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GCP PODCASTS

 

Stitcher: Gulf Coast Poker Podcast

 Apple Podcast: Gulf Coast Poker Podcast

 

 

BLOGS


DINE ON THE WHALES

 Wild Bill's reflections on poker, sports, and issues facing the Gulf Coast. Wild Bill is one half of GCP. Poker player, poker coach, and Gulf Coast Poker Tour operator.

 POKER IS WAR>

 Gene D is the other half of GCP. Gene shares his outlook on the local and national poker scene. His mantra is money won is sweeter than money earned. 

THE POKER MONKEY

 Will Souther is the Poker Monkey. Take a look at his always entertaining views on the tournament poker circuit, gambling and life in general.  The founder of the Monkey Minions never sugarcoats it.

 

NO DOUBT'N NOLAN DALLA

 Nolan Dalla.com is where you find the wit and wisdom of one of the most well known poker writers in the industry.   His home blog covers a wide range of topics written with that singular Dalla conviction.  

 

LITTLE THOUGHTS

 Jonathan Little an all time top tournament poker earners, is from Pensacola and currently operates a coaching site, which includes his blogs and videos you can find it here.

 

POKER FACES IN THE CROWD

 BEN SAXTON is writing a poker book based on the Gulf Coast scene.  Here is an archive of interviews and features of poker players from all over but with a spotlight mostly on our locals.

N-SIDE POKER

 PLAYER N scribes tales of grifters, sleaze balls, and beautiful card sharks all hustling on the Coast.

PARTNERS

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HARRAHS WEEKLIES
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UPCOMING GCP TOUR OR GCP COVERED EVENTS:
SPRING 7 CLANS POKER CUP SERIES

Presented by GCP TOUR


COUSHATTA CASINO RESORT

April 4th - 14th, 2024  SCHEDULE

"THE MILLY IN PHILLY VIII"


March 14th - 25th
Pearl River Resorts

SCHEDULE  
FRESH PODCAST:

Interview with Matt Higgins

Our latest Podcast guest is Matt Higgins who is coming off two consecutive six digit poker tourney wins that combined are just south of $400k. Come listen to Matt talk about how he got into the game of poker and the toughest players he faces in the Gulf Coast region......great listen

 Apple Podcast: GULF COAST POKER PODCAST

N VEGAS:NEWS
SCHEDULE FOR COUSHATTA CASINO RESORT SEVEN CLANS POKER CUP SERIES:

Contact us now for the best room deal in poker.  Plus, free players meals throughout the event! Can't wait to get back to Coushatta!

WIN A FREE ENTRY TO THE $700 MAIN EVENT.  Go here to enter.

WSOP-C TUNICA MAIN EVENT:

HIGGINS AGAIN!

Matt Higgins of Rossville, GA bested a stacked final table to win his fifth WSOP-C ring.  Higgins won over $167k. This is after just winning over $220k at the Beau Rivage Heater. Has to be an early favorite for GCP POY of the year. With 568 entrants the prize pool swelled to $791k.

Dale Roesel from Hixson, TN won over $103k for second place. BJ MCBrayer of Tuscaloosa won $74k for third place. Eric Salazar won almost $24k for seventh place. Other notables on the final two tables included Dan Lowery (11th $11.8k), Barry Schultz (13th $9.6k), Jared Ingles (16th $8k), and Freddie Ardoin (18th $8k).

Players who also cashed included: Dylan Lemery, Cody Stanford, Edward Chevallier, Maurice Hawkins, Joe Laro, Justin Grider, Justin Donato, Allen Kessler, Jeremy Eyer, Carl Masters, Preson McEwen, Donovan Dean, and Jesse Lott.
WSOP-C TUNICA WRAP-UP:

EVENT 10: 6th ring for Hamid Izadi in $600 Black chip Bounty for just under $20k. Second place Jared Ward won $12k. Also in the money: Donald Crabtree, Eric Roberts, Carl Masters, Jaymie Virtusio, Eric Sutton, and Justin Kelley.


EVENT 12: Jake Green bested Nicholas Norris of Birmingham to win first place and 15k in the $400 NLHE event. Levi Carden third, Rob Lemke fourth, Corey Bierria fifth, and Barry Schultz 8th making it a loaded final table. Also cashing: David Garrison, Christopher Selph, Walker Miskelly, and Justin Donato.

