brad berman - Minnesota Poker Magazine
Transcription
brad berman - Minnesota Poker Magazine
Minnesota’s #1 Poker Source december 2009 INSIDE Tournament Results | 12 Statewide Tournament Schedule | 28 Bar League Standings | 30 PLUS FALL POKER CLASSIC COVEAGE DRESCH DOMINATES HPT MN 2010 PLAYER OF THE YEAR MAKING HISTORY: BRAD BERMAN Captures 2nd FPC MAIN EVENT TITLE MINNESOTA STATE POKER TOUR LAUNCH, DEC. 9–14 MINNESOTA STATE POKER TOUR LAUNCH, DEC. 9–14 Minnesota Poker Magazine page 4 december 2009 From the Publisher ARE YOU THE BEST PLAYER IN MINNESOTA? N ow is your chance to prove it! Beginning January 1, 2010, Minnesota Poker Magazine will implement the Minnesota Player of the Year race. As most of you know, I spend a ton of time in card rooms and at poker tournaments here in Minnesota. I’ve gotten to know several hundred poker players across this great state on a first name (or nickname) basis. Everywhere I go, the great debate remains—and players love to discuss the topic—who is the best? We have a ton of world-class players who play here, there’s no doubt about that. Some players play an occasional tournament, run hot, take one down and disappear. But to me that doesn’t prove anything. I don’t believe I’d get much of an argument when I say that to be the best in poker you need to be consistent over a longer period of time with a legitimate sample size. I also get emails regularly from out-state players letting me know that there are great players in their card rooms and these players don’t get enough recognition. And that’s probably true. So the goal here in creating a Minnesota Player of the Year competition was to 1.) make sure there was a large enough sample size and 2.) make sure all players statewide have the opportunity to participate and win. We have worked with several Poker Room and Casino personnel to determine a list of events statewide that will be eligible for POY points (see page 5 for a complete listing). We have over 500 tournaments currently point-eligible. Several locations will be hosting a weekly event, so there should be no issue finding opportunities to accumulate points. Please note that this list is subject to change at Minnesota Poker Magazine’s discretion throughout the year. It is also the host casino’s responsibility to submit results for those player’s points to be awarded. We also interviewed several players across the state to get a feel for what players are looking for in a fair scoring system. Obviously it is important that the larger events, in terms of both buy-in and number of players, count for more points. At the same time, our intent is not to have a player win one large event and win the Player of the Year off one performance. So here’s what we’ve come up with for year 1, 2010: First, players will be awarded points based on where they finish in a specific tournament and based on the total number of players who cash in that tournament. For example, if 9 players are awarded a cash, then 1st place receives 9 points, 2nd place 8 points, etc. If the total number of entrants in a tournament are small enough that only 5 players cash, then 1st place is 5 points, 2nd is 4 points, etc. This allows us to take into consideration the size of the field when awarding points. We will not award points to more than 15% of the total field. This way a tournament of 30 entrants can’t award 10 players points, the cap would be 5 places. Second, we will utilize a multiplier based on the buy-in level. The multiplier chart is shown on page 5. For example, the majority of the weekly tournaments are under $199 buy-in. In this instance they would be pointfor-point with a 1x multiplier. But let’s say you were to take 3rd place in a $1,000 buy-in Minnesota State Poker Tour event. Let’s also assume the number of entrants in that event allows for 18 places to be paid. For your 3rd place finish you would receive 16 points multiplied by 2.5x ($1,000 buy-in) for a total of 40 POY points. We will list updated standings in each issue of Minnesota Poker Magazine beginning March, 2010. We will also post updated standings on MNPokerMag.com. Hope all of you enjoy! Let’s see who is the best once and for all! Good Luck! Vol. 1/No. 7 President and Publisher Bryan Mileski [email protected] Editor and Publisher Phil Mackey [email protected] Art Director Carolyn Borgen [email protected] Contributing Writers Brandon Mileski Jacob Westlin Advertising Information Bryan Mileski 612-743-9847 [email protected] Story Ideas [email protected] Our Mission Minnesota Poker Magazine is a monthly publication dedicated to serving poker players and gaming facilities through industry news, statewide tournament schedules, player profiles and professional tips. Coupled with our website, www. MNPokerMag.com, we are “Minnesota’s #1 Poker Source.” Minnesota Poker Magazine Lakeville, MN 612-743-9847 – Bryan Mileski MNPOKERMAG.COM page 6 Minnesota Poker Magazine december 2009 Player Profile Meyers Winning Money ‘oncommand’ By phil mackey B PM: As it stands, you are essentially one of the best online poker players in the world right now. Certainly top 200 or 100, maybe better. Hard to quantify. Does that sound odd or surreal to you at all? Or is it expected? BM: I think a little of both, although at this point I expect it more because I have been working really hard lately. PM: In September you took 6th in a World Championship of Online Poker event for $41k, and a few days earlier you took 2nd in a PokerStars $250k Guaranteed Sunday tourney for $68k, outlasting Jovial Gent (Yevgeniy Timoshenko). What was that week like for you? Minnesota Poker Magazine BM: That week was incredible. The whole month of September was great. I wish September never ended. Looking back at those two tournaments, following busting out from each of them, I was pretty disappointed, because I mean you want to finish first and it wasn't until the following day you realize that the money is nice. Timoshenko is obviously an incredibly talented poker player with plenty of big wins under his belt, so he is going to be confident deep in tournaments. He’s never someone you like seeing at your table, but I just tried to accumulate chips from weaker spots and not get involved with him too much. PM: How many hours are you putting in online each week? And how many tournaments do you play in a day? BM: I'm putting in around 50 hours a week and about 25-30 tournaments a day. randon Meyers, known online as “NoraJean” and “oncommand” is among the best online multi-table tournament players in the world. PocketFives.com currently ranks him as the best online player in Minnesota, and 53rd in the entire world. OfficialPokerRankings.com ranks him 59th in the world. I met Meyers at the Fall Poker Classic Main Event in late October, where he spent the majority of day one wearing a purple, hooded sweatshirt, sitting behind a fat stack of chips. He eventually made it to day two before busting out in 13th place. Meyers is young, confident, and he’s never held a traditional day job. He moved to Las Vegas at the age of 21 and grinded professionally at casinos until age 25. One year later, after moving back to Minnesota, Meyers has had ridiculous success playing online multi-table tournaments. Meyers sat down with Minnesota Poker Magazine to talk about his success on the cyberfelt. Phil Mackey (PM): You’ve netted roughly $200k in multi-table tourneys in 2009. How long have you been crushing like this, and did you ever think you’d be making this much money playing poker? Brandon Meyers (BM): My online tournament success basically just started at the conclusion of the 2009 WSOP. That’s when I started grinding high stakes multi-table tourneys. I expected to make this much money from poker, but for a long time I thought it would come out of the traditional casino setting and not from online poker tournaments. december 2009 PM: What about cash games? BM: I play $5/10 no-limit and $10/20 no-limit in Vegas and LA here and there. PM: You obviously went deep in the FPC Main Event at Canterbury. Do you play many live tourneys? Do you plan to play more? BM: I play live tournaments from time to time. I plan to go to some of the major live events such as the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, LA Poker Classic and WSOP. Brandon Meyers Profile Screen Names: NoraJean and oncommand Age: 26 Resides: Crystal, MN Family: Married with 11-month-old son Turned Pro: Age 21 College: One year at Methodist College and one year at UNLV Past Day Jobs: None 2009 Gross Tournament Winnings: $566,000 MNPOKERMAG.COM PM: What is your overall gameplan in online tournaments? Tight early, aggressive