Saturday will mark the final table of the Ultimate Bet Aruba Poker Classic. After four days of play, the tournament is down to its final seven players and perched atop the pack is Swedish poker pro Johan Storakers. He’s no stranger to the Aruba Poker Classic spotlight, having finished third in the tournament in 2005.
Storakers and Matt Brady have a sizeable lead on the other five players at the table. In a rather unconventional move, the final table of the 2008 Ultimate Bet Aruba Poker Classic will begin with seven players, an increase from its regular six. Play will start on Saturday at noon on a stage perched over the pool at the Radisson Hotel and Casino in the sunny island nation. Blinds will begin at 8,000/16,000 with a 2,000 chip ante. Here are the starting stacks:
Johan Storakers – 2,027,000
Matt Brady – 1,776,000
Brandon Terry – 1,211,000
Jeffrey Papola – 1,163,000
Allie Prescott – 770,000
Jason Pohl – 685,000
Brian Malczewski – 356,000
Storakers finished third in the Aruba Poker Classic in 2005, cashing for $300,000. That tournament, which was the last one held as a stop on the World Poker Tour, was won by Freddie Deeb. Storakers finished second to Costa Rica’s Alex Brenes in the 2005 WPT Invitational, cashing for $50,000. All told, he’s piled up over $530,000 in career WPT earnings. In 2002, he finished fourth in a $1,500 buy-in Pot Limit Hold’em event for $28,760, his largest World Series of Poker Cash to date.
Papola made a deep run in the 2008 WSOP Main Event, finishing 90th and pocketing $64,333. In the online poker world, this young prodigy goes by the name “jpapola.” He’s taken down the $100 rebuy on PokerStars for $50,000 and also won the $75,000 Guaranteed on Ultimate Bet for $20,000. He’s proven himself to be successful in both the live and online poker arenas.
Prescott is a WSOP and WPT veteran. On the WSOP and Circuit Event felts, he’s cashed 14 times for a combined $123,000. He finished 12th at the Bay 101 Shooting Star event during Season III of the WPT, cashing for $50,000. He also has a 15th place finish in the World Poker Open during Season IV for $31,000. Malczewski has one WSOP in the money finish to his name, a $3,792 take in a $1,500 No Limit Hold’em event in 2007.
Tomorrow’s final table will literally be played over the pool at the Radisson, making for a unique experience for players and fans alike. Gene Bromberg, a blogger for Ultimate Bet, commented, “I think the 2008 Aruba Poker Classic will be the first poker tournament with a $1 million first prize to be played over water in its liquid form. Tomorrow will truly be an historic day.” Play up until this point has been inside a massive ballroom.
With both the European Poker Tour’s London stop as well as the World Series of Poker Europe going on concurrently, the Aruba Poker Classic has primarily attracted young online players who have qualified their way into the tournament. Here is a look at the last 10 players to have hit the rails in the Aruba Poker Classic, according to the official coverage on CardPlayer:
8th Place: Chris Morrison ($58,500)
9th Place: Rajiv Motwani ($33,400)
10th Place: Steve Frasure ($33,400)
11th Place: Brian Gates ($16,700)
12th Place: Mark Standerfer ($16,700)
13th Place: Karl Stark ($13,340)
14th Place: Tim Kahlmeyer ($13,340)
15th Place: Joseph Serock ($13,340)
16th Place: Lynn Samples ($13,340)
17th Place: Al Riccobono ($13,340)
There were 551 entrants in total, which means the tournament will pay out as follows. Everyone at the final table is guaranteed at least $58,500:
1st Place: $1,000,000
2nd Place: $486,000
3rd Place:$250,000
4th Place: $150,000
5th Place: $116,400
6th Place: $83,120
7th Place: $58,500
So who will it be? We’ll find out on Saturday and report it for you right here on Poker News Daily.
