Tsawwassen man wins B.C. Poker Championships
The numbers for the B.C. Poker Championships at the River Rock Casino were a little lower than last year, but that doesn't mean the top players didn't still cash in big this year. Just ask Daniel Idema, of Tsawwassen, British Columbia, who won the main event for a $402,500 payday.
Idema was one of 643 players to take to the felt late last week for the B.C. Poker Championships $2,500 main event. A few pros were in attendance as well, including Steve Billirakis and Greg Mueller.
The 23-year-old Idema, who is a former hockey player, forged ahead and started the final table on Sunday with one of the highest chip counts. From there, he stayed strong to book the win.
"I caught some major breaks in this tournament, and I was fortunate enough to win," Idema said. That fortune included pocket kings on the final hand to give him the win.
"It's been a great experience. I never expected to make it this far," he said.
The four events of the 2007 B.C. Poker Championships brought out around 1,700 people to play poker at the River Rock, compared to more than 2,000 from last year. That was still enough, though, to create an impressive $2.4 million total prize pool for the events.
The first event in the series was the $500 Ladies Only on Nov. 18. With 200 players buying into the event, Paula Stregger of Vancouver ended up with $30,000 for the win.
The Top 10 players in the event were:
| Place | Name | Prize |
| 1st | Paula Stregger | $30,000 |
| 2nd | Lai Pan | $16,000 |
| 3rd | Sharon Touchie | $10,000 |
| 4th | Qian Le | $8,000 |
| 5th | Anthea Chung | $6,000 |
| 6th | Dana Weeks | $5,000 |
| 7th | Kate Doile | $4,400 |
| 8th | Barbara Birbon | $3,500 |
| 9th | Wendy Lubinich | $2,500 |
| 10th | Suzette Chin | $2,000 |
Next up was the $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em event on Nov. 19. With 591 players showing up, Brian Joslin of Ontario took home $148,000 for the win.
The Top 10 players were:
| Place | Name | Prize |
| 1st | Brian Joslin | $148,000 |
| 2nd | Adam Schwartz | $88,800 |
| 3rd | Eric Liu | $53,280 |
| 4th | Thomas Billings | $47,360 |
| 5th | Cotechini Mauro | $35,520 |
| 6th | Gary Dale Juvelin | $26,050 |
| 7th | Tyler Patterson | $21,315 |
| 8th | Robert Richard Kosterman | $16,580 |
| 9th | Ricky Chow | $14,210 |
| 10th | Joe Williams | $11,840 |
Nov. 20 saw 240 players take a seat at the River Rock poker tables for the $1,000 Pot-Limit Hold'em event. Scott Craig, of Vancouver, came out on the winning end of that tournament to pocket the $63,500 top prize.
The Top 10 players were:
| Place | Name | Prize |
| 1st | Scott Craig | $63,500 |
| 2nd | Clark Hamagami | $37,800 |
| 3rd | David Peters | $24,800 |
| 4th | Mitesh Anjara | $18,900 |
| 5th | Hong Man Woo | $15,355 |
| 6th | Terry Williams | $12,755 |
| 7th | Marty Thompson | $10,630 |
| 8th | Leiva Reyes | $8,860 |
| 9th | Brandon Schafer | $7,100 |
| 10th | Kenneth Chi Chang | $5,315 |
"The popularity of poker is stronger than ever," said Darryl Schiewe, British Columbia Lottery Corporation acting vice president of casino gaming.
"Our tournaments continue to make poker history and to attract some of the best players in the world. Congratulations to all the winners."
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Comments
1sylvain roberge
2009-09-18tyler patterson from snohomish wa is just a lucky kid