It has been an exciting week of mixed-game poker magic at the PokerGO Studios in ARIA Las Vegas, but it is beginning to wind down. Ahead of the start of the Championship Event on Thursday, veteran player Dan Shak was able to notch a victory in Event #8, the $10,000 Big Bet Mixed tournament. That will put Shak, along with several other top pros, in contention for the overall championship of the 2024 PokerGO Tour Mixed Game Series.
Shak Shellacks Strong Final Table
Things didn’t look so good for Dan Shak at the start of the action on Thursday. He was the bottom feeder of the five men left in Event #8, with only a paltry 665,000 chips. In a similar position were Jerry Wong, with only 690,000 chips, and Walter Chambers, who only held 780,000 in chips. They were looking up at the two “big guns” at the final table, Jeremy Ausmus (1.595 million) and chip leader Daniel Negreanu (1.8 million).
Shak went on the attack early, forcing both Negreanu and Chambers out of an early No Limit Hold’em pot when Shak moved all in and neither felt like they could call. Wong would bow out of the final table in fifth place, his semi-bluff of K- K-A-5-2 and an all-in move in No Limit Five Card Draw High being picked off by Ausmus’ 9-9-6-6-J after Wong did not improve with a three-card draw on the final round. Ausmus then did the deed again against Chambers, rolling up 6-6-6-K-A on a three-card final draw against Chambers’ K-J-10-10-7 that did not improve.
With those knockouts, Ausmus took a commanding lead, but Shak immediately doubled through Ausmus in Pot Limit Deuce-to-Seven Triple Draw. Ausmus would get those chips back in knocking out Negreanu in No Limit Hold’em, his 9-7 catching on the 10-10-9 flop to clip Negreanu’s Q-4 starter. As the smoke cleared, Ausmus held 2.91 million chips, while Shak was sitting in decent shape himself with 2.54 million in chips.
Shak did not waste time in taking over the tournament. In No Limit Deuce-to-Seven Triple Draw, Shak scored a big double when, after starting with a 6-7-5-3, he committed his chips – and found a nine on his final draw – to best Ausmus’ 10-8-6-4-2. As the game moved to Pot Limit Omaha Hi/Lo Eight or better, Shak would end the event when his Q-9-7-5 found a better two pair on the Q-7-K-3-9 board against Ausmus’ A-Q-7-5 to capture the title and important PGT points towards the overall championship.
1. Dan Shak, $133.200 (133 points)
2. Jeremy Ausmus, $88,800 (89)
3. Daniel Negreanu, $55,500 (55)
4. Walter Chambers, $40,700 (41)
5. Jerry Wong, $29,600 (30)
Wong Moves into Second Place on Overall Leaderboard, Max Hoffman Leads
The points that Wong earned in Event #8 certainly came at an opportune moment for him. Those thirty points moved him into the second place slot on the overall standings for the 2024 PGT Mixed Games Series with 261 points, behind only Max Hoffman’s 263 points. John Hennigan, who won Event #2 of this series, has scored four cashes during the series and currently has 256 points.
Making the biggest leap was Negreanu, with Ausmus also climbing upward. Negreanu used the third-place points to move into fourth place on the overall leaderboard with 252 points, while Ausmus cracked the Top Five over Event #3 champion Mori Eskandari with 215 points. As closely as the players are on the standings, any win in the Championship Event by one of these men could earn them the overall title.
1. Max Hoffman, 263 points
2. Jerry Wong, 261
3. John Hennigan, 256
4. Daniel Negreanu, 252
5. Jeremy Ausmus, 215
6. Mori Eskandari, 202
7. Dan Zack, 195
8. Adam Friedman, 192
9. Philip Sternheimer, 184
10. John Racener, 173
The $25,000 10-Game Championship Event is underway at press time, with late registration in the books. With the numbers tallied, 41 entries have been made, with the final six players taking points. The victor of the event will earn a $369,000 payday and add 221 points to their series total. Poker News Daily will have a full update of the Thursday action tomorrow as the 2024 PGT Mixed Game Series plays to its ultimate champion.
(Photo courtesy of PokerGO.com)