Happy Holidays!

Another Christmas ....another load placed on the wagon for men to pull.

In the poker game of life......

women are the rake!

Cheers for the Holidays!

Best Value Spirits for the Holiday Season

Faldo already posted the Best Value:

Bourbons
Scotch
Single Malt Scotch

See the posts below for those.

Here is the list of  quality spirits that won't break the budget:

Kimo Sabe Mezcal - $35
Macchu Pisco - $27
Prunier Family Reserve - $70
Rhum J.M.V.S.O.P. - $47
Teeling Single Grain Irish Whiskey - $44
Tin Cup Whiskey - $33
Tito's Homemade Vodka - $20
Agavero Tequila Liqueur - $30

Rjmech Wins 2016 NPP Player of the Year!

Edith Labelle waits for Rjmech in an NPP suite.

Rjmech rolls on!

Congratulations to Rjmech on his 24th NPP win in this annual exclusive Sit-n-Go.

This is also Rjmech 2nd NPP Player of the Year win!

2nd - T3chlady
3rd - Douge2
4th - Mikeniks-Faldo
5th - Derf-63
6th - Tomservo2
7th - LittleRedElf
8th - ThePunk75 - DNP

Dear NPP players and future NPP players:

Thank you again for another fun year. We will start up again January 3rd. Some of our tournament dates will be on holidays, but that is just the way it goes.

With the election of Donald Trump, maybe - just maybe - Pokerstars.net will be allowed to service US players again.

As you may remember, Poker Stars - 8 years ago - asked the thieves currently in the White House what they had to do to be allowed to offer on-line poker to the United States?

They agreed to the rules and paid a nearly $700 million dollar fine for crimes that there were no laws even written for.

But as Democrats do, they lied to Poker Stars, stole their money (where it went should be an investigation unto itself) and did not do anything to get Americans to the on-line felt on the most trustworthy poker site on the planet.

What Faldo is hinting to is that we might see real money poker return to Poker Stars. It's a possibility. We have businessmen - not thieves - running things now. Faldo is confident Poker Stars will once again approach the US government and remind them of the deal they thought they had.

If and when that happens, NPP will go back to a real entry fee ($) format, probably at a quarter break. But Faldo is getting ahead of himself as he often does.

Enjoy the Christmas break and see you January 3 at the NPP felt.

Rjmech Wins the 2016 NPP TOC and an Aria $125 Buy-in Before That!

Malia Jones is floored by Rjmech's poker skills.

Every player at NPP is good. Some of the NPP players are great! But, on another level is Rjmech.

ThePunk75 and LittleRedElf are JUST BELOW on the next level in Faldo's opinion.

Then the rest of the great players are below that.
Then the good players.

Then a Racko-Uno player who somehow stumbled into NPP is next.
Then Faldo.

Rjmech needed a victory in the TOC to win a seat in the NPP Finals and that is exactly what he did. It was his 4th win of the season - in only 12 starts. Did you catch that?? That is a 33% winning percentage against a very tough field.

2nd - KingBing420 (a great effort to win a seat in the NPP Finals)
3rd - Derf-63
4th - Johnnied55 (another great effort - but ran into the RJ buzzsaw)
5th - ThePunk75 (who will have blood in his eye in the NPP Final!)
Bubble - Wingsfancurt (another one giving his all to take the last seat)

Congratulations to Rjmech on his 23rd NPP win! Now all the seats are set for the NPP Final this Tuesday.

Rjmech - in his spare time (or is NPP his spare time?) - won a $125 buy in tournament at Aria in Las Vegas. Faldo will let him tell the tale:

"There was a total of 89 players in the field. 

I was alternate number 30 because I showed up at 10 minutes after 7 o'clock when the tournament started driving from the Orleans to the Aria. 

I didn't start playing poker until 9:30 PM almost at the end of level four. I made a point not to drink any alcohol the day of the tournament, ate a good dinner beforehand, and had a great night sleep the night before so I was ready to go!

