The L.A. Poker Classic, held annually at the Commerce Casino from mid January until the end of February, is the biggest tournament series outside of the World Series of Poker. This year’s version was made up of 51 events that ran the gamut of disciplines (everything from hold’em and Omaha to Chinese and triple-draw) and buy-ins ($65 to $25K).
This series isn’t just for pros, though. Excluding the $25,000 high-roller and the $10,000 World Poker Tournament Main Event, the average tournament entry was less than $800. Many events had guarantees and the total prize pool for the series was more than $11.5 million.
Quite a few popular pros attended the series. Notable pros who won events were Fabrice Soulier, Men “Master” Nguyen, Phil Hellmuth, Adam “Roothlus” Levy and Vanessa Selbst. Matt Schultz impressively won Event 8 (shootout) and Event 17 (H.O.R.S.E.). Oz actor Kirk Acevedo won Event 41, the NLHE “eternament.” This event had every conceivable level and each lasted two hours.
WPT Boot Camp alumnus Sean Jazayeri defeated David “Doc” Sands heads-up to capture his first WPT title and $1,370,240 in the $10K main event.
“You dream about it, you fantasize about it, but in my heart I never thought this could happen,” Jazayeri said after the win. “It’s a real dream come true.”
FALLEN HEROES: Though not on most pros’ calendars, on Feb. 19 the Bicycle Casino hosted a celebrity charity tournament to benefit Fallen Heroes USA. Buy-in was $100, with half the prize pool going to the charity, plus there were unlimited $20 rebuys for the first three levels.
Tournament director Mo Fathipour and his team took great care of the players. Their work was cut out for them, too. For 166 players, there were more than $15,000 in rebuys. Among the players were celebrities Adrian Paul, Shannon Elizabeth, Mimi Rogers, David Arquette and Carl Weathers. Poker pros Antonio Esfandiari, Men Nguyen and John Phan also showed their support. One-time November Niner Kelly Kim was there and is on the board of the charity.
The atmosphere was fun and there was no shortage of action. The winner was Bruce Cramer as more than $11,000 was raised for Fallen Heroes.
“We started this because I had several friends die in the line of duty that were close to me,” Fallen Heroes USA founder Scott Diamond said. “We don’t give money to a fund. We try to make it more personal. We have the money. We give it to the family directly.” The next tournament for Fallen Heroes won’t be until next year, but keep an eye on its website for a golf tournament in August.
— Dave Palm is Ante Up’s Los Angeles Ambassador. You can email him at LA.AnteUp@gmail.com.
L.A. Poker Classic, Commere Casino, Los Angeles, Jan. 18-Feb. 29
Event 1 • $65 NLHE
Entries: 3,333 • Prize Pool: $166,650
Winner: Van Manlambus, $14,365*
Event 2 • $340 NLHE
Entries: 3,234 • Prize Pool: $1M
Winner: Seyed Edalat, $113,560*
Event 3 $340 Limit
Entries: 227 • Prize Pool $64,695
Winner: Tra Do, $11,295*
Event 4 • $340 Bounty
Entries: 537 • Prize Pool $99,345
Winner: Bobby Duc Pham, $17,320*
Event 5 • $340 H.O.R.S.E.
Entries: 175 • Prize Pool $49,875
Winner: Jay Hong, $11,215*
Event 6 • $550 NLHE
Entries: 165 • Prize Pool $79,200
Winner: Evgeny Shnayder, $17,155*
Event 7 • $550 Stud
Entries: 87 • Prize Pool $50,000
Winner: Salim Hanna, $10,920*
Event 8 • $340 Shootout
Entries: 160 • Prize Pool $45,600
Winner: Matt Schultz, $12,825*
Event 9 • $340 Omaha/8
Entries: 232 • Prize Pool $66,120
Winner: Michael Moed, $15,390*
Event 10 • $340 NLHE
Entries: 237 • Prize Pool $67,545
Winner: Keith Baker, $15,008*
Event 11 • $340 Stud/8
Entries: 131 • Prize Pool $37,335
Winner: Noah Carlson, $8,000*
Event 12 • $340 NLHE
Entries: 151 • Prize Pool $50,000
Winner: Juda Azulay, $11,220*
Event 14 • $340 6-Max
Entries: 159 • Prize Pool $45,315
Winner: Jamie Shaevel, $13,565*
Event 15 • $120 AIOF
Entries: 296 • Prize Pool $29,600
Winner: Brian Brubaker, $10,000
Event 16 • $340 Bounty
Entries: 459 • Prize Pool $84,915
Winner: Joseph Choueiri, $20,225*
Event 17 • $550 H.O.R.S.E.