late? Are you three-betting often and putting pressure on others? Explain. BM: Tight, aggro early, far more aggressive when antes kick in is my general theory. I like trying to find someone at my table early that I can really exploit and try to play pots with them while the stacks are deep relative to the blinds. Then when the antes kick in I try to steal the blinds as often as my table will allow. I would say I three-bet quite often compared to most, because I feel like people don't adjust properly to getting three-bet frequently. This creates many profitable situations for me. The vast majority of my threebetting is happening once there are antes. PM: Do you have friends and/or fellow players that you bounce information off of? Or training sites/forums? Or are you more self-taught? BM: I have talked a lot of poker over the years with my brother in law, the 2006 WPT Champion, Joe Bartholdi. When I first started playing no-limit cash games at the Bellagio he kind of took me under his wing, and that obviously has had a tremendously positive impact on my poker game. Also, more recently I have been talking a lot of poker with Ken Liu, who is one of the best limit hold-em players in the world. He has done a good job of playing devils advocate when discussing situations and challenging me to think about them at a higher level. page 7 Crushing In 2009 Date Tournament Place Cash 9.13.09 PokerStars $250K 2 $67,910 9.17.09 PokerStars WCOOP 36 6 $41,280 10.3.09 PokerStars $60K 1 $24,609 9.8.09 Full Tilt $50K 1 $22,858 7.13.09 PokerStars $60K 1 $19,352 8.5.09 Full Tilt $50K 1 $18,075 7.22.09 Full Tilt $75K 2 $17,877 9.8.09 PokerStars $40K 1 $15,750 10.26.09 PokerStars $35K 1 $13,013 9.18.09 Full Tilt $50K 3 $10,918 9.29.09 Full Tilt $33K rebuy 1 $10,860 10.13.09 Full Tilt $40K 2 $10,234 11.6.09 Full Tilt $75K 3 $9,466 8.13.09 Full Tilt $75K 3 $9,348 8.28.09 PokerStars $40K 2 $8,019 I am a Cardrunners member, although I have watched very few of their tournament videos. I also spend a lot of time on my own thinking about poker and what adjustments I might need to make to get me to the next level. PM: What are your thoughts on banks complying with the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) on December 1st? Does it make you nervous about being able to transfer funds? BM: Yeah, I mean I'm not to thrilled about this. I haven't really thought too much about what’s going to happen, but I hope it doesn't have too huge of a negative affect on the game. Poker has gotten tough enough over the past four years, and I don't think this will help promote or get new people playing. PM: What are your poker ambitions? Are you eventually looking for more exposure? Or are you content with how things are right now? BM: I want to dominate high stakes multi-table tourneys, both live and online, and if more exposure comes along with that, great. And if not, I guess I will just be rich instead of rich and famous. MNPOKERMAG.COM Minnesota Poker Magazine page 8 local december 2009 1. Black Bear Casino Carlton, MN www.blackbearcasinoresort.com card rooms 2.Canterbury Park Shakopee, MN www.canterburypark.com 3.Diamond Jo Casino Northwood, IA www.diamondjoworth.com 4. Fortune Bay Casino Tower, MN www.fortunebay.com 4 11 • Bemidji • Moorhead 8 6.Grand Casino—Mille Lacs Onamia, MN www.grandcasinomn.com 14 • Duluth 94 1 5 94 12 10 Mpls/St. Paul 2 1. Shooting Star Casino 1 Mahnomen, MN www.starcasino.com 13 • Mankato 35 90 90 3 9. Prairie's Edge Casinio Granite Falls, MN www.prairiesedgecasino.com 0. Running Aces Harness Park 1 Columbus, MN www.runningacesharness.com 94 9 7. Jackpot Junction Casino Morton, MN www.jackpotjunction.com 8. Northern Lights Casino Walker, MN www.northernlightscasino.com 35 6 7 5. Grand Casino—Hinckley Hinckley, MN www.grandcasinomn.com 2. St. Croix Casino 1 Turtle Lake, WI www.stcroixcasino.com 3. Treasure Island Casino 1 Welch, MN www.treasureislandcasino.com 4. White Oak Casino 1 Deer River, MN www.whiteoakcasino.com MNPOKERMAG.COM page 10 Minnesota Poker Magazine december 2009 Tournament Scene Dresch Wins Back-to-Back HPT Events Jeremy Dresch makes local poker history with HPT wins at Shooting Star and Meskwaki By Minnesota Poker Magazine Staff Jeremy Dresch, a 35-year-old gas station owner from Fridley, MN, is taking the Midwest poker scene by storm. After grinding his way to a 5th-place finish in the Fall Poker Classic Main Event at the end of October, Dresch pulled off the impossible by winning back-to-back Heartland Poker Tour events in November at Shooting Star Casino in Mahnomen, MN and Meskwaki Casino in Tama, IA. Dresch is the only player in HPT history to win multiple events. Including his FPC final table, Dresch’s total winnings after this incredible run exceed $140,000. Minnesota Poker Magazine (MPM): Have you put this in perspective at all yet? As far as local poker goes, this is unprecedented. Jeremy Dresch (JD): It’s a sick, sick, sick run for sure. I mean, obviously I had to get lucky to do what I did three consecutive tournaments. But I played pretty good too. I always expected that at some point I would get a win in a tournament. I went deep in a lot of tournaments and cashed for $10k, $9k, $20k. I always expected that I would win a tournament. I never, ever in a million years would suspect that three consecutive weeks I would go as deep as I have and win back-to-back weeks. You don’t think something like that could ever happen. MPM: Do you play online too? And if so, how often? JD: I do. Depends how I’m running. If I’m running good I’ll play 100 hours a week. If not, 20. My favorite games are Omaha or Omaha 8. Usually when I play online those are the cash games I play. I pretty much only play cash online, just Omaha games. MPM: The HPT extended their Shooting Star and Meskwaki Main Events to two days. The FPC Main Event is also two days. How do those longer-structured tournaments help your game? JD: Both HPT tournaments I was short-stacked. I was able to just grind away. When other people get short and they see an ace, they push. I was able to wait for more premium hands, even though I didn’t get them all day at Meskwaki. But just the fact that I didn’t absolutely have to get my money in bad, I was able to wait and wait and wait and then get Minnesota Poker Magazine december 2009 MPM: Talk about the Fall Poker Classic final table. You ran pocket tens into pocket queens to bust fifth and seemed pretty frustrated, obviously. JD: There was some really good players. Obviously (Mike) Pickett and (Brad) Berman are two of the best. I don’t think I’m as good as either of those two players, but I definitely thought if I could get a chip stack I could have done some damage. I just never got any cards. I was stealing, stealing, and I thought I caught a hand, and when I did catch a hand I run into queens. MPM: Did you have plans to play in both HPT events all along? JD: No. Actually, I didn’t even plan on playing the Main Event at Canterbury, but the day before, me and my friend were playing the horses and hit a Pick Six for like $2,500. I decided, OK, I’m going to play the Canterbury tournament. Then I did well at Canterbury, so I wanted to go up and play the HPT tournament (at Shooting Star). A sick, sick run of luck. One thing led to another. MPM: Were there any scenarios where you needed a miracle to stay alive in any of these tournaments? Or was it smooth sailing? JD: The Iowa tournament, I don’t think I got my money in bad once. But the Shooting Star tournament, we were down to three players. There was about exactly $3 million in chips and all three of us had $1 million each. I was in the small blind, it folded to me, and I had pocket fives. I think the blinds at that time were $20/40k. I made it $100k, and the big blind made it $300k. I put him all in, and he had to call with 10,10. I hit the miracle 5, 2, 2 flop. That was a $40,000 suckout. MPM: What’s your plan heading forward? Are you going to use this as momentum to play in bigger events? Jeremy Dresch, Shooting Star HPT Champion a sick run of cards when you get down to 30 people. That’s what you need to do to win tournaments. Two tournaments in a row my cards were running real good when we got down to 30 people. MPM: A lot of people are going to read about your accomplishment and say, “How in the world did this guy do what he did?” JD: When I got a big chip stack I definitely ran over the tables. I think you’ll see, when they show it on TV, but the Shooting Star event I raised like 16 of the first 20 hands. At the Iowa tournament, when it got down to six players, I think I had three-bet seven times at the final table. Only one other