Event #1: $500 Casino Employees Event Dia 1 | 2019 World Series of Poker

2019-05-29 09:01 UTC-7

The 2019 WSOP Kicks Off Today With the Casino Employees Event!

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Jordan Hufty, winner of last year's Casino Employees Event

The moment that all poker players and poker enthusiasts have been waiting for, has finally begun. The 50th annual World Series of Poker returns to the Rio All-Suites Hotel and Casino today with a record 89 events, Daily DeepStacks tournaments, and big cash game action.

As has become a tradition, the WSOP kicks off its 2019 schedule by showing gratitude to casino dealers, cage employees, pit bosses, bartenders, and any other worldwide casino workers. They all have a chance at WSOP gold with a special tournament featuring a buy-in of $500.

Last year, the tournament attracted 566 entrants to generate a $283,000 prize pool. On the second day of play, Aria poker dealer and floorman Jordan Hufty defeated Jodie Sanders in an almost four hour long heads-up match to win a WSOP gold bracelet and the $61,909 top prize.

The event has a long and storied tradition dating back to 2000 when it was known as the Dealers World Poker Championship and was only open to casino dealers. With the inaugural even attracting just 109 players, it was expanded the following year. It is still not considered an open event as it is only open to those that work for a licensed gaming facility including cardrooms, casinos, racetracks, etc.

While the recent version of the event features no-limit hold'em, this was not always the case as the first four years of its existence it took place in limit hold'em.

The Casino Employees event received a massive overhaul this year. Last year, players received 5,000 in chips and played for two days with 30-minute blind levels starting with blinds at 25/25. The structure is deeper this year with players kicking off the action with 25,000 in chips and will play for three days with 40-minute blind levels starting at 100/100.

The event kicks off today at 11 a.m PST.

Casino Employees Tournament Winners

Year	Winner	Prize
2000	Dave Alizadeth	$21,800
2001	Travis Jonas	$40,200
2002	David Warga	$47,300
2003	David Lukaszewski	$35,800
2004	Carl Nessel	$40,000
2005	Anthony Nguyen	$83,390
2006	Chris Gros	$127,496
2007	Frederick Narciso	$104,701
2008	Jonathan Kotula	$87,929
2009	Andrew Cohen	$83,833
2010	Hoai Pham	$71,424
2011	Sean Drake	$82,292
2012	Chiab "Chip" Saechao	$70,859
2013	Chad Holloway	$84,915
2014	Roland Reparejo	$82,835
2015	Brandon Barnette	$75,704
2016	C.J. Sand	$71,157
2017	Bryan Hollis	$68,817
2018	Jordan Hufty	$61,909

Tags: Jordan Hufty

2019-05-29 13:22 UTC-7

DraftKings Senior Advisor and WSOP Bracelet Winner Jonathan Aguiar Returns To The Felt

Nível 4 : 200/300, 300 ante

The 50th Annual World Series of Poker (WSOP) kicks off today with $500 buy-in Event #1: Casino Employees Event. The tournament is open to those who either work in casinos or in the gaming industry, and thanks to their sportsbook in New Jersey, DraftKings personnel are permitted to play.

They’ll be well represented in their first year of eligibility as a team of six players traveled from the East Coast to compete for the summer’s first bracelet. PokerNews caught up with each DraftKings employee – one of which is already a WSOP bracelet winner – talk about the opening event of the 2019 WSOP.

Jonathan Aguiar
Age: 35
DraftKings Position: Senior Advisor for High Stakes Gaming

Jonathan Aguiar is no stranger to poker, though it’s been awhile since he’s been at the felt. By his own count, the Casino Employee Event will be just his third tournament in the last three years. That’s because he’s been focused on his career with DraftKings, which he pursued full time after giving up poker back in 2013.

“I’m focusing on making DraftKings Casino and Sportsbook the best place to play for those looking for the most action,” said Aguiar. “I used to play a little poker back in the day but these days I’m more likely to be golfing.”

