McPhillips Station Casino in Winnipeg was the site for the 2016 Manitoba PlayNow Poker Championship, running from September 28 through October 3. The festival featured four no-limit hold’em events with buy-ins ranging from $300 to $1,100. When the dust cleared, more than $325,000 in prize pools was awarded.
Event #1: $300 No Limit Texas Hold’em Bounty
A $300 Bounty event kicked things off, receiving 219 entries, and creating a prize pool of $49,275. The bounty on each player was set at $50, providing an instant cash bonus for every elimination. Winnipeg’s own Jaret Melnyk defeated Red Lake, Ontario native Daniel Blom heads up to claim the top prize of $13,055. Blom earned $8,272 for his runner-up finish.
Final table results:
| 1 | Jaret Melnyk | $13,055.00 |
| 2 | Daniel Blom | $8,272.00 |
| 3 | Tim Gauthier | $5,529.00 |
| 4 | Paul Trudeau | $3,883.00 |
| 5 | Paul Esposti | $2,854.00 |
| 6 | Wayne Gair | $2,187.00 |
| 7 | Garth Arnason | $1,739.00 |
| 8 | Greg Jackson | $1,430.00 |
| 9 | Andrew Carello | $1,210.00 |
Event #2: $600 No Limit Texas Hold’em Freezeout
Next up was a $600 no-limit hold’em freezeout. The second event of the festival gathered a field of 159 runners, building a prize pool of $87,450. The single day tournament was captured by Winnipeg local Paul Trudeau, banking a score of $23,557. Trudeau bested fellow Winnipegger Clayton Eggleston heads up, who earned $15,067 for second place.
Final table results:
| 1 | Paul Trudeau | $23,557.00 |
| 2 | Clayton Eggleston | $15,067.00 |
| 3 | Chad Cook | $10,199.00 |
| 4 | Charles Rinn | $7,278.00 |
| 5 | Matt Perin | $5,452.00 |
| 6 | Henry Menard | $4,268.00 |
| 7 | Scott Dunford | $3,473.00 |
| 8 | Frank Steding | $2,924.00 |
| 9 | Keith Carson | $2,534.00 |
Event #3: $1,100 No Limit Texas Hold’em Freezeout
The headlining event of the festival began on October 1. The two-day, $1,100 buy-in event drew 133 hopefuls, looking for their share of the largest prize pool and top prize available. Registration closed with a total of $133,000 up for grabs.
After busting in third place in the second event of the festival, Chad Cook got a taste of some big prize money, but came up just short. A day later, Cook came back to finish the task and that’s exactly what happened. With just over $10,000 fresh in his pockets, Cook added $36,162 after eliminating local legend Daryl Ellis heads up to claim the title. No stranger to the prize money in PlayNow events, Ellis scored the largest cash of his career, walking away with $23,253.
Final table results:
| 1 | Chad Cook | $36,162.00 |
| 2 | Daryl Ellis | $23,253.00 |
| 3 | Shaner Yo | $15,849.00 |
| 4 | Allan McLeod | $11,407.00 |
| 5 | Chris Wallmuth | $8,630.00 |
| 6 | Quentin Krueger | $6,828.00 |
| 7 | Dennis Rodriguez | $5,620.00 |
| 8 | Mark Charles | $4,785.00 |
| 9 | Paul Esposti | $4,195.00 |
Event #4: $400 No Limit Texas Hold’em Freezeout
The final event of the festival featured a $400 no-limit hold’em freezeout. There were 125 players take to the felt for the finale. The prize pool closed at $46,875, paying the top 13 spots. Two players made their second appearance at a final table during the festival, as both Matt Perin and Keith Carson reached the final nine of Event #2.
For Perin, he was unable to best his first appearance, busting in sixth place for $2,484, after placing fifth in Event #2 for $5,452. Carson however, completely flipped his ninth place result in Event #2, into a big win in the fourth event. Carson bested Don Karasewich heads up for the win and a first place prize of $12,823.
Final table results:
| 1 | Keith Carson | $12,823.00 |
| 2 | Don Karasewich | $8,273.00 |
| 3 | Trevor Slywchuk | $5,664.00 |
| 4 | Jill Palitsky | $4,098.00 |
| 5 | Jordan Feasey | $3,119.00 |
| 6 | Matt Perin | $2,484.00 |
| 7 | Anthony Joubert | $2,058.00 |
| 8 | Ray McBride | $1,764.00 |
| 9 | Eric Wasylenko | $1,555.00 |
Congratulations to the winners and all the players who made the money at the 2016 Playground Poker Championship. Stay tuned to Canada Poker for up-to-date Canadian poker news and events. Be sure to follow us on Twitter and Facebook.