guy did it once and he had aces. I was running over the table for sure, but if I don’t have a big chip stack I’m just the opposite. I’m super tight, just trying to survive, waiting for that card run. MNPOKERMAG.COM page 11 Dresch, Meskwaki Casino HPT Champion JD: Playing the bigger $10,000 buy-in tournaments just so much tougher. Every table you run into you’re going to run into three, four, five pros minimum. So I don’t think that’s in my plans. I’ll probably go play the WSOP Main Event this year for sure, I’ve never played the Main Event before. So that’s something next year that I’ll do. Otherwise I’ll just stick to the $1,000 buy-ins with the weaker fields. I have a better chance. Results: Shooting Star Casino, Mahnomen, MN Results: Meskwaki Casino, Tama, IA Oct. 31–Nov. 1, 2009 Buy-in: $1,100; Main Event: 198 Nov. 7 - Nov. 8, 2009 Buy-in: $1,100; Main Event: 253 Finish Name Location 1 Jeremy Dresch Fridley, MN 2 Dan Zogman 3 Cash Finish Name Location $55,490 1 Jeremy Dresch Fridley, MN $71,705 McHenry, IL $27,745 2 Arkie Utsinger Canton, IL $35,852 Jason Sanderson Bemidji, MN $16,647 3 Dennis Hasley North English, IA $21,511 4 Brian Johnson Grand Forks, ND $12,998 4 Brandon Steen Waterloo, IA $16,731 5 Ray Bendijo Ramsey, MN $11,098 5 Roger Coates Mineral Point, WI $14,341 6 Lorne Persons Altoona, WI $9,248 6 Dave Carey Marion, IA $11,951 MNPOKERMAG.COM Cash Minnesota Poker Magazine page 12 december 2009 Tournament Results Canterbury Park Date: Oct 2 Buy-in: Type: NL Entrants: Rank Name City 1 Suprena Kretchman 2 Shaun Warburton 3 Mark Schubbe $30 125 Amount $ 1,085 713 525 Canterbury Park Date: Oct 28 Buy-in: Type: NL Entrants: Rank Name City 1 Tim Votava 2 "Fish"Gardner 3 Pat "The Referee" $150 52 Amount $ 2,275 1,500 1,120 Date: Oct 30 Type: NL Rank Name 1 "Fish" Gardner 2 Scott Sell 3 Bogie Man $30 66 Amount $ 575 376 277 Canterbury Park Date: Oct 31 Buy-in: Type: NL Entrants: Rank Name City 1 Kevin Anderson 2 "Magic" Leshovsky 3 Damian Scaccia $150 50 Amount $ 2,625 1,575 1,200 Canterbury Park Date: Oct 7 Buy-in: Type: NL Entrants: Rank Name City 1 "Fish" Gardner 2 Suprena Kretchman 3 Brice Campbell $30 79 Amount $ 687 450 332 Grand Casino - Mille Lacs Date: Oct 6 Buy-in: Type: NL Entrants: Rank Name City 1 Larry Christensen Brainerd 2 Carol Nelson Osakis 3 Dwayne Ratfield Mille Lacs $50 65 Amount $ 1,200 715 455 Canterbury Park Date: Oct 24 Buy-in: Type: NL Entrants: Rank Name City 1 Tom Marsland 2 Jay Durant 3 Darren Mathweg $150 42 Amount $ 2,835 1,575 945 Grand Casino - Mille Lacs Date: Oct 10 Buy-in: Type: NL Entrants: Rank Name City 1 Dave Sutton Royalton 2 Phil Berger St. Cloud 3 Tom Jones Foley $330 17 Amount $ 1,940 1,280 870 $30 135 Amount $ 1,172 770 567 Grand Casino - Mille Lacs Date: Oct 13 Buy-in: Type: NL Entrants: Rank Name City 1 Dan Smith 2 Adam Krantz 3 Raymond Johanson $50 60 Amount $ 1,110 660 420 Date: Oct 3 Type: NL Rank Name 1 Matt Neutz 2 Jim Fisher 3 Brice Campbell Date: Oct 5 Type: NL Rank Name 1 "Fish" Gardner 2 Art Wiss 3 Daniel Henkel Date: Oct 25 Type: NL Rank Name 1 Barb Graham 2 Nate Patterson 3 Steve Wentzel Canterbury Park Buy-in: Entrants: City Canterbury Park Buy-in: Entrants: City Canterbury Park Buy-in: Entrants: City Canterbury Park Date: Oct 25 Buy-in: Type: NL Entrants: Rank Name City 1 Ming 2 Robert Simmons 3 Mark Hollenberger $80 26 Amount $ 700 460 350 Canterbury Park Date: Oct 26 Buy-in: Type: NL Entrants: Rank Name City 1 "Fish" Gardner 2 Darren Schachenmeyer 3 Matt Kulczcki $30 54 Amount $ 469 308 227 Date: Oct 28 Type: NL Rank Name 1 Todd Doornink 2 Tom Marsland 3 Jeff Schultz Also receive 33% Rakeback with promo code mnpokermag Canterbury Park Buy-in: Entrants: City $200 46 Amount $ 2,740 1,795 1,350 $30 83 Amount $ 721 473 349 New Floor Shine. Anytime! Dustless. Odorless. Done in One Day. ™ 877-300-BUFF • www.buffandcoat.com Canterbury Park Buy-in: Entrants: City $30 74 Amount $ 643 422 311 $1.25 sq. ft. MNPOKERMAG.COM Call today to learn about our Spring Cleaning Special! Minnesota Poker Magazine page 14 december 2009 Tournament Results $140 17 Amount $ 840 555 375 Date: Oct 1 Type: B.A.R Rank Name 1 Matthew Harris 2 Rochne Tibbetts 3 Jim Balk Grand Casino - Mille Lacs Date: Oct 29 Buy-in: Type: NL Entrants: Rank Name City 1 Corey Feld St. Joseph 2 Chris Nieters St. Cloud 3 Bob Haehn Royalton $60 45 Amount $ 775 460 295 Treasure Island Date: Oct 4 Buy-in: Type: NL Entrants: Rank Name City 1 Thomas Miller Hastings 2 Leon Lussier Minneapolis 3 Joseph Labrosse Inver Grove Heights $50 24 Amount $ 461 230 154 Grand Casino - Mille Lacs Date: Oct 30 Buy-in: Type: NL Entrants: Rank Name City 1 Jason Bichler Clearwater 2 Frank Gentile Alexandria 3 Jim Fleming Cushing $140 18 Amount $ 890 585 400 Treasure Island Date: Oct 7 Buy-in: Type: NL Entrants: Rank Name City 1 Adam Feldman Wyomissing, PA 2 Harry Mathison Hastings 3 Daniel Sandberg Rochester $60 54 Amount $ 1,148 689 459 Grand Casino - Mille Lacs Date: Oct 31 Buy-in: Type: NL Entrants: Rank Name City 1 Jim Fleming Cushing 2 Frank Gentile Alexandria 3 Larry Lindroth Onamia $110 16 Amount $ 720 480 240 Date: Oct 12 Type: NL Rank Name 1 Bryan Young 2 Fran Kenow 3 Bill Parker Running Aces Date: Oct 17 Buy-in: Type: NL Entrants: Rank Name City 1 Burk Veazui 2 Dutch Brown 3 Daryl Windingstad $340 23 Amount $ 2,605 1,675 1,335 Treasure Island Date: Oct 19 Buy-in: Type: NL Entrants: Rank Name City 1 Jeremiah Devries Eagan 2 Al Ficker Hastings 3 Michael Delis Sandy, UT $180 30 Amount $ 1,745 1,105 755 Date: Oct 26 Type: NL Rank Name 1 Jason Windsor 2 Stan Lokken 3 Dan Dow Date: Oct 20 Type: NL Rank Name 1 Nick Campbell 2 Tim Marcantonio 3 Tony Swanson Date: Oct 24 Type: NL Rank Name 1 Robbie Wazwaz 2 Tom Melander 3 Steve Croggy Date: Oct 27 Type: NL Rank Name 1 Steve Rouse 2 Pete Bigelow 3 Bob Bettle Running Aces Buy-in: Entrants: City Running Aces Buy-in: Entrants: City Running Aces Buy-in: Entrants: City Running Aces Date: Oct 31 Buy-in: Type: NL Entrants: Rank Name City 1 Bob Poznanovich 2 Steve Croggy 3 Burk Veazui Treasure Island Buy-in: Entrants: Grand Casino - Mille Lacs Date: Oct 23 Buy-in: Type: NL Entrants: Rank Name City 1 Ron Imgrund Brainerd 2 Theresa White Minneapolis 3 Leo Fussy St. Cloud $340 25 Amount $ 2,750 1,770 1,440 $180 61 Amount $ 2,500 1,680 1,250 $340 33 Amount $ 3,300 1,900 1,440 MNPOKERMAG.COM City Savage Coon Rapids Red Wing Treasure Island Buy-in: Entrants: City Cottage Grove Prescott, WI West St. Paul Treasure Island Buy-in: Entrants: City Rochester Strum, WI Red Wing $30 18 Amount $ 400 220 100 $110 10 Amount $ 500 300 200 $110 18 Amount $ 900 600 300 $110 21 Amount $ 1,000 785 200 Minnesota Poker Magazine page 16 december 2009 Minnesota Poker Magazine december 2009 Fall Poker Classic Event #1 Event #3 Event #5 NLHE ♣ Buy-In: $300 Sat., Oct. 10 ♣ 281 Entrants Event #2 page 17 Canterbury Park LHE ♣ Buy-In: $300 Sun., Oct. 11 ♣ 70 Entrants Event #7 NLHE ♣ Buy-In: $300 Fri., Oct. 16 ♣ 233 Entrants Event #8 NLHE ♣ Buy-In: $500 Sat., Oct. 17 ♣ 169 Entrants 1 David Dorau $26,981 1 Phil Hernke $7,130 1 Chad Lashinski $22,376 1 Scott Maylin $27,045 2 John Ykema $13,492 2 George Shabatura $4,074 2 Tom Marsland $11,527 2 Steve Krogness $13,934 3 Kent Allen $7,768 3 Ryan Lungstrom $2,546 3 Dustin Drexel $8,136 3 Jay Duran $9,836 4 Larry Barbetta $6,133 4 Alex Rivera $2,037 4 Steve Wold $6,102 4 David Marlow $7,377 5 Robert Rulton $4,906 5 Thao "Scratch" Thiem $1,528 5 Matt Alexander $4,068 5 Dustin Drexel $4,918 6 Eric Hite $4,089 6 Derek McMaster $1,120 6 David Keena $3,390 6 Adam Jefferson $4,098 7 John Nguyen $3,271 7 Jack Armstrong $815 7 Daniel Holthaus $2,712 7 Darren Hendrickson $3,279 8 Jeff Henkel $2,453 8 Tom Rowan $611 8 Harry Cohn $2,034 8 Brian Wiczek $2,459 9 Sam Rubin $1,635 9 Bulut Ozturk $509 9 Jay Slonske $1,356 9 Thao "Scratch" Thiem $1,639 10 Robbie Reagel 10 Robbie Reagel $395 10 Robbie Reagel $395 NLHE ♣ Buy-In: $300 Mon., Oct. 12 ♣ 330 Entrants Event #4 NHLE Battle of the Generations ♣ Buy-In: $150 Generation 'Y' – Born 1980-1991 ♣ 35 Entrants LHE ♣ Buy-In: $200 Tue., Oct. 13 ♣ 93 Entrants 1 Judd Greenagel $21,129 1 Leo Dillenburg $6,176 2 Nathan Laughran $10,563 2 "Guido" Dan Reichow $3,508 3 Michael Reinke $6,082 3 Larry Dick $2,255 4 Paul Kelly $4,802 4 3-Putts $1,804 5 Corey Beness $3,841 5 Bill Starr $1,353 6 Andy Schectman $3,201 6 Ed Chihak $992 7 John Dragich $2,561 7 Miles Dalke $722 8 Ryan Schmitt $1,921 8 Matt Christensen $541 9 Mark Dunbar $1,280 9 Bob Galinson $451 10 Robbie Reagel 10 Robbie Reagel $395 $395 Omaha Hi/Lo 8 ♣ Buy-In: $200 Wed., Oct. 14 ♣ 163 Entrants Event #6 1 2 3 Chaz Giammona Daniel Yi Erik Schultz Buy-In: $200 Thu., Oct. 15 ♣ 