2024 Maryland State Poker Championship
Maryland LIVE! Highlights
Day: all
As Virginia's Dennis Backhaus grinded away in the $600 Kickoff Event of the Maryland State Poker Championship at Live! Casino and Hotel Maryland, attentive players at the table may have noticed the bright graphic of a shield-wielding Viking warrior on his black t-shirt.
The shirt was of the Swedish band Amon Amarth, whose music has been categorized as melodic death metal and Viking metal, two subgenres of heavy metal characterized by fast tempos, growled vocals and lyrics of Norse mythology.
As a music fan, band shirts tend to stand out to me in crowded poker tournament fields. Spotting one on Erik Seidel inspired me to write this piece on the Poker Hall of Famer's similar love for music. I also happen to be a fan of Amon Amarth and even saw them in concert a decade ago.
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Just as Sweden has produced some of the greatest poker players of all time — think Viktor "Isildur1" Blom and Niklas Astedt — the Scandinavian country has also birthed many of the biggest death metal bands in the world and is known for its prominent metal scenes in Stockholm and Gothenburg.
Backhaus has $66,943 in Hendon Mob earnings, two first-place finishes at Maryland Live! and excellent taste in music.
The third starting day of the $600 Kickoff Event at the Maryland State Poker Championship at Live! Casino and Hotel Maryland continues today with another two flights, first with Day 1d that started at 11:15 a.m. local time and then with Day 1e.
Day 1d is well underway and already has around 150 players toward the end of registration. The event only needs the double that number to surpass the $300,000 guarantee with two more flights to come.
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"We're going to have a monster-sized field tomorrow," the floor told players about Day 1f as they went to break.
Those in the Day 1d field this afternoon include Steve Doyon, Paul Kiem, Jeremy Rodriguez, Katelyn Miller and Donald Price.
PokerNews is live reporting the Day 1d action, which you can read about here.
Don't forget that there is a Gold Pass to the NAPT Las Vegas Main Event in November up for grabs. PokerStars will be awarding the last online qualifier standing the Gold Pass package, which includes travel, accommodation, and the $5,300 tournament buy-in.
During yesterday's Day 1c flight of the $600 Kickoff Event, PokerNews happened to be walking by a table when Riva Arthur got all in with pocket kings against another player with kings. A chop seemed imminent, but that is not how it went down.
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Arthur held the K♦ and a two-diamond flop of 8♦Q♥Q♦ left her freerolling. The 3♦ turn upped the suspense factor, and the dramatic 6♦ river gave her the flush to put a tough beat on the now-eliminated opponent.
Arthur, who is from Massachusetts, has already amassed $91,207 in Hendon Mob earnings despite her first cash being a little over a year ago.
She's had success at Live! before, taking down a $200k guaranteed Multi-Flight event in March for $29,300.
Arthur also made a deep run in last year's NAPT Las Vegas $5,300 NAPT High Roller with a tenth-place finish worth $16,295.
The first winner at the PokerStars 2024 Maryland State Poker Championship is Maryland's Eric Lucas, who took down the $400 buy-in HORSE event for $8,972.
The tournament had a $20,000 guarantee and smashed that with a $26,386 prize pool. Lucas earned the lion's share as he defeated Virginia's Paul Adams ($5,145), while others at the final table included fellow Virginian Michael Heffner (4th - $2,177) and Maryland's Stuar Rotter (3rd - $3,219) and Anthony Collurafici (7th - $1,161).
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2024 Maryland State Poker Championship HORSE Results
| PLACE | PLAYER | HOMETOWN | PRIZE (IN USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eric Lucas | Havre De Grace, MD | $8,972 |
| 2 | Paul Adams | Grace Allen, VA | $5,145 |
| 3 | Stuart Rotter | Parksville, MD | $3,219 |
| 4 | Michael Heffner | Reston, VA | $2,177 |
| 5 | Brian Zekus | Minneapolis, MS | $1,649 |
| 6 | Robert Brylinski | Buffalo, NY | $1,319 |
| 7 | Anthony Collurafici | Sparrows Point, MD | $1,161 |
| 8 | Dale Harrison | Middle River, MD | $1,055 |
| 9 | Aaron Pinson | Baltimore, MD | $897 |
| 10 | Hossein Ghodosi Fard | Bethesda, MD | $792 |
With the North American Poker Tour (NAPT) returning to Las Vegas this fall, PokerStars have released information about the new 'Path to NAPT', offering players the chance to win their way to Vegas for as little as $0.50.
Two $600 buy-in NAPT Regional events have also been announced, taking place in Maryland and Philadelphia later this summer. Don't miss the opportunity to get involved in some incredible PokerStars Live events.
PokerStars NAPT Returning to Resorts World Las Vegas November 1-10
Win a Gold Pass to NAPT Main Event
Last year Sami Bechahed defeated Jonathan Borenstein heads-up to win the 2023 NAPT Las Vegas Main Event and $268,945. He topped a 1,095-player field to win the first NAPT Main Event title in 12 years.
Want to be part of the next one? Well here's your chance! PokerStars is planning on offering 100 chances to secure a Gold Pass worth $10,000 to the Las Vegas NAPT Main Event.
These coveted passes will offer:
- $5,300 Buy-In: Entry to the Main Event of the NAPT.
- $2,900 Hotel Accommodation: Ensuring a luxurious stay during the tournament.
- $1,800 Expenses: Additional funds to cover travel and other costs.
Path to NAPT
The easiest way to get your hands on a Gold Pass is through the newly-announced 'Path to NAPT'. This offers players the chance to win their way from $0.50 and parlaying smaller wins into larger prizes — and ultimately a Gold Pass to the NAPT Main Event.
How Does the Path to NAPT Work?
Players who log into the PokerStars client will earn a $0.50 Step 1 ticket. These can then be used to enter tournaments that will lead to winning Gold Passes. If you don't have an account, be sure to take advantage of the PokerStars sign up bonus.
Players will also be able to win Silver Passes that will be redeemable for NAPT Regional events and bi-weekly $1,000 satellites to the NAPT.
NAPT Regionals
As for NAPT regionals, two $600 buy-in events have been announced that will take place between July and August.
The first, taking place at Maryland Live!, will run from July 31-August 12. The second runs from August 22-September 8 at Philly Live!
Both events will have six starting flights, with the winners of each Main Event awarded a Gold Pass to the NAPT Main Event in Las Vegas this November.
PokerStars ambassador David "DavidKayePoker" Kaye has arrived at the 2024 Maryland State Poker Championship and is currently grinding away Day 1e of the $600 Kickoff Event.
Kaye is primarily an online grinder and cash game streamer but is ready to show that he can compete on the live felt.
As PokerNews reported about Kaye back in October 2023:
Kaye has gone from live low-stakes cash games to playing and competing against the best cash game players in Michigan and New Jersey on the online mid-stakes scene. Cash games are Kaye’s specialty, and he continues to make a name for himself in those circles — but the PokerStars ambassador has new opportunities to grow his name on the live poker scene and he plans to do just that at the return of the NAPT in Las Vegas in November.
We'll be sure to keep an eye on the PokerStars ambassador as he eyes a deep run in the $600 Kickoff.
