RUMBLE IN THE BRONX...WE MEAN NEW ORLEANS POKER ROOM:

PLEASE CLICK ON THIS YOUTUBE VIDEO AND YOU WILL SEE AN ALL OUT BRAWL IN THE NEW ORLEANS POKER ROOM:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAFjmyDV0aA&feature=youtu.be

Name of the Video is titled "Rough time at the New Orleans Casino"...and we have a few comments...This was a better fight that the May/Paq fight last week and don't forget "SECURITY IS ON THE WAY!!!...SECURITY IS ON THE WAY!!!...lol

Also...notice Ryan Lenaghan sitting at the table with the perfect view and never evens moves through the whole ordeal. That's what we call a poker face and real cool cucumber.

WSOP NEW ORLEANS UPDATE:

MANCUSO WINS GOLD IN REENTRY:

Josh Mancuso beat a loaded final table to prevail in the three flight re-entry event.  Daniel Lowery pretty much has decimated the WSOP-C this year, so when he stood in Josh's way as heads up play began observers knew it would be an arduous task.  One Josh was up for.  On the fourth day of action (two days of Day 1s, a Day 2, and three players returned to play for the ring on Day 3), Josh knocked out Cigar Joey Wideman with a full house over full house and the beat Lowery to win a little over 63k. 

Dan Lowery earned a smidge under 39k for second and Joey Wideman pocketed 28.9k for third.  Ken Christopher of Mobile finished fourth winning 21k.  Rising poker star Loni Harwood, some might say she's one to watch, finished 6th for 12.8k.  Jarreth Wheeler of Folsom, LA earned just under 10k for 7th.  Doug Gamble of Ponchatoula, LA and Matt Jensen of River Ridge rounded out the final table.

Notable cashers included Tom Franklin, Michael Fontenot (Monroe, LA), David Nicholson, Kimberly Lejeune (Lafayette), Bruce Little, Ho Le (Larose, LA), Metairie's Charlie "Hop" Gregerson, Robert Quin, Robert Brown, Kyle Cousans and Matt Druen. 

Also, in the money Damon Williams of Slidell, Tony Nguyen of Gretna, Todd Skinner of Youngsville, Jeff Sager of Slidell, Philip Hui, BJ McBrayer, Chip Ervin, Krista Lowery, Josh Palmer, Jerry Monroe, Jerry Giroir, Kip Jones, Mihail Karasoulis, John Holley, Barron Whipple, David Babin (Laplace), Bobby Toye, Charlie "The Mouth that Roared" Gelvin, Shawn Trahan, Caufman Talley, Tom Pullens, Raymond Crawford, Hai Nguyen (Biloxi), Kenny Milam, Ronnie Hope, Rodney Crosby, Owen Bradley  and Tim Martin both from Nola.

SENIOR MOMENT:

If only this tournament was played on the fifth of May, then our headline could have been Senor Senior Moment (...yeah...  bad wordplay that's not why you visit the site but we make you suffer through it anyway).  Lane Leblanc of New Iberia prevailed in what may be the first of its kind for New Orleans a reportedly "Non Chopped" seniors event.  He won 9.5k for first.  Bob "Spider" Henderson and Scott Adams both from poker's epicenter Metairie came in fourth and fifth respectively.  Carl Guillot of Baton Rouge, GCP Blogger Davy Murrah,  Richard Guthrie of New Orleans, William Brock of Pelham, AL and Richard Hope all cashed.

WSOP NEW ORLEANS UPDATE:

GCP GEAR BRINGING GOOD LUCK IN NOLA:

Charlie Gelvin can't stop chopping nightlies and he's been wearing a GCP patch all the way to the cashiers cage.  The Skinners have both sported GCP hoodies and made the money this week.  Spider Henderson donned one of our old school Gulf Coast Poker the Magazine T-shirts and made a final table.  Kenny Milam was up to his old tricks and receiving a payout as per usual. Looking for some rungood-er?  Need a change of luck? Why not order some gear, support the site and guarantee yourself a cash.  Just to show you we are serious about our guarantee, if you don't cash while wearing our gear, we will refund up to one penny of your purchase once . Go here to order...

CAMPBELL PREVAILS IN INTERNATIONAL $365 HOLD 'EM FINAL TABLE:

Hattiesburg's Ryan Campbell took first (almost 15k) after heads up action with Hiroki Shibata of Japan (9k).  Third place went to Metairie's Mihail Karasoulis (6.6k), and fourth to Tel Aviv's Yuval Bronshtein (4.9k).  Joe Hebert (pictured) and William DeHart of Metairie also cashed.  So too, GCP Co-Founder Gene Dudek.    Ray Parker of Long Beach, MS, Ladarren Banks of Tuscaloosa, AL, Blake Baker of Pensacola, Brandon Creel, and one of our favorites Barbara Skinner all cashed.

SIX-HANDED, WON BY KID WITH AA IN HIS NAME:

Don't know if Cory Waaland found poker and added an A to his last name or if was just the perfect fit like Chip Jett or Chris Moneymaker. Regardless it's no surprise he was back in the winner's circle winning 17k and his fourth ring.  He beat Alex Masek heads up.  Masek was going after his 1111th ring (okay maybe it's a little less than that but whatever it is, it's more than anybody else walking the planet) but had to settle for second place money. 

Kyle Duggins of New Orleans won 7.5k for third.  David Nicholson, Josh Evans, Corey Harrison, BJ McBrayer, and Jeremy Robichaux (Raceland, LA) all made the money.

WSOP NEW ORLEANS UPDATE

WINNERS:

Eddie Pepper from Biloxi wins a ring and over 20k in event #1 for over $20k.

Josh Fanquy makes final table and gets 9th for close to $2k.

Shawn Johnston gets 14th for $1300.

Timmy Trahan gets 18th for over $1000.

Drake Roetker just misses the PLO ring and gets over $5k for 2nd place.

Josh "DahJinerat" Mancuso gets 4th in PLO for over $2500.

Ryan Tepen gets 3rd place in event 3 for close to $6400 with Local legends Blake Barousse and Chris Summerall also making the final table. Jeff Tims cashes...as does Krista Lowrey(Pic) and Tim West.

Big Stacks in the Re-Entry include Chip Leaders BJ McBrayer and Local Hero Joey Wideman...Chip Ervin...Krista Lowery...Rob Quin...Jeff Sager...Caufman Talley...John Holley...Mihail Karasoulis (Pic)

 POKER LINKS:

ALEX JACOB CONQUERS JEOPARDY:

Some people love them some Jeopardy.  They prefer for their shows to be an orderly march through the clues bottom to top.  The get a little antsy when a player jumps around the board hunting for daily doubles, then going all in on the daily doubles if he likes the category, and then jumping around the board some more to keep his opponents off guard. 