314 Entrants 10 Robbie Reagel $1,146 $687 4 Frederick Goodrie $458 5 Johnny Florentine $229 $395 NHLE Battle of the Generations ♣ Buy-In: $150 Generation 'X' – Born 1964-1979 ♣ 114 Entrants $2,063 NHLE Battle of the Generations ♣ Buy-In: $150 Baby Boomers – Born 1963 & Prior ♣ 142 Entrants NLHE ♣ 1 Judd Greenagel $5,225 2 Clayton Findley $2,986 3 Mario Hudson $1,866 4 Referee $1,493 5 Peter Spoden $1,120 6 Bruce Vang $821 7 Jeff Gorton $597 8 Nathan Hernke $448 9 Aaron Aurzada $373 NHLE Battle of the Generations ♣ 9 Entrants Generations Finale - Top 3 From Each Generation 1 Bill Criego $6,135 1 Anatoliy Gonikman 2 Anatoliy Gonikman $3,161 2 Mario Hudson $821 3 David Bloom $2,231 3 Erik Schultz $513 $4,569 4 Dawn Halverson $1,674 4 Daniel Yi $411 $3,655 5 James Stark $1,116 5 Chaz Giammona $308 6 Kenneth Fields $930 6 Bill Criego $226 7 Greg Yohn $744 7 David Bloom $164 $1,218 8 Howard Halladay $558 8 Judd Greenagel $123 $395 9 Larry Krohn $372 9 Clayton Findley $103 1 Frank Hough $10,437 1 Jeff Viergutz $20,100 2 Chris Tryba $5,376 2 Andrew Johnson $10,051 3 Rick Danz $3,795 3 Jeff Munn $5,787 4 Jeff Havenor $2,846 4 Joe Brodsky 5 Steven Rinker $1,897 5 Elizabeth Austad 6 Donna Ditto $1,581 6 Daniel Roach $3,046 7 Gregory Pratt $1,265 7 Carl Browder $2,437 8 Jamys Williams $949 8 John Schmitz $1,827 9 Daniel Gilbert $632 9 Wade Vrieze 10 Robbie Reagel $395 10 Robbie Reagel MNPOKERMAG.COM $395 MNPOKERMAG.COM $1,437 Minnesota Poker Magazine page 18 december 2009 december 2009 Minnesota Poker Magazine Fall Poker Classic Event #9 Event #11 Ladies NLHE ♣ Buy-In: $100 Sun., Oct. 18 ♣ 109 Entrants Canterbury Park Stud ♣ Buy-In: $200 Sun., Oct. 18 ♣ 64 Entrants 1 Jessica Krejce $3,700 1 Fred McCabe 2 Duyen Pham $2,115 2 Daniel "Guido" Reichow $2,483 3 Linda Cichanowski $1,322 3 William Shalhoob $1,614 4 Linda Garbett $1,057 4 Tony Hartmann $1,366 5 Claudia Bearman $793 5 Carlos Requena $993 6 Jacelyn Palmer $582 6 Ernie Lessard $683 7 Vickie Olson $423 7 Matthew Wright $559 8 Armandi Arroyo $317 8 Robert Hewitt $372 9 Michele Murphy $264 9 Pete Bigelow $595 10 Robbie Reagel $395 10 Robbie Reagel NLHE ♣ Buy-In: $200 Mon., Oct. 19 ♣ 256 Entrants Event #12 $4,346 $395 NLHE ♣ Buy-In: $300 Tue., Oct. 20 ♣ 185 Entrants 1 Rich Alsup $16,388 1 Ryan Schmitt 2 Stephen Beining $8,195 2 Doug Fink $9,152 3 Brian Ward $4,718 3 Alec Anderson $6,460 4 Nicolas Restrepo $3,725 4 Graham Harrower $4,845 5 Michael Abraham $2,980 5 Johnny Florentine $3,230 6 Michelle Schell $2,483 6 John Olson $2,692 7 Ronald Pepper $1,987 7 Roger Britton $2,153 8 Adam Rubinger $1,490 8 Steve Mohs $1,615 9 Peum Khamlathanom $993 9 Jeff Mowery $1,077 $395 10 Robbie Reagel 10 Robbie Reagel Event #13 Event #10 NLHE ♣ Buy-In: $500 Wed., Oct. 21 ♣ 142 Entrants Event #15 $17,769 $395 NLHE ♣ Buy-In: $200 Fri., Oct. 23 ♣ 186 Entrants 1 Tony Lazar $22,725 1 Scott Axtell 2 Naser Alkhatib $11,708 2 Peun Khamlathanom $6,134 3 James Lohmer $8,264 3 Dale Franke $4,330 4 Quon Tran $6,198 4 Nicolas Restrepo $3,248 5 Jon Ashton $4,132 5 Chris Norbeck $2,165 6 Dan Favreau $3,444 6 Toan Pham $1,804 7 Ryan Gatrel $2,755 7 Tom Burandt $1,443 8 James Erickson $2,066 8 Eloise Mulholland $1,083 9 Jason Haire $1,377 9 Londan Hermunson $722 10 Robbie Reagel 10 Robbie Reagel $395 $395 MNPOKERMAG.COM page 19 $11,906 Berman Wins Second Career Fall Poker Classic Title Brad Berman etches place in Minnesota poker history by becoming first player to win two FPC Main Event titles By Bryan Mileski and Phil Mackey B rad Berman pulled off a task that no other player in Minnesota has ever accomplished, winning his second career Fall Poker Classic Main Event title. If he wasn’t already regarded as one of the best tournament players in the state, this feat certainly vaults him to the top of that list. Berman, who first won the FPC Main Event in 2006 for $116,977, earned $74,901 this time around, outlasting a 234-player field that included many of the best players Minnesota has to offer. Berman is the son of World Poker Tour Chairman of the Board Lyle Berman, and he has pocketed nearly $1 million in his live tournament career, including a 2004 WPT TV final table. “I would say the two Fall Poker Classics (are more special) because winning is everything,” Berman said. “Fourth, even though it was more money, it’s different when you win.” The path to glory wasn’t always smooth. Berman sat at a final table that included chip leader Mike Pickett, who won a WSOP Circuit Event in 2008, Jeremy Dresch, who eventually went on to win back-to-back Heartland Poker Tour events in November, and Don Eagen, who is a professional player from Fargo, ND. Berman’s strategy at the final table, and throughout the entire tournament, was simple; he stole blinds and re-stole chips from open-raisers by playing perfect push/fold poker. Berman Cripples Eagen Early Eventual runner-up Don Eagen came into the final table as one of the short stacks, but he did a masterful job of accumulating chips without any showdowns. Berman was fairly healthy heading into the final table, at least relative to the other stacks, but he played patiently and essentially only opened pots with all-in shoves preflop. With six players left, after buying the blinds a few times without showing his cards, Berman’s all-in shove was finally called by the K8 of Kevin Reichel. Berman showed A6 and it held, sending Reichel to the rail. More importantly, however, the suspicion of the other five remaining players was confirmed; Berman had a tendency to Brad Berman, 2-time Champion Main Event NLHE ♣ Buy-In: $1,000 + $100 Thu., Oct. 22 ♣ 234 Entrants 1 Brad Berman $74,901 2 Don Eagen $38,587 3 David Bashel $27,238 4 Mike Pickett $20,428 5 Jeremy Dresch $13,619 6 Kevin Reichel $11,349 7 Lane Skinner $9,079 8 Steve Hammerschmidt $6,809 9 Darren Childs $4,540 10 Mark Dunbar $2,270 11 John Dragich $2,270 12 John Alexander $2,270 13 Brandon Meyers $2,270 14 Mark Sandness $2,270 15 Jay Durant $2,270 16 Tim Olson $2,270 17 David Abranowicz $2,270 18 John Ryan $2,270 MNPOKERMAG.COM Minnesota Poker Magazine page 20 december 2009 december 2009 Minnesota Poker Magazine Fall Poker Classic range. It turned out it wasn’t.” The board brought no help, and Eagen found himself with under $200k. After David Bashel’s QQ busted the 10-10 of Jeremy Dresch, the chip stacks looked like this: Mike Pickett – $1.4 mil David Bashel – $1.2 mil Brad Berman – $660k Don Eagen – $160k Blinds – $15/30k Eagen Comes Back From The Dead Things looked pretty bleak for Eagen after losing to Berman’s jacks, but he refused to throw in the towel. He waited for a playable hand before shoving all in with Q♦9♦ against Berman’s A♠8♥, and after turning a straight, Eagen was back up over $300k. Two hands later, Eagen picked up AA and doubled through Bashel’s AQ to move back over $600k. “I never really had a thought that I wouldn’t have a chance to take it down, until I’m signing a piece of paper some place else,” Eagen said. “If I’ve got chips, I’ve got a chance. When I lost versus Brad and I was crippled, it was basically, ‘aright, let’s come back, get my money in, and see what happens.’” Meanwhile, Berman, who dropped down below $550k after doubling up Eagen, went back to work. He worked his stack up to $900k without showing down, and despite his relatively loose image, the other three players were reluctant to call Berman’s all-in bets. Pickett is a star on the rise Mike Pickett, 25, from Little Canada, MN, held a chip lead for the majority of the Fall Poker Classic Main Event, but eventually exited in 4th place, earning $20,428. During his young career, Pickett has won more than $300,000 in live tournaments, including an FPC preliminary event win in 2006, and a WSOP Circuit Event title in February, 2008 against a final table that included Gavin Smith and Lee Watkinson. The Fall of Pickett Pickett has six career FPC cashes as well as two World Series of Poker cashes shove all in preflop with a wide range of hands. But Berman, being an experienced poker veteran, knew this as well, and he was able to capitalize on his loose image a short while later. As he had done numerous times previously, Berman shoved all in on the button for $330k with blinds at 15/30k. Eagan, who had Berman slightly covered, went into the tank in the big blind before eventually calling with A7 off-suit. Berman turned over JJ. “That’s a marginal call at best,” Eagen said. “But it was just the perfect opportunity for him to get his money in anyways with any two paint, whatever he looks down at. Any pair. So A7 I thought was at least coinflipping against his Pickett built a massive chip stack during the middle stages of the first