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Final Table Set In Card Player Poker Tour Caribbean Cruise Main Event

Nate Patten Leads Final Five, Barry Shulman Eliminated On The Bubble

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Only five players remain in the inaugural Card Player Poker Tour Caribbean Cruise $1,100 no-limit hold’em main event, hosted by Card Player Cruises aboard the incredible MS Oasis of the Seas. Each of final five are in the money and guaranteed at least a $3,720 payday, but surely they all have their eyes on the title and the $13,200 first-place prize.

Nate "Big Country" PattenThe chip leader heading into the final day is Nate “Big Country” Patten with 437,000. The 26-year-old private military contractor solidified his lead on the final hand of the night by eliminating Card Player publisher Barry Shulman on the bubble. Patten raised to 35,000 from early position and Shulman moved all-in from the big blind. Patten called relatively quickly with the AHeart SuitQHeart Suit and Shulman revealed the JDiamond SuitJClub Suit. The board ran out KSpade Suit6Club Suit3Spade SuitASpade Suit2Diamond Suit, giving Patten the winning hand, bursting the money bubble and sending Shulman to the rail in sixth place.

Second in chips is Fred Samelian with 280,000. The 66-year-old construction executive is closely followed by Bob Deemer, a 42-year-old computer programer for ESPN who ended the day with 276,000.

The final two players are both below the average stack size of 258,000. Marie-Josee McDuff entered the day with as the second shortest stack, but the 32-year-old police officer from Montreal, Quebec ended up with 167,000.

Rounding out the final five is Matthew Burnitz, who ended days 1 and 2 as the chip leader. Although the Bear, DE resident will have the shortest stack with 130,000 in chips, he brings the strongest resume with $642,434 in prior tournament cashes including a runner-up finish in the 2012 World Poker Tour Borgata Poker Open main event.

The final five will return to hour-long blind levels tomorrow as they play on to determine who will be the first-ever champion of the CPPT Caribbean Cruise main event. Stay tuned to CardPlayer.com for a recap and interview with the winner.

Here is a look at the chip counts for the final five:

Rank Player Chip Count
1 Nate “Big Country” Patten 437,000
2 Fred Samelian 280,000
3 Bob Deemer 276,000
Chip Average: 258,000
4 Marie-Josee McDuff 167,000
5 Matthew Burnitz 130,000