Entries: 104 • Prize Pool $50,000
Winner: Matt Schultz, $13,990*
Event 18 • $340 NLHE
Entries: 169 • Prize Pool $50,000
Winner: Andrew Gerl, $10,350*
Event 19 • $150 NLHE
Entries: 247 • Prize Pool $30,875
Winner: Eric Prince, $4,685*
Event 20 • $560 Heads-Up
Entries: 113 • Prize Pool $53,110
Winner: Casey Stewart, $13,425
Event 21 • $125 PLO w/rbs
Entries: 144 • Prize Pool $46,740
Winner: Alan Hong, $13,620*
Event 22 • $125 NLHE
Entries: 4,860 • Prize Pool: $607,500
Winner: Adam Springer, $81,550*
Event 23 • $340 NLHE
Entries: 422 • Prize Pool $120,270
Winner: Brian Gorman, $21,570*
Event 24 • $550 Omaha/8
Entries: 105 • Prize Pool $50,400
Winner: Men Nguyen, $16,640
Event 25 • $340 NLHE
Entries: 207 • Prize Pool $58,995
Winner: Adam Levy, $12,735*
Event 26 • $340 2-7 TD
Entries: 74 • Prize Pool $21,090
Winner: Tyson Marks, $5,895*
Event 27 • $225 NLHE
Entries: 189 • Prize Pool $50,000
Winner: Gourgen Mirimanian, $13,450*
Event 28 • $550 Mix Max
Entries: 98 • Prize Pool $47,040
Winner: Roland Israelashvili, $14,950
Event 29 • $125 PLO/8 w/rbs
Entries: 180 • Prize Pool $61,845
Winner: Ben Tang, $15,153*
Event 30 • $1,070 NLHE
Entries: 178 • Prize Pool $172,660
Winner: Jordan Young, $42,275
Event 31 • $1,580 Chinese
Entries: 31 • Prize Pool $45,105
Winner: Jordan Siegel, $18,485
Event 32 • $340 Bounty
Entries: 531 • Prize Pool $98,235
Winner: David Forster, $21,750*
Event 33 • $550 6-Max PLO
Entries: 78 • Prize Pool $129,600
Winner: Chris Swan, $50,540
Event 34 • $125 NLHE w/rbs
Entries: 570 • Prize Pool $191,805
Winner: Ryan Tepen, $50,025
Event 35 • $1,070 H.O.R.S.E.
Entries: 91 • Prize Pool $88,270
Winner: Michael Chow, $31,330
Event 36 • $550 NLHE
Entries: 238 • Prize Pool $114,240
Winner: Michael Gold, $25,810*
Event 37 • $550 NLHE w/rbs
Entries: 98 • Prize Pool $148,320
Winner: Vince Salvatore, $42,580*
Event 38 • $1,070 NLHE
Entries: 170 • Prize Pool $164,900
Winner: Matt Salsberg, $38,675*
Event 39 • $2,080 PLO
Entries: 52 • Prize Pool $100,880
Winner: Weikai Chang, $37,550*
Event 40 • $1,600 Bounty
Entries: 97 • Prize Pool $97,000
Winner: Nicolas Walters, $28,330*
Event 41 • $340 Eternament
Entries: 153 • Prize Pool $50,000
Winner: Kirk Acevedo, $15,970
Event 42 • $1,100 Ironman
Entries: 99 • Prize Pool $96,030
Winner: Eric Chhor, $43,020
Event 43 • $550 Seniors
Entries: 194 • Prize Pool $93,120
Winner: Roger Choueiri, $28,880
Event 44 • $340 NLHE
Entries: 481 • Prize Pool $137,085
Winner: David Pazurik, $36,145
Event 45 • $5,100 NLHE
Entries: 98 • Prize Pool $475,300
Winner: Vanessa Selbst, $140,295*
$10K Main Event
Entries: 549 • Prize Pool: $5.27m
Winner: Sean Jazayeri, $1,370,240
Event 47 • $2,080 6-Max
Entries: 94 • Prize Pool $182,360
Winner: Fabrice Soulier, $63,830
Event 48 • $5,100 Heads-Up
Entries: 16 • Prize Pool $77,600
Winner: Nicklas Heinecker, $46,560
Event 49 • $2,080 8-Game
Entries: 49 • Prize Pool: $95,060
Winner: Phil Hellmuth, $22,630*
Event 50 • $1,100 Bounty
Entries: 195 • Prize Pool: $97,500
Winner: Danny Noam, $24,990*
Event 51 • $25K High Roller
Entries: 23 • Prize Pool $568,100
Winner: Eui Woong Kim, $242,970*
* Denotes chop or deal. Also, any missing events weren’t reported.