They also don't like it if he stalls on answering a clue if he has a big lead, he reacts with borderline apathy and indifference to a right answer or a wrong one, in general it rubs them the wrong way when somebody crushes the game using sophisticated strategy with a poker player's demeanor of ambivalence.  Want to see how mad Alex Jacob makes the fanboys read Cardplayer's collection of tweets here.

A few years ago, Alex Jacob crushed live poker.  In fact, his performance at a now defunct major tournament in New Jersey somewhat heralded the dawn of a period of ultra-aggression.  Here he is in action from that United States Poker Championship.  He was one of many young internet players who could almost print money playing online, that savagely attacked live tournaments.

Now Jacob is a trader but with almost 150k in winnings to date he's also a borderline professional game show player.  Even if Jeopardy isn't your thing, his episodes have been entertaining as he crushes souls. 

Also, he was born in Houston and therefore technically has a Gulf Coast connection even if he moved away at too young of age to remember it.  Oh and no his hair isn't quite that big anymore. 

FBI RUSE WENT TOO FAR:

So the government wants to see the insides of your house...  How about they just shut off some of your utilities so you can invite fake repairmen (the FBI or whatever governmental agency that likes to dress in disguise) in to fix it.  Shockingly (heavy sarcasm) a judge ruled that scam essentially is a scam and allows the government to create warrantless searches wherever they please.

Why is this relevant to poker?  Former poker camp Paul Phau had that happen to him when staying in Caeser's Palace last summer.  Remember him?  He got arrested for bookmaking and several high profile poker players bailed him out.  The judge said the FBI shouldn't have gotten entree into the room that way, and then used it to get hidden camera video footage.   Here's more on the verdict at NBC News.

POKERSTARS SPONSORED EVENT SHUT DOWN BY OPPRESSIVE GOVERNMENT:

No, we aren't talking about Black Friday, we are talking about a live poker tournament in China shut down by local authorities.  The Asian-Pacific Poker Tour had more than 2300 entries who all went home empty handed after the Chinese National Police (sponsored by Sheldon Adelson?) abruptly closed things down.  Read Pokernews for more.   

FISH AND CHIPS:

THE DEVILFISH HAS LEFT THE BUILDING:

Panache: he had it in spades.  Hair trigger wit: a micro second was all it took for him to level a rebuttal that dwarfed your original insult.  Unapologetic:  a man as comfortable in his own skin as could be, who spoke without a filter and probably never uttered the two words politically correct.   

David "DevilFish" Ulliot lived a rambunctious and lucrative poker life, probably the single most important figure in the British Islands poker boom and he could play the game.  He was the type of likable scoundrel that could take your chips, slice your play apart with that caustic tongue but even as you'd leave with empty pockets you couldn't help but laugh.

Cancer took the Devilfish but in his wake are enough stories to fill three or four normal lifetimes.  Chad Holloway posted one here.  Two + Two posted a lot here.  Twitter blazed with Devilfish stories, and to a person everybody that has read his book has said you should read it too.

(THIS GUY SHOULD ALREADY BE ON OUR BLOG ROLL) DARRYLL FISH AND THE IRISH SLOW ROLL:

From Fish's blog, "As most of you probably heard/saw, there was a hand that took place today at the final table of the Irish Open that has caused quite an ruckus in the poker community. In case you somehow haven't seen it, here is the hand in question:

."

BEAU RIVAGE SPRING BREAK POKER CLASSIC:

DUSTIN WERTZ BESTS BEN THOMAS HEADS UP TO WIN MAIN EVENT:

New Orleanian Dustin Wertz took home the title when the dust settled after a loaded final table battled it out on day three of the Main Event.  He won a little over 60K.  Baton Rouge's Ben Thomas pocketed 33k for second.  Danny Drew of New Orleans won 18k for third.  Gabe Costner (who had a heck of series) finished fourth winning almost 15k after coming to the final table as the chipleader. 

Kip Jones won 11k for fifth and Jonathan Greer 10k for sixth.  Peter Sashy won 4k for 9th place and Ted Lawler 6k for eighth.  Chaayanath Mysomre finished in 7th place and won 8k.  Also in the money were John Holley, Rob Quin, Daniel Rivera, Danny Doucet and Mark Wilds.

COUSHATTA'S SPRING POKER CLASSIC:

This tournament had the same sort of structures as they normally have...same kind of players...and of course...self-serve Icee machines strategically placed around the Casino. The Main Event was a $1000 buy-in with the breakdown being $70-$930. For you math geeks out there that would be less than 10% juice. They were 3 handed with Blake Barrousse, Judy Leblanc and a random. Blake bowed out in 3rd place for close to $16,200. Not sure whether there was a heads-up deal or not...but it safe to say Mrs. Judy walked out of there with a few bricks. Another notable Dave "Diesel" Nicholson winds up on the Stone Bubble.

MONKEY TAKES 6TH IN 1ST WPT DEEPSTACK/IP BILOXI:

Caufman "badoffcauf" Talley was still in it. See post below for all the exciting Poker action coming to the Gulf Coast Area in the coming weeks.

POKER TOURNAMENTS GALORE HIT THE COAST THIS MONTH:

March is going to be a busy month for you tournament grinders.  We got you covered with links to all three big events hitting us at the end of the month. 

MARCH 20-MARCH 30

The WPT/Deepstacks Poker Tour hits the IP Casino for the first time.  This event promises huge (or deep) starting stacks, a chance to win points toward their Player of the Year race, and an opportunity to qualify for a seat in the 2016 WPT World Championship.  Events have a daily satellite and reasonable rakes ($300 + $35 for example).  Go to IP for more details and to download structures and one sheets.

In the exact same time span the Ameristar Casino Hotel in Vicksburg is hosting the Heartland Poker Tour.  Their main event will be televised.  Here's the schedule.

MARCH 26-APRIL 6

At the Beau Rivage, their annual Spring Break Classic will overlap a little bit with the IP's event.  While it will be hard for people to drive back and forth between Vicksburg and Biloxi, that won't be a problem with two casinos that can see each other in Biloxi. 

In fact, considering the Beau's 150K guarantee reentry event ($355 buy-in) is on the same weekend as the IP's Main Event, we've already heard a number of tournament players plotting out how they will play both.  Should be a great weekend on the coast for poker.  As always lots of subsequent tournaments go here for the complete schedule.

POKER MOVIES:

POKER IN THE MOVIES:

Wild Bill's blog features a guest spot by Eric Johnson.  Johnson, formerly a GCP blogger, now a staple on the flim festival scene reviewed Mississippi Grind, the new gambling/poker flick.  Go here to read his review:

POKER IN THE MOVIES 2, THE SEQUEL:

Nolan Dalla's Poker Night in America is generating TV that is less constrained then typical poker tournament telecasts.  It focuses on what makes a poker game fun, big personalities and big cash pots.  His blog taps into some of the behind the scenes moments of making the series.  This week he looked at an Oscar Winner (Jennifer Tilly), a film critic (Richard Roeper), and a poker pro watching that Straight Flush scene in Casino Royale.  Like the rest of us, they weren't impressed. 

Go here for some video and Nolan's insight.  Also, he linked to Dan Goldman's blog with a behind the scene's story of PokerStars and the James Bond franchise ill fated attempts to partner up.  Another good read.

LOOKING FOR SUGGESTIONS?

While this list looks almost suspiciously like the one Dalla had on his blog recently (if memory serves us right), there are some good flicks, you might have missed on there.  Go to Askmen for a top ten of poker movies.

BLOGS, BLOGS, BLOGGITY BLOGS:

A SMALL FISH IN A BIG POND:

The kid has big heart on the poker table and maybe even a bigger one away from it.

 Check out Darryll Fish's new blog "A Small Fish in a Big Pond," which offers a little glimpse into his eclectic life as it spills out his "brain box."  Fish leads an interesting and varied life. 

MONKEY, DAVY, LITTLE, ALL WITH FRESH TAKES:

Look left and right and you'll see some new content.  Lots of good reads we've been slow to bring to the front page.  Somehow we missed the not (quite) recent update by Davy Murrah, and newer ones by Monkey, Jonathan Little, Nolan Dalla, and the rest of the gang.  Enjoy.

WEEKLY WRAP:

FISH ON A HEATER:

Normally, we don't like this headline.  Usually a way to describe a luckbox who has gone on the hot streak of his life.  Darryll Fish is anything but a 'fish' except, obviously, by name. 

We don't know if he's on a heater yet, but we do know the bon vivant is $174k richer after winning the WSOP-C Main Event at the Palm Beach Kennel Club.  Hopefully, more to come for the former Biloxi resident.

Surprisingly, Fish's win gave him his first circuit ring.  Not an easy place to earn it, as he had to navigate a strong field  of 537 players that sent multiple bracelet winners to the final table.  They included Jonathan  Gavaiao (9th 16k), Maurice Hawkins (7th 15k), and Sam Panzica (4th 57k).  Also, making the money were Jason Mercier and John Dolan.  Fish qualified for the 2015 National Championship with the win. 

BEN SAXTON TESTS THE WATER IN BILOXI:

Ben Saxton wrote a blog post about his introduction to Biloxi cash games at a recent tournament at the IP.  Ben's a writer, planning a book about New Orleans poker.  His first post can be read right here.  

FRIEND OF GCP FINAL TABLES WPT BRAVES THE FROZEN FALLS, REWARDED WITH 74K:

Jeremy Halaska (pictured above) hails from Cleveland, Ohio, which is a little bit Big Ten country for our SEC footprint.  That said, he's one of the good guys in poker and we were happy to hear he made a WPT final table at the (frozen) Niagara Falls venue in Ontario,.  He couldn't turn his short stack into a big one and busted fifth for 74k.  No matter, still a great run by an up and comer. 

Anthony Zinno ended up winning the tournament giving him his second WPT title.  GCPer Shannon Shorr finished 30th for 9k.  

BLOGS, BLOGS, BLOGS:

Tons of good reads in either column.  David Mendez gives you the scoop on online poker, Monkey's plans to return to the game, and Jonathan Little reveals his secret project. 

Spoiler Alert:  It's another sure to be great book.  His new tome features a couple of former New Orleanians Ed Miller and Chad Holloway, plus a slew of other great authorities on the game.  Go check 'em out and HAPPY MARDI GRAS!

WSOP-C, LINKS, LINKS, LINKS:

GET THAT GUY A BEER, MAN:

Harrahs New Orleans regular Steve Bierman (pictured) won 5.4k for sixth place in the $580 No Limit Hold'em event.  Congrats to Steve for the deep run.

FULL WSOP SCHEDULE RELEASED:

You spoke, they listened.  Kudos to the WSOP this schedule has a little bit of everything the players and the fans wanted.  This extends to already released tweaks to the payouts in the Main Event (final table all earns at least 1k, and 1,000 people all cash) to a sprinkling of lower buy-in events.  Not only that... more play.  More chips and more levels for the lower buy-in events.

You want to play in a WSOP event but don't have 1k to throw down?  How about a $565 Colossus reentry event?  Maybe you prefer the lucky $777 event.  Like long levels?  Try the $1500 Extended Play NLHE event.  PokerNews has some more analysis here and WSOP.com has the full schedule.

BRIAN RAST OF ZEN POKER FINAL TABLES IN AUSSIE MILLIONS:

Big paydays down under as the Aussie Millions Main Event wrapped up with two players earning more than a million dollars.  A guy who had to settle (settle?) for $315,000 was Zen Poker's Brian Rast?  Need to up your poker game?  Act fast, spots are going quickly, but click the link atop the column and figure out what makes the top players tick.

LIAR, LIAR:

The New York Times asks if you can spot the liar, with an interactive test.  Presumably if you are a poker player your opinion matters more than others.  Or go help the researchers at the University of Chicago and take the real test, here.

NO MORE STAKING IN VEGAS:

Um... never mind.  The poker economy returned to its axis after the news that the possible new law in Vegas that had nothing to do with poker, but could have destroyed tournament poker, will in fact not apply to poker.  Confused?  Go here to read more. 

WSOP-C TUNICA:

GRAPHIA, MCBRAYER, BYBEE FINAL SIX OF SIX MAX:

Nick Graphia of Baton Rouge just missed winning a WSOP ring in Tunica.  In the $365 No Limit Hold'em Six-Handed event he finished second winning 13k.  Ross Bybee of Mickinny, TX finished fourth for 6.5k.  BJ McBrayer 3.3k for sixth.

JEREMY DREWERY FIFTH IN MAIN EVENT:

Drewery who qualified for the WSOP National Championship a couple of years ago was back to his winning ways this weekend going deep and winning a big payday by finishing fifth for 37k in Tunica.  Congrats to him.  Bronson Tucker who coached at the WSOP Academy in New Orleans also had a deep run, finishing 27th for a little under 5k.   Also, congrats to Josh Mancuso for another cash.

MILLION DOLLAR HEATER MAIN EVENT RESULTS:

King Tut:

David Tuthill of St. Petersburg, Florida bested Jeremy Gaubert in heads up action after a long final table grind.  Gaubert entered the last table as the chip leader, with Tuthill a short stack.  Gaubert enhanced his lead flopping a set over set against 8th place finisher Chun Law (second in chips at the time).   

David Williams of Hoover, AL finished 7th (20k) and Ben Thomas of Baton Rouge went out 6th (25k).  Tuthill ran well when it got to heads up action and overcame a big deficit with some crucial hands.  His finishing shot came when his A8 improved over Gaubert's AK after getting it in preflop.  Tuthill won 165k with Guabert earning 90k for second.

