By Garrett Roth and Scott Long
He may have had Matthew McConaughey on his T-shirt, but Daniel Evans was anything but Dazed and Confused as he rolled to victory in the main event of the final Ante Up Poker Tour series of 2013, the Ante Up NorCal Classic at Thunder Valley Casino Resort.
“I’m playing good in tournaments now,” said Evans, who took 22nd in Event 3 of the Ante Up NorCal Classic and finished 10th in the World Series of Poker Circuit Main Event in Lake Tahoe just before the NorCal Classic, which featured 13 events from Nov. 7-18 at the AAA Four Diamond resort just north of Sacramento, Calif.
The final seven players in the main event reconvened on Day 3 of the main event for live-streamed final table hosted by Thunder Valley’s director of poker operations Ben Erwin that took less than two hours to complete.
Evans’ pocket kings held up against Jon Turovitz’s flush draw to earn the title in the $1,100 buy-in event, the $60K top prize and a personalized tour champion jacket.
“The final table was really quick, probably in part because it was such a grind with 13 players left,” said Evans of Chico, Calif. “It was really slow from 13 down to 10. It probably took three hours. The play was so tight at the end yesterday that I think when we got down to the final seven, they seemed to be clashing a little more.”
And clashing they were doing.
Brenden Osborn came into the final table as the chipleader with 334K more units than Evans, who was second in chips, and dispatched three of the final seven players before he and Evans got it all-in in a battle of the big stacks. Evans spiked a queen on the flop with his A-Q to eliminate Osborn, who had A-K, and take a commanding chip lead entering heads-up play. Turovitz, a cash-game specialist, doubled through Evans once, but it wasn’t enough.
“I’ve only played about 15 live tournaments in my life, and only five in the last three years,” said Turovitz of Granite Bay, Calif. He won $40,575, his largest tournament cash. “I was really short-stacked (when the final table started) and I made up my mind to just go for broke, and I ran my chip stack up pretty quickly. I didn’t anticipate getting heads-up so quickly.”
Evans recently quit his job in a poker room to focus more on his poker play.
“I was just over it. I just wanted to play a little more and wanted more freedom. I’ve been working ever since I was 16,” said Evans, who will use his winnings to play some bigger cash games and continue on the tournament circuit. “It’s nice to be able to travel on weekends finally. It’s pretty much the first time I’ve had the opportunity to travel.”
Thunder Valley, which has become the tournament leader in Northern California the past year with several major events, put together a varied schedule for players of all kinds for the Ante Up NorCal Classic. Events included hold’em variations such as six-max, ante only, turbo and bounty events, and featured mixed games such as Omaha/8 and HORSE. Tournament buy-ins ranged anywhere from $120 to $1,100 with numerous satellites running at Thunder Valley before the events.
“One year ago, the Ante Up NorCal Classic started an incredible run of series events at Thunder Valley,” Erwin said. “The success of the Ante Up NorCal Classic has allowed for tremendous growth and we now are offering some of the biggest events in the region; 2013 saw capacity turnouts for the Thunder Valley Players Championship in early August and inaugural HPT series in late September.”
When not playing in tournaments or cash games, players had the opportunity to relax in a well-appointed spa, dine at critically acclaimed restaurants such as High Steaks or watch football games in a number of Thunder Valley bars with game-day specials.
Thunder Valley again will host two Ante Up Poker Tour events in 2014, including the Ante Up World Championship in August and the third Ante Up NorCal Classic in November.
“(Thunder Valley’s) 2014 schedule has a full year of series events that include a return visit from the Heartland Poker Tour in January, a World Poker Tour event in March and the Ante Up World Championship in early August,” Erwin said. “The World Championship will be one of, if not the deepest $1,650 structures in the country.”
AUPT ANTE UP NORCAL CLASSIC AT THUNDER VALLEY, NOV. 7-18
Event 1 • $120 NLHE
Entries: 27 • Pool: $2,700
1. Edward Feldman, Brentwood, CA, $530
2. George Barry, Folsom, CA, $430
3. Stanley Sanders, Roseville, CA, $430
4. Cheng Vang, Elk Grove, CA, $430
5. William Misca, Carmichael, CA, $430
6. Kemarin Khim, Rocklin, CA, $330
