Congratulations to our Top Ten Finishers from today’s WSOP2017 State Tournament at Running Aces Casino & Racetrack! We had 106 players show up for today’s event and good times were had by all!

For those who weren’t lucky enough to win a seat to Vegas, keep in mind we do have a block of rooms reserved. Contact Crystal Kempf at 651-295-6854 or via email at straightflushpokertour@gmail.com for details.

1st: Michael Ludders
Roundtrip Air and Hotel stay in Las Vegas 6/01-6/04, Buy-in to Colossus III Event ($565) and a personalized Straight Flush Hoodie or Polo
2nd: Jeanette Peterson
Roundtrip Air and Hotel in Las Vegas 6/01-6/04, Buy-in to Colossus III Qualifier Event (TBD based on availability)
3rd: David Rasmussen
Roundtrip Air and Hotel in Las Vegas 6/01-6/04, Buy-in to tournament at the Flamingo ($60)
4th: Carolyn LeDuc
$100 Running Aces Tournament Lammer
5th: Debbie Arens
Running Aces Easy Money Qualifier Event Seat ($85 value)
6th: Mike Mattson
Running Aces Easy Money Qualifier Event Seat ($85 value)
7th: Daniel Rehbein
Running Aces Easy Money Qualifier Event Seat ($85 value)
8th: Jordan Ales
Running Aces Easy Money Qualifier Event Seat ($85 value)
9th: Mike Sr.
$50 Running Aces Tournament Lammer and a Straight Flush t-shirt ($14 value)
10th: Victoria Rios
$50 Running Aces Tournament Lammer and a Straight Flush t-shirt ($14 value)

WSOP 2017 State Tournament

The WSOP 2017 State Tournament IS Sunday, April 30, 2017 at Running Aces. Registration begins at 10:00 a.m. and the tournament will begin promptly at 12:00 p.m. This event may only be attended by those who qualified for the event through one of the Regional Tournaments or those who won entry through the All-in for Africa event. The full list of those who are qualified to participate in the event is below the prize pool information.

Prizes for the the WSOP 2017 State Tournament

1st: Roundtrip Air and Hotel stay in Las Vegas 6/01-6/04, Buy-in to Colossus III Event ($565) and a personalized Straight Flush Hoodie or Polo
2nd: Roundtrip Air and Hotel in Las Vegas 6/01-6/04, Buy-in to Colossus III Qualifier Event (TBD based on availability)
3rd: Roundtrip Air and Hotel in Las Vegas 6/01-6/04, Buy-in to tournament at the Flamingo ($60)
4th: $100 Running Aces Tournament Lammer
5th: Running Aces Easy Money Qualifier Event Seat ($85 value)
6th: Running Aces Easy Money Qualifier Event Seat ($85 value)
7th: Running Aces Easy Money Qualifier Event Seat ($85 value)
8th: Running Aces Easy Money Qualifier Event Seat ($85 value)
9th: $50 Running Aces Tournament Lammer and a Straight Flush t-shirt ($12 value)
10th: $50 Running Aces Tournament Lammer and a Straight Flush t-shirt ($12 value)

Players Qualified to Attend WSOP 2017 State Tournament:

*Bar Champions – WSOP 2017A*
Barnboard – JoAnn Pottebaum
Big Guys BBQ – Shawn Arneson
Mama T’s (Bradys) – Bryan Stanton
Running Aces – RMDB
White Bear Bar Sunday A – David Chapa
White Bear Bar Tuesday A – T J Fitzgerald
White Bear Bar Tuesday B – Lee Price
Cellar at Cork- Wednesday – Tyrone Lewis
Cellar at Cork- Friday – Paul Neubuerger
Palmer Lake VFW – Nate French
Caspers – Jerry Wielenga
Jerseys – Mike Beberg
Piteras (Juniors)- Thursday – Johnny Hottub
Piteras (Juniors)- Tuesday – Kimmy Naylor
Opinion Monday – Mike Schoeder
Opinion Thursday – Tony Casey
Park Place – Mike Schoeder
Neisens – John Pollock
Chanhassen Legion – Paul Eidem
Detour 19 Sunday A – Laurel Smith
Detour 19 Sunday B – Bob Watson
Medina Thursday A – Paul Neubuerger
Medina Thursday B – Laurel Smith
Pourhouse – Dan Mueller

