EVENT UPDATES
view updates for day:
Thursday, September 1, 2016 10:24 PM Local Time
Poker pro moves to Las Vegas and wins first ring and $10,686 three days later.
Las Vegas, NV (September 1, 2016) — Caleb Shumard decided to move from South Florida to Nevada and become a Las Vegas local. After only three days in Vegas, the poker pro was able to recoup some of his moving expenses by winning the $580 pot-limit Omaha.
Shumard bested a small, but extremely tough field of 57 players to take home $10,686 and his first ring.
“I’m from Colorado originally,” said Shumard. “But then I lived in Florida for a few years and just moved out to Vegas three days ago on Monday.”
Shumard’s first tournament as a Sin City local wasn’t an easy one. He came out on top of a field that featured bracelet winner Scott Clements, eight-time ring winner Valentin Vornicu, six-time ring-winner Vincent Moscati, and was at a final table with bracelet winners Owais Ahmed and Steve Gross, and top pro Alex Rocha.
This was not your average $580 buy-in tournament and Shumard knew it.
“Honestly, it was awesome because I’ve learned more playing this tournament than any other,” said Shumard. “I don’t play live a ton, so to be able to get a feel against fantastic players was a great learning experience. I’m just happy to get my first ring.”
Shumard spends most of his time on the virtual felt and playing live cash games. He considers himself a mixed game player that is comfortable outside of a no-limit hold’em game. Before his move from South Florida to Vegas, he was spending a decent amount of time in an O.E. mix game when he wasn’t playing online.
Live tournaments aren’t his bread and butter, but he took away some valuable poker knowledge from playing against some of the best players around.
“You just need to pick your spots better,” said Shumard about what he learned from playing against the game’s best. “You’re not going to be able to run over the table like you are in some places. You’ve really got to pick some high equity spots because they’re going to take advantage for sure.
“If you’re too out of line or try to make too many moves, they are going to put you in line. So it’s really just about picking better spots for sure.”
Despite the stiff competition, Shumard still managed to take the chip lead into the final table. He never really looked back and was never really short on chips. As the final table got shorter his chip stack only seemed to grow. He eliminated Rocha in third place and was able to dispose of James Juvancic in a fairly quick heads-up match.
Shumard may be a successful poker pro now, but he remembers his roots and how hard he worked before poker.
“I had real humble beginnings,” said Shumard. “I was actually a server at Cracker Barrel at one point and I was a sales manager for a portrait company for a little bit.”Thursday, September 1, 2016 6:05 PM Local Time
There was an elimination on the same hand at each of the final two tables to leave the $580 pot-limit omaha with nine players. The final nine players have redrawn for seats at the final table. They still have some work to do before they reach the money as only the top six players will earn a payday. There is just over 16 minutes left in the level and the blinds are 800/1,600.
Here is a look at the seating arrangement and chip counts for the final table:
Seat 1: Kristopher Bradshaw - 60,000
Seat 2: Steve Gross - 30,000
Seat 3: Bryce Fox - 22,600
Seat 4: Mark Liedtke - 39,000
Seat 5: Alex Rocha - 109,400
Seat 6: Owais Ahmed - 45,000
Seat 7: Justine Roders - 42,800
Seat 8: Caleb Shumard - 261,000
Seat 9: Jim Juvancic - 71,000
Thursday, September 1, 2016 5:24 PM Local Time
The cage has released the payout information and the top six spots will leave Planet Hollywood with a payday. Sixth place will take home a min-cash of $1,682, but first place is worth $10,686 and a ring.
Here is a look at the payouts:
Thursday, September 1, 2016 4:37 PM Local Time
Players are back from their second break of the day and level 9 is underway. Late registration and re-entry is closed and the field is officially filled with 57 entries, which generated a prizepool of $28,500. Payouts should be released by the cage shortly.
Blinds are now 300/600 and there are 18 players remaining.
Thursday, September 1, 2016 4:02 PM Local Time
There are 15 minutes left in level 8 before players take a 15-minute break. When level 9 begins, late registration and re-entry will close around 4:30 p.m.
There are currently 51 entrants in the field, but there is a ton of talent. Eight-time ring winner Valentin Vornicu, six-time ring winner Vincent Moscati, bracelet winner Owais Ahmed, Doug Lee, and Alex Rocha are all currently in the field with time left to register. On the break, the staff will race-off the green, 25 denomination chips and blinds will be 300/600 with a 100 ante.
Thursday, September 1, 2016 6:56 AM Local Time
The last day of action before the $1,675 no-limit hold'em main event gets started with a $580 pot-limit Omaha at noon. Players are allowed unlimited re-entry if they bust before registration closes and here are the details:
- Players start with 12,000 in tournament chips
- Day 1 is scheduled for 21 levels
- Late registration is open until the start of level 9 (~4:30 p.m.)
- Levels 1-12 are 30 minutes
- Levels 13-21 are 40 minutes
- There are 15-minute breaks after every two hours of play and a 60-minute dinner break after level 12
- Players who survive the day will come back on Friday at 2 p.m. to play down to a winner.