Quick Quotes and Bad Beats in the Break
There's no dinner break today; there are just these 20-minute breaks after every two levels. If you don't need to use the bathroom and already had something to eat, these breaks consist mainly of talking to your friends while waiting for play to resume. Maybe share a bad beat or two if you can find someone to hear you out.
We wandered around in the last break trying to get some quotes from players still in and offering a listening ear to those looking to share their misfortune.
Randy Lew
Lew won a lottery-style promotion this morning, essentially getting a freeroll in a tournament he was already planning on playing: "I feel pretty good about it! I was super excited! I was in the room, and someone said 'you won the pass!' That's such random news. I got the call that I won it, and I was super excited. Pretty sick!"
The reaction on Twitter was one that one might expect: some said it was rigged! "It's not rigged; they actually had a video of them doing it," Lew said with a big smile. "Someone has to win the lottery, right? It can be me! It's possible!"
Lew is excited about the tournament: "This is an amazing event. The number is already at 918. I didn't expect it to be so big. I thought maybe 650. That's an amazing number already. Whether I'm sponsored or not, I would still play this event. It's going to be the biggest event of the year. It's nice to start of the year that way. I'm excited to see all these new faces. It's very good for the game, and it's very exciting."
Asked about the field with as many amateurs as there are seasoned pros, Lew said he thought the field was pretty good. "Of course there are a lot of tables that are pretty tough too, but it's a $25,000. Even some of the regs that are playing don't normally play this high. So that might make them a bit more uncomfortable too. It's a good event for sure, and you just need to play your best and not worry about the stakes as much as you can."
David Peters
David Peters was one of the first ones to win a Platinum Pass, right here at the PCA a year ago. Peters was all smiled when we stuck our dictaphone under his nose: "It's great! This tournament is amazing!"
Peters had a pass to get the buy-in for free, something he kind of had forgotten about: "I actually went to buy in for the tournament and almost paid forgetting I was registered. I was like 'Oh yeah!' It's pretty cool to have it paid for."
Peters praises the tournament, not holding back in his wording: "This is probably the best tournament of all time. There's a nice mix; a lot of amateurs a lot of pros. It's a very amazing tournament. So many different kind of players. It's gonna be a lot of fun!"
Steffen Sontheimer
Another high roller regular, Steffen Sontheimer had just as big a smile on his face. But, it would turn out, that was more of a charade. When asked if things were going well because he had such a happy expression, he said "Really? No not at all. I just lost 2.5 hours every single hand. But I like it if you don't feel that."
Sontheimer had an interesting comparison for this event: "It's just like a Main Event; just a bit bigger buy-in but the field is the same. It will be interesting to see when the payouts are announced because then everyone feels like 'Oh, it's five times a main event!'
Celina Lin
Before the event, it was clear this event was going to be big. But how big? Celina Lin was amazed the tournament clock indicated nearly a 1,000 people had registered by the time the second break came around: "Amazing! I think it's a crazy turnout. I heard some guys on the plane going 1,500. I know that's a long stretch but I actually think 1,000 is such an amazing number. There's so many players that came out. Even from Asia. At least 15 players came out for it; that's a long way to travel."
Every player is looking for less experienced players. In tournaments with a buy-in of $25,000, those are usually hard to come by. In the PSPC, they are not as rare a sight. "I think there's a nice mix of players out there. If you have 2 or 3 value players at the table, that's good. But for a $25k, that's amazing! Usually, when you play a $25k, you get zero."
Lin already had a tough spot early on, facing off against Katie Lindsay. "The one hand that gave me a lot of trouble was against another girl. I flopped a set, and all the cameras were on me. I actually folded the river! She check-raised me all-in."
In any other event, Lin might have been inclined to call, she said: "If this was a $1k event or $2k, I probably call. But this is a $25k! I spent some time breaking down the hand very thoroughly and I came to the conclusion that I was beat. Just let it go. I actually got redemption for it two hands later; I had aces versus her ace-king to double up. I'm back to starting stack so I'm very happy to be still in. The structure is really really good, there's so much play!"
