Level: 17
Blinds: 5,000/10,000
Ante: 10,000
2021 World Series of Poker
Event #76: $10,000 Super Turbo Bounty
Day: 1
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 1
2021 World Series of Poker
Buy-in
$10,000
Prize Pool
$1,941,775
Entries
307
Level
34
Blinds
250,000 / 500,000
Ante
500,000
Entries
307
Players Left
7
ClubGG Qualifier Vasu Amarapu Deep in WSOP Main Event: "Best $50 I Ever Spent"
Level 16
: 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante
Vasu Amarapu went from $50 into potentially millions in the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event, which you can follow here, thanks to signing up for the Club GG poker app.
On the dinner break of Day 7, Amarapu was at around 25 big blinds, a bit below the average stack. He was well in contention for the gold bracelet and the $8 million prize. With 20 players remaining, he's guaranteed at least $241,800, an incredible return on investment (ROI) for what he paid to get into poker's world championship event.
"The fifty bucks that I spent, that's the best thing that happened to me in my life," Amarapu told PokerNews in a Day 6 interview, referring to the monthly fee to play on the Club GG app.
The Next Chris Moneymaker?
If not for an article on PokerNews, Amarapu might not be in this position. That's not us tooting our own horn, the potential future world champion said as much.
"I read an article on PokerNews, and right away I downloaded the app," the poker player said. "The steps were very clear."
Amarapu is referring to a September article written by our Jason Glatzer, which explains how to download and play on the Club GG app. He read the article, signed up, paid his $49.99 monthly fee, and won his way into the WSOP Main Event, along with a number of other Club GG members.
Amarapu's story has the potential to end up similar to Chris Moneymaker, the 2003 world champion who famously parlayed an $86 online poker satellite into poker glory.
Moneymaker's victory 18 years ago helped spark a poker boom and attracted millions of new players to the game. Much like Moneymaker, Amarapu is a Regular Joe who the average poker fan could relate to.
Not a Fluke
The current Main Event contender is no slouch on the felt. He entered the tournament with over $88,000 in live tournament earnings, and also has a $45,000 score for a third-place finish in WSOP.com Event #28: $1,000 Omaha 8 or Better in 2020.
"I've played cash games in other casinos, and tournaments here and there," Amarapu said. "But for an online thing, this is the best thing that I did in Massachusetts."
He's referring to joining Club GG in September, where he played under the screen name "Tight." Amarapu had no luck in his first Main Event qualifier on the app, but earned his way back into a qualifier the following week, and the rest is history.
The Illinois native is ecstatic to be in this position, and he's also thankful for the opportunity just to compete in the WSOP Main Event for the first time.
"I usually don't play no-limit hold'em, but I've been working on the game for a long time without playing live," he told PokerNews.
Winning the bracelet would be a dream come true for Amarapu, as would earning life-changing money. He now has a chance to climb to the top of the poker mountain, all because of the Club GG app, which he proudly acknowledges.
"Club GG app is the best app that can happen to you," Amarapu claims. "Please install, please try tournament poker for $50 for the rest of your life."
Break Time
Level 16
: 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante
The remaining 83 players are on a 15-minute break.
Hammond Way Ahead, Way Behind, Then Ahead Again
Level 16
: 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante
Mark Hammond was all in for 192,000 and up against Frank Lagodich.
Mark Hammond: 
Frank Lagodich: 
Hammond's hopes of securing a big double up quickly evaported when the dealer turned over the 
flop, giving Lagodich two pair. "Brutal," he said.
But those hopes returned when the 
appeared on the turn, followed by the 
as Hammond's turned set of kings won the pot.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
390,000 | |
|
120,000 | -155,000 |
Counts & Bust Outs
Level 16
: 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
315,000 | 170,000 |
|
200,000 | 114,000 |
|
132,000 | -18,000 |
|
118,000 | 57,000 |
|
110,000 | 50,000 |
|
108,000 | 49,300 |
|
105,000 | -105,000 |
|
101,000 | 3,000 |
|
65,000 | 45,000 |
|
Busted | |
|
Busted | |
|
Busted | |
|
Busted | |
|
Busted | |
|
Busted |
Melius Finishes Off Mateos
Level 16
: 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante
A few hands after tripling up through Adrian Mateos and Kasey Thompson, Barth Melius had Mateos all in again for Mateos' last 120,000.
Adrian Mateos: 
Barth Melius: 
Mateos picked up a flush draw on the 
flop while Melius hit a pair of queens on the 
turn. The river came the 
, missing Mateos and sending him to the rail.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
310,000 | 155,000 |
|
Busted |
Nitsche Triples, Smith, Bonomo Bust
Level 16
: 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante
With blinds rapidly increasing, multi-way all ins are becoming more frequent and another just took place at Dominik Nitsche's table.
Nitsche was all in for 39,500, Dan Smith also moved all in, and Carl Shaw called both players with a covering stack.
Dominik Nitsche: 
Dan Smith: 
Carl Shaw: 
The board ran out 
and Nitsche's tens stayed in front, securing him the triple up. Shaw busted Smith with king-high.
Justin Bonomo was also eliminated on another table.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
210,000 | 90,000 |
|
120,000 | 45,000 |
|
Busted | |
|
Busted |
No Big Blind Special for Coleman
Level 16
: 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante
After Elio Fox raised from the hijack and Dylan Linde three-bet from the cutoff, David Coleman four-bet jammed for roughly 50,000 from the big blind.
Fox quickly released his hand while Linde called and the two players tabled their hands.
David Coleman:
Dylan Linde:
Coleman was behind needing some help but none came on the 
runout and Linde collected his bounty.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
210,000 | 82,000 |
|
130,000 | -10,000 |
|
Busted |
Level: 16
Blinds: 4,000/8,000
Ante: 8,000
Sammartino Picks Up Aces to Triple
Level 15
: 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante
A massive pot developed as three players moved all in, including Dario Sammartino and Tim Flank. Sammartino had , Flank 
, and a third player . Flank had his two opponents well covered, with Sammartino the shortest of the three stacks.
The board ran out 
. Flank flopped a gutshot straight draw but improved no further as Sammartino earned the triple up.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
350,000 | 350,000 |
|
300,000 | 40,000 |