I built up my stack slowly but surely. I even recovered from a coin flip late in the tournament with three tables left: I raised with pocket jacks from the cut off and the small blind moved in with ace king off suit. It cost me 2/3 of my stack to make the call but I'm not folding JJ. The board rolled out all little cards then BAM an ace hit on the river! 

I was proud to make a great recovery after losing most of my chips. I felt that I played like a champion. The tourney ended at 3:30 AM. 

This was the best live poker tournament win I ever experienced. I was even commended on my play by my table mates at the final table. 

There was a player at the final table who had the same amount of chips as me and he made a remark that I was an expert player. [Faldo concurs] 

I was fortunate to knock him out him when my pocket kings held up against his ace king. After I knocked out the big stack I had over half of the chips in play so it was just a matter of time before I ended up winning the tournament. The tourney ended at 3:30 AM.

It feels great to be a winner at the Aria! I cashed for $3100 for a $125 buy in. Needless to say. The Aria is my favorite place to play poker in Las Vegas.

As a side note, my previous best finish at the Aria was when I came in sixth in 2011 for $650 after suffering a bad beat when I held pocket threes in the big blind while a young hot shot moved all in on me from the small blind with A3 off suit. Sure enough the Ace hit on the river. I also came in 15th for a min cash last year.

Rjmech

Theedouble*d Wins for the 4th Time in 2016 - Seven of Eight Seats in Final Decided!

Theedouble*d fan (who may only be a C)

The final night as always had a lot of drama and excitement. It also had the usual mundane results also - like Faldo getting bad beat to finish on the bubble.
Some things never change.

Theedouble*d beat a field filled with 15 desperate poker players. But does he have another big night (then two) of poker left in him? Faldo will explain shortly.

But first, this last round:
2nd - Derf-63 (clinching the 4th quarter seat!)
3rd - Absea98 (left on the bubble for the Total Points seat)
4th - 95corolla
5th - Johnnied55
Bubble - Mikeniks-Faldo  (where else?)

Now there is still one seat left to fill for the NPP Final. The winner or highest place finisher of the 2016 Tournament of Champions without a seat in the NPP Final will get one! The Qualifiers are:

Mikeniks-Faldo (seat)
ThePunk75 (seat)
LittleRedElf (seat)
Derf-63 (seat)
Douge2 (seat)
Rjmech
Theedouble*d
K9isadog
Tomservo2 (seat)
Absea98
T3chlady (seat)
Tigercub8189
Wingsfancurt
KingBing420
Johnnied55
Rachel0388
Smaloo315

Only these winners of a round during the regular season are eligible for the Tournament of Champions. See you all Tuesday!

T3chlady Wins for the 2nd Time in 2016 - One Regular Season Tourney Left!

T3chlady takes no prisoners at the felt!

T3chlady put herself right in the mix to win the final quarter seat in the NPP Final being victorious over a field of 12 players!

2nd - Derf-63
3rd - Cigar4John
4th - Tigercub8189
Bubble - LittleRedElf

But to take the pressure off of her, Faldo will disclose that this win also clinched her a Total Points seat! This means Faldo and T3 are already in the Final regardless of their result on the final 4th quarter tourney.

If T3chlady wins the 4th quarter seat, then Faldo and next two highest Total Points totals get a seat.
If Faldo wins the 4th quarter seat, then the second place person in the 4th quarter standings gets a seat and the top two in the Total Points race (T3 plus one other) will get seats in the Final.

There are quite a few different scenarios, as 6 players can win the 4th quarter and 4 players have a shot at the Total Points seats! As usual, it will be an exciting finish to the NPP season.

Don't forget the Tournament of Champions held in two weeks, and the winner of this tournament (or the highest finisher without a seat already) also gets a seat in the NPP Final!

Congratulations to T3chlady on her 12th NPP win and her moving up the NPP Walk of Fame!

