The Great Lakes Poker Classic Main Event Begins at 11:00 a.m.
The Great Lakes Poker Classic has seen its inaugural run take place this month here at Firekeepers Casino Hotel in Battle Creek, Michigan. Twelve days of poker sees a total of thirteen trophy events, with hundreds of thousands of dollars awarded out to the players in the north midwestern area.
Topping off the series is the $1,200 Firekeepers Main Event, boasting a $300,000 prize pool guarantee. Players will have six flights of opportunity to put chips into a bag in this event, with the first flight beginning at 11:00 a.m. today. Coverage today will focus on Day 1A, with Day 1B beginning at 5:00 p.m. local time and chip counts to be updated later tonight. Friday and Saturday will continue with their respective flights beginning at the same times.
Many of the game's greats have come out to play and conquer these titles, with a couple of players having already made their mark on this series. Four-time WSOPC ring winner Buck Bucceri took down the Monster Stack event a few days prior, and 2018 WSOP Main Event fourth-place finisher Nic Manion took down the Pot-Limit Omaha event the very same day. The Gargantuan Event doubled its initial guarantee as Philip Beesley won the title for a career best $14,686.
Gargantuan Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Philip Beesley | Milford, MI | $14,686 |
| 2 | Michael Ferrarotti | Livonia, MI | $9,074 |
| 3 | Ronald Puleo | Sarasota, FL | $6,584 |
| 4 | Carmino Argiero | Ann Arbor, MI | $4,857 |
| 5 | Donald Dingwell | Grand Ledge, MI | $3,643 |
| 6 | Charles Casavant | Avilla, IN | $2,776 |
| 7 | Thomas Midena | Brooklyn, MI | $2,149 |
| 8 | Joshua Gerlach | Lapeer, MI | $1,688 |
| 9 | Stephen Kempski | Saginaw, MI | $1,347 |
Players sit down with 40,000 in starting chips, with blinds beginning at 100/200, with a 200 big blind ante. Levels will escalate once every 40 minutes, with a 15-minute break occurring at the conclusion of every three levels. Registration will remain open until the beginning of Level 13, where play will continue until 15 full levels are played or 6% of the field is reached.
| Date | Day | Time |
|---|---|---|
| March 19th | Day 1a | 11:00 a.m. |
| March 19th | Day 1b | 5:00 p.m. |
| March 20th | Day 1c | 11:00 a.m. |
| March 20th | Day 1d | 5:00 p.m. |
| March 21st | Day 1e | 11:00 a.m. |
| March 21st | Day 1f | 5:00 p.m. |
| March 22nd | Day 2 | 12:00 p.m. |
Those who do not bag up in this flight will have ample opportunity in the following five flights to advance to Day 2, which occurs on Sunday at noon. Players who double bag will receive a bonus of $3,000, with all players who bag up more than twice receiving $5,000 with each of their bags.
Stay tuned to PokerNews for all of the exciting coverage on the ground at Firekeepers!