2017 Chicago Poker Classic Proves a Popular Affair

The 2017 Chicago Poker Classic took place at the Horseshoe Casino Hammond from March 2-13, with the 14-event series proving as popular as ever with thousands of players braving the winter elements to take part in the competition.
Naturally, the $2,000 Main Event attracted an impressive sized field, with 651 players entering to create a prize pool worth $1,156,176. Detroit software consultant Lance Howard subsequently started Day 2 with a massive chip lead, and then managed to progress all the way through to heads-up play holding a 4:1 chip lead over Artem Zverkhovskyy. On the last hand of the tournament, Zverkhovskyy shoved all-in preflop, but unfortunately for him ran into Howard’s A-10 resulting in a runner-up finish worth $142,325.
Meanwhile, Lance Howard walked away with a top prize of $231,237, in addition to a $10,000 seat through to this summer’s WSOP Main Event. Furthermore, Howard navigated his way to victory while sipping on Copa Di Vino wine, and as he later explained:
“I wasn’t drinking on Day 1. Then after dinner, I get one of these, win that hand, and ever since then I’m thinking, ‘every time I get one of these I add 20-30 percent to my chip stack.’ .. and I just kept winning.”
Final Table Results:
1: Lance Howard $231,237
2: Artem Zverkhovskyy $142,325
3: Michael Partipilo $99,535
4: Brek Schutten $72,377
5: Matt Lushin $56,537
6: Chris Dow $44,975
7: Geremi Wicinski $35,379
8: Adam Greenberg $27,748
9: Aaron Massey $21,620
10: Straton Wilhelm $16,880
In the meantime, Event #1: $360 NLH attracted a huge crowd of 1,793 players, and was eventually won by Wisconsin native Jake Hommen for $87,281. Despite being a low-stakes cash-game player, Hommen appears to be trying his luck at live poker tournaments, and according to the Hendon Mob now has 3 cashes and 3 victories, including in 2014 the $125 Grand Poker Series for $3,409, and in 2015 the $200 Deep Stack Extravaganza II for $3,900. Commenting after his win, Hommen said:
“As much as this is an individual sport, I could not have done it without the help from some really great poker friends. I’ve learned so much from a lot of people in this community. My poker journey is far from over but this was definitely a big stepping stone for what I have planned for my future.”