“Ultimate thrill,”
Declaring it the “ultimate thrill,” Los Angeles poker pro Patrick Karschamroon became the Cal State Poker Champion at Commerce Casino in the wee hours of Sunday morning, beating such poker luminaries at Gavin Griffin and “Miami” John Cernuto. The $162,970 victory more than doubled his $68, 491 career winnings. Karschamroon has only one previous tournament victory, in Aug, 2009, cashing for $31,400.
“Patrick played great poker against a very tough final table,” said Tournament Director Matt Savage. “Miami John and Gavin are formidable opponents, and the final nine also included several stellar Internet poker players. Congratulations to Patrick Karschamroon on claiming the title of Cal State Champion in convincing style at one of Commerce Casino’s showcase events.”
More than 175 players vied for the title in the $3,085-buy-in No Hold’em Champion Main Event that concluded the three-week series. The total prize pool for the Championship event was $509,250. The second place finisher was Lenny Tam of West Covina who earned $86,570. It was Tam’s first tournament ever, urged on to play by his boss at the real estate agency where he works. Griffin, of Ladera Ranch, CA, who had the chip lead for much of the early part of the day, came in third with Cernuto, of Las Vegas, in fourth.
1 Patrick Karschamroon, Los Angeles, CA $162,970
2 Lenny Tam, West Covina, CA $86,570
3 Gavin Griffin, Ladera Ranch, CA $56,020
4 “Miami” John Cernuto, Las Vegas, NV $40,740
5 Harold Wasson, Corona, CA $33,100
6 Milad Jorshari, Newport Beach, CA $24,950
7 Matthew Elsby, Chandler, AZ $19,860
8 David Moskowitz, Sunset Beach, CA $14,770
9 Payman Arjang, Woodland Hills, CA $10,690
Karschamroon, 28, said he will probably parlay his winnings into buy-ins for the World Series of Poker. “I’ve been playing poker with my family for nickels and dimes since I was seven years old,” noted Karschamroon. who turned pro five years ago. “I love what I do. For me, poker is the greatest job in the world.”