Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Elite professionals advance to Epic Poker League’s inaugural final table

Five of the six players at the final table hold WSOP bracelets

WSOP 07/09/2011

Justin M. Bowen

Professional poker player, Jason Mercier, competes during Day 1C of the World Series of Poker main event at the Rio Las Vegas Saturday, July 9, 2011. To accommodate all the entries, there are four “first days” for the main event.

Updated Friday, Aug. 12, 2011 | 10:44 a.m.

Chip Counts

  • Hasan Habib — 1,655,000
  • Jason Mercier — 1,495,000
  • Chino Rheem — 1,432,000
  • Erik Seidel — 1,109,000
  • Gavin Smith — 766,000
  • Erik Seidel — 396,000

Payouts

  • 1st — $1,000,000
  • 2nd — $604,330
  • 3rd — $360,970
  • 4th — $237,560
  • 5th — $154,260
  • 6th — $107,980
  • Blinds: 8,000-16,000 with 2,000 ante

Before its inaugural event this week at the Palms, the Epic Poker League released the Global Poker Index to rank the top 300 card players in the world.

The rankings system came up with a top three of Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier, Jason Mercier and Erik Seidel. Grospellier passed on the Epic Poker League’s $20,000 buy-in main event, but both Mercier and Seidel showed up.

Their performance has served as a ringing endorsement to the GPI. No. 2 Mercier and No. 3 Seidel will sit across from each other at the six-handed final table, which will start play at 2 p.m. Friday afternoon at the Palms Ballroom.

Mercier, a 24-year-old Miami professional who won Bluff Magazine’s Player of the Year award in 2009, is second in chips with 1.49 million. Seidel, a 51-year-old who leads the all-time poker tournament money list, isn’t far behind in fourth with 1.1 million chips.

Tournament circuit regular Hasan Habib, who missed the 2010 World Series of Poker Main Event final table by five spots, has the chip lead with 1.65 million heading into the final day. GPI’s No. 102 Gavin Smith, No. 120 Chino Rheem and 1996 WSOP Main Event champion Huck Seed round out the final table.

All remaining players are guaranteed at least $107,980. First place in the rake-free tournament pays $1 million.

It’s a loaded and recognizable final six, which is the exact intention of the Epic Poker League. Poker pro Annie Duke and former WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack started the league with hopes that it could turn into poker’s version of the PGA Tour.

Players had to qualify for a tour card based on past achievements and earnings. A total of 253 earned their card and were eligible to play in the four-day tournament this week. More than half of them, 137 players, obliged and paid the $20,000 entry fee.

The tournament will air on CBS and Discovery’s forthcoming new channel, Velocity Network, on a date that’s to be determined. The No. 4 player in the world, Eugene Katchalov, finished in eighth for $70,960.

Case Keefer can be reached at 948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.

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