The wind has picked up beneath the sails of the Aria High Roller action in Las Vegas.
It’s been four months since Sam Soverel won the Poker Masters in the poker room many believe is the best in the world, and the back-to-back Poker Central High Roller of the Year featured again once the cards were in the air.
We begin with a $10,000 No-Limit Hold ’em (NLHE) event, and a victory for Jacob Daniels. The first of three high roller events attracted 35-entrants, and Daniels secured the third live tournament of his career (all three have been six-figure wins).
Daniels has his oars in the water.
In December, he won a $5,000 NLHE at the World Poker Tour (WPT) Five Diamond World Poker Classic, conquering a field of 127-entrants to win the $203,263 first prize (a career-high).
Daniels took that form into Uruguay for the partypoker MILLIONS South America, last week, and finished 3/30 in a $25,500 NLHE event for $150,000.
It is the first time Daniels has cashed in the Aria.
Daniels overcame one of the top men in the business, Seth Davies, in heads-up action. Davies has been a maelstrom of late, winning the $25,000 NLHE at the WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic in December after beating 53-entrants to win the $424,000 first prize, a month after picking up $1m for his fifth-place finish in the Super High Roller Bowl (SHRB) in the Bahamas.
Here are the ITM results.
ITM Results
- Jacob Daniels – $117,000
- Seth Davies – $114,000
- Ralph Wong – $56,000
- Ben Yu – $35,000
- Tom Marchese – $28,000
Cary Katz Wins The Second $10,000 NLHE.
A familiar face won the second $10,000 NLHE event.
If you’re superstitious, then Cary Katz is the last player you want to duel with at the Aria. The 24th victory of Katz’s career, sees his total live earnings exceed $27.2m. He’s ranked #15 in the world, the best of all non-pros, and he ranks #1 in the Aria All-Time ITM finishes with 64.
The two men who rank behind him, Jake Schindler (61) and Sam Soverel (46), finished third and fourth. Erik Seidel squeezed in the middle. If the Poker Hall of Famer was in the poker doldrums, that’s ended. Seidel made four final tables in the Aussie Millions and Australian Poker Open including a 5/820 finish in the Aussie Millions Main Event, so he’s on form.
The event attracted 25-entrants.
ITM Finishes
- Cary Katz – $110,000
- Erik Seidel – $75,000
- Jake Schindler – $40,000
- Sam Soverel – $25,000
Ali Imsirovic and Jake Take the $25,000 Aria Title.
The official calling of the $25,000 NLHE event is still hanging in a cobweb in some stained area of Aria H.Q., but we know from Twitter that Ali Imsirovic banked $180,000 after chopping with ‘Jake’. What we’re unsure of is whether Imsirovic won or lost and whether ‘Jake’ is Jake Schindler, Jacob Daniels or Jake’ The Snake’ Roberts.
We’ll rewrite this piece when we get the final word from Paul Campbell. (or maybe not, I like the Jake the Snake line).
Next up at the Aria is the U.S. Poker Open 19-31 March.