As one might expect, the month between Thanksgiving and Christmas is a slow time in the Los Angeles cardrooms. That being said, the Hustler’s 10-event Larry Flynt’s Holiday Poker Classic surpassed all guarantees, and it wasn’t even close.
Starting the day after Thanksgiving, Event 1, with a $150K guarantee, ended up with more than 1,600 entrants and a prize pool of more than $245K. This trend continued all the way through the final event, Event 10, with a prize pool of almost $150K on a $100K guarantee.
All totaled, the guaranteed events ($650K) had a remarkable total prize pool of $1,086,500. Though not a lot of big-named pros were in the money, local Massoud Eskandari had three cashes and two final tables. In addition, he won the $500 DeepStack Championship at Hustler right after Christmas.
Other than the L.A. Poker Classic at Commerce, the only real opportunity in town for the everyday player on a limited bankroll is the Winter Hold’em event at Hollywood Park. The highlight of this is the $200K guarantee $100 entry with one optional $60 rebuy.
Beginning Feb. 22, the re-entry event will have 10 starting flights, one each day through March 3. Ten percent of the field will cash with the top six percent advancing to the final day of play March 4.
This is a great opportunity at a chance for a big score for a reasonable buy-in.
— Dave Palm is Ante Up’s Los Angeles Ambassador. Email him at LA.AnteUp@gmail.com.
Flynt’s results
Event 1 • $130 NLHE
Entries: 1,650 • Pool: $246,650
Yu Chan Seo, $60K
Event 2 • $150 NLHE
Entries: 122 • Pool: $14,640
Ak Nguyen, $4,200
Event 3 • $120 NLHE
Entries: 286 • Pool: $42,540
Johnny Ngo, $12K
Event 4 • $120 NLHE
Entries: 1,265 • Pool: $181,385
Huicun Qiao, $40K
Event 5 • $150 NLHE
Entries: 104 • Pool: $12,480
Richard Amiri, $4K
Event 6 • $250 NLHE
Entries: 199 • Pool: $42,785
Greg Gabriel, $12,110
Event 7 • $150 NLHE
Entries: 82 • Pool: $9,840
Ilan Brand, $3,350
Event 8 • $150 NLHE
Entries: 2,110 • Pool: $425,105
Joe Weinberger, $100K
Event 9 • $150 NLHE
Entries: 84 • Pool: $10,080
Michael Nia, $3,600
Event 10 • $120 NLHE
Entries: 1,037 • Pool: $148,035
Nick Loxley, $32K
