2015 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure

$100,000 Super High Roller
Day: 1
Event Info

2015 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
a10
Prize
$1,872,580
Event Info
Buy-in
$97,000
Entries
66
Level Info
Level
23
Blinds
80,000 / 160,000
Ante
20,000

Sam Greenwood Leads Day 1 of $100,000 Super High Roller

Level 8 : 2,500/5,000, 500 ante
Sam Greenwood leads
Sam Greenwood leads

Day 1 of the 2015 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure $100,000 Super High Roller is officially in the books. After eight full levels of play, Sam Greenwood emerged as the chip leader heading into Day 2 with 1.073 million in chips.

During Day 1 play, Greenwood amassed a vast majority of his chips by besting pocket kings with pocket aces not once, but twice. The first of these two confrontations occurred against Scott Seiver and resulted in the 2013 PCA Super High Roller champion making his way to the cage to reenter. Greenwood vaulted near the chip lead with this pot and never relented as the day progressed. Then toward the end of Level 7, Greenwood engaged in a preflop pot against Byron Kaverman where he once again held bullets against his opponent's cowboys. Kaverman was eliminated from play and Greenwood added to his chip lead, boosting his stack over 900,000.

While Greenwood bagged up the biggest stack of the day, his road to success is littered with obstacles in the form of the most elite poker players in the world. EPT champion and 2014 PCA Main Event runner-up Mike McDonald finished the day second in chips with 749,000, and Andrew Robl rounded out the top three with 734,000.

Other notable faces to take sizable stacks onto Day 2 include Christoph Vogelsang (697,000), Vladimir Troyanovskiy (637,000) Bryn Kenney (626,000), Sorel Mizzi (577,500), Erik Seidel (546,000), Justin Bonomo (511,000), and Keith Lehr (501,000).

Team PokerStars Pro had a fair showing throughout the day was well with Jason Mercier (540,000), Daniel Negreanu (303,000), and Isaac Haxton (275,500) each moving onto Day 2. Vanessa Selbst was the only member of Team PokerStars Pro to be eliminated, falling from play late in the day.

Day 1 drew a grand total of 61 entries, with 48 unique entrants and 13 reentries. Dan Shak re-entered twice and was eliminated from play twice. Bill Perkins is still thriving on his third bullet, with other players such as McDonald, Seiver, Cary Katz, and Daniel Colman taking advantage of the reentry option. Registration will remain open until the start of Day 2, meaning that this number is likely to increase before a final number and prize pool are announced.

Despite this being one of the largest buy-in tournaments of the year, the day was certainly filled with several light-hearted moments. As expected, the players engaged in a rousing game of "Lodden Thinks" to help pass the time when not involved in hands. On top of that, a few high stakes prop bets were issued to McDonald throughout the day. First off, Perkins bet McDonald that he could not complete 300 air squats during a one-hour period (one level). McDonald proved him wrong and won the prize.

Here's a video with McDonald discussing the air-squat prop bet:

Unfortunately for McDonald, a few hours later, he failed at completing the necessary 350 push-ups in one hour to pocket another big payday. The EPT Season 4 Dortmund Main Event champion came close, however, clocking in a final number of 323.

Play will resume at 12 p.m. local time on Wednesday, where the super high rollers will return to the felt with the mission of making the prestigious final table. As always, be sure to keep your browsers locked to PokerNews for all of the latest live updates from the floor.

Tags: Sam Greenwood

Chadha Takes Out Chidwick

Level 8 : 2,500/5,000, 500 ante
Stephen Chidwick
Stephen Chidwick

Action folded over to Carlos Chadha on the button who put out a raise. Stephen Chidwick was in the small blind and he moved forward a three-bet to 32,000. Jason Mercier folded his big blind and Chadha came back over the top with a four-bet to 56,000. Chidwick called and the two saw a flop.

The dealer fanned {J-Clubs}{2-Hearts}{4-Clubs} on the felt and Chidwick checked to the aggressor. Chadha continued out for 40,000, Chidwick called, and the {K-Clubs} hit the felt on the turn. Chidwick checked for a second time and this time Chadha followed along. The {3-Hearts} finished the board and Chidwick announced all in for his last 182,000. Chadha instantly called, showing {A-Spades}{5-Spades} for the wheel. Chidwick tabled {K-Spades}{J-Spades} for top two before his cards were pulled into the muck. Chadha took down the pot and now has about 670,000 to his name.