day of this two-day main event, and he stayed at the top of the leaderboard even as play reached 4-handed. Things seemed to be rolling along extremely smoothly for the young gun. He stole blinds effortlessly and had full control over the final table all evening. In what turned out to be one of the key hands of the entire tournament, Pickett made a standard button raise with the blinds at $20/40k only to have Bashel move all in from the big blind for $700k. Pickett, who had $1.4 million before the hand, thought about his decision for several moments before making the call. Bashel hung his head and conceded he was behind, flipping up KQ. Pickett turned over AJ—a good call, but Bashel still had two live cards. One of those live cards, a K, fell on the river, much to the dismay of Pickett’s cheering section that included notable local pro Cody Slaubaugh. David Bashel – $1.5 mil Brad Berman – $1 mil Mike Pickett – $650k MNPOKERMAG.COM page 21 Canterbury Park Don Eagen – $420k Blinds – $20/40k On the very next hand, Pickett moved all in with A10, but Bashel woke up with AK in the small blind. The board brought no help, and Pickett was eliminated in 4th place. The Final Flurry Bashel’s large chip lead didn’t last long. After losing a massive coin flip with JJ to Berman’s AQ, Bashel lost another coinflip to Eagen’s 10-10, this time with AJ. This dropped Bashel back to $600k, with Berman ballooning to nearly $2 million. Eagen, who seemingly had remained on life support since losing that big pot to Berman with five players left, made yet another short-stacked button shove with K6. He was called by the A10 of Berman, but when a King spiked on the river, Eagen put his hands to his head in disbelief. Eagen’s A7 would bust Bashel’s K9 a few minutes later, leaving only two men standing: Eagen – $1.8 mil Berman – $1.6 mil Blinds – $20/40k The two men wasted no time building an enormous, tournament-deciding pot. On a flop of 8♦A♦J♣, Eagen bet $160k into a $300k pot. Berman raised all in for more than $1.4 million and Eagen made the call. Berman turned over Q♦3♦ for a flush draw, and Eagen turned over A♣10♠ for top pair. The 9♥ fell on the turn, leaving Eagen one card away from the FPC title, but the J♦ on the river gave Berman a flush. “My main thought was that we were going to end up gambling and sticking it in, and one of us was going to win and one of us was going to lose,” Berman said. “He played very well and I got lucky to hit a flush on him. But he hit a King on me earlier, so all’s fair in love and war.” Berman would finish the job moments later when his JJ held up over Eagen’s J7, becoming the first man to win two Fall Poker Classic Main Event titles. Greenagel wins two FPC events Judd Greenagel rode the momentum of a final table appearance at the Midwest Poker Classic Main Event and turned it into two victories at the Fall Poker Classic—event #3 and Battle of the Generations event #1 (Generation X). Not a bad month for the co-owner of Chippy Poker. “I’m feeling pretty good when I sit down at the table right now,” Greenagel said. “I haven’t been playing too much poker lately and that has enabled me to be a bit more focused when I do play. If I play too many tournaments, I personally feel like I am not as sharp as if I only play once in a while. It’s funny though, you can usually ask me before a tournament starts how I am going to do, and if I am just not mentally focused on being there all day I will tell you, “It looks like a short day today” or I might tell you, “I’ll be here a while today” and more often than not I am right.” Interestingly enough, Greenagel, who won the first ever Heartland Poker Tour event in 2005, said he didn’t even feel like playing in the Generation X tournament, but bought in anyways. “I know it sounds ridiculous, but I was kind of going through the motions early on,” he said. “The problem was I kept acquiring more chips. When we were down to about 40 players I thought to myself that I should get serious now, as I had about 1/4 of the chips in play. From there, I ran hot and took advantage of having a big stack. Just one of those times it all worked out.” MNPOKERMAG.COM page 22 Minnesota Poker Magazine december 2009 december 2009 Minnesota Poker Magazine page 23 Grinder Chronicles When Ranking the Best, Don’t Forget Ungar by Jacob Westlin Don Eagan, second place, Fall Poker Classic David Bashel, third place, Fall Poker Classic Mike Pickett, fourth place, Fall Poker Classic Jeremy Dresch, fifth place, Fall Poker Classic MNPOKERMAG.COM The celebrity status of professional poker players has reached heights once unimaginable in the 1970’s and 80’s. During the pre-media saturated era of these years, poker players like Billy Baxter, Chip Reese, Jack Straus and Amarillo Slim were unglamorously grinding out livings in dimly lit and half-empty poker rooms. As America’s fascination with poker began to heat up, however, and national television coverage became universally accessible, a wave of “new school” card-playing celebrities have become the face of this old and storied tradition. If asked, “Who is the greatest poker player of all time?” your average enthusiast would have a short, predictable list of names, including Doyle Brunson, Phil Ivey, Daniel Negreanu and Phil Hellmuth, and with justifiable reason. The real tragedy of the poker media explosion over the last decade, however, is not who we, as poker players, have chosen to include in our GOAT lists, but rather who we have excluded. Ask poker professional, ambassador, and commentator Mike Sexton who the greatest no-limit holdem player of all time is, and he doesn’t hesitate: “Stu Ungar.” Stu Ungar, a man relatively unknown to today’s tech-savvy twenty-something poker generation, was not only perhaps the greatest poker player of all time, but also led one of the most fascinating and cautionary lives conceivable. Born in New York City in 1953, Stuart Errol Ungar spent a majority of his childhood years in his father’s lower east side social club, acclimating himself to the dangerous but enticing life of boozing and gambling. His father, Ido Ungar, as many bar patrons of his time did, ran a bookie operation out of his establishment. An uneducated man himself, Ido allowed his number-savvy son Stuey to keep the books. It became clear early in Stu’s life that he not only had affection for gambling, but also had a truly remarkable mind for manipulating his own success. Although Ido himself did not gamble, his mother did, and Stu would often find himself rapidly than most adults, he began criticizing his mother’s play. He would tell her to raise, and when she would reply, “But Stu, I don’t have anything,” his answer would be simple, yet indicative of his own future brilliance on the felt: “Yeah, but they don’t know that!” Before this would come to pass, however, Ungar would absolutely master the game of gin rummy. Through his father’s social club, Ungar made lifetime connections to New York City mobsters, and after his father’s passing in 1966, these connections, mainly with crime boss and card-shark Victor Romano, would help keep him safe in the dangerous underground gambling circles. The sharp-minded Romano, apparently having read the entire English dictionary from front to back while in prison, would make side bets with skeptics claiming he could not spell and define a difficult word of his choosing. He would always win. Romano, a true father figure in Ungar’s life, would help set up high stakes gin rummy games with locals certain they could beat the kid. Legend has it, even in his early teenage years Ungar could tell exactly what his opponent held in a gin rummy game after only a handful of discards. Like a studious poker player, he would commit to memory not simply the cards his opponent would pick up, but where in his hand he would place these cards. In addition to being an observational player, however, Ungar had an unrivaled photographic memory. In fact, several years later in Las Vegas, Ungar was offered a bet: after watching a dealer turn face up, with rapid-speed, every card but one in a six-deck shoe, Ungar would have to figure out the remaining face-down card in the dealer’s sitting behind his mother in a game of stud, as early as ten or eleven years old. Stu not only understood the game far more Photo courtesy of Stu-Ungar.com Ungar (right) sits with Jack Binion after winning the 1997 WSOP MNPOKERMAG.COM page 24 Minnesota Poker Magazine december 2009 december 2009 Minnesota Poker Magazine Grinder Chronicles Grinder Chronicles hand, simply by committing the other 311 cards to memory. “I think it’s the ten of diamonds.” It was the