Down to 24 players the PCA main event was short in poker star power, but long in future poker star power.  Kids littered the poker tables like it was lunch time at Disney World and the few elder players left in the field looked more like chaperones than competitors.  In a odd way it looked a bit like you’d imagine a poker school would look but it was the youngsters doing the teaching.  Leading the way was Ryan D’Angelo when the day started and though the chip lead ebbed he managed to flow back into it by days end.

The day 5 poker at the PCA was Typhoon Lagoon for name pros Jeff Madsen and Robert Mizrachi (brother of the “Grinder” Michael).  Their ships were sunk when neither could win a coin flip.  Robert Mizrachi eked by the competitors who fell in 24th and23rd place but he didn’t go much further.  With a chance to go home only 70k richer and the 22nd place finisher Mizrachi (who has a TV final table at the Bahamas to his name), fell to his opponents pocket jacks. 

Jeff Madsen made it three spots higher than Mizrachi.  Madsenshoved with two big cards and got called down by Aage Ravn’s pocket 4s.   The 4s held and Madsen’s day came to a rickety end like Big Thunder Mountain’s coaster coming into the station.  Praz Bansi enjoyed a moment in the sun as a chipleader earlier in the tournament but on Day 5 he was trying to keep his nerve despite the rest of the chipleaders chase him like ghouls at Haunted Mansion.

Bansi got shreddedlater in the day as he shove with A9 offsuit.  Poker is a game all about timing and Bansi’s timing was as bad as it gets.  Praz got the worst possible news when his opponent turned over AA.  Bansi’s misfortune was Ty Reiman’s boon.  Reiman had a FastPass day getting involved in big pot after big pot and dragging most of them.

Reimanclashed with one of the old guard, John Duthie, and eliminated one of the chaperone types from the tournament.  Reimanraised with pocket queens.  Duthie poured 500k on top and Reiman shipped it.  Duthie called this time he was holding the AA.  The Queens soon saw a sister on the board as the flop came Queen high.  A nontextured board meant Duthie was drawing slim to the two remaining Aces.

The last chaperone left standing amongst the final table of spitballers was Barry Shulman.  It was Shulman who sent the final player home too.  Shulman’s pocket Kings held up against the Ace Six offsuit of Matthew Haugen and eight players geared up to return to Day 6.

The chip stacks were:
Ryan D’Angelo (10,090,000) Ty Reiman (9,350,000) Barry Shulman (6,805,000)
Harrison Gimbel (6,000,000) Tom Koral (5,370,000) Benjamin Zamani (3,700,000) Zachary Goldberg (2,340,000)
Aage Ravn (1,600,000).


On day 6, D’Angelo and Reiman’s reigns were over as it was Harrison “Crimson Tide” Gimbel who reclaimed the chip lead and marched to the title.  Gimbel’s AK made a full house early against Reiman’s JJ.  All in preflop the board gave Gimbel a boat.  Reiman recovered when he limped AA and got lucky that Benjamin Zamani got QQ.  His Aces held.   

Later D’Angelo foundhimself tangling with Reiman.  D’Angelo shoved with JJ.  This time it was Reiman holding the AK.  Again Jacks were unlucky.  D’Angelo survived until the river but then a King showed up and it was curtains for D’Angelo.  Barry Shulmanthe chaperone then foundhimself alone with Reiman and Gimbel.  If you added their ages together Shulman still had them by a couple of decades.

However, Shulman’s day ended first as his Q10 couldn’t best the A9 of Harrison Gimbel.  Shulman’s payday continued his stellar moneymaking year by banking 1.35  million.  He could only watch the youngsters from afar as Gimbel and D’Angelo tangled in the final pot of the tournament.  Both online poker pros looked at pocket pairs, Gimbel’s 1010 a little better than Reiman’s 88.  A 10 hit the flop and an 8 hit the turn.  Gimbel faded the one outer and the 19 year old poker pro from Florida won the PCA Main Event.