"Cant-Miss" PCA Treating Gregg Well Again
Tony Gregg isn't known for consistently grinding all of the stops on the live circuit, but the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure certainly seems to suit him.
Back in 2009, he showed up at the PCA with one recorded live cash for $8,625 under his belt, though he was an experienced and respected online player under the moniker "wwwBTHEREcom." He promptly booked a second-place finish for $1.7 million, falling heads up to online qualifier Poorya Nazari, who won the largest first-place prize in PCA Main Event history at $3 million.
Three years later, Gregg found himself at the final table once again. This time, he finished sixth for $364,000 in a tournament eventually won by John Dibella.
Here in 2016, he's threatening a third final table appearance. With less than 40 players left on break after Level 21 (6,000/12,000/2,000), Gregg had amassed a stack of 805,000.
What makes him so consistently successful at PCA? He thinks some of his success here can be linked back to that first run in 2009.
"It's one of those things where PCA was my first big score, so I'm always going to have really positive vibes when I come down," he said, adding that it's an easy trek for him since he's from the East Coast. "It's so awesome to get out of the winter in the middle of January. So, I always just feel so good when I come down here. It's a can't-miss stop for me. "
If feeling good is the norm for Gregg at PCA, he might be described as downright stellar here in 2016. That's because a major lifestyle change stemming from a prop bet has him healthier than usual. Though he wouldn't reveal the exact amounts he stands to win or lose, Gregg said he booked a wager that he won't drink for the entire year, which he says is going "really well" so far.
Gregg recently moved tables and now finds himself seated with one of the chip leaders, Timothy Ulmer, on his left. That hasn't slowed him down so far, with Gregg taking a three-bet pot from Ulmer right before break, and Gregg said he likes his situation at this point in the tournament.
"I feel pretty good about my table," he said. "I've been here a little over a level now, and I'm just trying to let this happen and not really force anything crazy. I definitely think I can final table again."
Given his track record here, that's a tough thing to bet against.