Now for your holiday enjoyment, here is a list of single malt scotches that won't break your budget:

Aberlous a Bunnhd Cask - $80
An Cnoc Cutter Highland - $65
The Balvenie Double Wood (twss) - $50
The Glenlivet Nadurra - $75 (Faldo tested and approved)
The Macallan Cask - $60
Old Pulteney Navigator - $50
Speyburn Arranta Cask - $35

Faldo plans on "testing" all the spirits he lists here on the blog.
Oh, the trials and tribulations Faldo goes thru to help his readers!

LittleRedElf Wins for the 5th Time in 2016

Balancing her work load to meet LittleRedElf.

LittleRedElf moves himself into contention for the last quarter seat with this win. Rjmech continued to build on his lead in the 4th quarter

It will be an interesting finish to the NPP season, but then again it always is!

2nd - Theedouble*d
3rd - Rjmech
4th - Johnnied55
Bubble - T3chlady

Congratulations to LittleRedElf on his 31st NPP win!

Now a list of the top scotch whiskeys that won't break the bank:

Black Bull - $55
Compass Box Hedonism - $100
The Dimple Pinch - $45
Islay Mist - 17 years old - $70
Monkey Shoulder - $40
Rock Oyster Blended Whiskey - $45
Sheep Dip - $40
Usquaebach 15 year old - $80

Once Faldo Talks About the Presidential Election.......

Ignorant Millenials sitting. Not all their fault however.

there will be nothing left to say.

So, read it, live it, love it. It’s a mixture of fact and truth. Period.

The Lord God allowed this nation one more chance to save itself….but just one more.

Understand that giving the Democrat any power in our government again will be the same as taking a torch to the Constitution of the United States. They proved it to even the unthinking useful idiots on the left – and the Democrats still got 50 million votes. THAT tells us thinking Americans where the rest of the people living here think of the Constitution and what this country stands for.
Liberals actually want the destruction of the United States Constitution. THAT should scare you into action.

Obama and the turncoat Republicans who gave up rather than fight the machine, doubled our debt in 8 years, socialized our medical industry into very expensive 3^rd world care, surrendered our power and pride to our enemies overseas, let our military go into disarray, let our veterans die waiting for care and let our soldiers die in foreign lands unable to defend themselves properly or get back up from their fellow soldiers when under attack.

Meanwhile, at home the Democrats were flooding our country with illegal aliens from everywhere and anywhere to fill welfare rolls, take jobs from Americans, get on the Democrat voter rolls and fundamentally destroy the identity of the founding of the United States of America.

The new United States selfie - coming soon if not stopped now.

Obama wrote executive order after executive order, avoiding Congress and acting like a dictator. He also pardoned thousands of felons in time to vote Democrat. We had Democrat governors giving voting rights to felons in time to vote for Hillary. And Congress – a Republican Congress – simply bent over and grabbed the ankles, trying to stop absolutely none of this lawlessness by state and federal government.

The Democrats ran Hillary Clinton as Obama’s replacement – and had to cheat, lie and steal to beat an admitted Socialist and actual Communist from winning the Democrat nomination. That also tells you where the Democrats and their voters actually live. Any liberal voter is an EMENY of the United States now. Whether by actual thought, complete ignorance or just plain mental illness, this should be crystal clear to all Americans.

Liberals destroy the USA and defecate on everything American - every single day.

The crimes and failures committed by Hillary Clinton are too many to be listed here – as are Obama’s. Yet the media, the entertainment industry, the unions and the elite rich all lined up to support this incompetent felon, liar, crook and cheat for President – as they did for this communist American hater for the last 8 years.

As Faldo already stated, our Lord God granted us one more chance. He saved us by the slimmest of margins from a Hillary Clinton president and a completely Communist Supreme Court to rubber stamp the destruction of our Constitution.

If Hillary would have campaigned like she did when she finally was able to stop her seizures, crying and coughing jags long enough to give her concession speech, she would have won easily. We were THAT close to the immediate loss of our nation.

The loser – Hillary Clinton still managed to get nearly 60 million votes and win the popular vote by a slim margin. 60 million votes for a person who sold access and favors from our government for millions and let the entire world see top secret correspondence in our government with her basement email set up. This entire computer system was set up to hide her criminal activity and money laundering from her selling her government influence - and probably secrets too.

Hillary did not send aid to Americans under fire in Bengazi, then lied to the American people as to the reason for their deaths.

This pure incompetent lying traitor to our country – Hillary Clinton - still received nearly 60 million votes for President. Think about that. Ok, 5 million voters are dead people, duplicates and duplicate dead people. Another 5 million voters were illegal immigrants and felons allowed to vote in pure Democrat districts. Take them out.

So this means that 50 million of our fellow citizens that voted for Democrats are either:

           A)    A lazy brainwashed useful idiot who refuses to learn the truth

           B)    A moron who has no ability to grasp reality

           C)    A mentally ill person who lives in a alternate universe where facts don’t matter

           D)    A traitor to the United States of America

           E)     Two of the above

           F)     Three of the above

           G)    All of the above

The media, the political parties and the clergy will tell you it is time to put the election behind us and come together as Americans.

Faldo says BULLSHIT! Obama told the Republicans in his first week in office, “I won. You lost. Shut the fuck up.” If Hillary would have won, Trump would have faced a firing squad. Don’t tell Faldo it is time to come together as Americans.

And as the Democrats in office state publicly that it is time to come together and work together (translation – keep our destruction of the United States going), Democrat donors continue to fund riots and looting in liberal cites.

Have you noticed that cities with rioting, looting and violence - voted in massive numbers for Hillary? I say the city and the businesses that have these riots DESERVE them. You tolerated liberalism and communists in your neighborhood. Deal with it.

Democrats are no longer Americans. They are the enemy. Deal with this FACT. If the last 8 years did not convince you of that – then you are “B” from above, and you are the enemy.

Faldo’s point is this. Faldo will say it again. The Lord God gave us one more chance. Republicans have the White House, the Senate and the House. We can stack the Supreme Court with YOUNG Constitutionalist judges who will follow the God given principals found in the Constitution and not make law up from thin air or find justification in Socialist Europe.

Actually, we don't George. You tried to appease the enemy within. How did that work out?

It is up to the nearly 60 million Americans that voted for Trump to not take the foot off the neck of the Democrats – any Democrat.
DO NOT tolerate their whining, crying or protesting.
Treat every Democrat as the enemy - an internal enemy as deadly as any Muslim terrorist or serial killer. Every Democrat or Democrat voter is the enemy. Period.

It is time to educate the “A” Democrats and shun the rest. This “A” list is the brainwashed junior, high school and college students and young adults – known as the Millennials. These poor Americans have been brainwashed in our liberal school systems and they need to be de-programmed, forced to think, then be re-educated. A tall order to be sure. The liberals have worked on them their entire childhood and young adulthood.

Nikita Khrushchev, the former communist dictator of the Soviet Union said, “We will not get you, but we will get your children.” He was right – they have. They did it by Americans sleeping at the switch and not challenging liberalism at every turn. We have to start challenging NOW and never stop!

Any that cannot be saved, add them to the shun list. And while shunning all Democrats that cannot learn, watch them very, very closely. After all, they are internal enemies to our Constitution. They are perfectly willing to vote for a Socialist or Communist Democrat. Bernie Sanders would have been the nominee if the Democrat Party did not cheat him. Democrats only know one way to win – cheat. But this is proof that the cancer of communism has spread into the tissues and bones of this nation. It has to be killed – and it is now or never.

