CPPT and Ocean’s Eleven Team Up For San Diego Classic Events In April and July

The Card Player Poker Tour has joined forces with the legendary Ocean’s Eleven Casino to put on eight San Diego Classic events since early 2016. In that time they have had more than 6,600 entries, and more than $1,750,000 in prize money. The first CPPT Ocean’s Eleven San Diego Classic of 2019 already took place in January, and the tour is set to return to beautiful Oceanside, California for two more action-packed events this year. The second running of this fantastic event will take place from April 25 – 28, with the third and final CPPT event running July 18 – 21.

Both of these tournaments feature $250 buy-ins, with six starting flights. There will be two starting flights per day for the first three days of the event, with the first beginning at 10:00 a.m. and the second at 6:00 p.m. each night. Players will also be able to take advantage of the popular Quantum Tournament structure and buy in on Day 2 for $1,500 and receive 100,000 in tournament chips. Players can also pay a $30 optional staff add-on and receive 20,000 more chips, with the blinds on Day 2 starting at 1,000-2,000

Matthew Welch Becomes The First CPPT Champion of 2019

The first CPPT San Diego Classic event of 2019 was held from Jan. 24-27. The six starting flights drew 756 entries, with another 67 players opting to take advantage of the Quantum Tournament structure and buy directly into Day 2 for $1,500. As a result of the solid turnout, the final prize pool grew to $226,155. In the end, San Diego resident Matthew Welch emerged victorious, capturing the first big title of his career, along with the $41,300 top prize.

From the 823 total entries, the top 112 finishers made the money in this event. A number of big names cashed, including Mike Eskandari (14th – $2,690), former champion of this event Barry Seidman (19th – $1,845), Bobby Suer (41st – $765), another previous winner of this tournament in Shawn Busse (46th – $685) and 2015 World Poker Tour Legends of Poker main event winner Mike Shariati (78th – $520).

Welch was the overall chip leader from the six starting flights, having bagged up a massive stack of 523,700 in flight 1B. The next largest stack was the 342,500 of Luis Pedro.

Welch was able to take his huge stack and navigate his way to the final table. In the end, he defeated Mateus Lessa heads-up to secure the victory. Lessa earned $26,510 as the runner-up finisher, the largest score of his live tournament career.

Here is a look at the payouts awarded to the final-table finishers:

Place Player Earnings (USD)

1 Matthew Welch $41,300
2 Mateus Lessa $26,510
3 Adrianne Hall $19,550
4 Mike Ruter $14,255
5 Hunter Moss $10,925
6 Zewdie Wondimagegnehu $8,365
7 Ruben Bahamon $6,520
8 Ranjit Randnawa $5,140
9 Roberto Sanchez $4,095

Here is a look back at the past eight CPPT Ocean’s Eleven San Diego Classic Events:

Date Entries Champion Top Payout

4/25/16 778 Robert DeAgazio $23,813
1/31/17 630 Barry Knowlton $17,157
4/24/17 920 Shawn Busse $48,910
7/23/17 910 Barry Seidman $38,873
1/29/18 691 Scott ‘Brian’ Blount $37,010
4/30/18 949 David McCaw $29,649
7/30/18 938 Seth Brown $46,870
1/29/19 823 Matthew Welch $41,300

About Ocean’s Eleven Casino

Ocean’s Eleven is the only casino in Southern California located along the Pacific Ocean on the Interstate 5 freeway, less than a mile from some of the area’s most picturesque beaches. The casino first opened in 1997, and in the two decades that followed it has become the place to play in the San Diego area.

The property boasts 50 tables of the best poker and table games found anywhere in California with all the favorite poker games, including no-limit and limit hold’em, Omaha, Omaha eight-or-better and pot-limit Omaha. Popular table games available include Blackjack, Baccarat & Pai Gow Poker.

Haig Kelegian, the Ocean’s Eleven owner known as “The King of Clubs,” notes that, “It is not enough to be the largest poker room in the region. We have to offer the best action and the best service day in and day out.”

In addition to the fantastic cash games, Ocean’s Eleven also offers an exciting array of weekly tournaments. The $20,000 guaranteed Mega Saturdays begins at 10:00 a.m. The $200+$30 buy tournament with optional $10 staff add-on features 25-minute levels. The $10,000 guaranteed Deepstack Sundays is a $70+$20 buy-in with an optional $10 staff add-on. It also kicks off at 10:00 a.m. and features 25-minute blind levels. There is a $3,000 guaranteed 10:00 a.m. event each and every weekday, with another $3,000 guaranteed nightly event starting at 7:00 p.m. Monday – Thursday. The weekday events are $45+$10 with an optional $5 add-on and 15 minute levels. Every Friday at 6:00 p.m. is the $5,000 guaranteed $60+$15 buy-in with an optional $5 staff add-on.

Ocean’s Eleven has numerous fantastic promotions for players to take advantage of, including ‘Spin To Win’ $5,000 cash prizes on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, $3,000 drawings on Mondays and Wednesdays, and much more.

Speaking of player-friendly promotions, Ocean’s offers a $20,000 fixed jackpot in all its hold’em and Omaha games. Whether the game is $1-$2 no-limit hold’em, $8-$16 limit hold’em, or $8-$16 Omaha, players at every game play for the same jackpot! On Fridays between 11:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m. the jackpot grows to $50,000 for Hold’em and Omaha.

Players can also take advantage of the Racing For Dollars monthly promotion, which pays players a rebate based on their hours played in cash games, with players earning $60 for every 20 hours and $500 for every 100 hours.

Players may also eat for free after playing two hours of live poker.

With all of the games, amenities and promotions, Ocean’s Eleven Casino is the place to go for poker in the San Diego area.

Will You Be The Next CPPT Champion?

The next event of the CPPT Ocean’s 11 San Diego Classic are right around the corner, with the second edition taking place April 25 – 28 and the third from July 18 – 21. To learn more about the CPPT and see other upcoming tour stops, visit the tour’s homepage at www.CardPlayerPokerTour.com. ♠