Epic Poker Pro/Am Final Results and Summary

Steve O’Dwyer Triumphs as Epic’s First Pro/Am Champion

Topics: Epic Poker League, August Pro Am Event, Brandon Meyers

Steve O’Dwyer, a 29-year old professional poker player from Doylestown, Pennsylvania now living in Las Vegas, won the first Epic Poker Pro/Am at the Palms Casino Resort today, triumphing at a televised final table presented for national television by Heartland Poker Tour. Out of 190 starters on Friday and Saturday, the final 6 players (in addition to the 9th, 8th, and 7th place finishers on Sunday night) already won $20,000 seats into Epic’s Main Event Tuesday. At the final table, the 6 remaining players played for cash and the honor of winning the inaugural Epic Poker Pro/Am.

Steve, the chip leader entering the final table, is ranked $129th in the Global Poker Index and earned over $1 million in tournament poker. His career highlight, before this week, was winning the $5,000 No-Limit Hold’Em event at the Bellagio Cup just last month, worth nearly $260,000.

The diversity of personalities and backgrounds of the final table players showed the quality of the field and of poker talent in general. Andy Bloch, an Epic Poker member with $4.5 million in career earnings, sat opposite Clifford Waite, a retired truck driver who cashed 4 times on HPT, made an HPT final table, and won his way into the Pro/Am by a satellite at the Palms.

In fact, 40 Palms satellite entrants outplayed 68 Epic Poker League members in the Pro/Am. George Long, who finished in 8th place, won his way into the Pro/Am in a $180 satellite, and will join Waite at the Epic Main Event. Bloch, in contrast, is the only Epic Poker League member to win his Main Event seat or make the final table.

The other 4 players at the final table represented the deep well of professional poker talent. Micah Raskin, Brandon Meyers, Steve O’Dwyer, and Jeremiah DeGreef have all cashed for 6-figures in big tournaments and aspire eventually to earn Epic 2-, 3-, or 5-year cards.

This is the order of the other finishers:

6th Place ($20,000 Main Event seat plus $2,780) - Micah Raskin

Micah lives on Long Island and splits his time between his direct marketing & software company and poker. He has earned nearly $1 million in his poker career, including over $320,000 for winning a tournament at the Borgata in Atlantic City and $117,000 for finishing 4th in the World Series of Poker Circuit Regional Championship at Harrah’s Atlantic City last December. Raskin recognized that, as the short stack at the final table, “I’ll have to pick my spots and look for the first double up.” He comes from a family of talented musical artists and sings in the New York area rock-and-roll cover band Backseat Betty. Today is also his 43rd birthday.

5th Place ($20,000 Main Event seat plus $3,570) – Jeremiah DeGreef

Salt Lake City, Utah pro DeGreef describes himself as “an unemployed internet poker player now looking for a job.” The 29-year-old added, “I’m looking for something that pays a lot of money and allows me to sit at home in my underwear.” He has won nearly $400,000 in live tournaments since 2009, before which his previous employer, the U.S. Army likely did not let him sit at home in his underwear. He worked in the Army as a translator.

4th Place ($20,000 Main Event seat plus $5,160) – Clifford Waite

Waite, 51, from Grand Junction, Colorado, entered a $180 satellite at the Palms and defeated Epic Poker pro J.J. Liu heads-up to win his entry to the Pro/Am, then played and won cash in another satellite. “I’m freerolling,” said Waite, who went on to finish 4th place.  He earned $5,160 in addition to the $20,000 Main Event seat. He went out with jack-nine, putting in all his chips after the flop of queen-jack-nine made him two pair. Unfortunately, Steve O’Dwyer had queen-nine for a higher two pair.

 “I’m representing HPT today,” said Waite, one of the grass-roots tour’s loyal players to make an attempt at the inaugural event.  “I’m excited about the merger of Epic Poker and HPT.”

3rd Place ($20,000 Main Event seat plus $7,540) – Andy Bloch

Andy, a 42-year old Las Vegas resident, is one of the world’s best known, most respected, and most admired poker players. Before becoming a professional poker player, he received a pair of engineering degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a law degree from Harvard. He became a member of the infamous MIT Blackjack Team and was its Las Vegas manager. He has earned $4.5 million in live poker tournaments and TV events and devoted his name, time, and money to numerous good causes.

Runner-up ($20,000 Main Event seat plus $11,900) – Brandon Meyers

Brandon, 28, a professional poker player from Minneapolis, Minnesota and now living in Henderson, Nevada, for finishing second earned, in addition to his Main Event seat, $11,900. Brandon has over $2 million in live and online tournament poker earnings and is enjoying his best year as a poker professional. At the 2011 World Series of Poker, on June 30 he finished 4th in the $2,500 Mixed Hold’Em event. Twelve days later, he finished 4th again, this time in the $10,000 Bellagio Cup Main Event. The pair of final-table finishes earned Meyers over $240,000.

All of today’s final table players will join the members of Epic Poker League for its first Main Event tomorrow. These 6 competitors and the final 3 finishers on Sunday won their $20,000 buy-in and, more important (other than Andy Bloch, who is already a League member), the right to enter. Other than the 9 Pro/Am winners, only holders of Epic Poker’s 2-, 3-, and 5-year cards are eligible to play.