Player Chips Progress
Carlos Chadha us
Carlos Chadha
670,000 315,000
Stephen Chidwick gb
Stephen Chidwick
WSOP 1X Winner
Busted

Tags: Carlos ChadhaStephen Chidwick

Kaverman Eliminated By Chip Leader Greenwood

Level 7 : 2,000/4,000, 500 ante
Sam Greenwood
Sam Greenwood

Zach Hyman raised to 10,000 in middle position, Sam Greenwood three-bet to 30,000 in the hijack and Byron Kaverman four-bet to 60,000 in the cutoff. Hyman folded, Greenwood five-bet to effectively 190,000ish and Kaverman called all in.

Greenwood: {A-Clubs}{A-Diamonds}
Kaverman: {K-Hearts}{K-Spades}

The board ran out {Q-Spades}{5-Hearts}{4-Hearts}{10-Clubs}{4-Clubs}, no help to Kaverman, securing the pot and the chip lead for Greenwood.

Player Chips Progress
Sam Greenwood ca
Sam Greenwood
WSOP 1X Winner
915,000 233,500
Byron Kaverman us
Byron Kaverman
WSOP 1X Winner
Busted

Tags: Byron KavermanSam GreenwoodZach Hyman

More Prop Bets for McDonald

Level 7 : 2,000/4,000, 500 ante
Mike McDonald does push-ups to win a bet
Mike McDonald does push-ups to win a bet

The tournament area of the $100,000 Super High Roller just got a little bit crazier as a new prop bet has been issued to Mike "Timex" McDonald. As we reported on earlier in the day, McDonald completed 300 air squats during one level and was handsomely rewarded for his efforts with a payday of $10,000. Now, it seems the challenge level for McDonald has been drastically increased.

McDonald has recently begun a quest to complete 350 push-ups before the 60-minute level concludes. From what we can gather, McDonald was challenged by Bill Perkins who will reward a successful McDonald with another $10,000 and $10,000 to a charity of his choice. In order to ensure that McDonald's push-ups were of quality, a plastic food container was placed on the ground and it has been ruled that his chest must touch the container during each push-up.

Immediately following a set of push-ups, McDonald hopped back up to the table to look at a hand he was dealt. After folding the cards, McDonald instinctively grabbed a stack of chips and began riffling them.

"Are you sure you should be shuffling chips?" asked Jason Mercier from another table. "You're wasting energy."

McDonald immediately stopped and placed the stack back with the rest of his chips, eliciting a large belly laugh from Mercier. As of this post, McDonald's push up count sits just over 100.

Tags: Mike McDonald

Busquet Busted by Schindler

Level 6 : 1,500/3,000, 400 ante
Olivier Busquet
Olivier Busquet

After a series of raises before the flop, Olivier Busquet was all in and at risk for approximately 115,000 against Jake Schindler. The hands were revealed to show Busquet behind.

Busquet: {3-Diamonds}{3-Spades}
Schindler: {K-Spades}{k-Clubs}

The board ran out {4-Clubs}{10-Hearts}{7-Spades}{Q-Diamonds}{5-Clubs}, keeping Schindler's kings out in front. He was awarded the pot and his stack increased to about 455,000. Busquet, on the other hand, was eliminated from play.

Player Chips Progress
Jake Schindler us
Jake Schindler
WSOP 1X Winner
455,000 138,000
Olivier Busquet us
Olivier Busquet
WPT 1X Winner
Busted

Seminole Hard Rock Lucky Hearts Poker Open Returns Jan. 22-Feb. 11, 2015

Level 5 : 1,200/2,400, 300 ante

The Seminole Hard Rock Lucky Hearts Poker Open (LHPO) returns to Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida, Jan. 22 through Feb. 11, 2015, held in the resort’s ballrooms. The series will feature 21 main events along with several secondary events and qualifiers. The exciting live poker action culminates with the Seminole Hard Rock WPT Lucky Hearts $3 Million Guaranteed Championship beginning Feb. 5-11, with a $3,500 buy-in and three starting flights. The live streamed Championship final table will be held at the resort’s Paradise Live theater in Seminole Paradise.

