Event #1: $500 Casino Employees Event Day 1 | 2019 World Series of Poker

05-29-2019 19:04 UTC-7

A Round Of Chip Counts

BrandonTemple

Level 10 : 600/1,200, 1,200 ante

Player	Chips	Progress
Andrew Barnett	125,000	46,200
Phill Duggan	124,000	4,000
Kyle Chismar	115,000	11,000
Benjamin Valder	96,000	31,000
Paul Bishop	94,100	16,100
Isaac Hanson	78,300	78,300
Jose Zaragoza	74,000	-17,700
Jonathan Aguiar	73,700	1,200
Valerie Cross	52,500	29,500
Teng Zheng	49,500	30,300
Yori Epskamp	41,000	-6,600
Chad Holloway	40,900	-24,100
Katie Kopp	33,000	2,400
Kevin Mathers	32,900	-3,200
Eric Anderson	30,000	30,000
Diana Plant	26,500	-4,500
Ben Guerena	26,000	16,000
Stephen Rose	25,000	-2,000
CJ Sand	23,200
Samuel Cosby	16,500	-8,500

05-29-2019 18:45 UTC-7

DraftKings Director of Community Team Steve McLoughlin Returns to the Poker World

BrandonTemple

Level 10 : 600/1,200, 1,200 ante

The 50th Annual World Series of Poker (WSOP) kicks off today with $500 buy-in Event #1: Casino Employees Event. The tournament is open to those who either work in casinos or in the gaming industry, and thanks to their sportsbook in New Jersey, DraftKings personnel are permitted to play.

They’ll be well represented in their first year of eligibility as a team of six players traveled from the East Coast to compete for the summer’s first bracelet. PokerNews caught up with each DraftKings employee – one of which is already a WSOP bracelet winner – talk about the opening event of the 2019 WSOP.

Steve McLoughlin
Age: 49
DraftKings Position: Director of Community Team

Steve McLoughlin is no stranger to the WSOP and poker community; in fact, he’s been a part of the world since 2001. At 49 years old, he’s the oldest of the DraftKings crew and as he pointed out just a year away from eligibility for another WSOP tournament.

“Next year I qualify for the dreaded Seniors Event,” he said. “Seniors events should be 60+, I’m still too young.”

McLoughlin, who enjoys cooking and dining experiences, joined DraftKings a little over a year ago as Director of Community Team, which means he and his team lobby on behalf of player needs to enact positive change that benefit all players.

“Poker was the first peer-to-peer game that ever caught my attention, and the game that still captures a significant amount of my attention since 2001,” said McLoughlin, who was a featured player on Poker Night in America during its first three seasons. “I read everything that was available and discovered the early version of 2+2 where I encountered posts from many of the future greats who were up and coming. In these early days I encountered many peers such as Greg Raymer, Ed Miller, Tom Dwan, Andrew Robl, Shaun Deeb, and my co-worker at DraftKings Jon Aguiar. They all got their start on the 2+2 forum.”

Additionally, McLoughlin has worked in the poker industry after a career in music.

“Within the online gaming industry, I have held numerous roles including time in management at the Two Plus Two Forums and PokerTracker,” he said. “I started my career in the music business as a recording engineer, working on what seems like a third of all hip-hop records that were recorded in NYC in the early 90s.”

As for which team member he likes to go deep, McLoughlin is going with the software engineer.

“Asad is the player that impresses me the most. He is brand new to poker yet has learned so
quickly.”

Tags: Steve McLoughlin

Level: 10

Blinds: 600/1,200

Ante: 1,200

05-29-2019 17:35 UTC-7

Time For The Dinner Break

BrandonTemple

Level 9 : 500/1,000, 1,000 ante

Players are off on a 75-minute dinner break. Registration for this event will come to a close at the conclusion of this break.

05-29-2019 17:27 UTC-7

Guerena's Aces Cracked By "Chapz"

BrandonTemple

Level 9 : 500/1,000, 1,000 ante

A player called us over to tell us about a big hand that had happened a short time ago, and one of the players involved, Jose "Chapz" Zaragoza, a poker dealer at Players Casino in Ventura, California, was kind enough to fill us in on what had transpired.

A player raised to 2,200 from early position, and a middle position player called. Ben Guerena, a poker dealer at Pechanga Casino in California, three-bet to 7,000, and Zaragoza four-bet jammed for 42,200. Action folded back to Guerena, who called.

Ben Guerena:
Jose "Chapz" Zaragoza:

Guerena's aces were cracked on a queen-high flop, and to add insult to injury, another queen fell on the turn, securing the double for Zaragoza with quad queens.

Player	Chips	Progress
Jose Zaragoza	91,700	91,700
Ben Guerena	10,000	-50,200

Tags: Ben Guerena Jose Zaragoza

05-29-2019 17:23 UTC-7

Duggan Digs Up Some More Chips

BrandonTemple

Level 9 : 500/1,000, 1,000 ante

The under-the-gun player checked an board over to Phill Duggan, who fired a nearly pot-sized bet of 17,000 into the 20,000 pot. Duggan's opponent tanked for around a minute, then made a reluctant call.

Duggan rolled over for a flopped set, and his opponent flashed his , saying, "Nice hand...didn't see that one coming."

Player	Chips	Progress
Phill Duggan	120,000	35,000

Tags: Phill Duggan

05-29-2019 17:08 UTC-7

2013 Casino Employees Champ Holloway Gets a Lucky Double

BrandonTemple

Level 9 : 500/1,000, 1,000 ante

A player opened in early position to 2,300, and Chad Holloway, who took down this event in 2013 for $84,915, three-bet shoved for 16,500. Action folded to his opponent, who tabled his hand without saying anything while reaching for chips.

"You folding?" Holloway said with a grin.

Chad Holloway:
Opponent:

Holloway had run into kings, but he found life on the flop, giving him a flush draw. The turn added a few more outs for Holloway, and he made a flush on the river to double.

"Jack and coke magic! How lucky do I get?" Holloway said, beaming after his double.

Player	Chips	Progress
Chad Holloway	35,500	17,000

Tags: Chad Holloway

Level: 9

Blinds: 500/1,000

Ante: 1,000

05-29-2019 16:50 UTC-7

Barnett Wins a Big Flip

BrandonTemple

Level 8 : 400/800, 800 ante

After a raise from a player under-the-gun, Andrew Barnett, a first-year WSOP Dealer here at the Rio, three-bet to 6,000 in middle position. His opponent four-bet to 18,000, then called the five-bet shove for 38,400 from Barnett.

Andrew Barnett:
Opponent:

Barnett survived the flop, but the turn gave his opponent a flush draw. The river was safe for Barnett, and he shipped the double.

Player	Chips	Progress
Andrew Barnett	78,800	78,800

Tags: Andrew Barnett

05-29-2019 16:41 UTC-7

No Ace, No Queen, No Problem for Daum

BrandonTemple

Level 8 : 400/800, 800 ante

Jeremy Daum limped in from early position, and the cutoff raised to 3,600. The small blind called, and Daum limp-shoved for 22,300. The cutoff called, and the small blind folded.

Jeremy Daum:
Opponent:

After the flop fell, Daum stood up and said, "No ace, no queen," three times, hoping that his tens would hold against the two overcards of his opponent.

The turn and river gave Daum a flush, and he scored the double.

Player	Chips	Progress
Jeremy Daum	49,800	49,800

Tags: Jeremy Daum