There were actually 11 players total in the group, but one could not make it and still chose to buy a stake, and the other chose not to play as he had already won a seat the previous weekend. More on that later.
And so it was Jeff S., Jeff R., Joey, Jacob, and Stephen B., who busted out in that order over the next few hours. As 5 PM approached it was four handed.
The play was aggressive and impressive, Ian was next to bust in fourth place.
Steve U. finished in third and then it was heads up for the seat. Second-place would get their money back.
There were several big pots that could've gone either way, Jason had Garner covered by just a bit when this happened…
Garner had flopped TPTK and Jason spiked a set of sevens on the turn, most of the money was already in before the turn, and the rest went in when it hit, and that was that.
Congratulations Jason, well done and well deserved!
Jason was especially happy because only one week ago he had come up just short of winning a different seat, read on for that story.
As most of you know, over a year ago at Pepper Street we started a WSOP League with the goal of sending a player to the $10,000 Main Event in 2018. Eight players signed up to pay a little bit extra for every regular tournament, an extra $60 for the Saturday monthlies and an extra $40 for the Friday night single table tournaments. Over the course of the year most of us made it to our individual goals of $1225. Those who are a little bit short paid the difference last Sunday before we sat down to play for the seat.
And so it came down to the eight of us, locked in battle for a solid 8 hours (with a half hour dinner break) for a chance at greatness. The stakes? A seat in The Main Event of The World Series of Poker.
There were ups, there were downs, there were highs and there were lows.
And for starters there was a killer collectable chip.
After a lengthy discussion about taxes, what to do if the representative couldn't make it, and various other housekeeping items - it was on like Donkey Kong!
The structure was almost the same as the actual Main itself, but we had half hour levels instead of 2 hour levels, as we wanted this to be a one day event.
Rather early on we had our first bust, Tony succumbed to the power of Andrew's rockets and we were down to 7.
It would be almost 3 hours later before our next exit, Marc bid adieu and then it was dinner time.
We returned after scrumptious pizza to fight on. The two Eric's were next to bust, though I can't remember in what order.
Finally Jeff G. succumbed, and then Andrew was out in third. The former had been a juggernaut for most of the afternoon and it was only a bit of bad luck that found him out of the winner's circle.
There were ups, there were downs, there were highs and there were lows.
And for starters there was a killer collectable chip.
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| Sure to be the rarest of them all. |
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The stage is set.
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| Much appreciation to the wife for these stellar pics. |
Rather early on we had our first bust, Tony succumbed to the power of Andrew's rockets and we were down to 7.
It would be almost 3 hours later before our next exit, Marc bid adieu and then it was dinner time.
We returned after scrumptious pizza to fight on. The two Eric's were next to bust, though I can't remember in what order.
Finally Jeff G. succumbed, and then Andrew was out in third. The former had been a juggernaut for most of the afternoon and it was only a bit of bad luck that found him out of the winner's circle.
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| Who's the luck-box who took this shot? |
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| Oh. |
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| Heads-up for all the marbles. |
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Final hand - suck-out thy name is poker. When the dust finally settled it was nearly 8:30 and dark, and somehow yours truly found himself as the last man standing. Jason and I had exchanged the chip lead a few times, yet in the end I caught better cards and that was that. I was elated, I was thrilled, I was humbled and speechless.  I still have a hard time believing that I am headed to the greatest poker tournament on the face of the earth. This is for sure a bucket list item and I can't believe I'm going to be so young when I get to tick it off. I am also super happy that Jason was able to pull out the victory a week later for his own seat. Both of us will be representing the garage, and everyone that participated in each satellite will be getting a share if we should happen to cash. I hope that more of you will join us after the summer for our next WSOP Main Event pursuit, everyone is invited to chase the dream. All it involves is kicking in a little more cheddar every tournament that you play in, and then if you cash you just throw that in your envelope as well. Before you know it you are free rolling your way into a chance for a seat in the Main. If that seems like a little bit too much, then there's always the smaller satellite like the one we played earlier today. 150 bucks and you might find yourself in a bracelet Event. If you've never played in the World Series of Poker before, let me assure you, it truly is an unforgettable experience. I can't wait for the summer to start, I know it will be a great adventure and I will for sure the posting all about it right here on this very blog. Stay tuned! |