It wasn’t always that way for Aguiar, who has more than $1.6 million in lifetime earnings. That includes a career-best $336,661 for winning the 2012 WSOP Europe Event #5: €10,000 Mixed Max for his first and thus far only gold bracelet. Not too shabby for a guy who learned the game from a pair of nicknamed Canadians.

“Back in 2002, as a freshman in college, I lived across the hall from a pair of 22-year-old Canadian junior hockey age-outs that went by ‘Luck’ and ‘Carpy,’” Aguiar explained. “They were able to buy beer and hosted games in their room. One day Carpy showed me the old
pokerroom.com flash poker site where you could get a free $5 to sign up and that was that.”

While Aguiar is the odds-on favorite to do the best among the DraftKings team, he did offer a guess as to who he thinks will go the deepest.

“Probably Sumanth because he’s a giant nit and going to make Day 2 with three big blinds.”

Tags: Jonathan Aguiar

2019-05-29 13:30 UTC-7

My Stack App Activated

poolshir

Nível 4 : 200/300, 300 ante

PokerNews has activated the My Stack App for this event, allowing you to directly adjust your chip counts in our live reporting blog using your iPhone or Android phone.

You can download the app for iPhone or Android now to get started. Then, create a new PokerNews account or update your current one to start updating your status immediately. Your followers can see all the live action that you're involved in.

Click here to download the My Stack app for iPhone, or click here to download the My Stack app for Android.

2019-05-29 16:05 UTC-7

Gomez Takes From KevMath

Nível 7 : 300/600, 600 ante

Four players limped in to see a flop together, and action checked to Kevin "KevMath" Mathers on the button, who bet 1,500. Derek Gomez check-raised to 3,500 in the small blind, and action folded back to Mathers, who thought for a moment before tossing in a call.

Gomez bet 4,000 after the fell on the turn, and Mathers gave it a moment of thought before tossing his hand in the muck.

Jogador	Fichas	Progresso
Derek Gomez	80,000 80,000	80,000
Kevin Mathers	21,200 -7,000	-7,000

Tags: Derek Gomez Kevin Mathers

2019-05-29 16:33 UTC-7

DraftKings Senior Product Analyst Stephen Rose Looking to Bloom at the WSOP

Nível 8 : 400/800, 800 ante

The 50th Annual World Series of Poker (WSOP) kicks off today with $500 buy-in Event #1: Casino Employees Event. The tournament is open to those who either work in casinos or in the gaming industry, and thanks to their sportsbook in New Jersey, DraftKings personnel are permitted to play.

They’ll be well represented in their first year of eligibility as a team of six players traveled from the East Coast to compete for the summer’s first bracelet. PokerNews caught up with each DraftKings employee – one of which is already a WSOP bracelet winner – talk about the opening event of the 2019 WSOP.

Stephen Rose
Age: 30
DraftKings Position: Senior Product Analyst

One year ago, Stephen Rose joined DraftKings as a senior product analyst who focuses on their casino product inside their sportsbook app.

“I mostly spend my time analyzing the effects that product changes have on our casinoperformance, and making predictions about the impacts that future product changes will have,” he explained.

Rose grew up and went to high school in Worcester, Massachusetts and attended Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) where he completed a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering, as well as an M.S. in Mechanical Engineering.

A competitive swimmer for 14 years, Rose is an avid water skier and enjoys wakeboarding.

“My main hobby right now is Underwater Hockey, which I play twice a week and will be attending the National Championships in Orlando in June,” he said. “I’m also a scuba PADI Divemaster which is a professional rating, but sadly I haven’t been diving in over a year.”

So, where does poker fit in? It all started with his card-loving family and then during his college years from 2006-10 he played low stakes online as well as some cheap dealer’s choice games with college friends. He’d soon find himself playing in the Eastern Poker Tour league, at Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods in Connecticut, and now will be competing in his first-ever WSOP event.

