July 16 2004

OPT Mid-Summer Poker Open

The Oregon Poker Tour's second major tournament of the year was played on this night. The winner would join Christina Zimmerman in the OPT Championship Tournament. To this point, Co-founder Dugan had won at least one tournament three weeks in a row, and had placed second in the last two major tournament held in the OPT. However, as Christina proved at the Spring Break Championship, no one could be counted out. Would Josh Cowan or Co-founder Luke Shortridge finally win another OPT tournament? Would anyone near the top of the OPT leaderboard win this game and insure their spot in the Championship? Or would someone who's never won a tournament win one of the four tournaments that really mattered?

Twenty seven people paid $5.00 to get their chance at the ticket to the Championship, and a first place prize of $100. With that many people, there were four tables of poker players at the house of Co-founder Shortridge to start the tournament. The blinds were raised at 30 minute intervals, double the normal OPT structure. Finally, the tables were set, and the chips were handed out. The tournament started with those special words: "Shuffle up and deal!"

     

The Final Table



The OPT Mid-Summer Poker Open's Final Table

 

Seat #1: Sarah Nadeau
Seat #2: Christina Zimmerman
Seat #3: Josh Cowan
Seat #4: Greg Krumnow
Seat #5: Matt Gonzo
Seat #6: Luke Shortridge
Seat #7: Dan Staifer
Seat #8: Cory Stevenson


The final table started at 12:56am. Forty minutes later, the second and third place players on the OPT leaderboard, Josh Cown and Luke Shortridge were eliminated from the tournament, leaving our final six as:
Seat #1
Sarah Nadeau
$157
Seat #2
Christina Zimmerman
$1,150
Seat #3
Greg Krumnow
$135
Seat #4
Matt Gonzo
$4,071
Seat #5
Dan Staifer
$2,019
Seat #6
Cory Stevenson
$568

Gonzo went into six-handed play with the massive chip leadership, but the game was far from over, as Spring Break Champion Christina brought hardly enough to cover the blinds to the final table of the last major, and she ended up on top. But having the chip lead does lend itself to its own advantages. Would Gonzo take his momentium through the final five players, having won the last OPT tournament played before this major event? Would Christina win her second major tournament in a row? Or, would Sarah, Cory, or Greg force their way into the OPT Championship?

   
Fourth Place ($5.00)
Matt Gonzo
Third Place ($10.00)
Sarah Nadeau
Second Place ($17.00)
Christina Zimmerman

 

 

The Winner ($100.00)

Dan Staifer

PLACE Name: Busted By:
27 Chris Rutkowski Greg Krumnow
26 Scott Whitman Josh Cowan
25 Eric Murray Tim Dugan
24 Jerry Pickering Emily Bean
23 Tony Hartford Greg Krumnow
22 Drew Wood Greg Krumnow
21 Ray Welch Stephen Howard
20 Sarah Pirolli Josh Cowan
19 Silas Tsang Christina Zimmerman
18 Kristi Coe Cory Stevenson
17 Jeff Hartman Christina Zimmerman
16 Ben Day Emily Bean
15 Jason Abbas Matt Gonzo
14 Thomas Spry Sara Ritter
13 Emily Bean Josh Cowan
12 Tim Dugan Sarah Nadeau
11 Sara Ritter Josh Cowan
10 Brent Pirolli Dan Staifer
9 Stephen Howard Matt Gonzo
8 Luke Shortridge Greg Krumnow
7 Josh Cowan Matt Gonzo
6 Greg Krumnow Sarah Nadeau
5 Cory Stevenson Matt Gonzo
4 Matt Gonzo Sarah Nadeau
3 Sarah Nadeau Dan Staifer
2 Christina Zimmerman Dan Staifer

Dan Staifer, who won the first ever game he played in the OPT back in 2003, joined Christina Zimmerman as the second member of the OPT Championship tournament. He cemented his place in the Championship when he busted Sarah Nadeau out in third place, placing himself up against Christina, who already had a seat in the Championship. At that point, it was all about the first place pay out.

The OPT's biggest tournament of the year finally ended at 4:10 in the morning, having lasted just over six hours.