EVENT 14: Second Seniors event went to Gary Bass of Memphis. Bass won just under 15k for first. Mark Mead of Olive Branch, MS won $6,392 for third. Also in the money; Forrest Wofford, Michael Myers, Rose Cooney, Danny Miles, Thuy Djedjos, Jeter Brock, and James Misenheimer.

EVENT 15: Another $400 NLHE Big 30k this one won by John Gallaher of Lebanon, TN for $16,422. Joe "Rivage" Laro second for over $10k. Also cashing, Thai Ha, Alec Wilson, Justin Donato, Preson McEwen, Peace Marvel, Hamid Izadi, and Deborah Hardwick.

EVENT 16:   Sam Hicks won $13k as he prevented Dan Lower from winning another ring for his collection in heads up action. Lowery earned over $8k for second place in the Double Stack. Donovan Dean finished 4th for just under 4k. Those in the money included: Hamid Izadi, David Digesu, Dvid Garrison, Justin Grider, Spencer Chamlin, Preston McEwen, and Jaymie Virtusio.
WSOP-C TUNICA WRAP-UP:


EVENT 1: Terry Hawkins of Cordova, TN won $14,842 for first. Jesse Lott of Selmer, TN $9,171. 183 entrants in the $400 Double Stack Opener.  Notables to cash Loi Hoang, Jeff Copeland, Cody Stanford, Chris Nunnally, Bill Latta, and Donnie Phan.


EVENT 2: The $400 Big 30k had 283 entrants for a prize pool just under 100k. Tomas Teran of Lake Charles, LA won over $20k for first. Marcus Milam of Huntsville, AL second for $12.5k. 

Also cashing: Cody Pack, Jesse Lott (again), Cody Stanford (again), Donnie Phan (again), Jeff Copeland (again), and Kenard Bowie.


EVENT 3: Almost 1000 entries in this one with Ryan Kinder of Missouri taking home over $52k for firsst. Union City, TN native Kevin Goree won $32k for second.  Those also cashing over 5 figures: 3rd place Michael Belken($23,232) of Imperial, MO; 4th place Radwan Khuri ($16,945) of Memphis, TN; and 5th place Thomas Watson ($12,572) of Saltillo, MS.

EVENT 4: West is Best in the Seniors. Brighton, TN's James West won a (blue) hair under $20k for first place in the $300 Seniors event. Wes Edelo of Arlington, TN won $8,600 for third place. Also cashing Richard Heard, David Lee, Donna Heard, Rob Lemke, Karl Chesser, Chad Marsh, John (sans Hall) Oates, Mark Mead, and Rose Cooney.

EVENT 6: $400 Six Handed tournament had a prize pool over $65k with just under entrants. Loaded final table saw Nicholas Lafata of Springfield, Il get out with the money against some of the region's top players. The final table featured: second place David Moses, ($9,908) of Asheville, NC; 3rd place Jaymie Virtusio ($6,733) of Pensacola, FL; 4th place Walker Miskelly ($4,688) of Tupelo, MS; 5th place Steven Pionk ($3,346) of Hernando, MS; and 6th place David Digesu ($2,450) of Huntsville, AL.  Also cashing Cody Stanford, Ty Watson, Donnie Phan, Matt Doyle, and Randall Tatum.

EVENT 7: Nicholas Hobbs won almost 10k for first place in the $400 PLO tournament with exactly 100 entries. Brian Moore of Nashville second for just under $6k. Also cashing Jeremy Moore, Charlie Dawson, Chip Ervin, Donnie Phan, and Marvin Williams.

EVENT 8: Michael Leonard of Kennesaw, GA won the $400 Monster stack. Leonard earned over $37k for first. Conner Belcher of Kentucky second for $23k. Also cashing Loi Hoang, Donnie Phan, John Evans, Preson McEwen, Barry Schultz, Rob Lemke, and Cody Stanford.