Also, in the money (final 18); Shaun Johnstonn, Corrie Wunstel, Blake Barousse, John Dolan, and Jason Anderson (Bourg, LA).  Ryan Lenaghan fell just short of the final two tables and the money. 

MILLION DOLLAR HEATER MAIN EVENT FLIGHT A COUNTS AND 1K RESULTS:

LENAGHAN AGAIN , N.O. PRO HEADS TRIO ABOVE 90K:

Ryan Lenaghan makes a habit of chipping up in big events.  After Day 1A of the 500k Guarantee Main Event, the habit continued as he's first in chips with 98k.  Another player who gets a big stack and wins a lot is Blake Barousse who's just behind at 93k.   The third player looking down on the field is Jeff Quin.  Quin seeks to follow up his big win at the MSPT Baton Rouge stop with a win at the Beau.  He has 95k. 

Dustin Wertz of New Orleans sits in fourth at 75k.  A couple of spots behind is Kenny Milam of LaPlace, LA (sporting the GCP patch... easiest way to get your pic on this site is to wear one) with 60k.  Quite a day for Louisiana as five of the top six chip counts all hail from the boot state.  Also returning for day two with biggish stacks are John Dolan 52k, Zo Karim 44k, Tom Franklin 42k, and David Nicholson 39k.

Josh Palmer, Ted Barrick , Mo Moeini, Joe Phelps and Guy Turner all come back Monday too.

PRIMO PERFORMANCE:

Dallas pro Pejman "Primo" Niyati bested Jeremy Gaubert (pictured) heads up to win the 1k tournament and $21,650.  Gaubert entered heads up play with the chiplead but two quick double ups saw a reversal of fortune and Primo leaving with the glory. 

Gaubert earned 11k for second.  Zo Karim finished third.  The final table also featured former November Niner John Dolan and "Boston" Rob Mariano of Pensacola.

MILLION DOLLAR HEATER RESULTS:

GIDDY UP, CARPENTER WINS HORSE TOURNAMENT:

Biloxi native Stewart Carpenter beat Lafayette Mixed Games expert Brock Gary (pictured) heads up to win the Horse event and 3k.  Gary earned 1.7k for second.  Jason Anderson of Bourg LA made the money in fifth as did Ramon Martinez of Diamondhead, MS.

TOMPKINS TOPS PLO8:

Ben Tompkins of Birmingham, AL won 8.4k by finishing  first in the PLO8 event.  The Auburn student enjoyed his trip to the Beau and overcame some stiff local final table competition including 4th Janet Clark (Gulf Breeze), 5th Quentin Ball (Gulfport), 6th Corrie Wunstel (Baton Rouge) and 7th Jennifer Day (Biloxi).

FORMER GCP BLOGGER OUT OF RETIREMENT AND INTO THE MONEY:

Brian Heptinstall, formerly of GCP and Beau Rivage Social Media fame, visited for a couple of days and left with a final table experience cashing in Event 8th.  Heptinstall now of Austell, GA finished 8th.  Steve Nussrallah of Atlanta won 8.9k for first.   Teddy Conner of New Orleans and Jason Arrington of Gulf Shores also cashed.

PARKER PREVAILS:

Ray Parker of Long Beach, MS won 7.6k for first in event 7 a six max event.  He was joined at the cashier's cage by Seville Hale and Corrie Wunstel.  The final four players agreed to a late hour chop and Parker got bragging rights and the biggest chunk.

STANFORD STUNS WITH 10-8 FIVE BET SHOVE:

BJ McBrayer sat on a chiplead in Event 4 and looked down at pocket Kings.  William Stanford thought McBrayer was pushing him around, when he got reraised so five pre-flop bets and one call later Stanford's fate looked sealed when he discovered the Tuscaloosa pro "had it."  Stanford's 10-8 went to show down against McBrayer's kings.  Poker is a cruel mistress as the board brought relief for Stanford and agony for McBrayer when another 10 and 8  hit.  This pivotal hand propelled Stanford of Tupelo, MS to a first place share in a chop and put McBrayer on a shorter stack and a lesser share.  Jerry Ard "Shark" finished 6th.

MILLION DOLLAR HEATER RESULTS:

ZACCARO ZIPS UP ANOTHER PLO EVENT:

Danny Zaccaro of Mobile earned his second PLO title at the Beau Rivage and 11k for first place.  He beat Roger Barkus of Oklahoma heads up to take the event three title.

SNYDER WINNER:

Steven Synder of Hoover Alabama won first place and 20k in event two.  William Crawford of Meridian, MS finished second for 10k.  Jonathan Greer of Baton Rouge and Teddy Conner (pictured) of New Orleans also made the final table.  Greer won 4.6k for fourth and Conner 3.3k for 6th.  Craig McFall of Meridian, MS ended up 10th.  Also in the money Jerry Monroe, Brian Fontana, Charles Bailey and Steven Bryson.

MILLION DOLLAR HEATER REENTRY RESULTS:

ROBINSON REACHES SUMMIT, GORDON CLOSE:

Ralph Robinson of Stone Mountain, GA bagged 85k for first place.  Friend of GCP, Randy Gordon a Metairie, LA resident won 43k for his third place finish.  Suzanne Miller of Notasulga, AL won 51k for second place.  Another rooting interest Josh Mancuso finished 8th for 11k. 

Also in the money Frank Alpandinar of Baton Rouge earned 7k for 15th.  Hiep Doan, Todd Elliot and Caufman Talley all of New Orleans all made the top 25 winning more than 4k.  Also in that pay level were Matt Blanchard of Houma and Troy Graham of Hammond.  Jeff Sager, Tom Franklin, John Cressend of Metairie, Mike Tippet of Baton Rouge, and Joan Rhodes also cashed.  Since 251 players made the money better to go here to see compete payouts.

MILLION DOLLAR HEATER REENTRY DAY TWO:

HEATER SIZZLES:

Early on Friday, the Beau Rivage powers confided they were expecting over 2300 people in the reentry event.  They know their business because two days and three flight ones later they counted all the loot at the buy-in desk and 2331 people bought into the $355 event.   That meant first place would be 85k, second place 51k, third 43k.   With the exception of ninth everybody at the final table will pocket more than 10k.  Also, 250 spots to be paid with the min cash being $610.