“I have never really been a tournament player,” he admitted. “I have been out for the WSOP before, but I mainly spent my time at the cash games with a few small side tournaments sprinkled in.”

While he once played poker for a living, he now finds working for DraftKings has actually had a positive impact on his game.

“Honestly my game has probably gotten a little better since I left it as a pro, now that the emotional weight of needing to win to make a living has been lifted,” he said. “I will probably play a lot more once the Encore Boston Harbor opens up in June.”
While he hopes he’ll be the last player standing among the DraftKings team, he’s not underestimating his coworkers.

“Of the six of us playing, I’d have to put my money on Asad. He probably has the least lifetime poker experience out of all of us but at this point he is by far the most passionate about learning the game. He is plowing through all of the learning material he can get his hands on and is very responsible with his bankroll. I don’t see him blowing his stack early and think he has the best
shot at winning a last-longer bet.”

Jogador	Fichas	Progresso
Stephen Rose	27,000 -1,200	-1,200

Tags: Stephen Rose

2019-05-29 17:08 UTC-7

2013 Casino Employees Champ Holloway Gets a Lucky Double

Nível 9 : 500/1,000, 1,000 ante

A player opened in early position to 2,300, and Chad Holloway, who took down this event in 2013 for $84,915, three-bet shoved for 16,500. Action folded to his opponent, who tabled his hand without saying anything while reaching for chips.

"You folding?" Holloway said with a grin.

Chad Holloway:
Opponent:

Holloway had run into kings, but he found life on the flop, giving him a flush draw. The turn added a few more outs for Holloway, and he made a flush on the river to double.

"Jack and coke magic! How lucky do I get?" Holloway said, beaming after his double.

Jogador	Fichas	Progresso
Chad Holloway	35,500 17,000	17,000

Tags: Chad Holloway

2019-05-29 17:27 UTC-7

Guerena's Aces Cracked By "Chapz"

Nível 9 : 500/1,000, 1,000 ante

A player called us over to tell us about a big hand that had happened a short time ago, and one of the players involved, Jose "Chapz" Zaragoza, a poker dealer at Players Casino in Ventura, California, was kind enough to fill us in on what had transpired.

A player raised to 2,200 from early position, and a middle position player called. Ben Guerena, a poker dealer at Pechanga Casino in California, three-bet to 7,000, and Zaragoza four-bet jammed for 42,200. Action folded back to Guerena, who called.

Ben Guerena:
Jose "Chapz" Zaragoza:

Guerena's aces were cracked on a queen-high flop, and to add insult to injury, another queen fell on the turn, securing the double for Zaragoza with quad queens.

Jogador	Fichas	Progresso
Jose Zaragoza	91,700 91,700	91,700
Ben Guerena	10,000 -50,200	-50,200

Tags: Ben Guerena Jose Zaragoza

2019-05-29 18:45 UTC-7

DraftKings Director of Community Team Steve McLoughlin Returns to the Poker World

Nível 10 : 600/1,200, 1,200 ante

The 50th Annual World Series of Poker (WSOP) kicks off today with $500 buy-in Event #1: Casino Employees Event. The tournament is open to those who either work in casinos or in the gaming industry, and thanks to their sportsbook in New Jersey, DraftKings personnel are permitted to play.

They’ll be well represented in their first year of eligibility as a team of six players traveled from the East Coast to compete for the summer’s first bracelet. PokerNews caught up with each DraftKings employee – one of which is already a WSOP bracelet winner – talk about the opening event of the 2019 WSOP.

Steve McLoughlin
Age: 49
DraftKings Position: Director of Community Team

Steve McLoughlin is no stranger to the WSOP and poker community; in fact, he’s been a part of the world since 2001. At 49 years old, he’s the oldest of the DraftKings crew and as he pointed out just a year away from eligibility for another WSOP tournament.

