There have been a number of notable performances by regional players this summer and I would like to serve up some recognition.
Brett Shaffer of Beloit, Kan., is not someone attracting much attention, despite earning his second bracelet. He overcame a field of 1,631 to take down Event 31, a $1,500 no-limit hold’em tourney, and earn $418,435. He cashed three times in the 2014 series, including finishing 23rd out of 4,496, in the $1,111 Little One for One Drop event.
Tulsa’s Jordan Morgan overcame a field of 1,914 to take down Event 44 ($1,500 NLHE) for $478,102. He also reached the final table of Event 45 ($3K Omaha/8). He has 23 WSOP cashes. Yukon’s Calvin Anderson cashed five times with three final tables, including winning his first bracelet and $190,538 in Event 30 ($1,500 stud/8). Oklahoma City’s Huy Nguyen made a deep run in this year’s WSOP main event, exiting 142nd out of 6,683 players to earning $52,141. It was his third cash of the series.
With the Las Vegas summer tournament season ending, it didn’t take long for tournament action to kick in regionally.
HARD ROCK CASINO: Hard Rock and RunGoodGear.com will hold a $100K guarantee series on Sept. 3-7 that will feature workshops, satellites into the main event and a variety of other events, including a pot-limit Omaha tourney. The $675 main event features an entry into the WSOP main event to the winner.
KANSAS STAR CASINO: The Labor Day tournament guarantees $10K for first place. Beginning at noon, Sept. 1, it sports a $350 buy-in with a 100-player capacity plus alternates. Throughout August on Saturdays, there will be $85 satellites with unlimited $50 rebuys for the first hour.
The $88K bad-beat jackpot was hit in early July (quad 10s over quad threes).
CHEROKEE CASINO WEST SILOAM SPRINGS: The Blast to the Past series is back on the area tournament calendar again (Aug. 15-24). The series sports 20 events with buy-ins ranging $100-$550. The series opens with a $20K guarantee ($230 re-entry) and concludes with a $50K guarantee ($550). An unusual addition to the schedule is a $230 Omaha event.
— Email Robert at anteuprob@gmail.com.
