A cash game specialist from Mississippi has taken down the first Pot-Limit Omaha event of the summer, and it was a whopper. And the MILLIONAIRE MAKER also draws a large crowd.
There were times during the $565 buy-in Pot-Limit Omaha event where Tyler Smith felt like he was in a war.
“It was a minefield,” said Smith.“Unwinnable.”
Fortunately, for the 30-year old from Biloxi, he avoided the explosions and turned unwinnable into a World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet to go alongside his World Series of Poker Circuit (WSOPC) gold ring.
And Smith doesn’t even play tournaments. To Smith, tournaments hold a certain mysticism and occultism. His bracelet win was his first foray into the unknown in two years.
You would think he would play more.
He won’t.
The low price point, excitement of the game, re-entry format, and Twin Day 1 starting flights created a luminous and voluminous turnout with 3,186 entrants smashing last year’s attendance by 28.52%. If the WSOP was a bookstore, it seems this is the one that would be out of stock.
Smith defeated Jason Stockfish in heads-up action to take the $244,344 first prize. It was Heartache Part Deux for Stockfish after landing in the same spot in the $1,500 8-Game Mix last year.
The event created a $1.5m prize pool.
Smith has now earned $1.2m in live tournament earnings but views his quarter of a million new friends as bankroll fodder for his Mississippi cash games.
The final table also housed the former World Series of Poker Asia-Pacific (WSOP-APAC) Main Event winner, Scott Davies, who finished fourth.
Other notables sucked into the centre of this giant whirlpool were Mark Radoja (12th), Adam Owen (13th), and the former Hendon Mob star Joe Beevers (14th).
Final Table Results
1. Tyler Smith – $244,344
2. Jason Stockfish – $138,655
3. Igor Sharaskin – $102,045
4. Scott Davies – $75,699
5. Marek Oshnisko – $56,607
6. Jessie Bryant – $42,673
7. John Dallaire – $32,432
8. Ryan Wince – $24,852
9. Yves Kupfermunz – $19,201
The Millionaire Maker Locks Up Day 1 Action
The $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em MILLIONAIRE MAKER has waved bye-bye to the Day 1 action. 7,761 players entered in a variety of forms, and 1,187 will return for Day 2.
Brian Altman holds the chip lead (215,000), and noticeable big stacks come in the shape of David Peters (172,000), Kenny Hallaert (125,000), and Ravi Raghavan (105,000).
The event hauled in $10,477,350 with the winner guaranteed $1,221,407. Last year, Jason De Witt defeated 7,190 entrants to take the $1m first prize.