*Regional Qualifiers from WSOP 2017A*
North Region:
Dale Lange
Jerry Scharlemann
John Johnson
Tabitha Wood
Ron Dvorak
Peter Taft
Dan Rehbein
Tyrone Lewis
Jason Dalrymple
Lynn Menth

South Region:
Irene Goldberg
Janet Welsch
Myke Zurn
Mercedes M.W.
Tony Harper
Dennis Yaritz
Robert Nielsen
Carol Brown
Bao Vang
Carolyn LeDuc

West Region:
Michael P. Nelson
Bud Abbott
Elaine Wedel
Brian Bielke
Leroy Grainke
Bill Anderson
Debbie Arnes
Carol Brown
Dave Hoffmann
Bill Schultz

East Region:
Ben Cummins
Peter McNarry
Graham Oas
Bill Dwinells
Tony Larsen
Tom Kimlinger
Anthony Perkins
Mike Schoeder
Mike Nielsen Sr.
Victoria Rios

*Bar Champions – WSOP 2017B*
Barnboard – John Nash
Big Guys BBQ – Bob Beran
Mama T’s (Bradys) – Dan Gunderson
Schuggys – John Nash
White Bear Bar Sunday A – David Chapa
White Bear Bar Tuesday A – Lee Price
White Bear Bar Tuesday B – Kristi La valle
Cellar at Cork- Friday – Paul Neubuerger
Palmer Lake VFW – Royal Anderson
River City Extreme-Monday A – Jason Sherman
River City Extreme-Monday B – Shawna Portillo
River City Extreme-Saturday A – El Corrow
River City Extreme-Saturday B – Nate French
Caspers – Jason Forde
Jerseys – Mike Beberg
Opinion Monday – Anthony Perkins
Opinion Thursday – Mike Schoeder
Park Place – Pete Verhulst
Neisens – Sever
Chanhassen Legion – Bud Abbott
Detour 19 Sunday A – Laurel Smith
Detour 19 Sunday B – Mick M
Medina Thursday A – Jason Davis
Medina Thursday B – Chester Hollie Jr
Pourhouse – Mike Mondor

*Regional Qualifiers from WSOP 2017B*
North Region:
Christina Ramacher
Chris N
Richard Hewitt
Teach
Larry Kohnert
Bob Biel
Mike Ludders
Tyrone Lewis
Kerri Madden
Josh Ramacher

East Region:
Travis William
Keith Hines
Ken Hoffmeyer
Deb Stewart
Bao Vang
Craig Tekse
Larry L L
Ben Cummins
Kidane Shulbe
Mark Kraus

West Region:
Mike Whaylen
Jason Tibke
Michael P Nelson
Terri Abbott
Bill Anderson
Victor Bettorf
Bob Topinka
Eric Putkonen
Steve Thompson
Phyllis Pollock

South Region:
Chris Nash
Shorty
Bryan Stanton
Jon Beavers
Dogger
Scott Lumbar
Jennie Peterson
Dwayne Garwood
Dave Rasmussen
Daniel Garman

WINTER VEGAS VACATION SEASON 2017

In an attempt to keep our league growing and to keep things fresh for our host locations as well as our players, we’re bringing about some changes to the next season.

We will still have two sessions: Spring 2017 session (running from April 1 through June 30th) and Summer 2017 session (running July 1 through September 30th).

Regional qualifiers for Spring 2017 will be held as follows:
Spades Region – Sunday, July 9th at 1pm hosted by Cedarvale Fitz’s Bar and Grill in Eagan
Hearts Region – Tuesday, July 11th at 7pm hosted by Opinion Brewing Company in Newport
Clubs Region – Wednesday, July 12th at 7pm hosted by Mama T’s Castle Tap in St. Paul
Diamonds Region – Thursday, July 13th at 7:30pm hosted by Thirsty’s Bar and Grill in Norwood Young America

Regional qualifiers for Summer 2017 will be held the week of October 8th. Dates and times TBD.