TERRY PARKS IN FIRST, CAUFMAN TALLY, SEVILLE HALE AMONG DAY 1 CHIPLEADERS

Parks of Chattanooga enjoys a chip lead with 346k.  Caufman "Coffeeman" Talley lurks in second with 259k.  Justin Hooker of Tuscaloosa sits on slightly less at 257k.  Seville Hale of Pensacola Dog Track fame bagged 242k.  Lots of notables return with over 100k and a great shot at making the money, not to mention at first place money ambitions.   They include Andy Moon of Vidalia, LA, Jay Martin of Saraland, AL, Andrew Bulliard of Lafayette, LA, Mike Smith of Biloxi, Trey Hardesty of Denham Springs, Josh Mancuso of New Orleans, Mike Yentzen of Biloxi, Todd Elliot of New Orleans, Kendall Malarcher of Convent, LA, Phung Lu of Mobile, Gary of Dunaway of Baton Rouge, Hiep Doan of New Orleans, Philip Walker of Pensacola, and Alexey Laptev of New Orleans.

AVERAGE AIN'T THAT BAD:

Chip Ervin and Jonathan Hart are just a smidge under 100k.  With average at 80k a slew of players come back to day two with hope and plenty of chips to work with, they include Craig Gullung, of Marrero, Joan Rhodes of New Orleans, LA, Vincent Phan of New Orleans, Mike Tippet of Baton Rouge, Ronnie Scott of New Orleans, Austin Davis and "Spider" Bob Henderson of Metairie (pictured).

Also, coming back in the thick of things are some familar names that include  Mike Talley of Tuscaloosa, CJ Boynes of Mandeville, Frank Alpandinar of Baton Rouge, Jeff Sager of New Orleans, Andrew Ashby of Lafayette, John Walters of Pensacola, Todd Skinner of Youngsville, LA, and Jesse Blanchard of Pierre Point, LA.

THEY GOT SOME WORK TO DO:

Some of the short stacks and well below average stacks will have their work cut out for them to chip up, make the money and then run it up.  Heather Reese, Tom Franklin, Carl Guillot, and Jerry Monroe highlight this grouping.  Also, in it with a shot to win it are Gus Bahos and Thu Thran of Mobile, John Stiver of Biloxi, Mike Dreznick of Baton Rouge, Chris Cottingham of Chalmette, LA,  Jason Anderson of Bourg LA, Brad Jennings of Pensacola, FL, Don Dove of New Orleans, LA James "Maximum" Payne of Picayune, MS, Troy Templet of Praireville, John Cresend of Metaire, LA, Bobbi Bailey of Mobile, Phillip Whittington of Lafayette, Mike Husa of Biloxi, Doug Claybrook, and James Spears of Baton Rouge.

BRIAN RAST CASHES AGAIN AND STARTS UP ZEN POKER:

RAST CASHES AGAIN IN SUPER HIGH ROLLER:

In the Biggest WPT Alpha 8 event to date, Brian Rast, more on him and Zen Poker below, finished third, one spot ahead of Floridian Noah Schwartz.  Rast cashed for 755k.  Schwartz earned 539k.  Andrew Lichtenberger took the top prize pocketing a little over 2.1 million.  Tom Marchese finished second for 1.2 million.  This event wrapped up a busy week for the WPT at the Bellagio, which also held the WPT Five Diamond Classic...

WPT FIVE DIAMOND CLASSIC MASHED BY MOSHIN:

Mohsin Charania won 1.47 million for first and the prestige of being the champion of one of the tougher fields of the year.  Also in the money with ties to the gulf coast or having success in our bigger tournaments:  Brandon Adams, Jacob Bazeley, Aaron Massey, Jean Gaspard, and of course the kid Kevin Eyster who pretty much just kills every tournament he plays in.

A PLUG FOR ZEN POKER MENTORING (click the link above or below for a free chance to win a 1k WSOP seat):

The best players will tell you maintaining poise under pressure, and suppressing tilt when things are not going your way are two keys to success in poker.  Zen Poker Mentoring offers you the know how to achieve this kind of mental balance and find enlightenment in your game by learning from mentors who have been there and done that.  Brian Rast, with over 7 million in poker winnings, a WPT champion and WSOP bracelet winner, helms this new venture.  You might most remember him giving Phil Helmuth fits the year he won the Players Championship at the WSOP.  A textbook example of a playing being in the zone and another rattled out of it. 

February 21st and 22nd Rast will lead a course focused on breaking through the barriers that plague poker players.  Vanessa Rousso, Kristy Arnett and mind coach Elliot Row will be there to help the process.  Also featuring hand labs with the experts and surprise guests.

Guess what if you go here right now, you'll have a shot for a free 1k seat to next years WSOP.  Even better, we think you can transfer it.  If you sign up for the course, enter code Gulf Coast, for added benefits.

MISSISSIPPI GRIND:

THE MOVIE YOU HAVEN'T HEARD ABOUT BUT SHOULD HAVE:

Called one of the most anticipated independent movies of this year, the cast includes Sienna Miller, Ryan Reynolds, Alfre Woodard, and cut-off Louisiana's own Wes Lagarde.  Pretty loaded for an "indy" movie.  It's a tale of a down on his luck gambler partnering up with a Mississippi poker pro in a jaunt through the south to win back what's he lost.  It seems like something that anybody who reads this site would be interested in...

This is not Reynolds first movie about poker (also seen in Finder's Fee, which you may have to pay a finder's fee just to find a copy to watch, but based on the the trailer doesn't look that bad).  Anyway, the buzz around this movie is really good, even if it's outside the standard hollywood hype and big budgets.

TOURNAMENT UPDATES:

MELIUS WINS FIRST EVENT AT BAYOU CLASSIC:

Barth Melius battled a brutally long bubble and then wrapped up the in the money play in less time.  Also, in the final five and in the money were Jeff Sager and GCP's Wild Bill Phillips.  Congrats to Barth and Jeff and good luck the rest of the series.  Schedule here.

JASON MERCIER WINS HIGH ROLLER EVENT:

Mercier won a little bit more than Melius picked up at Harrahs.  The St. Kitts event, the WPT Alpha8 only attracted 15 entries but Mercier mowed through them on his way to 727k payday.  Mercier probably savored winning a huge pot off of Daniel Colman (2014's Jason Mercier) a little bit more than the others.

BAZE UNFAZED ON THE BAIZE:

Jacob Bazeley won the Cherokee WSOP-C Main Event, and 293k.  The circuit grinder, also earned a National Championship seat with the win.  "Cigar" Joey Wideman of Belle Chase finished 18th and Darryll Fish went out 11th.  Kyle Cartwright busted 21st.  David Nicholson also cashed.   

MSPT 100K WINNER, ANTE UP 50K WINNER:

QUIN WINS:

Jeff Quin steamrolled the Mid-States Poker Tour 100K guarantee at the Belle of Baton Rouge's final table.  He ran up a short stack to a chip lead early on day 2 that he never let go of.  It all started after doubling through Day 1 massive chip leader Adam Friedman.  As Quin streaked up the leader board, Friedman went the opposite way and had to weather one more flip just to cash.  That only stopped the bleeding for a moment as he finished in 14th.  Joining him on the rail after making the money were My Nguyen, Bill Flippen, Michael Benton, and Brandon Creel (pictured left). 