7. Hellen English, Roseville, CA, $120
Event 2 • $175 NLHE
Entries: 126 • Pool: $20k
1. Jeremy Moore, Auburn, CA, $4,550
2. David Valdez, VacavIlle, CA, $4,400
3. Ryan Stotts, Lincoln, CA, $2,450
4. Ron Jackson, San Mateo, CA, $1,800
5. Joesph Walker, Auburn, CA, $1,400
6. Manuel Romero, Bangor, CA, $1,100
7. Charlito Aseveros, Elk Grove, CA, $900
8. N/A
9. Steven Geralis, Stockton, CA, $550
10. James Colson, Williams, CA, $400
Event 3 • $425 NLHE
Entries: 373 • Pool: $150K
1. Peter Truong, Sacramento, CA, $31,000
2. Justin Chen, Sacramento, CA, $22,764
3. Lucian Gruia, Granite Bay, CA, $14,780
4. Kyle Steinfelt, Santa Maria, CA, $11,536
5. Kevin Doan, Elk Grove, CA, $8,650
6. Walter Klenhard, Woodland, CA, $7,210
7. Donald Deeds, Orland, CA, $5,770
8. Randy Gil, Milpitas, CA, $4,325
9. Matt Stump, Roseville, CA, $3,250
10. Rob Grossglauser. Elk Grove, CA, $2,525
Event 4 • $150 NLHE
Entries: 159 • Pool $12,720
1. Rudy Puente, Sacramento, CA, $1,400
2. N/A
3. Ryan Sokol, San Francisco, $1,400
4. George Barry, Folsom, CA, $1,400
5. Shannon Kahahane, Lincoln, CA, $1,400
6. Kurt Rexford, R. Cordova, CA, $1,025
7. William McKnight, Meridian, Id. $1,025
8. Matthew Boyle, Durham, CA, $1,025
9. Dylan Kobuchi, Lincoln, CA, $833
10. Bienvenida Rosal, Elk Grove, CA, $254
Event 5 • $140 HORSE
Entries: 43 • Pool: $4,300
1. Jed Nelson, Sacramento, CA, $1,462
2. Ronald Bawden, Sacramento, CA, $989
3. Franklin Curren, Citrus Heights, CA, $645
4. John Miller, Paradise, CA, $516
5. Peter Salzman, Citrus Heights, CA, $387
6. William Chao, Elk Grove, CA, $301
Event 6 • $150 Omaha/8
Entries: 82 • Pool: $10,250
1. Tam Doung, Rocklin, CA, $1,325
2. Brian Ingram, Sacramento, CA, $1,125
3. Phil Hawkins, Auburn, $1,125
4. Nick Spampinato, Camino, CA, $1,125
5. N/A, $925
6. Ron Talmage, Rocklin, CA, $925
7. N/A, $925
8. Gary Neese, Beaumont, CA, $925
9. Maria Madraswala, Walnut Creek, CA, $925
10. Phillip Shoup, Acampo, CA, $925
Event 7 • $120 NLHE
Entries: 45 • Pool: $4,500
1. Scott Long, Safety Harbor, FL, $716
2. Ryan Kennedy, Roseville, CA, $716
3. Dermot Lyons, Redwood City, CA, $716
4. Hellen English, Roseville, CA, $716
5. Andrew Ross, Rocklin, CA, $716
6. N/A
7. Eugenie Watry, Yuba City, CA, $200
Event 8 • $150 6-Max
Entries: 82 • Pool: $10,375
1. Matt Boddorf, Lincoln, CA, $2,431
2. Butch Cassidy, Folsom, CA, $2,130
3. Johnny Mora, Orangevale, CA, $2,130
4. Valerie Cross, Lawrenceburg, IN, $1,038
5. Sean Burson, Middletown, CA, $778
6. Hellen English, Roseville, CA, $623
7. Hershell Wathall, Sacramento, CA, $519
8. Petr Salzman, Citrus Heights, CA, $415
9. Charlito Aseberos, Elk Grove, CA, $311
Event 9 • Ante Only
Entries: 31 • Pool: $3,100
1. Scott Long, Safety Harbor, FL, $488
2. George Barry, Folsom CA, $488
3. Dmitry Dyadchenko, Sacramento, $488
4. Kenneth Jones, Antelope, CA, $487
5. Nicholas Huppe, Loomis, CA, $487
6. Said Rahmani, Elk Grove, CA, $487
7. Julio Cruz, Sacramento, CA, $175
Event 10 • $175 NLHE
Entries: 144 • Pool: $20,880
1. Amber Chatwin, Lincoln, CA, $2,871
2. N/A, $2,073
3. Tam Duong. Rocklin, CA, $2,073
4. Franklin Curren, Citrus Heights, CA, $2,073
5. Ryan Stotts, Lincoln, CA, $2,073
6. Andrey Rakhmanin, Roseville, CA, $2,073
7. Matthew Stump, Roseville, CA, $2,073
8. Cheng Xiong, Yuba City, $2,073
9. Darren Bortmas, Roseville, CA, $522
10. Robert Jones, Lincoln, CA, $418
Event 11 • $300 Bounty
Entries: 126 • Pool: $20,790
1. Stuart Crooks, Antelope, CA, $3,606
2. David Valdez, Vacaville, CA, $2,911
3. Lionel Tholmer, Sacramento, CA, $2,846
4. Andy Pham, Elk Grove, CA, $2,846
5. Matt Boddorf, Lincoln, CA, $2,846
6. N/A, $1,143
7. Anton Talle, Yuba City, CA, $936
8. Jerry Jones, Loomis, CA, $728
9. Jesse Garcia, Hollister, CA, $572
10. Denis Carlson, Sacramento, CA, $416
$1,100 Main Event
Entries 213 • Pool: $250K
1. Daniel Evans, Chico, CA, $60K
2. Jon Turovitz, Granite Bay, CA, $40,575
3. Brendon Osborn, Lancaster, CA, $27,500
4. Amit Sehgal, Walnut Creek, CA, $20K
5. Kirk Rexford, Ranco Cordova, CA, $15K
6. Tom Sego, Palo Alto, CA, $12K
7. Ning Garcia, Sacramento, CA, $10K
8. Roy Armstrong, Rocklin, CA, $8,125
9. Sean Burson, Middletown, CA, $6,250
10. Erik Watkins, Santa Rosa, CA, $4,375
Event 13 • $150 NLHE
Entries: 96 • Pool: $10K
1. Zack Fleury, Yuba City, CA, $2,050
2. Rudy Puente, Sacramento, CA, $2,050
3. Firas Bouri, Roseville, CA, $2,050
4. Bernardo Yeo, San Bruno, CA, $950
5. Eugenie Watry, Yuba City, CA, $700
6. Donald Todd, Elverta, CA, $600
7. Danilo Yeo, San Bruno, CA, $500
8. Bienvenido Rosal, Elk Grove, CA, $400
9. Philip Watry, Yuba City, CA, $300
10. Roy Mode, Sacramento, CA, $200
