Chris Karambinis Scores $168,039 in Chicago Poker Classic

May 05, 2014

Chad Holloway PR & Media Manager

The opening event of the Sixth Annual Chicago Poker Classic (CPC) was a $350 no-limit hold'em tournament that featured eight starting flights. All told, the event attracted 3,092 entries and created a prize pool of $1 million. In the end, it was hometown hero Chris Karambinis who walked away with the $168,039 first-place prize.

The tournament also offered a $5,000 bonus to those who reached Day 2 each time they advanced after this first. Those who moved on from multiple flights assumed their largest stack on Day 2 and the player who forfeited the most chips via double qualifying was awarded a $10,000 World Series of Poker Main Event seat as well as $2,000 cash. The $5,000 bonus was paid out a total of 11 times with Mid-States Poker Tour Pro Matthew Kirby forfeiting the most chips to earn the WSOP seat and cash.

Place	Player	Hometown	Prize
1	Chris Karambinis	Park Ridge, IL	$168,039
2	Oleg Badmayev	Hoffman Estates, IL	$103,104
3	Igor Hot	Brookfield, WI	$66,895
4	Jared Palmer	Pebbles, OH	$46,208
5	Shawn Rice	Lubbock, TX	$32,806
6	Javier Figueroa	Chicago, IL	$24,114
7	Ryne Johnson	Menasha, WI	$17,723
8	Aaron Garrison	Newburgh, IN	$14,512
9	Nick Jivkov	Des Plaines, IL	$11,882
10	Andrzej Rogowski	Chicago, IL	$9,728

Notable finishes: Ralph Massey (19th - $4,442), Zal Irani (25th - $4,442), Matt Kirby (29th - $3,461), Aaron Massey (47th - $2,287), Bob Whalen (66th - $1,745), Austin Buchanan (89th - $1,376)

The more than 3,000-entry field actually amassed a prize pool of $927,600, but in order to meet the $1 million guarantee, Hammond staff added an additional $50,400 in prizes on top of the $22,000 in double-qualifier promotional dollars. This made for more than $72,000 in added value.

Day 2 began Saturday at 2 p.m. with 112 players remaining and Jacob Baumgartner leading the way. Baumgartner rode his chip lead deep into the tournament, finishing 13th, but it was Karambinis, who began Day 2 second in chips, that ended up being the last man standing. Karambinis’ poker résumé now boasts three victories including two WSOP Circuit wins.

The $1,500 Main Event, which begins on Friday, May 9, will also offer a $1,000,000 guarantee prize pool. The championship features two starting flights beginning at 12 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. The winner of that tournament will also receive a $10,000 WSOP Main Event seat. Last year’s Main Event champion, Blake Bohn, earned over $288,000 for his performance.

Here's a look at the remaining 2014 Chicago Poker Classic schedule:

Event	Date	Time
Event 5: $600 NLH	Tuesday, May 6	12 p.m.
Event 6: $500 HORSE	Wednesday, May 7	12 p.m.
Event 7: $350 NLH	Thursday, May 8	12 p.m.
Event 8: $1,500 Main Event	Friday/Saturday May 9-10	12 p.m.
Event 9: $250 NLH Reentry	Saturday/Sunday, May 10-11	1 p.m., 4 p.m., 7 p.m.
Event 10: $350 NLH Turbo	Monday, May 12	12 p.m.