Corrie Wunstel fell in 12th place.  Locals Josh Mancuso, Mihail Karasoulis, Frank Alpandinar, Randy Landry (pictured), Dave Chocheles and Garret Theriot made the final table.   Karasoulis  and Chocholes both ran deep in the first MSPT event earlier this year at the Belle, and seemed intent on finishing earlier business.  Unfortunately Alpandinar, Krista Lowery and Karasoulis went home shortly after Josh Mancuso's early final table exit.

Rufus Yates and Broderick Scott were bounced just as things got intense near the big money.  Chocheles fell in fourth when his ace didn't improve vs. Quin's bigger ace.  Randy Landry (pictured below) and Garret Theriot both had tiny stacks in three handed play.  Quin knocked them out in four hands.  His pocket 9s holding v. Landry's pocket 8s, and his A6 making quads against Theriot's pocket 3s.  On this day very early it started to feel like nobody was going to overcome the mighty Quin, and nobody did.  Congrats to Jeff on the win.  Payouts below:

1 Jeff Quin                                  33,640
2 Garrett Theriot                        18,500
3 Randy Landry                         10,653
4 David Chocheles                      8,971
5 Broderick Scott                         6,728
6 Rufus Yates                               5,607
7 Frank Alpandinar                     4,485
8 Krista Lowery                           3,364
9 Mihail Karasoulis                     2,523
10 Josh Mancuso                        2,243
11 Wade Smith                           2,243
12 Corrie Wunstel                      2,243
13 Brandon Creel                       1,962
14 Adam Friedman                    1,962
15 Storey Clayton                      1,962
16 Michael Benton                     1,682
17 William Flippen                     1,682
18 My Nguyen                            1,682

REESE GETS BIGGEST PIECE:

As the second flight of action began at the Belle on Day 1B we began to wonder where a lot of the panhandle Florida, Alabama and even some Mississippi grinders were.  Earlier in year many of you showed up Saturday to join in the action at the Belle.  Then we started to see updates for the Ante Up 50K guarantee at the Pensacola dog track and saw the huge numbers that event drew.  Guess many people stayed home and the two tournaments split the Gulf Coast in half this time. 

We saw lots of familiar names and faces advancing in Pensacola.  As they Splashed the Pot to make it deep in the tournament, we rooted from afar for players who would make it in to the money like Lynn Morris, Boston Rob Mariano, Seville Hale, Bob Beck, Bobby Washington, Randall Reese, John Walters, Ron Haveard, and eventual winner Heather Reese.

When action got four hand Reese did an even chop and then ended up winning the $1650 seat to the Ante Up World Championship they set aside.

MSPT FLIGHT 1A AND 1B RESULTS:

FRIEDMAN FIRES, FIRES, AND FIRES AGAIN--REWARDED WITH MASSIVE CHIP LEAD:

We saw Adam Friedman fire two bullets Friday night in Flight A.  He made the correct decision to fire again on Saturday because he returns with a huge chunk of the chips.  He's the only player over 200k.  Not only that, he's the only player over 300k.  The Vegas pro has over 350k and will be a major force to contend with in the restart.  Mihail Karasoulis (no stranger to multiple bullets either), Josh Mancuso, Rufus Yates, and Brandon Creel also made it through the day.  A number of local rooting interests in that group.

CHOCHELES AND FLIPPEN TOP FIVE IN DAY ONE CHIPS:

David Chocheles (pictured) and Bill Flippen both finished over 100k at the end of day 1A.  Garret Theriot with 148k held the chip lead over night, before Friedman smashed through it.   Rufus Yates and My Nguyen rounded out the top five for the first day of play.  Randy Landry, Michael Benton, Corrie Wunstel, Mike Horchoff, Frank Alpandinar, and Jeff Quin all made it through too. 

GCPERS ELIMINATED:

Will "Monkey" Souther, Gene D, and Wild Bill all busted Flight 1A.  Joining them on the rails were Jacob Naquin, Trucker Kenny Milam, Ryan Gafford, Captain Ron Hope, Brock Gary, and Austin Bursavich.  Steve Bierman, David Weinstein, and Nick Graphia went out late in Flight 1B.

KUDOS TO MSPT AND THE BELLE:

Once again, Bryan Mileski, Eric Anderson and the guys at MSPT pulled off a successful tournament in Baton Rouge.  Several tweaks and improvements over last year.  Thanks to everybody that came out to support the event.  They'll be back in early February.  More updates to come. 

CHIP COUNTS AND TABLE DRAW FOR RESTART:

Adam Friedman 356,500  Table 1 Seat 8
Mihail Karasoulis 151,000 Table 2 Seat 4
Garrett Theriot 148,500 Table 1 Seat 1
Josh Mancuso 128,000 Table 3 Seat 8
Rufus Yates 112,500 Table 3 Seat 7
Brandon Creel 110,000 Table 3 Seat 9
David Chocheles 106,000 Table 1 Seat 4
My Nguyen 103,000 Table 2 Seat 3
Broderick Scott 102,500 Table 2 Seat 8
Randy Landry 101,000 Table 2 Seat 2
Bill Flippen 101,000 Table 3 Seat 6
Michael Benton 96,500 Table 2 Seat 6
Corrie Wunstel 76,500 Table 3 Seat 3
Adam Simoneaux 69,000 Table 1 Seat 6
Krista Lowery 68,000 Table 2 Seat 1
Chris Savage 63,000 Table 2 Seat 9
Robbie Matthews 61,000 Table 1 Seat 7
Michael Horchoff 60,500 Table 2 Seat 7
Frank Alpandinar 54,500 Table 1 Seat 9
Jeff Quin 49,500 Table 1 Seat 3
Adam Lamphere 46,500 Table 3 Seat 1
Wade Smith 46,000 Table 3 Seat 2
Storey Clayton 45,000 Table 1 Seat 2
Richard Hairston 43,500 Table 3 Seat 4

GCP NEWS, NEW BLOGGER, POKERNEWS INTERVIEW AND LINKS:

DAVID MENDEZ WELCOME TO THE BLOG ROLL:

Our latest blogger David Mendez shines a light on an area of poker we've been hoping to report more on, online poker.  While the glory days of Full Tilt and PokerStars threatening to become the Coke and Pepsi of the poker generation are gone, there are still options out there.  Mendez knows where they are at.  He also will talk about his live exploits.  Go here to read his first post and look for him on the left side of the blog roll going forward.  Also some fresh content from Jason Mercier, Davy Murrah, Nolan Gay, a touching tribute to a passed friend by Jennifer Gay, the Poker Monkey and Wild Bill.

