LAPC Side Event Round-Up: Rainer Kempe Wins $25K

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Mar 05, 2019 4 min read

The World Poker Tour L.A. Poker Classic $10,000 Main Event is down to the last 35 players, with David "ODB" Baker showcasing his no-limit chops to bag the chip lead after three days of play.

Copious live updates from the Main Event are available from the WPT, but there's also plenty of other action going on at Commerce Casino.

With that in mind, PokerNews sifted through the Commerce Poker Blog to highlight some of the results from the various side events in one of poker's biggest tournament festivals, starting with the biggest buy-in event on the schedule.

$25K High Roller

The first of two $25K high roller events on the LAPC schedule ended with a familiar name at the top of the payouts: Rainer Kempe. The German has been on quite a tear recently with three wins and two fourth-place finishes, all worth six-figure prizes, and he added to that with a win in this $25,000 High Roller for $270,905 in a small field of 27 entries. Ali Imsirovic, Jeremy Ausmus and Josh Gordon also cashed.

$2,140 Six-Max

Another name familiar to poker fans conquered the $2,140 Six-Max: Cliff Josephy. "JohnnyBax" has a couple of bracelets and a few other major live final tables, but he grabbed his first Remington trophy by topping a field of 152 in the short-handed event.

$5,250 Eight-Max

Eighty-seven players entered the $5,280 Eight-Max event, and two recognizable pros wound up chopping after overcoming a tough final table. Both Anthony Spinella and Andrew Lichtenberger took home six-figure scores separated by less than $3,000, with Spinella named official champion after banking $108,005. Jeremy Ausmus, Anton Morgenstern and Kristen Bicknell also made the final table.

_{*reflects heads-up deal}

$2,140 No-Limit Hold'em

Cord Garcia already had a big result earlier in the series when he made the final table of the LAPC $1 Million, finishing seventh for $41,220. He had a big chip stack in that one and fizzled out at the very end, but in the $2,140 No-Limit Hold'em, Garcia got his hands on a Remington after chopping with Dylan Linde for just under $50,000 apiece. Sorel Mizzi and Ari Engel also appeared at this final table.

_{*reflects heads-up deal}

$2,140 2-7 Single Draw

A small field of 27 fired in the $2,140 2-7 Single Draw tournament, and former online superstar Peter "#1PEN" Neff came out atop the field for $21,615, besting Mike Noori heads up.

$1,100 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo

Three players whacked the remaining monies in the $1,100 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo, topped by Dmitry Levin and his $20,000. Mihails Morozovs and Georgii Belianin look to have been separated by little to no chips as they got $14,780 apiece with the former picking up an extra $5 bill. "Miami" John Cernuto and Allen "Chainsaw" Kessler also made the final table.

_{*reflects three-way deal}

$1,100 No-Limit Hold'em

In the $1,100 No-Limit Hold'em that featured a $100,000 guarantee, that number was eclipsed when 114 entered. Andrew Wisdom bested Michael Rocco heads up for a $33,470 prize, with former WSOP Main Event final tablist Michael Dyer joining them at the final table. It was Wisdom's second Remington of the series.

$1,100 Omaha/Stud Hi-Lo Mix

Seventy-three players entered the $1,100 Omaha/Stud Hi-Lo Mix, with a number of recognizable names making the final table. One of them, bracelet winner Frankie O'Dell, chopped for $17,000 but took second billing to Donald Halpern, who got $20,095. Ioro Yogo, Ari Engel, and Owais Ahmed also made the final table.

$1,100 Heads-Up No-Limit Hold'em

A full 64-player bracket turned up for the $1,100 Heads-Up No-Limit Hold'em and Cody Bell navigated through to victory, overcoming Nick Phoenix in the final, Nick Grippo in the semi-final and Ari Engel in the round of eight.

$350 Great Wall of Chips

Cord Garcia made yet another deep run in the $350 Great Wall of Chips, which drew 1,719 entries and a prize pool north of $500,000. He would wind up fifth for $20,888, while Behzad Teranie and Vadim Baranovsky chopped for $71,000 and $57,776, respectively.

$500,000 Kickoff Event

The smallest buy-in event, the $120 Kickoff Event drew a monstrous 6,454 field over a slew of starting days to beat its $500K guarantee by about $100,000. That was also the promised first-place prize, and Christopher Haydt walked away with the big dough. Haydt also won a $350 Pot-Limit Omaha event later in the series.

_{Photos courtesy of LAPC}

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