“Next year I qualify for the dreaded Seniors Event,” he said. “Seniors events should be 60+, I’m still too young.”

McLoughlin, who enjoys cooking and dining experiences, joined DraftKings a little over a year ago as Director of Community Team, which means he and his team lobby on behalf of player needs to enact positive change that benefit all players.

“Poker was the first peer-to-peer game that ever caught my attention, and the game that still captures a significant amount of my attention since 2001,” said McLoughlin, who was a featured player on Poker Night in America during its first three seasons. “I read everything that was available and discovered the early version of 2+2 where I encountered posts from many of the future greats who were up and coming. In these early days I encountered many peers such as Greg Raymer, Ed Miller, Tom Dwan, Andrew Robl, Shaun Deeb, and my co-worker at DraftKings Jon Aguiar. They all got their start on the 2+2 forum.”

Additionally, McLoughlin has worked in the poker industry after a career in music.

“Within the online gaming industry, I have held numerous roles including time in management at the Two Plus Two Forums and PokerTracker,” he said. “I started my career in the music business as a recording engineer, working on what seems like a third of all hip-hop records that were recorded in NYC in the early 90s.”

As for which team member he likes to go deep, McLoughlin is going with the software engineer.

“Asad is the player that impresses me the most. He is brand new to poker yet has learned so
quickly.”

Tags: Steve McLoughlin

2019-05-29 19:23 UTC-7

A Sigh of Relief For Epskamp

Nível 10 : 600/1,200, 1,200 ante

A player limped in from under-the-gun, and Yori Epskamp raised to 4,000 next to act. A player in middle position called, as did the limper.

Action checked to Epskamp on an flop, and Epskamp bet 3,500. Both of his opponents quickly folded, and Epskamp pantomimed a sigh of relief before turning over for a bluff.

"Pocket fours were good!" said the middle position player.

"They were, but I was going to hit a queen!" Epskamp told his opponent.

Jogador	Fichas	Progresso
Yori Epskamp	48,000 -2,000	-2,000

Tags: Yori Epskamp

2019-05-29 19:29 UTC-7

DraftKings Data Science Engineer Sumanth Reddy Rounds Out the Squad

Nível 11 : 800/1,600, 1,600 ante

The 50th Annual World Series of Poker (WSOP) kicks off today with $500 buy-in Event #1: Casino Employees Event. The tournament is open to those who either work in casinos or in the gaming industry, and thanks to their sportsbook in New Jersey, DraftKings personnel are permitted to play.
They’ll be well represented in their first year of eligibility as a team of six players traveled from the East Coast to compete for the summer’s first bracelet. PokerNews caught up with each DraftKings employee – one of which is already a WSOP bracelet winner – talk about the opening event of the 2019 WSOP.

Sumanth Reddy
Age: 32
DraftKings Position: Data Science Engineer

Rounding out the DraftKings team is Sumanth Reddy, who graduated from Washington University in St. Louis with a degree in Economics.

“My very supportive family includes a younger sister and two parents who have long been horrified by my interest in poker,” he said. “Rightly so of course, because it’s a dumb luck game and I have no skill.”

He continued: “It’s debatable that I’ve ever truly learned to play poker. My first time looking at cards and throwing chips into a pot was in high school. It was at this time that I believed you should play any hand with a face card, and that it was truly possible to read a person’s soul. Additionally, in your heart, some select people could know the perfect, winning decision, in every single hand.”

Reddy has played the WSOP before where he says his claim to fame is successfully bluffing Phil Ivey.

“No one approved of how I played the hand in any way, but that’s not important,” he offered.

Like many others, Reddy thinks Asad is the DraftKings man to beat.

“He is easily one of the luckiest people I’ve ever met, shipping bad beat jackpots and winning on days that I don’t. He hasn’t been playing poker very long, so he will clearly be underestimated by his competition. This perfect storm of factors is why I believe he is the overwhelming favorite to win the entire tournament.”

Tags: Sumanth Reddy