POKERNEWS INTERVIEW ABOUT MSPT COMING TO THE BELLE OF BATON ROUGE:

We got a chance to speak with bracelet winner Chad Holloway about the return of the MSPT to Baton Rouge.  You might have notice their logo above and to the right.  We talked about some other issues pertinent to the Gulf Coast too.  Go here for more.

MARTIN JACOBSEN WINS MAIN EVENT, KENNY MILAM WINS SEAT TO NEXT YEAR'S:

MILAM WINS MAIN EVENT SEAT:

We should probably lead with the Main Event champion, Martin Jacobson's triumph... but we don't know the guy and we know Kenny, so the Gulf Coaster gets first billing.  Kenny "Mega Master" Milam won his 101st mega (that's careful record keeping by the way) and the 101st was a big one.  It's the second November in a row he's won a seat in Harrahs NOLA's WSOP Main Event satellite.  So next July, he'll be back in Vegas giving it another shot. 

They are going to get tired of putting his picture on the wall (actually they might already be tired of it... they just put last year's picture up... wait a second did we do the same too?).  Congrats to Kenny, hopefully he can improve on being 70 something away from the money at the Main Event.  Also of note, Kenny lost significant pots to eighth place finisher Bruno Politano and Norwegian runner-up Felix Stephensen on his final day.  Those guys  won millions and Kenny has a couple of bad beat stories.  Painful.

NORDIC HEADS UP MATCH AND BRIEF WSOP WRAP-UP:

Martin Jacobson arguably played better than anybody at the final table (was it us that predicted a Northern European victor?) and rode his second shortest stack to the only stack left in the tournament.  Time after time he seemed to make the right decision, and time after time, when the cards went against him he quietly and patiently rebuilt.  Dutch player Jorryt Van Hoof played his big stack as well as he could play until very late in the tournament when the Norwegian and the Swede ran him down. 

In terms of entertainment value it's a shame Bruno Politano, the slow moving Brazilian lasted as long into the telecast as he did... talk about bad for TV.  He literally but some people to sleep.  And perhaps, even worse it's a missed opportunity for high-wire poker fans that Mark Newhouse went out ninth.  His exit also a repeat in November hurt because play seemed fairly conservative after he left and he wasn't afraid to mix it up.  He got criticized and lauded for his move against Will Tonking which ended with him busting out.  He went for the win which earned him plaudits.  He got it in bad and took a line that seemed bluffy which got him heat.  Our take and what nobody is mentioning is maybe he just picked the wrong opponent.  More than half the table could or would (?) have found the fold, Will Tonking told his rail he essentially was snap calling.  Perhaps that was based on Newhouse's reputation (a great call) or perhaps Tonking was just the wrong guy to try and bluff.   We are going with a combination of both.  Right play, wrong guy?  Or just wrong play?   Either way wrong result.

Still, a little bit like the year Greg Merson won it, it seemed fitting and justified for Jacobson to take the title.  He had that calm zen-like demeanor and just seemed in the moment for the duration of both marathon telecasts.  The only regret is that he didn't garner more coverage in the build-up to the final table.  It'd be nice if ESPN could repackage the Main Event and use a lot of that unused footage to retell Jacobson's story.  A drawback to the November Nine is knowing the winner really allows them to frame the narrative of the tournament better retrospectively.  This year it was all about Newhouse, while compelling and relevant, Jacobson and poker fans got short shrift by a lack of camera time.   

MSPT SATELLITES PICKING UP STEAM AND MISC POKER NEWS:

BATON ROUGE SATTYS FILLING UP:

We've played in a couple of satellites for the MSPT at the Belle and seen them fill up quickly.  Check the link above and to the right for times to play.  Can get into their 100k tournament for as little as $65 with the top 20% moving on to the $250 Satellites. 

JEAN ROBERT BELLANDE SURVIVES WEIGHT LOSS BET:

Bellande bet two high stakes players 70K he couldn't lose 42 pounds in five months.  He shed the weight going from 287 pounds to exactly 244.4 pounds (somewhere Daniel Negreanu was talking about the significance of 4s).   

WSOP MAIN EVENT TO AIR MONDAY/TUESDAY NIGHTS:

Mark Newhouse is third in chips but probably a favorite sentimentally, a favorite as the last "name player" left, and maybe a favorite as possibly the best player remaining.  

That said the top two in chips, Jorryt Van Hoof of the Netherlands and Felix Stephensen of Norway, will be determined to bring Europe another bracelet.  With their continent holding a huge percentage of the chips in play odds may be in their favor.  Those two are joined by a Spaniard (Andoni Larrable 4th in chips) and a Swede (Martin Jacobson the second shortest stack). 

Three other Americans and a Brazilian round out the table.  Foosball champ William Pappaconstantinou has drawn a lot of attention but as the third smallest stack and lacking final table experience it'd be a real upset if he wins.  When polled one of the GCP.NET owners selected Stephensen as the winner.   

HEARTLAND POKER TOUR VICKSBURG RESULTS:

WINNERS LANE:

Chris Lane of Brandon, MS wins HPT Main Event and 43k for first.  He edged out Gulf Coast reg Jesus Cabrera of Atlanta, GA who won 26k.  Jay Bishop of Pearl, MS won 17k for third.  Also making the TV table Jonathan Hart of Jackson, MS (won 12.8k) and Shane Lea of Petal, MS (just under 8k).

BILL FLIPPIN WINS:

Two Harrahs NOLA regs, Bill Flippin (pictured) and Charlie Gelvin went up to Vicksburg for the Heartland Poker Tour stop and it was a profitable trip.  Flippin won a nightly and then finished third in the re-entry event.  Gelvin cashed in both events too.

MSPT COMING BACK TO BATON ROUGE:

Here's the schedule with the satellites which have already started.  We are getting excited for the return of the Mid States Poker Tour to the region.  They do huge numbers all over the country and we expect a bump from last year.  Main Event begins Nov. 21. 

HARRAHS  NOLA REGS WINNING EVERYWHERE:

CIGAR JOEY FINISHES 3RD:

The WSOP -C stop in Hammond, IN, never fails to bring in a ton of players.  This year, Joey Wideman, a Harrahs new Orlans reg, visited and just missed winning his first ring.  Congrats to him as earned almost 20k for third in the reentry format.

BOWERS FIRST LADIES CHAMP, MS. JOAN CASHES TWICE:

Congrats to Morgan Bowers who won the first ever Harrahs NOLA ladies weekly tournament beating Ms. Joan Rhodes in heads up play.  Ms. Joan settled for second but quickly found the cashiers cage again making the money in the Monthly WSOP satellite event.  Great week for another tournament reg.

DAVID MENDEZ CHOPS BEAU RIVAGE 20K:

We are going to welcome David to our blogger roll later this week.  His focus will be on the current state of online poker and other items he wants to write about.  We are glad to have him.  Not that he doesn't play live, as he just cashed/chopped fourways for a big chunk.

