Posted by Andrew Feldman
I'm loving acronyms today.
As the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure field dwindles, many are looking at the $3 million first-place prize as simply incredible. The field at PCA reached 1,347 players, a record for the tournament, and as Gary Wise wrote Thursday, it seems that this stop on the tour is the true WSOP for the online poker community.
IMPDI for the WSOP
Alexandre Gomes, still in contention at PCA on Day 4, won his first WSOP bracelet in Event 48.
Although the field reached such an impressive number, it shouldn't come as much of a surprise. There are a few reasons why more players than ever (not only online players) are choosing this event. First, it's in the Bahamas. If you bust out, you can do everything that the Atlantis resort offers. It's a little different than staying at a casino, where there really is nowhere to go except back to the hotel room. The age factor also boosts the number: Players who are 18 and older may compete in this event. From what I've heard, it sounds like one big party -- more a vacation than a poker tournament.
The tournament itself started action Friday with 32 players, which was down to 23 just a few hours later. Notables still in the action are Kevin Saul, Kathy Liebert, Dan Heimiller and Alexandre Gomes. Play will continue until eight are left for the final table.
It would be easy to think that the main event at PCA would be the only focus during this week, but in fact, multiple major events during PCA attempt to steal the main event's thunder.
The fifth World Cup of Poker concluded Wednesday with Germany's taking home the title after a 16-hour day at the tables. Germany, led by Jan Heitmann, defeated New Zealand for the top prize in this tournament of five-player teams. Rounding out the field were the United States, Great Britain, Poland, Latvia, Mexico and Canada.
Joe Giron/IMPDI
Humberto Brenes finished fifth in the $25,000 high-rollers event.
Those with big bankrolls who didn't make it past Day 2 in the main event had the option to ante up in the $25,000 high-rollers event, which began Wednesday. Forty-eight players bought in, and almost every name was familiar to those who follow the poker tour. When play concluded late Thursday night, Bertrand "Elky" Grospellier won his second title in two years at PCA, outlasting a final table that included Humberto Brenes, Daniel Alaei, Eli Elezra and Nick Schulman. Grospellier earned $433,500, clearly starting the year on the right foot.
Finally, the 2009 World Championship of Battleship Poker will conclude Friday. The $2,000 event is a heads-up tournament with players facing off online at PokerStars, but directly in front of each other. The final match, between Jared Bleznick (who defeated Sorel Mizzi in the semifinals) and Bahbak Oboodi (who defeated Richard Gryko) will be played Friday evening.
World Poker Tour Reaches 100
When Chino Rheem won the Doyle Brunson Five Diamond Poker Classic at the Bellagio in late December, the World Poker Tour reached a significant milestone: the 100th millionaire. However, Rheem became not No. 100, but No. 101, as Justin Young (now with $1,034,810 in career earnings) became lucky 100.
For many of these players, it took only one win to reach the million-dollar mark. I went through the list and picked out a few of its more interesting members:
Andreas Walnum -- Walnum won the Festa Al Lago in 2006 to qualify for this list. Lifetime, Walnum only has six cashes at any venue.
Bill Gazes -- Gazes has never won an event, but through nine cashes in WPT main events, he's reached $1.2 million.
David Minto and Eric Brenes -- Minto won the Party Poker Million in Season 2, while Brenes won the Aruba Poker Classic in Season 3. Both top prizes: $1 million exactly.
WSOP
Peter Eastgate, as the reigning WSOP champion, will receive an automatic bid into the NHUPC.
National Heads-Up Poker Championship TV schedule announced
Presented by GoDaddy.com, the National Heads-Up Poker Championship will be broadcast on NBC April 12 through May 17. For six consecutive Sundays, the tournament, held in March, will appear on NBC for the fourth consecutive year.
The tournament's selection committee announced last year the criteria for players to earn automatic entries into the event. Among those receiving automatic bids into the bracket of 64 are Chris Ferguson, Paul Wasicka, Peter Eastgate, John Juanda, Ted Forrest, Ivan Demidov, Erick Lindgren, Jerry Yang, Jamie Gold and others.
Small blinds: The Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue will feature professional poker player Vanessa Rousso. … John Phan became the unanimous player of the year, winning both the Cardplayer and Bluff magazine honors. … Tom Dwan has challenged the poker world to a heads-up battle. Dwan has put up $1.5 million of his own money to the $500,000 of anyone who can beat him over 50,000 hands of $200/$400 hold 'em. Phil Ivey and Patrik Antonius have already stated their intentions to play Dwan. … Baseball players were at the felt a few weeks ago playing in an invitational tournament thrown by Eddie Guardado. The winner? Frank Thomas. Guess the "Big Hurt" knows his poker. … Hevad Khan won the $2,000 tournament at PCA on Friday for $200,000. I wonder if he celebrated …
Poker
