Dan Shak Leads Stacked Final Table In 2014 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure $100,000 Super High Roller

A star-studded final table has been set in the 2014 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure $100,000 no-limit hold’em super high roller. A total of 56 entries were made in this event, but now only seven remain with Dan Shak as the chip leader with 3,700,000. The remaining players are all guaranteed at least $277,080 but surely have their eyes on the title and the first-place prize of $1,629,940.

Shak will be looking to take advantage of his chip lead to improve on his runner-up finish to Viktor Blom in this same event in 2012, but will have some stiff competition. Second in chips heading into the final table is Vanessa Selbst, who has 3,645,000 in chips and plenty of experience in high roller events here at the PCA as well, having won the $25,000 buy-in event last year for $1,424,420. Selbst holds the record for the highest earnings by a female player in live tournaments, with more than $8.2 million.

Among the other large stacks is Antonio Esfandiari the champion of the biggest high roller in poker history, the 2012 $1 million Big One For One Drop, which he won for $18.3 million. Fabian Quoss is in fourth chip position and will be looking to add to the nearly $3 million in live tournament earnings to his name.

The short stacks may be lacking chips, but their resumes are beyond impressive. Matt Glantz has a 2009 EPT high roller win for nearly $900,000 under his belt, while Tony Gregg won the 2013 WSOP $111,111 One Drop high roller for $4.8 million. The shortest stack, Ole Schemion, has finished inside the top ten in the Card Player Player of the Year race the past two years.

When the final nine players convened at the unofficial final table, it appeared to poker pundits and railbirds alike that the money bubble would go relatively quickly. Despite a $217,320 difference between ninth and eighth place, the fact that three players entered nine-handed play with less than 15 big blinds while the oft-aggressive Vanessa Selbst held nearly 90 big blinds seemed to indicate that the end of the day would be coming soon.

It was surprising that more than three hours later the money bubble burst with the elimination of both Paul Newey and Mike McDonald, who each had less than one big blind after they found themselves in a folding war of attrition, each not wanting to risk their final few chips while the other was so short.

With blinds of 30,000-60,000 Newey moved all-in for his last 20,000 and it folded to McDonald, who had him covered with 50,000 to start the hand. After a few minutes thought to examine the situation, McDonald elected to call all-in as well. Matt Glantz then called the full 60,000 from the small blind, but Fabian Quoss raised from the big blind, prompting a fold from Glantz. With that the hands were revealed.

Newey: 96
McDonald: KQ
Quoss: AQ

The board ran out A8365, securing the pot for Quoss and sending both McDonald and Newey to the rail. Newey left empty handed, while McDonald earned $217,320 for finishing eighth as a result of starting the hand with more chips than Newey.

Play will resume at 1:30 PM EST, with streaming coverage (shown on a delay and featuring hole cards) beginning at 2:30.

Here is a look at the chip counts heading into the final table:

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