The LHPO schedule can be found at www.SHRPO.com.

The annual series kicks-off on Jan. 22 at 11a.m. ET with a four-day $570 buy-in deep-stack no-limit hold'em event featuring a $1 million guaranteed prize pool with six starting flights.

Super Bowl weekend will bring even more action with the WPTDeepStacks (WPTDS), which will kick off its 2015 tour at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. WPTDS is a one-of-a-kind partnership between the world’s most established poker tour, WPT®, and the world’s fastest growing poker tour, DSPT. The $1,100 buy-in, $300,000 Guarantee WPTDeepStacks-Hollywood will start Jan. 29 at 12 p.m. ET in the resort’s ballrooms.

Other highlight tournaments include a $350 buy-in deep-stack no-limit hold'em, $250,000 guarantee with five starting flights, from Jan. 25-28 and a two-day $150 buy-in no-limit hold’em $150,000 guarantee with eight starting flights from Jan. 28-31.

Satellite events for the Seminole Hard Rock Lucky Hearts Poker Open Championship will be held at the Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood Jan. 22-Feb. 7, 2015.

Registration for all LHPO events will be open Dec. 15, 2015. To participate, players must obtain a free “Wild Card” at the Player’s Club or in The Poker Room at Seminole Paradise, located on State Road 7 (U.S. 441) in Hollywood, Florida. Take I-95, exit Stirling Rd. and travel west to 1 Seminole Way.

For more information and schedule visit www.SHRPO.com.

Tags: Seminole Hard Rock Lucky Hearts Poker Op

An Orbit with Table 4

Level 4 : 1,000/2,000, 300 ante
Bill Perkins
Bill Perkins

The table we've been referring to as "Table 4" is filled with Jason Koon, Fedor Holz, Sean Winter, Jason Les, Christoph Vogelsang, Bill Perkins, Vanessa Selbst, and Paul Newey. It's a fun table with a bit of chatter and a lively atmosphere with a side of high-stakes poker being played, the latter of which we'll give you a feel for in the following orbit of action.

Hand #1: The orbit began with Holz on the button and Perkins opening to 4,000 from early position. Selbst called from middle position, Newey called from the hijack seat, and Les called out of the big blind. From there, all four players were prompted with a {K-Hearts}{7-Spades}{6-Clubs} flop, and Les checked. Perkins bet 7,000, Selbst folded, Newey called, and Les called.

The turn was the {9-Diamonds}, and the three remaining players checked to see the {7-Diamonds} pair the board with "hockey sticks" on the river. Again, all three players checked.

Les tabled the {K-Spades}{5-Hearts} for two pair, kings and sevens, and Perkins and Newey mucked.

Hand #2: From under the gun, Perkins raised to 4,000 and once again kicked off the action. Selbst three-bet from the next seat and made it 10,500 to go. Perkins called, and the flop was {K-Hearts}{9-Diamonds}{8-Diamonds}. Both players checked to see the {A-Spades} land on the turn. After Perkins checked, Selbst bet 16,000, and Perkins folded.

Hand #3: Holz raised to 5,000 from the hijack seat, Les called on the button, Vogelsang called from the small blind, and Perkins called from the big blind to see the flop come down {Q-Hearts}{5-Clubs}{3-Hearts}. After Vogelsang and Perkins checked, Holz bet 11,000. Les gave it some thought, then folded. Vogelsang and Perkins quickly followed suit, and Holz picked up the pot.

Hand #4: Winter opened with a raise to 5,000 from the hijack seat, and Selbst called out of the big blind to bring about an {A-Diamonds}{8-Spades}{2-Clubs} flop. Both checked, and the turn was the {K-Hearts}. Another two checks came, and the dealer completed the board with the {10-Spades}. Selbst checked, Winter bet 7,500, and Selbst gave it up.

Hand #5: Winter opened to 5,000 for the second hand in a row, and Perkins called from the button. Newey called out of the big blind, and the flop came down {10-Hearts}{10-Diamonds}{9-Clubs}. All three players checked.

The turn was the {3-Hearts}, and Newey led with a bet of 6,000. Winter called, and then Perkins raised to 12,000 — the minimum raise. Newey folded, as did Winter, and Perkins won the pot.

