Event #11: $365 Bounty No-Limit Hold'em

Hammond, Indiana (October 27, 2016) — Nate Crawford is the champion of Event #11 at Horseshoe Hammond, defeating a field of 269 entries to earn his first gold ring. Crawford also collected the top prize of $13,178 and 50 points toward the season-long race for seats in the Global Casino Championship.

Crawford is a 33-year-old cable salesman from Chicago. He used to play the game more regularly, but family responsibilities have taken over his primary focus in recent years, limiting his opportunities to play tournaments, in particular. He decided to come take a little shot with the Circuit in town, and it paid off with a big victory in one of the series’ most popular events.

“People don’t ever believe me,” Crawford said of his own playing style. “I just play premium cards. I only wear shades and a hoody so I can watch other people — so I can figure out what they’re doing.” Crawford said he showed down big hands all throughout Day 1, and he ran up a huge stack in the first few levels on his way to collecting 10 bounties. “I hit a lot of sets, so…,” he laughed. “I had quads… Maybe it’s beginner’s luck all over again. I’ll take it.”

It wasn’t all smooth sailing, though, as is often the case in tournament poker. During the middle stages of Day 1, Crawford took a bad beat that almost cost him the tournament. His pocket tens were cracked by an opponent’s pocket eights, and he admittedly tilted off most of his hard-earned stack thereafter.

The dinner break interrupted what might have been a complete catastrophe, and Crawford came back from the break and “got back into the groove,” as he said. By the time the day concluded with 17 players, he was once again near the top of the leaderboard, tied for third place entering Day 2.

Crawford proceeded to plow through the remaining field on Monday, collecting five more bounties on the way to a heads-up match against fellow-Chicagoan Geremi Wicinski. Wicinski began the match in a big hole that he could not climb out of, and Crawford soon collected the last two $100 bounties — Wicinski’s and his own — and a gold ring to mark his first Circuit victory.

With the elimination of Leonid Sagalovsky (pictured) in third place, Nate Crawford and Geremi Wicinski are heads-up for the ring in Event #11. The former begins the duel with a big chip lead.

Nate Crawford - 1,850,000
Geremi Wicinski - 840,000

Blinds are 20,000/40,000 with a 5,000 ante in the current level, putting about 67 total big blinds in play.

The final 17 players are back for Day 2 inside The Venue at Horseshoe Hammond. Everyone left is guaranteed to earn at least $677 this afternoon, and play will continue until a winner is determined. More than $13,000 and one of the series' last few rings await the champion.

Cards are in the air.

The clock has run out on Day 1 with 17 players remaining.

Ali Pabarja showed the biggest chip profit on the day, turning his 10,000-chip starting stack into an impressive 443,000 through the first 18 levels of play. Kui Jung's stack of 287,000 represents the nearest threat to Pabarja's lead. There's a two-way tie for third behind those two, with Nadya Magnus and Nathaniel Crawford bagging up 232,500 chips apiece.

Cody Brinn (148,000) also advanced to Day 2, and he's playing for more than the ring tomorrow. Brinn represents the most immediate threat to the leader of the series' points race, Art Harb. Harb finished in the money in this event, bumping his total to 70 points with just one new event remaining for him. Brinn has 37.5 points, and a runner-up finish or better would move him ahead of Harb.

Blinds will be 3,000/6,000 with a 1,000 ante when play resumes, putting the average stack just over 25 big blinds. Day 2 begins at noon. 

Registration is closed for this event, and the numbers have been finalized. This $365 bounty tournament drew a field of 269 entries, putting $53,800 in the main prizepool and $26,900 in the bounty pool. The prize money will be shared by the final 27 players, with a min-cash worth $435. The winner's share is $13,178 and one of the last few rings up for grabs at Horseshoe Hammond.

The full breakdown of the payouts can be found in the "Prizepool" tab above.