The Gulf Coast Poker Championship wrapped up at the Beau Rivage, and it was great seeing the thousands of players who made it out to compete. We have the results here for you to check out, but I wanted to recap briefly what ended up being a fantastic 12-day event.
Staff and players got a chance to put in long hours to manage the consistently large fields. The Beau Rivage upped the ante by hiring a full-time blogger to cover the tournaments in detail. Paired with Eric Harkins of Image Masters Photography, all a virtual railbird had to do was log on to the Facebook page for “Beau Rivage Poker” to see minute-to-minute, in-depth coverage of every event.
I really hope this is the beginning of a trend for the Mississippi MGM events. I can’t tell you how much fun it was to sweat the familiar players on the days I couldn’t make it to the Beau.
Sam Grizzle joined the crowd for multiple events, livening up the table banter with his usual southern charm and big personality. He managed to pull off several deep runs, including fifth place in the $1,580 main event.
The biggest cause for celebration ended up being local Robert Harwell (Pass Christian, Miss.) who took home the trophy and $112,351. Corrie “Slim” Wunstel was second and Amir Sahebdivani finished third. I had the pleasure of running into Amir shortly after the last hand was dealt and he said a monetary deal had been struck.
We have about a month off in the Magnolia State before a Halloween kickoff in Tunica. Gold Strike has moved its Winter Classic to an earlier time slot, beginning Oct. 31 and wrapping up Nov. 11. It’s now called the Fall Poker Classic.
Though last year’s December event broke records, I still expect this time-block to do exceptionally well. No longer conflicting with Thanksgiving travel or holiday shopping, we’ll all have time to focus on poker.
The main event is $800 and begins Nov. 8. There will be a host of mega- and super-satellites for this event, all at affordable prices. You can expect the same deepstack, slow-moving structures typical for the MGM events; as well as a few fun events for those who enjoy non-hold’em varieties.
Some of the non-NLHE events include Omaha/8, PLO Triple Chance, PLO/8, stud/8, and an interesting event called the $230 Election Day Voters Choice tournament. It, of course, runs on Nov. 5, which is Election Day. It’s a one-day event.
Be sure to look at the ad on the facing page for the full schedule and details.
This fall series will wrap up the Mississippi tour for 2013, to resume after New Year’s at the Beau Rivage for the much-anticipated Million Dollar Heater (Jan. 3-15).
Next issue, I’ll have follow-ups from the WSOPC IP Biloxi as well as fall-winter promotions from around the state. Looking forward to seeing you in Tunica soon.
— Email Jennifer Gay at jennifergay80@hotmail.com.
Gulf Coast Poker Championship
Beau Rivage, Biloxi, Miss., Aug. 22-Sept. 2
Event 1 • $340 NLHE
Entries: 1,262 • Pool: $367,242
Mohammad Moeini, $55,103
Event 2 • $230 Ladies
Entries: 55 • Pool: $10,670
Marsha Adams, $3,841
Event 3 • $125 NLHE
Entries: 220 • Pool: $37,733
Sean Carter, $12,453
Event 4 • $230 NLHE
Entries: 42 • Pool: $8,148
Charles Jordan, $3,667
Event 5 • $340 Seniors
Entries: 151 • Pool: $43,941
Edwin Cloud, $14,504
Event 6 • $400 6-Max
Entries: 58 • Pool: $16,878
Jovon Williams, $5,739
Event 7 • $230 NLHE
Entries: 178 • Pool: $34,532
Douglas Sewell, $11,398
Event 8 • $340 O/8
Entries: 47 • Pool: $13,677
Adam Nash, $6,154
Event 9 • $230 NLHE
Entries: 65 • Pool: $12,610
Jonathan Hart, $4,539
Event 10 • $340 NLHE
Entries: 72 • Pool: $20,952
Tuep Doan, $7,542
$1,580 Main Event
Entries: 234 • Pool: $340,470
Robert Harwell, $112,351
Event 12 • $125 NLHE
Entries: 100 • Pool: $17,363
Peter Shashy, $6,250
