Friday, May 11, 2007

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Pros stymied at Johnny Chan Poker Classic

By Christopher Hunt

Despite a moderate influx of out-of-town pros and notable online studs, locals are still holding serve and piling up the cashes at the ongoing Johnny Chan Poker Classic.

With four events down and just the $1.25 million No-Limit Hold'em finale to go, the River Rock Casino Resort in Richmond, B.C. has seen its fair share of nice hands, brutal suckouts and respectable payouts over the last week.

The most surprising part, however: Not many of them have featured the bigger poker names kicking around the casino - included among them the tournament's namesake Johnny Chan, Brad "Yukon" Booth, Jimmy "Gobboboy" Fricke, Greg "FBT" Mueller and Lacey Jones.

The most well-known name to take down a tournament so far: Norfolk, Massachusetts' Jeff Garza, known to the online world and the 2+2 community as "ActionJeff," who scored $84,000 for taking down the $1,000 Short-Handed No-Limit Hold'em event Monday.

Winlaw, B.C.'s Bob Jarrett is the latest big winner among the home-province players, taking top spot in yesterday's $1,000 Pot-Limit Omaha event.

Vancouver's own David Tompkins - who could barely afford the $1,000 buy-in for the Pot-Limit Hold'em Event and went in 50/50 with a friend, according to his own blog - also scored a big win for the home side, winning the event for $58,860.

Or half of $58,860, more accurately.

Day 1 of the $2,500+$200 No-Limit Hold'em main event starts tomorrow, with the expected $312,500 first-place prize to be handed out Sunday.

For more details and a complete list of event results, visit the Johnny Chan Poker Classic Web page.

Related Articles:

Quebecois Wins Johnny Chan Event
Interview: Yukon Brad Brings His Game Home
Interview: Chan Talks Poker and Business

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