$100,000 Super High Roller Day 1 | 2015 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure

01-06-2015 11:02 UTC-4

The 2015 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Is Here!

donpeters

Welcome to the 2015 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure!

This year things will once again be kicking off with a bang, as the $100,000 Super High Roller takes center stage. This is where the best of the best come to kick off their poker calendar year, and anticipation is high once again for a record-setting turnout. Last year, German star Fabian Quoss topped a field of 56 entries — 46 unique players and 10 reentries — to earn the $1,629,940 top prize. Prior champions before Quoss include Scott Seiver (2013), Viktor Blom (2012), and Eugene Katchalov (2011).

Since its inception, the PCA $100,000 Super High Roller has set the tone for the poker year. In 2011, Katchalov won the event by defeating Daniel Negreanu in heads-up play. Later that year, Katchalov would win his first World Series of Poker gold bracelet and nearly capture the European Poker Tour Barcelona Main Event title, placing third. Negreanu would go on to win another $534,367 for the remainder of his year.

In 2012, Blom notched his first live tournament win when he defeated Dan Shak in heads-up play. Later that year, Blom took seventh place in both the EPT Berlin €10,300 High Roller and the EPT Monte Carlo €10,300 Six-Max Turbo High Roller. He also finished 14th in the $50,000 Poker Player's Championship at the WSOP for $105,235.

In 2013, Seiver had one heck of a year, winning a total of $4,085,453 — $2,003,480 of that coming from his PCA $100,000 Super High Roller victory. Outside of his massive score in the Bahamas, Seiver finished sixth in the EPT Monte Carlo €100,000 Super High Roller for €266,900 ($349,973) and second in the World Poker Tour Alpha8 £100,000 Super High Roller in London for £509,600 ($815,360).

Then, just last year, Quoss earned a total of $3,090,798, shattering his previous best year of $1,344,882 in winnings from 2012. As mentioned, Quoss earned $1,629,940 for his victory in 2014, but he also netted scores of AU$800,000 ($716,551) and HK$5,271,000 ($679,862) after finishing fifth in the Aussie Millions AU$250,000 Challenge and winning the Asia Championship of Poker High Roller, respectively. Oh, and who did Quoss beat heads up for the title? None other than Mr. Shak, who has final tabled this event for three consecutive years now dating back to 2012. His total take from those three results is an impressive $2,254,640, and he'll be looking to make his fourth final table in a row.

Of those confirmed for this year's event are Negreanu, Jason Mercier, Vanessa Selbst, and Isaac Haxton — all members of Team PokerStars. Then you've got Jason Koon, Bill Perkins, Andrew Robl, Paul Newey, Stephen Chidwick, Justin Bonomo, Olivier Busquet, Dan Colman, Mike McDonald, Ole Schemion, Erik Seidel, and Sam Trickett on the list. Schemion will be kicking off 2015 as the reigning EPT Player of the Year, and the aforementioned Shak is also confirmed to be playing.

At time of writing, 37 names fill out the confirmed list of players sent out to all media, so a big, elite turnout is expected. The cards are scheduled to be in the air at 12 p.m. local time, and we'll see you back there for the kickoff of the event then.

In the meantime, enjoy the 2015 PokerNews PCA welcome video starring Remko Rinkema:

Click here to view the 2015 PCA tournament schedule.

01-06-2015 15:00 UTC-4

Sippl First to Fall

Josh_Cahlik

Level 2 : 600/1,200, 200 ante

Picking up with the action on a completed board of , Roger Sippl and Justin Bonomo had built a pot of approximately 80,000. Sippl checked the river and Bonomo tossed out a bet of 75,000. Sippl thought for a moment before announcing a check-raise all in over the top for about 187,000 total.

The pressure was put back on Bonomo, but after just under a minute he announced a call.

"Good call," said Sippl as he rolled over for a pair of nines.

Bonomo showed for two pair, ensuring that Sippl would be the first casualty of this prestigious event. Bonomo raked in the pot and now sits on the chip lead with about 515,000 to his name.

Player	Chips	Progress
Justin Bonomo	515,000 265,000	265,000

Roger Sippl	Busted

Tags: Justin Bonomo Roger Sippl

01-06-2015 15:30 UTC-4

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

donpeters

Level 2 : 600/1,200, 200 ante

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

01-06-2015 16:17 UTC-4

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

donpeters

Level 3 : 800/1,600, 200 ante

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 Perkins Mike McDonald

01-06-2015 16:31 UTC-4

"Lodden Thinks" Shenanigans

donpeters

Level 3 : 800/1,600, 200 ante

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 Perkins Daniel Colman Igor Kurganov Ivan Soshnikov Mike McDonald Sam Greenwood Zach Hyman

01-06-2015 17:28 UTC-4

An Orbit with Table 4

donpeters

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

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 flop, and Les checked. Perkins bet 7,000, Selbst folded, Newey called, and Les called.

The turn was the , and the three remaining players checked to see the pair the board with "hockey sticks" on the river. Again, all three players checked.

Les tabled the 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 . Both players checked to see the 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 . 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 flop. Both checked, and the turn was the . Another two checks came, and the dealer completed the board with the . 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 . All three players checked.

The turn was the , 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 flop.

Hand #7: From the hijack seat, Perkins raised to 4,000. Holz called from the big blind, and the dealer produced a 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 flop, all three of them checked to see the 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 Perkins Christoph Vogelsang Fedor Holz Jason Koon Jason Les Paul Newey Sean Winter Vanessa Selbst

01-06-2015 18:20 UTC-4

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

donpeters

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

01-06-2015 18:51 UTC-4

Busquet Busted by Schindler

Josh_Cahlik

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

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:
Schindler:

The board ran out , 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	455,000 138,000	138,000

Olivier Busquet	Busted

01-06-2015 20:45 UTC-4

More Prop Bets for McDonald

Josh_Cahlik

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

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

01-06-2015 21:04 UTC-4

Kaverman Eliminated By Chip Leader Greenwood

Mickey Doft

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

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:
Kaverman: