Craig Mason Leads 14 Day 1A Survivors
Jan 05, '23
A total of 108 entries were made on day 1A of the $500,000 guaranteed Card Player Poker Tour event at The Venetian, which is part of the ongoing DeepStack Extravaganza poker festival on the Las Vegas Strip.
The $1,600 buy-in tournament features three starting flights in total, with 12.5% of the field making the money. That meant that 14 players would advance to day 2, guaranteed at least a min-cash for surviving the first starting day.
Each player started the tournament with 40,000 stacks, and blind levels were set to 40 minutes. Additionally, those who registered before the start of level 2 were given a discount on their tournament fees. Players could rebuy, however, until the start of level 13.
Craig Mason, who took second in the partypoker LIVE Caribbean main event for $1.2 million, was chip leader for most of the day before bleeding some chips away in the later levels. Mason got a huge boost towards the end of the night however when his A-J held against Sean Banahan’s Q-J on a jack-high flop.
It wasn’t long after that Thomas Coolidge found himself all in and at risk of bubbling with 8-7 against the A-6 of Mark Koeln. Coolidge found no help, and was eliminated just one spot shy of the money.
Mason finished with the biggest stack overall, bagging up 590,000. He was followed by WSOP Circuit winner David Richards (575,000), WSOP bracelet winner Ralph Perry (522,000), Koeln (511,000), and bracelet winner and WPT champion Dylan Linde (455,000). Other notables still in contention include Venetian poker standout and former Card Player Player of the Year Eric Baldwin and WPT champion Jordan Cristos.
Tournament play continues Friday at 11:10 a.m. with day 1B. Once again, players who enter before level 2 will receive a rebate on their tournament rake.
Those who want to win their seat at a discount can do so with a 7:10 p.m. $200 mega satellite on Friday night. There will also be a $200 turbo satellite on Saturday morning.
Here are the chip counts for day 1A.
Craig Mason – 590,000
David Richards – 575,000
Ralph Perry – 522,000
Mark Koeln – 511,000
Dylan Linde – 455,000
Adam Walton – 455,000
Jared Strauss – 340,000
Eric Baldwin – 308,000
Simon Taberham – 152,000
Jordan Cristos – 108,000
Hye Park – 98,000
Peter Mugar – 89,000
Ronnie Anderson – 66,000
Jeff Tanouye – 59,000
Player Tags: Craig Mason
John Riordan Eiminated by Craig Mason
Jan 05, '23
John Riordan was all-in for just 15,000 from the button preflop, and Craig Mason called to cover him. The two players then flipped over their cards.
Mason: 9
3
Riordan: 87
Board: AQ9
J
K
Riordan was eliminated on the hand, and Mason stacked up 565,000. Riordan was the winner of the previous CPPT Venetian Main Event back in November. Play continued hand-for-hand after the conclusion of the pot on the end of day and money bubble.
Carig Mason – 565,000 (113 bb)
Player Tags: John Riordan, Craig Mason
Craig Mason Busts Sean Banahan
Jan 05, '23
We walked over to see a massive pot brewing between big stacks Craig Mason and Sean Banahan. After a series of bets and raises, all the money went in on a flop of J92.
Banahan held QJ, but Mason had him outkicked with AJ.
Mason asked for a clean run out and got it as the turn and river fell K7. After counting down the stacks, it was revealed that Mason had Banahan just outchipped.
Mason moves to 720,000 after the hand, and we are now down to the final 16 players.
Player Tags: Craig Mason
Craig Mason Adds To His Chip Lead
Jan 05, '23
We walked up to see a short stack all in holding 55 against the K10 of Craig Mason.
The board ran out Q99710 and the all-in player could only chuckle as the river sent him to the rail and Mason dragged yet another pot. Mason now has 390,000 and is well ahead of the field.
Player Tags: Craig Mason
Craig Mason Takes the Chip Lead
Jan 05, '23
Adam Demesserman moved all in preflop for 29,500 from the hijack with AQ in the hole, and Craig Mason called to cover him from the small blind holding 99.
The board ran out 65333, and Demersseman was eliminated on the hand. Mason stacked up 145,200 after collecting the pot to take the chip lead in the tournament.
Craig Mason – 145,200 (121 bb)
Player Tags: Craig Mason, Adam Demersseman
Craig Mason Eliminated in 18th Place by Khoa Nguyen
Jan 08, '23
There was a large pot on the table with the flop reading J74 when the big blind fired out a bet to open the action. Craig Mason raised all in for 405,000 under the gun, and Khoa Nguyen thought for a minute before calling from late position. The big blind got out of the way so the remaining two players revealed their cards.
Nguyen: AA
Mason: QQ
Turn and River: 74
Mason was eliminated in 18th place, good for $5,720, and Nguyen stacked up 2.53 million after collecting the pot.
Khoa Nguyen – 2,530,000 (84 bb)
Craig Mason – Eliminated in 18th Place ($5,720)
Player Tags: Khoa Nguyen, Craig Mason
