot of time to leave his footprint in the tournament as he was eliminated by Player of the Year contender Mukul Pahuja. With the board reading , WPT Player of the Year points leader Mukul Pahuja bet 8,000-ish. Champions Club member James Caroll called all in after a few moments, but mucked when Pahuja tabled for a set of kings.
KO by Dunst
Champions Club member Shawn Cunix was eliminated by Brock Parker during level 6. Brock Parker raised, and Shawn Cunix three-bet all in for about 12,000, and Parker called. Parker had , while Cunix had Qh-Js. The board ran out to , with no help being sent to Cunix, scoring the elimination for Parker. WSOP bracelet winner Ryan Riess was later eliminated by Tony Dunst. Byron Kaverman raised and Ryan Riess shoved for about 19,000. Tony Dunst called and Kaverman folded. Riess had . The board ran out 
, giving Tony Dunst a pair of aces to eliminate Riess.
Let’s Go Team partypoker!
Kara Scott is there already and pretty excited about it all….
Excited to be @BorgataAC for the #wptchampionship – I’m playing tomorrow. Good luck to all the @partypokerUS qualifiers! HUGE 1st prize :)
— Kara Scott (@KaraOTR) April 21, 2014
And That Not All…Tell Em What They’ll Be Taking Home…
Well in addition to a hefty first prize of at least, the winner of this event will receive what money can’t buy a WPT Champions Trophy, a pair of gold Monster 24K Headphones (can you say BLING!), and now, a Hublot King Power Unico Watch. Time to get a move on guys!
So Keep Taping That F5 Key And Stay Tuned For The LIVE STREAM!
Stick around as we’ll be posting updates frequently throughout the event! Plus make sure you tune in for the final table live stream last time around The WPT National Canadian Spring Championship was the stuff of legends and you can Re-watch the LIVE STREAM Now!
Let’s Catch Up With Some partypoker Qualifiers!
We managed to catch up with a couple of partypoker players who scored themselves a seat in the 2014 WPT Championship event by battling their way through qualifier tourneys! We’ll be following their progress closely throughout the course of the event, so of course we wanted to give you a chance to get to know each of them personally…
Who Says A Buck Can’t Buy You Anything Anymore?
Our first lucky player is Richard J. Pilchman, aka ‘sparta134’ of Tom’s River, NJ. “Rich”, as he likes to be called, secured his seat with a mere ONE DOLLAR investment via our WPT Steps series. He says it wasn’t until he hit the 4th step that it dawned on him that he should probably hunker down and get real serious about winning the game.
At 65 years young, Rich probably lives by the old adage “happy wife, happy life”, especially since his marriage has lasted since 1972. He told us, however, that he had to stand his ground when his better half, Linda, suggested he settle for the $7500 second place payout rather than shoot for the Championship seat. “There’s no way I was letting this one go!”, he said.
Taking Advice…
Rich describes his style of play as tight-aggressive, and plans to stick to that style during this event. He’s gotten some good advice from friends, and says that local pro Steve Dannenman, advised him to stay hydrated to combat fatigue. In order to prepare himself to play his A-Game, Pilchman has been reading through his copies of the Harrington books.
Richard Pilchman’s greatest aspiration has nothing to do with poker… As father of two and grandfather of three, all he wants in life is to follow the example set by his own father, whom he lost recently, and always be remembered as a great dad. In fact, when asked what he plans to do with the money if he wins, Rich snap replied, “I’ll use it to help my kids.”
Twenty’ll Get You Fifteen Thousand, Four Hundred
Our next WPT Championship qualifier we caught up with was Michael Zduniak, who locked up his shot to play among the best of the best for a small pittance; he only parted with $20.00 in order to earn this seat. This 27 year old electrician from probably never imagined, as he was playing the .25/.50 home games when he first fell in love with poker, that someday he’d be sitting with the game’s elite. Now that he’s got the chance, Mike says he’s “interested to see if they’re really THAT good.”
On Home Ground
Mike, aka ‘mjzduniak, is very familiar with the WPTC venue; he visits Borgata frequently and feels more than comfortable playing there. He believes that a big edge for him in this event is that there’s very little pressure. “The way I look at it”, says Zduniak, “is that I’m freerolling. Everyone else spent their own money to get in, so that’s a distraction. All I have to worry about is playing my game. That’s easy when there’s no money [at stake].” That attitude falls right in line with the advice he’s been getting from his grinder friends; they’ve been telling him to relax, not allow himself to be intimidated by his competitors, and just play his own game.
And Did We Mention That You Need To Stay Tuned For The LIVE STREAM?!
Both Richard and Michael say that they are grateful for this experience and are extremely excited to take their seats on Monday. Follow their progress vicariously through us, folks – we’ll be posting updates frequently throughout the event and of course will be cheering them on the whole way!! Plus stay tuned for the final table live stream as if the The WPT National Canadian Spring Championship was anything to go by you won’t want to miss a second!– Re-watch the LIVE STREAM Now!
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