Winter State Tournament will be held on Sunday, November 5, 2017 at Running Aces Casino. Registration will begin at 10:00am and the tournament will start promptly at 12:00pm. Straight Flush will be sending 1st and 2nd place to Las Vegas for a Winter Vegas Vacation! Additional prizes will be announced prior to Spring 2017 Regional Tournaments.

The Champion of each location (point leader) during each session, will still receive auto-entry to the State Tournament and is not required to qualify though a Regional Qualifier Tournament. If a player is the Champion of multiple locations, they will be rewarded with a $500 bonus chip for each additional location. For example, if a player is the Champion of three locations during the course of the season, they will receive auto-entry to the State Tournament, as well as $1000 in bonus chips.

CHANGES

Regions are changing. We have renamed and redistributed the bars into four new regions. This was done to balance the number of players who will qualify from each Region. The new Regions are as follows:
• Hearts Region – Palmer Lake VFW, Casper’s Cherokee of Eagan, Opinion Brewing Company, Park Place Sports Bar
• Diamond Region – Jersey’s Sports Bar, The PourHouse Pub, Chanhassen American Legion, Thirsty’s Bar & Grill, Carbone’s Cottage Grove
• Clubs Region – Barnboard Bar and Grill, Mama T’s Castle Tap, White Bear Bar, Schuggy’s American Grill and Taphouse, Big Guy’s BBQ Roadhouse
• Spades Region – Detour 19, Medina Entertainment Center, Cedarvale Lanes/Fitz’s Bar and Grill, Country Nites

The winner of each Regional Qualifier event will receive a $500 bonus chip for the State Tournament. If someone qualifies for multiple Regionals and wins multiple Regional Tournaments, they will receive a $500 bonus chip for each tournament they win. Bar Champions are eligible to receive these bonus chips in addition to any bonus chips earned for being the Champion of more than on location.

The overall point leader for the season (combined points for Spring 2017 and Summer 2017) will receive a buy-in to the All-in for Africa Tournament. We will provide monthly updates of the standings during the Summer 2017 session in order for players to know where they stand.

Finally, we’ve made some pretty fantastic changes to the prize pool for the Winter 2017 season, but we’re keeping that a secret until the WSOP 2017 State Tournament on Sunday, April 30th at Running Aces. Cards are in the air at noon, but registration starts at 10am, and believe me, you won’t want to miss the announcements! Hope to see you there!

The first Specialty Tournament of 2017 was a HUGE SUCCESS! We had 59 participants in our Heads-Up Championship on Sunday, April 23rd at River City Extreme/The Foul Line and Brandon Schwichtenberg brought home the win for $100 CASH and a trophy!

Tournament Format:

• Standard Straight Flush rules will be in effect
• Each player will begin with $3500 starting stacks, 10 minute blind levels (no early or social media bonus chips)
• 64 players will be put into 1 of 4 16-player bracket, Hearts, Diamonds, Clubs, or Spades. If less than 64 entrants we will evenly distribute byes in the first round of play only. If 32 players or less players will be put in 1 of 4 8- player brackets, same rules apply.
• Best 2 out of 3 will determine the person who moves on in the tournament
• Players will randomly draw to see who their first round opponent will be
• $200 prize pool* $100 for 1st place, $50 for 2nd place, $30 for 3rd place, $20 for 4th place (The losers of the semifinals will be in the 3rd place match) *Based on a minimum of 40 entries
• Small blind is the dealer players will cut the cards after each hand unless a SF owner is dealing for you. High Card will determine dealer in the 1st match, the opposing player will begin as dealer in Game 2, if Game 3 is needed the player who dealt Game 1 will start as dealer.

