Merck wins Choctaw’s Fall Poker Classic

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The Choctaw Casino Resort in Durant, Okla., hosted its annual Fall Poker Classic as Sam Merck of Weatherford, Texas, captured the main event, beating more than 553 players to collect $112,650 for the win. Runner-up J.B. Harrington of Tuttle, Okla., earned $69,674.

In January, Choctaw hosts its annual World Series of Poker Circuit stop. The series runs Jan. 2-20 and features a $1,675 buy-in$1 million guarantee main event among the 12 ring tournaments.

• The Heartland Poker Tour’s initial visit to Indigo Sky saw Reginald “Shawn” Roberts of Springfield, Mo., outlast Oklahoma City’s Bill Donnally in a 97-hand heads-up match for his second HPT title and its $52,237 first prize. Donnally earned $31,342.
Look for Downstream Casino’s Fish n Chips event and Hard Rock Casino’s Hard Rock Poker Open to be covered in our January issue.

CHEROKEE CASINO WEST SILOAM SPRINGS: The poker room will host its Reindeer Games tournament series Dec. 6-15, featuring events with $100-$125 buy-ins leading up to a $350 no-limit hold’em main event. Tourneys include ante only, double-stack, $15K guarantee deepstack, re-entry and rebuy, plus a crazy pineapple event.

HOLLYWOOD KANSAS: News is still expected regarding Hollywood Casino Kansas Speedway’s involvement in the second season of the Hollywood Poker Open.

Last year, Hollywood Casino qualified players into a freeroll satellite event (based upon hours of monthly play) that qualified players into the June championship in Las Vegas. The HPO championship will return to the M Resort in Las Vegas in June.

PLO/8 GROWTH: Here is some interesting cash-game news. Boot Hill Casino’s somewhat shared player base with Kansas Star Casino has driven demand for a pot-limit Omaha/8 cash game.

The game has caught on at Kansas Star in the past few months and now Boot Hill is spreading an uncapped $1-$2 game Thursday nights.
For its part, Kansas Star’s growth in PLO/8 has been joined by successful interest in $3-$6 limit hold’em that frequently morphs into half-kill and even a limited dealer’s choice game.

— Email Robert Kelly at anteuprob@gmail.com.

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