MOUNT Gambier poker player Jason Newman scooped the pool and won the Classic Poker Tournament held over the June long weekend at Jens Hotel.
It was the first big tournament win for Newman for many years, after spending around a decade in the Northern Territory and only returning to poker a year ago.
He said he was pleased to claim the honours.
“There were a lot of strong players there and I do not play many tournaments,” Newman said.
“It ran pretty well and I played well, so I am happy to win.”
Newman also performed well in Friday night’s “High Roller” game, where he finished on the final table, eventually claiming eighth place.
The weekend saw Newman claim close to $11,000 for his efforts.
The two-day Classic tournament started with 173 players, the largest poker event held in regional South Australia.
Players travelled from as far as Cleve, Albury, Melbourne and Mildura for a chance to win the $15,000 major prize.
Inaugural champion Martin Pink was out early when his three-of-a-kind Queens was out-flopped by Hamilton’s Chris Walsh’s full house.
At the end of day one there were only 24 players remaining.
Newman pushed right to the final table, then in the end split the winnings with Geelong’s Daryl Rose, before playing for the tournament win, a championship bracelet and a bottle of Johnnie Walker Blue scotch.
“I was feeling pretty confident, especially on the final table when we got down to four and five players,” Newman said.
“I felt like I was the better player on the table at the time, but Daryl was clearly a good player.
“We were doing quite well and basically picking players off, which is why we chopped the winnings evenly.
“He was a dangerous player and I thought he deserved as much credit as I did.”
Both players received $10,134 before continuing with the game.
Newman had a two-to-one chip lead going into the heads-up battle, which lasted for about half an hour.
He kept up his dominance until Rowe was forced to push all his chips in with a Queen of hearts and an eight of hearts, when challenged by Newman’s pocket fours.
The very last hand saw Newman hold out to eventually make a full house with 4, 4, 9, 9, 9.
“He moved all in and I had pocket fours and called him,” Newman said.
“He flopped pretty strong, but they happened to run out the right way for me.
“I get my name on the title now, which is what I wanted the most.
“Once I chopped the money I was determined to get my name on that board.
“The good thing is it is back-to-back titles for Mount Gambier, even with all the invaders from Victoria.”
Friday night saw a total of 154 players compete.
Of those, 79 entered a $50 tournament, with the eventual winner Port Pirie’s Barry Jajisavva, who collected $1185.
The popular “High Roller” tournament, with a $300 entry fee, saw 75 players chase the chance to win money from a $22,500 prize pool.
The eventual winner was Warnambool’s Jonathon Munroe, who claimed $5625 after a three-way money deal with the top three place-getters, each receiving at least $4500.
The weekend saw a total prize pool of over $61,000.
CLASSIC TOURNAMENT RESULTS
Jason Newman – Mount Gambier; Daryl Rowe – Geelong; Meagan Janetski – Geelong, $3136; Mark Marschke – Ballarat: $2254; Nathan Lewis – Mount Gambier: $1764; Simon Hein – Portland: $1470; Chris James Walsh – Hamilton: $1176; Michael Collins – Stawell: $882; Tim Wilson – Millicent: $667; Darcy Guymer – Mount Gambier: $549; Steve Hood – Mount Gambier: $470; Blake Little – Mount Gambier: $470; Todd Lewis – Mount Gambier: $470; Jason Kurzman – Mount Gambier: $412; Tyson Chaplin – Saint Arnaud: $412.