Every Democrat policy, statement, goal and strategy has to be challenged and defeated immediately. As Trump showed in the campaign, you cannot let one lying utterance by a liberal go unchallenged. Explain at once why what they stated is wrong and treasonous. Do not go silent. Do not back down! Do not shy from an altercation – verbal or otherwise.Yes, it's that serious. The liberals are acting that way - Americans better.

Don't let liberals tread on us anymore. We have to stop this ...NOW.

After all, it is our country’s survival at stake. We have four years to defeat a communist cancer the liberals have grown in this nation in the last 80 years since FDR. The second Civil War has just started. Live free or die. Your choice.

If you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem.

DO NOT think the job is done with the election of Trump. As with Bush, the liberal press – or their real name, the media arm of the Democrat Party – will blame Trump for every cloudy day, every crack in every sidewalk and the death of every fly. This is the same press that blamed Obama for absolutely nothing for 8 years.

Every liberal lie, statement, demonstration, riot, union strike, complaint, act of lawlessness, cry of victimhood, racism, sexism, bigotry, homophobia, global warming or acts of brainwashing in our schools needs to be challenge immediately and those liberals shamed, shouted down, arrested – and if need be, taken to the woodshed. You personally have to make the decision as to ‘how big’ that woodshed needs to be.

The conservatives and the Constitution won this election. We have done this before and squandered the chances to get this country back to what it was – a capitalist beacon of freedom, liberty, justice for all and the only super-power on earth.

We have to do it this time. God will not give us another chance. Act wisely – but forcefully – against all liberals. They cannot be tolerated in any way, shape or form any more.

God, please give us the strength to win this second Civil War. Amen.

Rjmech Wins for the 3rd Time in 2016

It's time to not only drain the swamp, but eliminate the liberal snakes.

Rjmech beat a field of 12 on election night 2016 to win for the 3rd time this season. Way to go, RJ. He is in the hunt for the 4th quarter seat in the NPP Final.

Faldo missed the round tonight attending a 'Freedom Fire'. An outdoor fire where the Constitution was not burned - only because Hillary did not win. If she had, the Constitution would not be worth the paper it was printed on.

But the assumed funeral of the United States turned into a small and temporary celebration. Thank God! And Faldo does mean thanks to God.

But now - the real work, and - the real fight begins of dismantling the last 80 years of liberalism.

But, Faldo digresses.

2nd - 95corrolla
3rd - GMOgolf (climbing into contention also)
4th - KingBing420
Bubble - Absea98

Congratulations to Rjmech on his 22nd NPP win!

At the Freedom Fire, some good bourbon was drank. Faldo thought he would give you a list of some of the best reasonably priced bourbons on the market:

Booker's Bluegrass - $60
Bulleit 10 year old Bourbon - $40
Buffalo Trace - $40
E. H. Taylor Jr. Barrel Proof - $70
Four Roses Small Batch - $35
Jim Beam Single Barrel - $35
Old Weller Antique - $35

LittleRedElf Wins for the 4th Time in 2016 - Final Quote Section

LittleRedElf has a fan in is NPP Hotel Room - Irina Sheik

LittleRedElf got back in the winner's circle after a small hiatus. We all knew he would be back. That kind of talent cannot be held down forever.

The Elf is setting himself up for a Total Point seat if he doesn't win this quarter. And don't count him out of this quarter.

2nd - Tomservo2 - still playing hard even though he already has his seat
3rd - Absea98 - making a late charge!
4th - Derf-63 - sneaking up on Faldo!
Bubble - GMOgolf - trying to make a charge

Congratulations to LittleRedElf on his 30th NPP win.

Now, the last quote installment.