Hand #6: Selbst was on the button, and she raised to 5,000 after action folded to her. Koon made the call from the big blind, but all he could do was check-fold to a bet of 7,200 from Selbst on the {Q-Diamonds}{8-Clubs}{7-Hearts} flop.

Hand #7: From the hijack seat, Perkins raised to 4,000. Holz called from the big blind, and the dealer produced a {J-Clubs}{10-Clubs}{4-Diamonds} flop. Holz checked, Perkins bet 5,000, and Holz folded.

Hand #8: Vogelsang was in the under-the-gun-plus-one position and opened the pot to 5,500. Perkins called from middle position, and Winter called from the big blind. Then on the {K-Hearts}{9-Diamonds}{7-Clubs} flop, all three of them checked to see the {A-Hearts} appear on fourth street. After Winter and Vogelsang checked, Perkins bet 11,000. Both of his opponents folded, and Perkins picked up the pot.

Tags: Bill PerkinsChristoph VogelsangFedor HolzJason KoonJason LesPaul NeweySean WinterVanessa Selbst

"Lodden Thinks" Shenanigans

Level 3 : 800/1,600, 200 ante
Bill Perkins
Bill Perkins

Over on the side feature table that contains Zach Hyman, Sam Greenwood, Bill Perkins, Ivan Soshnikov, Daniel Colman, Igor Kurganov, Mike McDonald, and Scott Seiver, the game of "Lodden Thinks" has been keeping the players occupied plenty. The players involved are Perkins, Colman, Kurganov, and Seiver, with McDonald serving as "the Lodden."

For one of the recent questions, McDonald was asked how much he thought it would take for Soshnikov to shave his eyebrows off and keep them shaved off for his entire life. The bidding began with Seiver and went around between the four players involved until Perkins bid $551,000. Seiver took the under, then Kurganov did the same. Colman took the over, and then McDonald gave his number.

McDonald's number was $2,500,000, giving the win to Colman and Perkins.

Then, another "Lodden Thinks" question followed with McDonald once more serving as the brain. This question was about the dealer at the table, and how much it would take for that dealer to not cleanse his mouth or teeth in any way for a year and a half. This meant no brushing his teeth, no mouthwash, and no chewing gum, among other things. Keep in mind that the dealer confirmed that he had a girlfriend.

After McDonald locked in his number, the bidding began.

After a few times around, Perkins bid $421,000. Colman, Kurganov, and Seiver all took the under, but they were all wrong by doing so. McDonald had set his number at $600,000, and Perkins picked up the win.

From there, the game didn't stop and the next question was up. Because the players didn't seem to enjoy the monetary figures McDonald was locking in, they picked a question that didn't involve a currency — how many grains of sand does McDonald think the beach contains?

Tags: Bill PerkinsDaniel ColmanIgor KurganovIvan SoshnikovMike McDonaldSam GreenwoodZach Hyman

McDonald Completes Prop Bet to Win $10,000 from Perkins

Level 3 : 800/1,600, 200 ante
Mike McDonald does air squats to win a bet
Mike McDonald does air squats to win a bet

Just before the clock ticked down to 23 minutes left in the level, Mike McDonald completed the required 300 air squats to win the prop bet against Bill Perkins. McDonald actually did 20 extra squats just to be sure, completing all 320 when the clock hit 22:24 left in Level 3. With that, McDonald secured a $10,000 win from Perkins in what seemed like a relatively easy bet to win.

Tags: Bill PerkinsMike McDonald

Mike McDonald, $10,000, and 300 Air Squats

Level 2 : 600/1,200, 200 ante
Mike McDonald
Mike McDonald

Mike McDonald regularly bets on himself in some of the largest poker tournaments in the world but this time he'll be betting on more than just the poker. McDonald has accepted a bet for $10,000 that must see him perform 300 air squats during the next one-hour level here in the 2015 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure $100,000 Super High Roller. Each air squat must see McDonald lower himself such that his knees are bent at a 90-degree angle.

What makes it even more fun is that McDonald's has been relocated during the break to the side feature table, which will be hosted on a live stream. So now not only will you have a chance to see the top players in the game battling it out in a $100,000 buy-in event, but you'll see McDonald trying to perform 300 air squats before Level 3 ends.

Tags: Mike McDonald