Derby Lane, Hard Rock and the Silks hosted some exciting tournaments in March, so I thought I should recap them here.
DERBY LANE: The Pokerfest at Derby Lane had, among others, two multiday tournaments, a $10K guarantee, which had a $40 entry and helped me record my first multiday cash, and a $350 main event. Both events smashed the guarantees and had exciting play throughout the series.
The main event returned for a third day, which I tweeted live. Steven Jenkins of Lakewood Ranch captured the title and $31K. He took charge of the table when he called two all-ins with Q-Q vs. K-K and A-K. An ace on the flop put Eric Moffet ahead in the hand over Devis Mulla’s K-K, but a queen on the turn sent more than 10 million chips Jenkins’ way.
After Anthony Roque exited third, the heads-up play between Andrew Delacroix and Jenkins had a little back and forth. However, Jenkins made a nice call with middle pair to end the match.
On the heels of this successful series, Ante Up and Derby Lane have partnered to bring you an Ante Up Poker Tour championship series Aug. 21-31. More details will be released as we get closer to the event, but the winner of the main event will be featured on the cover of the October issue of Ante Up. Stay tuned.
HARD ROCK: The quarterly WPT Regionals have become a staple at the Hard Rock in Tampa. For the second series in a row, the main event wasn’t chopped. Las Vegas grinder Jean Gaspard took down the $109,613 top prize by besting Chris Dombrowski for the title.
There was a déjà vu moment for Tampa grinders Natasha Barbour and Barbara Cardin, who both made the final tables of the $100K opening event and the main.
Each time, Cardin bested her best friend by a few spots. In Event 1, Barbour left in 10th while Cardin was sixth. Barbour finished eighth in the main while Cardin was third. Cardin credits their friendship as a main reason for helping her game and vice versa.
SILKS: The Tampa Bay Downs poker room held the second of four PPC championships and it was a successful event, sending many more players to Aruba.
I took a run at the main event but was cut short. However, local Norbert Kara, known for playing a happy-go-lucky game, took down the PPC title, $18K and a $4,500 package to Aruba.
— Email Andrew at anteupandrew@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @anteupandrew and read his blog at anteupandrew.wordpress.com.