EVENT 9: Teresa Lammie (pictured) of Arlington, TN bested Donnie Phan heads up to win $9418 in the $300 Turbo. Phan won $5,653 for second. Also amon those cashing; Maurice Hawkins, James Misenheimer, Joseph Brewer, and Russell Boyette.
POKER LINKS AND BITES:

AWARD SEASON:

Nominations for the Global Poker Awards have been announced and votes are being tabluated. Go here for information.

Our little corner of the poker world got a little bit of attention. GCP Award winning Content Provider of the Year Caitlin Comesky is in the mix for more awards as are RunGood Poker Tour and principals Tana Karn and Hayley Hochstetler (what a great photo Weinman Wins she took). Wolfgang Poker aka Alexander Seibt is also up for content awards and has a connection to the South.

WSOP Main Event Champion Daniel Wienman is one of four candidates for Best Final Table Performance. William Kopp is up for Breakout Player. Poker at the Lodge is up for best live stream.  And unfortunately, Preston McEwen just missed winning Mid-Major player of the year based on points.

What was missed? Surely, Brock Gary's hand in January of '24 merited consideration for Hand of the Year considering the situation, the consequences and what Brock said. Some other very deserving candidates from around the region for additional honors (course we are biased).

ONLINE MARKET TO ALMOST TRIPLE BY 2030:

Looking for a DEEEEEEEEEEEEEP dive into the sector? Go here:

ONLINE POKER TO NEW YORK?

One of the new markets for online poker could be an avalanche of states approving at home play. New York is the latest with a bill for "remote bets" courtesy of Senator Addabbo State Senate Gaming Committee Chair.
 
THE HEATER 2024
WRAP UP

$3 MILLION DOLLARS IN GUARANTEES

One Million Dollar Guarantee on Opener.
One Million Dollar Guarantee on Main Event.
Over a million dollars in guarantees the rest of the week.

January 4 through 15, 2024    
BEAU RIVAGE HEATER MAIN EVENT:

The Beau Rivage Main Event bested the guarantee of 1 million by over $500k with 1,490 entries.  A four way chop saw Ruman Meman of Pensacola, FL get the trophy and the biggest chunk of money winning $196,682. Meman's a recreational player who has had an incredible year, winning $700k for second in a Wynn Summer Classic event. He's made $900k, of his career earnings of $950k, in the last eight months. The other $50k has been earned since 2017 with 7 sporadic results.

Will Leffingwell of Houston took second place for $183,455. The Poker Stallions podcast host also has crushed the last 8 months winning a bracelet in Mixed Omaha for $253,651 plus another $100k in other results.

Third in the chop was Mark Rose of Orlando winning $159,998. Rose loves the Beau with his biggest score coming here years ago winning $177k then.

The final member of the chop, John Dolan, won $152,142. Like Rose, Dolan has also won a Main Event at the Beau previously ($336,105). He's more well known for finishing sixth in the WSOP Main Event. He has over $5 million in cashes for his career. This chop is only his seventh biggest score to date.

Stuart Breakstone of Collierville, TN just missed the chop but even getting to fifth place to win $64,150 was a massive accomplishment. Earlier in the tournament he had lost a hand leaving him 1/4 of a big blind and he still managed to navaigate his way a big payday

Nick Ahamdi, David Nicholson, Jason Gooch, and Russell Sartin rounded out the final table.

  Name Prize Hometown
1 Ruman Meman $196,682 Pensacola, FL
2 Will Leffingwell $183,455 Houston, TX
3 Mark Rose $159,998 Orlando, FL
4 John Dolan $152,142 Lithia, FL
5 Stuart Breakstone $64,150 Collierville, TN
6 Narimann Ahmadi $39,113 Alpharetta, GA
7 David Nicholson $35,984 Perkinston, MS
8 Jason Gooch $32,072 Vidor, TX
9 Russell Sartin $29,726 Slidell, LA

 BEAU RIVAGE HEATER WRAP UP:

M & M A PAIR OF TASTY SCORES:

In the opening weekend two GCP reguars set the tone for the series by winning the first two events. Matt Higgins (pictured) took most of the loot in Event 1 winning over $222k for first place. Michael Monaghan won Event Two for $32,917 after a favorable chop.

In Event 1, Chris Dewhurst playing his first big tournament finished second winning over $140k. Maurice Hawkins, not playing his first poker tournament, finished third for just under $100k.

