If Poker 101 was a major at Santa Barbara City College, 19-year-old student Linus Dahlstroem would be the valedictorian. Dahlstroem, a former online player from Sweden, recently won the Central Coast Fall Poker Classic at Chumash Casino Resort in Santa Ynez, Calif. He took home $10,213 from the $75K prize pool via a final-table chop.
Chumash Casino regularly runs tournaments and fine promotions, but this is one of the largest events it held for players. The event had 542 players sign up with a $200 buy-in. Chumash gave a discount to those who signed up early. Also, the first 100 to sign up were invited to play in a $1,500 freeroll that same month. As you can imagine, the perks of this tournament drew players from all over the area.
It took 12 hours to reach the final table with more than $50K left to play for as players decided to split the money according to chip counts. Other players that made the final table included Andrew Tan (Los Angeles), Joe Rogers (Ventura), Shari Schubot (Santa Barbara), Arlo Dango (Santa Barbara), Bob Bartlein (Santa Barbara), Terry Howell (Santa Barbara), Leslie Grodin (Santa Barbara), Charles Dolan (Santa Barbara), and Nolan Smith (Santa Maria).
The smallest payout of the final table after the chop was $3,600, so everyone’s return on investment was through the roof. Dahlstroem had the most chips, earning the largest cut of the money and the title.
This was Dahlstroem’s largest cash, but don’t be surprised if you hear his name in the future. With a strong education and a solid poker background, Dahlstroem will be a force to be reckoned with in the poker community.
— Garrett Roth is the Ante Up Ambassador for Northern California and the Where to Play editor. Email him at roth@anteupmagazine.com and follow him on Twitter @GarrettRoth.
