Holden Semi-Retires, Walker Wins WNYPC, Anderson Wins MSPT

Sam Holden Set for Semi-Retirement

Former WSOP Main Event final tablist Sam Holden has chosen education over poker. He announced this weekend on his 888poker blog that he is giving up his online poker sponsorship and withdrawing from full-time poker playing.

Holden wrote that he was accepted to the University of Kent to pursue a philosophy degree. He also noted that he has lost “a lot of drive to play poker, especially in live tournaments.”

He wrote, “I am pleased to finally have the uncertainty over my future lifted and have begun to start planning the next three years of my life.” Even so, he plans to play the occasional tournament, having already qualified for an upcoming UKIPT event in Nottingham and noting that Australia and Barcelona events have been good. He plans to “enjoy this great game as a hobby for the rest of my life.”

Walker Wins WNY Poker Challenge

When the 2014 Western New York Poker Challenge started its Main Event, it was in the midst of a 16-event series at the Seneca Poker Room in Niagara Falls. The $1,100 tournament was the highlight and offered a $100K guarantee. And with 183 entries, the actual prize pool soared to $176,595.

Day 2 thinned the field from 34 players, through the money, and on to the final table action. That began with Nicholas Walker in the chip lead, and he took that into three-handed play. The trio came to an agreement on payouts, Andre Smith promptly busted, and Walker quickly dispatched of Kyle Gay in second place to claim the title.

Results:

1^st place: Nicholas Walker ($37,061)

2^nd place: Kyle Gay ($32,095)

3^rd place: Andre Smith ($25,676)

4^th place: Louis Aquilina ($15,011)

5^th place: Bob De Wolfe ($11,125)

6^th place: Travell Thomas ($8,653)

7^th place: Pete Kaemmerlen ($6,534)

8^th place: Johannes Mueller ($5,121)

9^th place: Joe Cruz ($4,062)

Anderson Wins MSPT Meskwaki

Meskwaki Casino hosted the most recent stop on the Mid-States Poker Tour, and quite a few players came to Tama, Iowa, to play. The $1,100 Main Event offered a $300K guarantee, but the 389 entries set an even greater prize pool.

Day 2 worked its way into the money and headed to the final table with Matthew Anderson near the top of the leaderboard. He stayed strong and took a 2-to-1 lead to heads-up play, ending it quickly with a MSPT win.

Results:

1^st place: Matthew Anderson ($100,075)

2^nd place: Matt Kirby ($54,481)

3^rd place: Jeremy Putthoff ($36,070)

4^th place: Taylor Howard ($24,423)

5^th place: Ken Payne ($18,787)

6^th place: Aaron Johnson ($15,029)

7^th place: Rick McGown ($13,151)

8^th place: Marty Martimo ($11,272)

9^th place: Ryan Tepen ($9,393)