HEADS UP:

The MSPT is coming back to Baton Rouge.  We hope to be promoting the event as we did last year.  So look for updates and information about their qualifiers running up to the event itself here.  Also, the Beau Rivage has released it's Million Dollar Heater Schedule already.  Might be a good time to get a jump on booking rooms.  You can find the link on our FACEBOOK page.  While you are there don't be afraid to hit like.  We love to feel loved.

IP WSOP-C  MAIN EVENT 2014:

EENY, MEENY, MOEINI:

Moe Moeini wins WSOP-C IP Main Event on Home Turf:

Mohammad Moeini played Georgian Brandon Newsome three hours in heads up play until he prevailed.  He won 106k for topping the 301 person field.  He downplayed his recent success by saying, "The last two years I've been getting lucky," to the WSOP.com.  We wouldn't be surprised if this humble player one day says, "For the last twenty years I've been lucky."  Sure it takes good fortune to win any tournament and sustain success on the tour, but to be in the money as often as Moeini does it requires a great amount of skill too.  Congrats Moe!

Newsome earned 65k for finishing second.  Friends of GCP, Tim "TK" Miles finished in third, winning 47k, and Corrie Wunstel eigth pocketing 12k.  Roger "Lynn" Morris of Pensacola finished 9th for just under 10k.  Congrats also to Metairie CPA Thomas Doussan, who can't seem to stop cashing lately finishing sixth for 20k.  Lance Jones of Birmingham, went out fifth winning 26k.  Larry Hirons of Arlington, TX rounded out the final table winning 15k for seventh.

Blake Barousse at one point held the chiplead but got run down finishing 23rd.  A number of names we see a lot in the money, finished outside the final table but went home with some pocket change.  They included Metairie's Curtis Terry, Tim Burt, Beverly Lange, Ben Thomas, Josh Palmer, Jerry Monroe, Chris Conrad, and Dan Lowery.

GRAY'S DAY:

Anthony Gray earned the Casino Championship by winning his second ring in event 11 to edge Mark Fink, Joshua Reichard and GCP's Will Souther in the standings.  Gray beat the capable Kip Jones, and Will Souther in the final three to win his second ring.  Also, a shout out to Kai Landry who finished second in the Ladie's event.  His cash had many petitioning the WSOP to install TSA type X-ray devices to insure the proper chromosomes of all Ladies events players in the future.

IP BILOXI WSOP-C UPDATES:

HOLLEY, MCBRAYER GO 1-2 IN RE-ENTRY:

Congrats to John Holley of Destin, FL (first 38k) and BJ McBrayer of Tuscaloosa (second 24k) for going deepest in the event everybody want to win.  The tournament set the highest attendence of any WSOP-C event ever at the IP Casino.  This time the fisherman prevailed winning his third ring.  We were happy to see both players do so well.  Great job John and BJ!

Matthew Davidson of Birmingham (third 17k), Justin Hooker of Tuscaloosa (4th), and Justin Booth of Dallas (8th 4.5k) all made the final table.  Steven Giddings of Ruston, LA, Tom Franklin, Kyle Nunez of Erath, LA, Robert Matthews of Denham Springs, LA and Blake Barousse of Lafayette, all got some circuit points.  Joey Wideman of Belle Chasse, LA, Alexander Debell of Gulfport, Mark Wilds of Biloxi, Garret Jones, Ashly Butler, Mike Husar, Fred Sigur, Charles Moore, Ben Thomas, Frank Aplandinar, Kris Cannatelli, and Thomas Doussan all cashed.

REICHARD COULD HAVE STAYED AT HOME TO BEAT CHRIS CONRAD IN EVENT 4:

One of the storylines of this circuit event has been the success of the roommates in a local house.  Josh Reichard, John Holley (yep, that's him above), Chris Conrad and Paul Ewen all lived together and all cashed together.  In event 4, Josh Reichard, a Monkey's Minion, won 10k after beating his roommate Chris Conrad (second 6.6k) in heads up action. 

Paul Ewen also made the money.  Pretty sure they've won the House Casino Championship.  Meanwhile, we were also pulling for Tai Cao (pictured) of Lafayette who despite coming back to day two with one of the shortest stacks ran it up to 3.4k.  Great job Tai.

VALENTIN'S DAY IN EVENT 5:

Circuit reg Valentin Vornicu won 12k for first beating Danny Gray of Tallassee, AL heads up.  Vornicu now boasts five Circuit rings.  Gray earned 7.5.  Ray Parker of Long Beach and Robert Lovell of Houston, TX also made the final table.  Meanwhile, another cash for Will South and Doug Gambel of Ponchatoula, LA. 

SERMONS WINS EVENT 7:

Rodney Sermons of Shreveport, played his first tournament and went home with a ring.  Will Souther earned his third cash of this series with a fifth place finish (2.7k).  As for the points race he's still well behind Mark Fink who jumped over Josh Reichard in the points lead by finishing second.  Fink's first place and second place finishes gives him 12.5 more points than Reichard.

IP BILOXI WSOP-C UPDATES:

FINK BINKS EVENT ONE, DUDEK THIRD:

Gene D (aka Gene Dudek) gave 'em hell in event one.  Like Austin "SkinnyDonk" Buchanan (third 4.6k), Gene was in search of his first circuit ring.  Dudek, a GCP co-owner, previously has been casino champion at the IP so it would be fitting to get the gold here.  Unfortunately for Dudek, Mark Fink of Sioux Falls ended up winning the event and 10k for first.  Robert Iversen of Gulf Breeze finished second for 6.4k, and Dudek had to settle for fourth (3.6k).

Thomas Doussan and Todd Cowan both of Metairie finished sixth for just under 2k and 8th for a little over 1k respectively.  John Durio of Metairie, also cashed as did Robert Pierce of Slidell, Charles Hubbard of Gulfport, Steven Giddings of Ruston, LA and another GCPer Will "Poker Monkey" Souther (in a triumphant return to the IP of his own).  

GRAND DAY FOR GRAY, BIG DAY FOR BAMA, DOUCET SECOND IN EVENT TWO:

Danny Doucet (pictured) of Opelousas, LA came close to a ring in Event Two's turbo NL Hold'Em, but couldn't get past Anthony Gray of Coker, AL.    Doucet had to settle for second and 7.6k.  Ricky Romero of New Iberia, LA earned 3k for fifth.  Gray won 12k for first. 

They must like to play turbos in Alabama because Alabamians accounted for almost half of the players in the money. Along with Gray, Brett Hearn of Mobile, finished third; Charles Bailey of Mobile, AL and Christopher Nunnally of Birmingham each made the final table;  and Luther Tran, Gerald Beard, and Barry Champion all cashed.