ten of diamonds. Ungar’s domination at gin rummy stemmed from a combination of superior skill and opponent abstinence. The players he would face off against night after night, old men, proud of their lifetime of distinguished card Courtesy photo skill, could not accept that this kid was beating them. “Beating them,” really, was an understatement. He would destroy and humiliate them. As a result, Ungar was becoming rich in his early teenage years, and continually had opponents willing to tango, as their pride generally overshadowed their wisdom. There is, however, a dubious yet still existent distinction between a card player and a gambler. And nobody who knew Stu Ungar would ever say he was anything less than a full-fledged, admittedly talented, but altogether reckless gambler. Most of Ungar’s gin rummy winnings would be spent and gone within days of his victory, generally lost at the racetrack, or at a back-room blackjack table. Because of this, a peculiar relationship developed between he and his mentor Victor Romano. Romano, seeing Ungar’s total disregard for money, would have liked to cut off his funding, teach the kid a lesson. But he also recognized Ungar’s brilliance, and could not disregard both his good nature, and his ability to make Romano large amounts of money, as he would be Ungar’s chief gin-rummy financier. This difficult and strained relationship would become a trend, and continue throughout Ungar’s life with anybody who got close to him. Romano’s solution to Ungar’s wild tendencies was, of course, to put Ungar in as many gin rummy games as he could; however, over the now multiple-year run of Ungar’s domination, it was becoming nearly impossible to find an opponent. He had to begin looking for players outside the New York area, and eventually found a willing participant: “Yonkie” Stein, a player known in most gin rummy circles page 25 as possibly the best player alive. The game and stakes were agreed upon, and Stein was flown to New York City for the match. Simply put, Stein never stood a chance. Ungar won, eighty-six games to zero. Stein, a broken man, returned home, and was said to have never played another professional gin rummy game. That was it. Ungar officially could no longer find a gin rummy opponent. Many friends have suggested that if Ungar could’ve learned the art of the hustle, losing an occasionally match for the long-run financial benefit, he could’ve made a fortune. This was never an option for Ungar, however, because he just couldn’t have somebody out there, walking around, boasting that they’d beaten the best player in the world. It wasn’t about money for Stuey; it was about opponent humiliation. Romano decided that it would be best to move the operation to Las Vegas. This would prove initially successful, as Ungar would dominate local gin rummy tournaments, but soon, the original problem resurfaced. He was told that he could no longer participate in these tournaments, as casinos could not get other players to sign-up when they got wind of Ungar’s involvement. As a natural progression, then, Ungar turned to poker. Ungar signed up for the 1980 World Series of Poker Main Event, and began the tournament having only played nolimit holdem once before in his entire life. Doyle Brunson would say later of Ungar’s play, “I’ve never seen somebody actually improve as the tournament went along.” Sure enough, the two got heads-up for the championship, and when Ungar’s straight held off Brunson’s two-pair, he had his first Main Event bracelet, and $365,000. (In fact, Ungar could not collect on his winnings until he went to the government office to get his social security card. He never had one before, just as he never did get a driver’s license, or a bank account). Although Ungar was justifiably proud of his victory, he heard rumblings in the poker community that his win was nothing more than a fluke. He was eager to establish himself as one of the best, and went to work defending his title in MNPOKERMAG.COM 1981. He did exactly that, winning the Main Event for the second consecutive year, and another $375,000 for his victory, cementing his legacy as one of the premier players in the game. One of the most notable and incredible hands ever recorded as evidence of Ungar’s uncanny poker skill came in a $50,000 heads-up match against fellow Main Event winner Mansour Matloubi. Ungar opened the pot on the button for a raise with 9-10. Matloubi called. The flop came 3-3-7, Matloubi checked, Ungar bet, and Matloubi called. The turn was a K, and the action went check-check. The river was a Q, and this time, Matloubi led out a large amount. Ungar thought for a moment, and eventually said, “You have 4-5, or 5-6, I’m going to call you with this,” as he tables his ten-high. Matloubi, stunned and disgusted, was forced to table his hand. 4-5. Intertwined with his poker success, however, were Ungar’s pricey sports, blackjack and racetrack betting. He continued to dump most of his earnings into long-shot bets, losing most of his wealth in the process. The years pressed on, and after Romano’s death in the early 1980’s, one of Ungar’s only stabilizing forces through his up and down gambling was his daughter, Stefanie. And unfortunately, due to the difficult relationship between Ungar and Stefanie’s mother, she was not around as much as he would’ve liked. As a result of this, and because of his daily stress and the abundant availability of drugs, Ungar began snorting cocaine. He continued to play poker, with marginal success throughout the late 80’s and early 90’s, as he slipped in and out of drug-induced uselessness. He would miss several World Series of Poker Main Events during this time, as he continued to gamble on everything else. It should be stated, however, that his total recklessness with money was as admirable as it was foolish. While walking through a casino with Doyle Brunson, a stranger asked Stuey for money, and he responded by giving him a $100 bill. “Who was that guy?” Brunson asked, to which Ungar replied, “Had I known his name, I would’ve given him $200.” His drug riddled haze persisted through the 1990’s, and come the 1997 World Series of Poker, Ungar was completely broke and deeply in debt. In need of money, and as focused as always on proving his doubters wrong, he went in search of somebody to buy him into the Main Event. Billy Baxter, friend and fellow poker player, was initially hesitant, seeing the state Ungar was in, but eventually gave in. Ungar manipulated the field brilliantly, and although he wore large framed glasses to cover up his cocaine-induced collapsed nose, he managed to become the first player to ever win three Main Event tournaments. (Johnny Moss has three Main Event bracelets, though one was earned by vote). By 1998, all of the $1 million prize money Ungar had earned a year ago was gone, and he had begun smoking crack. Baxter, having already paid Ungar’s buy-in to the ’98 Main Event, called up to his Binion’s hotel room to ask where he was, only to find out Ungar was too ashamed in his present physical state to participate. Later that year, Ungar was found dead in a hotel room from a heart attack, most likely brought on from years of drug abuse. Simply from poker, Ungar’s estimated lifetime earnings exceed $30 million. Upon his death, he had less than $800 cash to his name. The misfortune of Ungar’s death, in addition to the obvious early earthly departure for one of the world’s truly gifted men, is that his superior skill was never given an opportunity to shine in today’s modern media age. Jacob Westlin of Minneapolis is a semi-professional poker player specializing in limit Hold ‘em. Read his blogs at www. Jaymind.com and www.mnpokermag.com. If listening to the WSOP on the radio is dorky, consider me Steve Urkel by Phil Mackey When it comes to following coverage of the World Series of Poker final table, there are generally three types of people in the world: 1.) Those who avoid spoilers and live updates so they can watch the condensed version on ESPN without knowing who wins. 2.) Those who are oblivious to the fact that the final table is not aired live and actually takes nearly 20 hours to complete. These are the same people who have no idea how incredible it is for Phil Ivey to have made the final table. 