"Mistakes are a fact of life. It is the response to the error that counts." - Nikki Giovanni

"All truly great thoughts are conceived while walking." - Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche

"Sometimes the most urgent and vital thing you can possibly do is take a complete rest." - Ashleigh Brilliant

"He who never made a mistake, never made a discovery, never learned anything and never got anywhere." - Faldo

"You cannot direct the wind, but you can adjust your sails." - Faldo

"It is a sad day when you find out that it's not an accident or time or fortune, but just yourself that kept things from you." - Lillian Hellman

"There is no limit to what can be accomplished so long as no one cares who gets the credit." - Faldo

"Experience is a great teacher, but she sends in a terrific bill." - Minna Antrim

Derf-63 Wins for the 6th Time in 2016

Derf wins some "Candy" on the NPP yacht.

Derf-63 solidly in second place for the most wins in 2016. Derf's style is sort of an 'all or nothing' approach to tournaments. Placing in the money does not seem to be his style. He is an Al Davis type (former owner of the Oakland Raiders) - "Just Win Baby!"

With this win, Derf-63 is back in the race for the 4th seat in the NPP Final.

2nd - Tomservo2
3rd - Tigercub8189
4th - LittleRedEld
Bubble - Rjmech (because he won Faldo's chips. That will teach you!)

Congratulations to Derf-63 on his 29th NPP win!

Now some more quotes:

"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil, is for good men to do nothing." - Edmund Burke

[This explains the rise of the Traitor in Chief - Barrack Insane Obama and his dictator wanna be replacement Crooked Hillary. And the FBI still does nothing. And the Republicans in office still do nothing. - Faldo]

"When you want to know the depth of a stream, don't use both feet." - Chinese Proverb

"What is, is." - Faldo

"If you do not think about the future, you cannot have one." - John Gaisworthy

"Success is like driving a car at night. You never see further than your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way." - Faldo

"I cannot think of any need in childhood as strong as the need for a father's protection." - Sigmund Freud

[This explains the collapse of the Americans who happen to be Black family, and most of the other problems in this country. Liberalism told women men were not needed, and most women believed the lie. Unfortunately, many men used it as an excuse to not be men. The destruction of this country brought to you by the women of this country. Pure and simple. - Faldo]

"Life is change. Growth is optional. Choose wisely." - Karen Clark

"I discovered I always have choices. Sometimes, it is only a choice of attitude." - Judith Knowlton

"Cynicism is an unpleasant way of saying the truth." - Lillian Hellman

Faldo's attitude is that of acceptance. The United States as founded is over - regardless of who wins this rigged and either fixed (Hillary wins) or attempted to fix (Trump wins).

Hillary will continue to enrich herself at the expense of this nation, while continuing the leftist agenda of turning the once proud and free capitalist leader of the world into just another broken communist dictatorship.

Trump will be unable to fix much of anything! The Left will not go away. They will riot in the streets (but not conservative streets if they wish to riot again). Trump will have no friends in Congress - period.

The Congress that let Obama act as a dictator will use their constitutional power and the courts to stop every change Trump tries to do. The liberal media will dutifully report that Trump is doing 'nothing' and all the problems are now his fault.

But......on the plus side, at least the collapse of the USA will be delayed for four years.

Faldo will take the extra four years of quasi-freedom.

Rjmech Wins for the 2nd Time in 2016

One of RJ's poker groupies posing for her work ID.

It's awfully nice when you can win at NPP any time you want. Rjmech seems to do just that when he puts his mind to it. Here is where the mortal poker players finished:

2nd - GMOgolf
3rd - Mikeniks-Faldo
4th - T3chlady
Bubble - douge2

Congratulations to Rjmech on his 21st NPP win!

RJ is not making the NPP tourneys as often as he used to. But he has a good reason. He is busy playing live poker - taking stacks away from the Michigan locals around here, cashing in tournaments around here and winning satellites to big tournaments other places!

I'll let him and the tournament write-up people fill in the details. Way to go RJ!

"This could have been me!

I gave it a shot...I only lasted 2 hours on Day 1 but I thought I played well!

