2016 PCA $100,000 Super High Roller Day 1: Talal Shakerchi Leads Surviving 32 Players
On Wednesday, the 2016 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure officially kicked off with the $100,000 Super High Roller. The tournament attracted 43 of the world's best players, who accounted for six reentires, to the Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island in the Bahamas. That number is sure to grow as late registration is open until the start of play on Day 2.
After eight one-hour levels of play, just 32 players survived the night with 2013 EPT London High Roller champ Talal Shakerchi and his stack of 805,000 leading the way. Others who bagged big stacks include Nick Petrangelo (800,000), Kathy Lehne (783,000), David Peters (772,000), and reigning World Series of Poker Main Event champ Joe McKeehen (732,000).
Top 10 Day 1 Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Talal Shakerchi | 805,000 |
| 2 | Nick Petrangelo | 800,000 |
| 3 | Kathy Lehne | 783,000 |
| 4 | David Peters | 772,000 |
| 5 | Joe McKeehen | 732,000 |
| 6 | Christoph Vogelsang | 708,000 |
| 7 | Ankush Mandavia | 610,000 |
| 8 | Bryn Kenney | 573,000 |
| 9 | Vanessa Selbst | 531,000 |
| 10 | Dan Shak | 498,000 |
The day kicked off with an early elimination, that of Bill Perkins. The businessman would reenter, bust again, and then do it one more time before calling it a day. Perkins was active throughout, which included mixing it up with big stacks Shakerchi and Lehne. It happened in Level 6 (1,500/3,000/400) when Perkins opened for 8,500 under the gun and Shakerchi just called from the button. Lehne came along from the small blind, Peters did the same from the big, and four players took a flop of 9♦2♠8♦.
Lehne led out for 15,000, Peters folded, and Perkins raised to 40,000. Shakerchi just flatted, Lehne did the same, and the three players saw the 2♣ appear on the turn. Lehne checked, Perkins bet 80,000, and both his opponents called to see the J♠ river, which they all checked. Lehne tabled the J♦10♣ for a missed straight draw that turned into two pair, Perkins mucked, and then Shakerchi rolled over the K♠K♣ for the win.
Perkins went on to bust the tournament for a third time – the result of a terrible river card – and stated he would fire a fourth and final bullet on Day 2.
While a handful of players fell, plenty more advanced to Day 2 including Ankush Mandavia (610,000), Mike "Timex" McDonald (456,000), Erik Seidel (360,000), defending champ Steve O'Dwyer (302,000), and Team PokerStars Pros Vanessa Selbst (531,000), Jason Mercier (299,000) and Daniel Negreanu (185,000).
Among those to fall on Day 1 and not return (though they still have the option to reenter) were Isaac Baron, JC Alvarado, Antonio Esfandiari, Thomas Muehloecker, Ole Schemion, and both Mustapha Kanit and Justin Bonomo, who were literally eliminated at the same time on the last hand of the night.
The $100,000 Super High Roller is part of the overall nine-day PCA 2016 festival, which will feature 104 events including the PCA 2016 Main Event on January 8; a $50k One-Day High Roller Single Reentry on January 9; and a three-day $25k High Roller on January 12. The PokerNews Live Reporting Team will be there to cover each of those events.
Day 2 of the $100,000 Super High Roller will kick off at Noon local time on Thursday. Who will add their name to the prestigious list of PCA $100K champs which includes Steve O'Dwyer (2015 - 66 entries - $1,872,580 top prize), Fabian Quoss (2014 - 46 entries - $1,629,940 top prize), Scott Seiver (2013 - 47 entries - $2,003,480 top prize), Viktor Blom (2012 - 30 entries - $1,254,400 top prize), and Eugene Katchalov (2011 - 38 entries - $1,500,000 top prize)?
Be sure to check back tomorrow as the quest continues. In the meantime, check out this video on things to do when it's rainy in the Bahamas:
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