With the holidays rapidly approaching, here are the upcoming schedule changes:

12/23/16: No game at Park Place, so head to Anoka and visit The Cellar at Cork for their 8pm game.
12/24/16: No game at Neisen’s Sports Bar & Grill
12/25/16: No games at Detour 19 BAR & GRILL, Mama T’s Castle Tap, or White Bear Bar
12/26/16: No game at Barn Board Grill and Saloon, all other games will be held as scheduled.
12/30/16: Park Place Sports Bar will have their 7pm game, but there will NOT be a game at The Cellar at Cork
12/31/16: No game at Neisen’s Sports Bar & Grill
01/01/17: Detour 19 BAR & GRILL will have their games, but there will not be games Mama T’s Castle Tap or White Bear Bar

In 2017, we will no longer have our Tuesday game at Pitera’s Classic Grille but the Thursday game will continue. We will no longer have our Wednesday game at Running Aces Casino & Racetrack. We will have a new game on Thursday’s at Big Guys BBQ Roadhouse in Hudson, WI starting 01/12/17 at 7:30p.

We are always on the hunt for new games and continue to strive to expand our league and provide places for you all to play. If you have a suggestion of a bar or restaurant we should contact, please let us know.

Thank you for your continued support of Straight Flush and we hope you have a Happy New Year!

Congratulations to our Fall 2016 session East Region Qualifiers! The East qualifier will be held on Wednesday, November 16th at the White Bear Bar. Registration will open at 6:30pm and cards will be in the air promptly at 7pm.

The top 10 from the regional qualifier will move on to our Winter 2016 State Tournament. State will be held on Sunday, December 4th at 12pm and we will be paying out a prize pool of approximately $2000 including TWO Main Event Seats to the Big Stack Avalanche event at Running Aces in January!

If you cannot make your designated regional and wish to attend an alternate, you may contact us via Direct Message on Twitter, Facebook message, by emailing straightflushpokertour@gmail.com or by calling Crystal Kempf at 651-295-6854. You MUST notify us at least 24 hours in advance if you wish to attend a different regional event. Same day requests will NOT be approved.

Jerry Wold Barnboard
John Barnboard
Graham Oas Barnboard
Shawn A Barnboard
Al Mercado Mama T’s
Shawn WeHUNT Mama T’s
Bryan Stanton Mama T’s
Mike Beberg Mama T’s
Katie Castle Mama T’s
Paul Fritsche Mama T’s
Bao Vang Mama T’s
Jennie Peterson Mama T’s
Marvin Keen Mama T’s
Carolyn LeDuc Mama T’s
Cameka McCreary Mama T’s
Aaron Leaf Mama T’s
Mike Schoeder O’Malley’s
Dave Fadness O’Malley’s
Pete Verhulst O’Malley’s
Mike Beberg O’Malley’s
Clint Christansen O’Malley’s
Tony Harper O’Malley’s
Craig Tekse Running Aces
Nate French Running Aces
Dave Rassmussen Running Aces
David Chapa White Bear Bar Sunday A
Heidi Sherer White Bear Bar Sunday A
T J Fitzgerald White Bear Bar Sunday A
David Ganzer White Bear Bar Sunday A
Whitney Baldridge White Bear Bar Sunday A
Bryce Weston White Bear Bar Sunday A
Kristi La Valle White Bear Bar Sunday A
Jona Mattson White Bear Bar Sunday A
Bao Vang White Bear Bar Sunday A
Lee Price White Bear Bar Tuesday A
Justice Calane White Bear Bar Tuesday A
David T White Bear Bar Tuesday A
Casey White Bear Bar Tuesday A
Gina Kosek White Bear Bar Tuesday A
David Ganzer White Bear Bar Tuesday A
Tom Kimlinger White Bear Bar Tuesday A
Kristi La Valle White Bear Bar Tuesday B
Lee Price White Bear Bar Tuesday B
T J Fitzgerald White Bear Bar Tuesday B
Justice Calane White Bear Bar Tuesday B
Zane White Bear Bar Tuesday B
Mick M White Bear Bar Tuesday B