Oh well, I'm just glad I won the $1100 seat for $65. I'll be back in May!" - Rjmech

Brett Blackwood Wins Record-Breaking Michigan State Poker Championship $188,314

The 2016 Mid-States Poker Tour (MSPT) Michigan State Poker Championship at FireKeepers Casino was once again a record-breaking affair. At the final table, all eyes were on poker pro Aaron Massey, who was looking to go back-to-back in MSPT FireKeepers Main Events (the two largest tournaments in state history). However, at the end of a long day it was 27-year-old Brett Blackwood who captured the title and a $188,314 first-place prize.

“It feels fake right now, right now it just feels like a dream,” Blackwell said after the win. “I was all in 14 or 15 times, often behind, and just ran spectacular. Heads-up I hit the river twice to stay alive. It feels great. I like the trophy. I’ll put it next to my alarm clock so I’ll see it first thing in the morning, and I’ll put the money in the bank. The PLO bankroll was alright, but it just got a whole lot healthier, you know what I’m saying.”

Blackwood, who was playing in just his eighth tournament ever, is a painter by trade but spends much of his free time playing $5/$10 pot-limit Omaha in Detroit. He decided to play three $250 satellites for the Michigan State Poker Championship and managed to win a seat. From there, the story was survival as time and again Blackwell was on the ropes, but nary an opponent could finish him off.

The $1,100 buy-in Main Event, which began on Thursday, attracted 884 entrants (195 on Day 1a; 338 Day 1b; and 351 Day 1c), which not only made it the largest tournament in Michigan history – it surpassed the 820 runners from May’s event -- but also became the largest event the MSPT has ever held in the Midwest. The $300,000 advertised guarantee was shattered as an $884,000 total prize pool was generated, and on Sunday 179 survivors returned looking to claim their share.

However, with only 81 spots paid, 98 of them would leave empty handed. Among those to fall were MSPT Season 5 Player of the Year Mike Deis, MSPT Meskwaki champ Keith Heine, and the man who finished runner-up to Massey back in May, Ron Kruk.

Once the money bubble burst with the elimination of Leonard Gojcaj, the in-the-money eliminations came fast and furious. Among those to fall were defending Michigan State Poker champ Michael Ferrarotti (80^th - $2,226), inaugural Michigan State Poker champ Ryan Dykhouse (78^th - $2,226), MSPT Season 4 Player of the Year Pat Steele (34^th - $4,365), Day 1b chip leader Parris Collins (18^th - $6,848), Day 1a chip leader Casey Carroll (15^th - $9,330), and Bill Rogers (14^th - $9,330), who finished runner-up in the same tournament one year prior.

The final table was comprised of all Michigan players with the exception of Jimmy Ray and Massey, who hailed from Indiana and Chicago respectively. Nevada Saad, who began the day as chip leader, was the first to fall after running his pocket sixes into the nines of Ray, and then Josh Marvin ran king-queen into aces to fall in ninth.

After a short-stacked Satish Thakur failed to win a race for his tournament life, Massey’s run at history ended in seventh place. In his final hand, Massey shoved a queen-high flop holding pocket jacks only to be snapped off by Lars Cole’s two pair. Cole followed him out the door in sixth place after his pocket sixes failed to hold up in a race against chip leader Brett Blackwood.

The elimination of Ray in fifth place ensured the title would stay on home soil as the final four was comprised of all Michigan natives. Of them, Vinh Ho was the first to go after running into Church’s pocket aces, and two hands later Blackwell dispatched Griff Woodman in third place.

 Church began heads-up play with a slight chip lead and the two battled back and forth until Blackwell got it in with ace-jack against ace-king. Church was one card away from winning the tournament, but Blackwell found a jack on the river to take a commanding lead. Amazingly, Church battled back and a few doubles later was back in the lead. Blackwell then got it in again, this time with ace-nine, and was up against Church’s pocket sevens. Church survived the flop and turn, but Blackwell once again hit the river when a nine spiked. Church was eliminated in second place for $114,314 on the very next hand.