An event like this one always attracts a healthy contingent of top pros – but there are also a number of players that have achieved remarkable things in poker and aren’t household names – even in poker-playing households! Here is a sampling of these players in the field today.
- Armand King – The Oyster King is easy to underestimate. He’s almost certainly the oldest player in the field, but age is just a number, and Armand clearly has the poker chops of a much younger man. He has final tabled major events here at Playground in the past, and even won a regional championship on the East Coast in 2017!
- Robert Notkin – Dr Notkin is a regular visitor to big events hosted at Playground Poker Club and was the champion of the famous Canada Cup event that featured a 4-way all-in to end the tournament – perhaps the only time that has occurred in a major poker event.
- Pierre-Paul Paulin – Pierre-Paul is a player with only a little over $120,000 in lifetime Live earnings, but in tournaments here at Playground, he is one of the most frequent players seen on daily leaderboards and he always seems to have a big stack. His largest single score here ($53,350) was a 2nd place finish in a $5K tournament in the World Cup of Cards in 2016.
- Curt Kohlberg – Curt joins us from Boston and has been a regular big-event player here for several years. For a player who isn’t very well known, he’s amassed an amazing record over the years. He has over $3M in lifetime Live earnings according to Hendon Mob, including some huge scores in Las Vegas, Atlantic City, and in Florida. Definitely not a player to be overlooked!
- Said Michailidis – Said is a mainstay on the local tournament scene, and has always been recognized as a strong player, but early in 2018 he had a breakthrough with final table finishes in a Playground 1000 event and the 2018 WPT Fallsview Poker Classic in Niagara Falls.
- Vineet Pahuja – one of poker-playing Pahuja family, Vineet hasn’t had the huge breakthrough that his brother Mukul has had, but nevertheless he has over $2M in lifetime Live earnings and has been a monster on the felts all over the East Coast for years now. Mention his name at Borgata and you’ll hear nothing but respect, according to reliable sources.