3.) Those who fully intend to forego sleep for those 20 hours so they can listen to live radio coverage and follow a primitive online graphic without knowing anyone’s hole cards. MNPOKERMAG.COM Minnesota Poker Magazine page 26 december 2009 Minnesota Poker Magazine december 2009 Grinder Chronicles Grinder Chronicles Lump me in with group 3. And although I will say it disappoints me that ESPN decided to discontinue its live pay-perview broadcast of the marathon final table two years ago, the commentators for Bluff Radio generally did an awesome job describing the action, thanks to a combination of Phil Hellmuth, Joe Sebok, David “The Maven” Chicotsky, Annie Duke, Justin Bonomo, and others. Still, whether ESPN realizes it or not, there are actually two target audiences for WSOP Main Event coverage; diehard poker players who would rather watch the entire final table in its entirety without seeing hole cards (the minority), and the more casual followers who would rather watch paint dry than sit through a poker telecast without hole cards. ESPN previously charged around $20 when it used to show the marathon coverage back in the Jamie Gold and Jerry Yang days. Hellmuth said on the radio broadcast of this year’s coverage that ESPN drew 30,000 PPV buys for the Yang final table. If that number is accurate, does it generate enough of a profit to justify production costs? Who knows. But it was awesome to watch. As for the actual final table, it would have been nice to see Ivey take it down. He played patient, tight poker, and when he finally shipped his money in with AK against Darvin Moon’s AQ, the logger spiked a Q. That was par for the course, as both Moon and eventual World Champion Joe Cada put their money in behind several times only to suck out and stack more chips. Even though Moon, who reportedly had never played poker in a live casino nor flown on a plane before July, is a feel good story, I’m happy to see Cada become poker’s newest ambassador. Moon may have enticed more “common men” to try their luck at poker, but he also made no secret about his distaste for media sessions and public attention. Not to mention, Moon spent five months avoiding signing a sponsorship Paul Marquette (763) 639-4803 Proudly serving NW Central Minnesota, from the Twin Cities to St. Cloud. Marquette Your Contractor For: Roofing Siding Remodeling We work with all insurance companies for your damage restoration needs. page 27 deal because he didn’t want to be told where to go and what to do. This is incomprehensible to most poker players, who spend their lives grinding low limits in hopes for one shot at the “big time”. Cada, 21, has said he’ll have no qualms about stepping into the spotlight. He’s the youngest WSOP Main Event winner in history, breaking Peter Eastgate’s record from 2008, and he needed more than one miracle at the final table to accomplish this feat. But overall, having a wide-eyed kid as World Champion who is willing to make appearances and play in big tournaments is better for poker than having a champion who shies away from the limelight. Phil Mackey, publisher and editor of MNPokerMag, is a radio personality at 1130 KFAN in Minneapolis. He covers the Vikings and Twins for his day job and grinds out $50 SNGs at night. What goes around… Comes around to represent it knowing that when in doubt, I can always luckbox my way into a gut-shot straight (yes, I did just use ‘luckbox’ as a verb). My intention was to bet $4 into the $6 pot, the same bet I always make into a pot that size. So, I looked for the ole number 4 (not Brett Favre) on my keyboard and proceeded to hit the key followed by the enter key. I shockingly looked back up at my monitor to see that I accidentally double-clicked the number 4 and I’ve now made a bet of $44 into a $6 pot! Doh! You’ve gotta be kidding me! Well, the good news is, my opponent’s got to have an extremely good hand to call my massively huge overbet! My opponent had $31 remaining and immediately called off the remainder of his stack! He held the 8♠7♠ and his two pair was vastly superior to my six-high and gut-shot straight draw. Usually I wouldn’t mind putting a bad beat on somebody, but even if I hit a five here, I would throw up. Unfortunately, YOUR “NO-LIMIT” POKER DESTINATION! C U R R E N T B A D B E AT J A C K P O T by Brandon Mileski In last month’s issue I went into great detail of a hand online where I spotted somebody ‘mis-clicking’ and I proceeded to make an aggressive move to take down a goodsized pot. I thought I was so brilliant. It can be difficult to pat yourself on the back, but I have long, lanky arms so I was able to do so quite frequently after my great play. Well, I believe it was the great Justin Timberlake who once said, ‘what goes around, comes all the way back around.’ It’s not always my opponents that mis-click! $ 1 2 6 , 4 2 6 . 6 1* WIN YOUR WAY TO A TV SPOT The Hand: Online, $0.50/1 NL hold ‘em The pre-flop action was folded to me and in middle position, I raised to $3 with 4♦6♦. And you thought I was a rock. Ok, this is as loose as I get. It was folded around to the big blind, who called. The pot is a little over $6 and we headed to the flop. Flop was: K♠7♥8♥. Obviously not a great flop for me other than my gut-shot straight draw and I have position. My opponent checked. I’ve never seen a heads-up pot that I didn’t continuation bet, and with a King on the flop I’m going to try my best MNPOKERMAG.COM the turn and river were two blanks and I was unable to hit a five and be the sickest person on the planet. So, I lost over $35 all because I accidentally fired the wrong bet on my keyboard. And now, the rest of the table has put a big, fat donkey label on me! I had written in my last column that the move made by my opponent in that hand would’ve never happened at a live table, only online, and now I feel his pain. If I was at a local brick-and-mortar casino, I would’ve never verbally made a bet of $44 and I would’ve never accidentally pushed too many chips into the middle. It’s an error that could only happen on the cyberfelt. Though just like at this online table, a live table would think I was a huge donkey as well. The Poker Gods giveth, and the Poker Gods taketh away. Mr. Timberlake, I now know how you feel. Brandon Mileski is a winning poker player. He supplements his income by grinding low-stakes games. When not at a card table, he produces KFAN radio’s “Common Man Progrum.” 50,000! AND $ Earn entries Now – January 2nd Drawings held every Friday and Saturday Play in the Heartland Poker League Tuesdays at 7pm Starting January 5th GREAT POKER ACTION 7 DAYS A WEEK AT YOUR FULL SERVICE CASINO I-35 South—At the IA/MN Boarder Contact us at 641-323-7773 or [email protected] MNPOKERMAG.COM 777 DIAMOND JO LANE, NORTHWOOD, IA 50459 1-877-323-5566 WWW.DIAMONDJO.COM *Bad Beat Jackpot as of 11/12/09. Must be 21 or older. If you or someone you know needs gambling treatment, call 1-800-BETS-OFF. Minnesota Poker Magazine page 28 december 2009 daily 13-Dec SUNDAY Tournaments Black Bear Canterbury Park 4 11 Fortune Bay GC - Mille Lacs 8 1 6 Northern Lights 5 12 Prairie's Edge Running Aces CODE 2 O H/L Po B Sp Al Z Q Omaha High/Low Split Pot Limit Bounties Spread Alternates Freezeout Qualify Sh + F Lad HH DC Sa Pi Shootout Rebuys, Add-Ons OK Freeroll Ladies Special Headhunter Dealer's Choice Satellite Pineapple GAME BUY-IN TIME GAME BUY-IN TIME GAME BUY-IN 12P NH $110 7P NH+ $50 12P NH+ $25 12P 6:30P 2P Sa NH NH+ $100 $40 $15 10:30A NH $40 6:30P NH+ 5P NHAl+ $25 7P NHB+ 13 9 Shooting Star 7 Treasure Island Diamond Jo NH $115 12:15P 6:15 4P NHAl NHAl NH $50 $80 $50 $60 $60 12:15P 6:15P NHAl NH $50 $140 2:15P NHAl $110 12P 6:30P LH+ NH+ $5 $20 12P NH+ $50 10:30A NHZ $65 7P NH $45 NH $30 White Oak 3 6P 6:30P 2P Pi NH+ 6P NH $25 $45 12P 6P 7P $30 $180 12P NHAl+ $40 6P NH+ $60 6P NH+ $30 $25 $30 $50 Turtle Lake SUNDAY TIME GAME 1-Dec TUESDAY MONDAY BUY-IN TIME GAME BUY-IN Black Bear TIME GAME BUY-IN 12P NH+ $25 GC - Hinckley GC - Mille Lacs GAME BUY-IN White Oak Diamond Jo Black Bear Canterbury Park Fortune Bay NHAl NH $50 $140 2:15P NHAl $110 12P 6:30P LH+ NH+ $5 $20 12P NH+ $50 10:30A NHZ $65 $50 $80 $50 6:30P NH $30 NHAl+ $40 Prairie's Edge Running Aces Shooting Star Treasure Island 7P NH+ $60 10:30A NHAl+ 3P NHAl+ 7:30P OH/L $65 $30 $125 $20 $60 $30 6P NHB+ $65 $340 $65 $45 NHB $60 6P NH+ $60 6P NH $30 2P 7P 12P NH+ NH NH+ $30 $120 $115 11-Dec FRIDAY TIME GAME BUY-IN TIME GAME BUY-IN 7P NH+ $50 12P NH+ $25 12P 6:30P 2P Sa NH NH+ $100 $40 $15 10:30A NH $40 $40 $230 $35 $40 $60 NH Sa NH+ NH NH+ 10:30A 7:30P 6:30P 10:30A 6:30P 6:30P OH+ $35 8P NH+ $50 6P NH $115 12:15P 6:15P NHAl NH $50 $140 2:15P NHAl $330 2:15P NHAl $110 2P NH $40 6P NH+ $60 10:30A NHAl+ 3P NHAl+ $40 $65 2P NHB $75 4P NH+ $50 2P Pi $45 7P NHB+ $40 6P NH $60 12:15P 6:15P 6P NHAl NHAl NHB $50 $60 $50 12:15P 6:15P NHZ NHAl $60 $50 12:15P 6:15 4P NHAl NHAl NH $50 $80 $50 2:30P 7 $10 6:30P NH $30 6:30P 11:30P NH NH $120 $65 2P 6:30P NHAl+ NHAl+ $30 $180 7P 6P NH+ $70 6P NH $25 12P 6P 7P 12P NHAl+ $40 BUY-IN NH+ $25 12:15P NHZ 6:15 NHAlB $60 $60 NH NHF NH $25 $30 $50 TIME 6:30P NH $60 $60 6P NH+ $30 MNPOKERMAG.COM GAME BUY-IN 7P NH+ $60 10:30A NHAl+ 3P NHAl+ $65 $30 12P 6:30P LH+ NH+ $5 $20 10:30A NHZ $65 BUY-IN TIME GAME BUY-IN 12P NH $110 7P NH+ $50 12P NH+ $25 12P 6:30P 2P Sa NH NH+ $100 $40 $15 10:30A NH $40 6:30P NH+ 11A NH $330 5P NHAl+ $25 7P 2:15P NHAl $110 12:15P 6:15P 6P NHAl NHAl NHB $50 $60 $50 2P NH $40 2:30P 7 6P NH+ $60 6:30P 11:30P NH NH $40 $65 2P NHB $75 4P NH+ $50 White Oak Diamond Jo 2P Pi TIME GAME BUY-IN 12P NH+ $40 10:30A NH $175 Black Bear Canterbury Park Fortune Bay 6P NHB+ $30 7P NHB $60 6P NH+ $60 12P NH+ $50 NH 10:30A NHAl+ 2P NHAl+ 6:30P NHAl+ $65 $340 $65 $45 GC - Mille Lacs Northern Lights Running Aces Treasure Island NH $30 2P 7P 12P NH+ NH NH+ $30 $120 $115 White Oak Diamond Jo GAME 10:30A NHAl+ 3P NHAl+ 7:30P OH/L $65 $30 $125 NHB+ $30 6P 7P NHB $60 6P NH+ $60 24-Dec THURSDAY BUY-IN 10:30A NHAl+ 2P NHAl+ 6:30P NHAl+ 6P NH $30 2P 7P 12P NH+ NH NH+ $30 $120 $115 25-Dec FRIDAY TIME GAME BUY-IN 12P NH+ $25 TIME GAME $65 $340 $65 26-Dec SATURDAY BUY-IN TIME GAME 12P NH+ BUY-IN $40 10:30A NH $40 10:30A NH $175 $60 6:30P NH+ $35 6:30P NH+ $150 NHB+ $40 6P NH $60 8P NH+ $50 6P NH $115 12:15P 6:15P NHZ NHAl $60 $50 12:15P 6:15 4P NHAl NHAl NH $50 $80 $50 $60 $60 12:15P 6:15P NHAl NH $50 $140 2:15P NHAl $110 $10 6:30P NH $30 12P 6:30P LH+ NH+ $5 $20 12P NH+ $50 $120 $65 2P 6:30P NHAl+ NHAl+ $30 $180 10:30A NHZ $65 7P NH $45 7P 6P NH+ $70 6P NH $25 12P 6P 7P NHAl+ 12P NH NHF NH $25 $30 $50 GAME BUY-IN TIME GAME BUY-IN TIME GAME BUY-IN NH $110 7P NH+ $50 12P NH+ $25 12P 6:30P 2P Sa NH NH+ $340 $40 $15 10:30A NH $40 6:30P NH+ $60 5P NHAl+ $25 7P NHB+ $40 2:15P NHAl $110 12:15P 6:15P 6P NHAl NHAl NHB $50 $60 $50 12:15P 6:15P NHZ NHAl $60 $50 2P NH $40 2:30P 7 $10 6:30P NH $30 6P NH+ $60 6:30P 11:30P NH NH $120 $65 2P 6:30P NHAl+ NHAl+ $30 $180 $75 4P NH+ $50 6P NH+ $70 6P NH $75 6P NH $25 2P Pi $45 7P 12P 6P 7P NH $60 7P NH+ $60 6P NH+ $60 6P NH+ $30 6P TIME GAME $30 NHB $60 6P NH+ $60 BUY-IN $40 $230 $35 6P NH $60 12:15P 6:15 4P NHAl NHAl NH $50 $80 $50 12P NHAl+ $40 6P NH+ $60 6P NH+ $30 TIME GAME BUY-IN 12P NH+ $25 12:15P NHZ 6:15 NHAlB $60 $60 6:30P NH $60 7P NH+ $60 6P NHB+ $30 7P NHB $60 6P NH+ $60 LadNH $25/$40 NH NHF NH $25 $30 $50 10:30A NHAl+ $65 12P OH/L+ $60 6P NH $30 2P 7P 12P NH+ NH NH+ $30 $120 $115 31-Dec THURSDAY NH NH NH+ 10:30A 7:30P 6:30P NHB+ 7P 30-Dec WEDNESDAY 12P NHB 6:30P LadNH $25/$40 29-Dec TUESDAY 2P 12:15P NHZ 6:15 NHAlB $40 Turtle Lake $60 $40 $230 $35 28-Dec MONDAY $40 $65 $60 NH+ NH NH NH+ TIME 10:30A NHAl+ 5P NHAl+ NH 7P 10:30A 7:30P 6:30P $45 GC - Hinckley Shooting Star 6P TIME Turtle Lake Prairie's Edge 7P NH+ GAME Jackpot Junction LadNH $25/$40 6P TIME 10:30A NHAl+ 3P NHAl+ 6:30P 23-Dec WEDNESDAY BUY-IN 27-Dec SUNDAY $110 $25 GAME 12P Running Aces 22-Dec TUESDAY GAME 12-Dec SATURDAY BUY-IN NHAl+ TIME Northern Lights Shooting Star NH 5P GC - Mille Lacs Treasure Island 10-Dec THURSDAY BUY-IN NH 10:30A NHAl+ 2P NHAl+ 6:30P NHAl+ $30 7P 9-Dec WEDNESDAY GAME GC - Hinckley Prairie's Edge 7P Turtle Lake $60 GAME White Oak Diamond Jo NH LadNH $25/$40 HOSE NH+ NH+ Canterbury Park 21-Dec MONDAY TIME Jackpot Junction 6:30P 12P Jackpot Junction Northern Lights 12:15P NHZ 6:15 NHAlB Black Bear Fortune Bay TIME GC - Hinckley GC - Mille Lacs $175 12:15P 6:15P NHAl NHAl NH TIME NH $60 $60 12:15P 6:15 4P 8-Dec TUESDAY 10:30A $115 $60 $50 7-Dec MONDAY $40 NH Turtle Lake 6-Dec SUNDAY NH+ 6P NHZ NHAl 10A 6P 6P 12P $50 12:15P 6:15P $25 $30 $50 BUY-IN NH+ $60 NH NHF NH GAME 8P NH Treasure Island 20-Dec SUNDAY TIME $35 6P 12P 6P 7P $25 BUY-IN OH+ $40 7P Shooting Star NH+ GAME 6:30P Prairie's Edge Running Aces 12P TIME $40 NHB+ 12P BUY-IN NH 7P $30 $180 GAME 10:30A $60 NHAl+ NHAl+ TIME 5-Dec SATURDAY $40 $230 $35 NH+ 2P 6:30P 4-Dec FRIDAY NH NH NH+ 6:30P Jackpot Junction Northern Lights TIME 10:30A 7:30P 6:30P Canterbury Park Fortune Bay 3-Dec THURSDAY 2-Dec WEDNESDAY 12:15P NHZ 6:15 NHAlB LadNH $25/$40 NH NHF NH $175 $50 $10 NH+ NH $35 7 7P 10:30A NH+ 2:30P $70 $40 OH+ $60 6P BUY-IN NH+ 8P $40 $50 GAME 12P 6:30P NH $75 TIME $60 NH+ NHB BUY-IN NH 2P 4P GAME 6P 6P 2P TIME $40 $60 $50 NHAl+ NHAl+ $25 $60 NHZ NHAl 2P 6:30P BUY-IN NH+ $40 12:15P 6:15P $120 $65 GAME 12P NH $50 $60 $50 NH NH TIME 10:30A NHAl NHAl NHB 6:30P 11:30P BUY-IN 19-Dec SATURDAY $40 $230 $35 12:15P 6:15P 6P $40 $65 GAME 18-Dec FRIDAY NH NH NH+ $110 10:30A NHAl+ 3P NHAl+ TIME 17-Dec THURSDAY 10:30A 7:30P 6:30P NHAl 2:15P page 29 16-Dec WEDNESDAY 15-Dec TUESDAY TIME Jackpot Junction 10 Hold em No Limit Hold em Limit Hold em No Limit Limit Stud 7-Card Stud 5-Card Stud 14-Dec MONDAY GC - Hinckley 14 All tournaments are subject to change. Check with each card room for updates. For additional tournament listings visit MNPokerMag.com H NH LH NH L S 7 5 Minnesota Poker Magazine december 2009 MNPOKERMAG.COM BRACELETS & DEEP STACKS SUITED FOR PLAYERS Minnesota Poker Magazine page 30 december 2009 Minnesota Poker Magazine december 2009 Bar League Happenings Bar League Happenings Minnesota Poker League Straight Flush Poker Tour Little Poker League www.mnpokerleague.com Fall Poker Spectacular Leaders as of 11/17/09 Chippy Poker League www.sfpokertour.com www.littlepokerleague.com Season 6 Leaders as of 11/17/09 Vegas Baby! Session 3: Leaders as of 11/17/09 www.chippypoker.com 2009 Season 4 standings as of 11/17/09 Wins Points Player 1. Antonio Harper 4 1,513 1. "Gerry T" 313 2,235 2. Rand Koch 1 1,422 2. Tony "Master" Plaster 249 7 2,180 3. Cory Eckhart - 1,334 3. Tom Chan 199 4. Jason Francis 3 2,130 4. Clint Christiansen 1 1,293 4. Paul Waggoner 188 1,352 5. Shane Klein 7 2,080 5. Ivan Sist 3 1,236 5. Barry "The Critic" Knowles 185 6. Matt Wolff 1,336 6. Jody Wagner 7 1,750 6. Carla Glassing - 1,173 6. Morten Arneson 176 7. Tony Grimm 1,174 7. Dale Piller 6 1,665 7. Kathy Caron - 1,096 7. Jim Gleason 172 8. Jason Halverson 1,153 8. Brad Carter 3 1,620 8. Mikquel 1 1,095 8. Michael A Flasch 160 9. Kelly Bergesch 1,100 9. Josh Korbl 3 1,600 9. Scott Clark - 1,034 9. John Loren 153 10. Kayla Lobbins 1,089 10. Kevin Hegg 6 1,560 10. Nick R 2 1,019 10. Rick "The Rickster" Schalo 152 Wins Points Player 1. Brandon Lussier 4 2,235 1,715 2. Megan Patrick 5 3. Andy Lagarde 1,555 3. Eric Anderson 4. Bill Meservey 1,467 5. Clark Hagel Player Points Player 1. Nathan Avery 1,986 2. Adam Larsen www.vikinglandpoker.com www.amateurpokerleague.com Southern MN 2009 Regional Leaderboard as of 11/17/09 Fall Season Leaders as of 10/18/09 Player BRACELETS & DEEP STACKS SUITED FOR PLAYERS. www.MinnesotaStatePokerTour.com Wins Points WPT Amateur Poker League Vikingland Poker League page 31 Player Points Points The Bar Poker League ™ IT’S THE REAL DEAL! www.TheBarPokerLeague.com Division Leaders as of 11/17/09 Player Division Points 1. Len Doerfler 2 15 1. Tom Lacrosse 14,790 1. Deadmoney INC The kid poker Big Slick 2,770 2. Brian Valek 2 14 2. Bob Watson 13,936 2. Reese Big Slick 2,685 3. Dick Nelson 2 12 3. Debbie Arens 9,315 3. k8t Bullets 3,000 4. Todd Pagel 2 11 4. Sue London 8,788 4. Hangman Bullets 2,625 5. Brandee Hagemann 2 11 5. Laurel Bahn 8,595 5. kokomo Cowboys 4,145 6. Sharon Tonn 2 11 6. Len Lau 8,480 6. Bon-z-i Cowboys 3,850 7. Bruce Redfield 2 8 7. Allan Litwin 8,089 7. DeGenXer6666 Hooks 2,130 8. John Branch 2 8 8. Sam Foust 7,728 8. Rodney6666 Hooks 1,985 9. Paul Jaeger 1 9 9. Karen Eide 7,709 9. Augs Wisconsin 1,075 10. Jeremy Kuebelbeck 1 7 10. Dennis Holman 7,495 10. agent48 Wisconsin 1,015 MNPOKERMAG.COM MNPOKERMAG.COM Minnesota’s Premier Card Club 9 Years Running DECEMBER TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE Sundays No Limit Hold’em (Dec. 6, 13, 20) $80+20 Mega Stax No Limit Hold’em (Dec. 27) $300+40 No Limit Hold’em $30+$10 Mondays No Limit Hold’em $30+$10 Wednesdays No Limit Hold’em No Limit Hold’em Fridays No Limit Hold’em Noon Noon 6:30 PM Launch Tournament December 9 – 14 Qualifying Heats December 9 – 12 $220 + $30 10:30 AM Main Event December 13 & 14 $1000+$100 $30+$10 10:30 AM $200+$30 7:30 PM $30+$10 Noon Saturdays Big Stax No LImit Hold’em MINNESOTA STATE POKER TOUR $150+$25 10:30 AM For Sit-N-Go Schedule, see canterburypark.com. Schedule subject to change 2 Day Championship Event $15,000 in Chips 50 Minute Rounds Visit canterburypark.com for tournament times and details. 12 Days of Christmas December 12 – 23 Daily Giveaways. See Canterburypark.com for details. This holiday season, leave the giving to us. Sometimes it’s better to receive... www.canterburypark.com • 952-445-7223 • 866-MN-POKER
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