A total of 531 players cashed with the top 15 earning five figures on a $400 buy-in. Not too shabby. Overall 4704 entries created a prizepool $500k over the $1 million guarantee.

In Event 2, Monaghan's chop went seven ways; Damien Ball, Gary Snow, Bryne Wilson, Vincent Freeman and Frank Alpandinar all over five figures. This one also smashed the guarantee (the theme for week).

CARTWRIGHT ALRIGHT WITH ANOTHER FIRST PLACE:

The High Roller Freezeout went to Kyle Cartwright who won over $60k for first place. He beat Danny Doucet heads up for the title. David Moses, Daniel Scroggins, Blake Purvis, and Levi Darden all made over five figures at the final table. Will Givens, Cody Carlino, Simon Dabney, Russell Boyette and Dale Roesel rounded out the in the money finishes.
120 entries created the prize pool of $213k.

INTERNATIONAL MAN OF MYSTERY WINS MYSTERY BOUNTY EVENT AND ALL THE MYSTERY BOUNTIES:

Norberto Charuf of Argentina, or is it Spain, won $47k for first place after a heads up deal with Chet Sickle ($37k). Charuf won an additonal $30k on top from Mystery Bounty pulls. He pulled a $10k bounty, a $5k bounty, and a slew of other prizes on his way to an incredible day.
Charuf has only 14 hendon mob cashes but in SIX different countries.

David Baize, Donald Colletti, Evan Benton, Kenneth Harbaugh, Randy Lege, Luther Tran and Michael Ison completed the final table.

SENIORS SPLIT IT:

An eleven way chop headlined by Jerry Bergeron of Houma for $11,267 each ended the seniors tournament. With 544 players they almost double the guarantee of $100k. Nancy Decuers, Deborah Berrien, and Vickie Thrift all got a piece of the loot. Ralph Reid, Stephen Bierman, and Ronnie Bryant also in the chop.

MACKIE THE MAC DADDY IN OMAHA 8 OR BETTER AND MIGHTY QUIN WINS MONSTER:

Terry Mackie won over 1$10k for first place in the event that double the $25k guarantee with 164 entries. Taylor Douglas and Anthony Magee  finished second and third.

Quin Lowry won over $68k for first place in the Monster Stack. The Niceville, FL resident beat Trung Tran heads up. Nancy Birnbaum, Terry Moore and Cord Garcia all made the final table.
BEAU RIVAGE HEATER WRAP UP:

PRESTO FOR PRESTON AND KATERINA:


Preston McEwen and Katerina Lukina (pictured) teamed up to win the Tag Team Event each pocketing $6,000. Cody Stanford and Maurice Hawkins took a little less after a chop winning just under $6k each. Fitting a co-ed team won it as there were lots of co-ed teams at the final table include two married couples. Lonny and Bonnie Weitzel of Texarkana, TX as well as Rigo and Angela Vangarelli of Georgia made the money. Sarah Ortego and Chris Dupuy of Baton Rouge also went deep along with Deborah Rudolph and Tim Nance of Indiana.

ROSS FIRST FOR FIRST RESPONDERS:

Adam Ross of Roswell, GA won over $10k for first place. Robert Elliot $8k for second. The final table featured Alex Dmytraczenko, Jeremy Moore, Michael Mestey and Teddy Conner. This tournament offered a discounted buy-in for first responders which was covered by the Beau Rivage. Great concept.

SELPH AND YOUNG CHOP ROOKIES:

Somehow Nick Young chopped the rookies heads up for $8k and is STILL eligible for the future rookies events. He stands about $800 under $25k in earnings. This is his third Rookies event cash and his second second.

Leslie Selph of Houston, added to his lone lifetime cash with the victory (also $8k).

MORGA AND ALY CHOP DOUBLE STACK:

Reigning GCP Tour Championship winner Youssef Aly got a little less in the heads up chop with Ronald Morga ($15k to 16K). This event TRIPLED the guarantee and featured Marilyn Charmaine, John Cressend, Rebekah Crosby, and Scott Weiss at the final table. Amber Douglas, Kip Williams, Prissy Giroir, and Derrick Cutler also cashed.  

 

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