Mark Checkwicz Takes Down the Inaugural $5,000 Seniors High Roller

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Jun 29, 2024 6 min read

Today, the continuation of the 2024 World Series of Poker saw the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas play host to the conclusion of Event #65: $5,000 Seniors High Roller No-Limit Hold'em.

This three-day freezeout event drew in a massive 680 unique entrants over its one-day starting flight, generating a mammoth prize pool of $3,128,000. After an additional two days of action, totalling 17 hours of play, all that was left was for Mark Checkwicz to lift the gold bracelet in this inaugural World Series of Poker Seniors High Roller, claiming the first-place prize of $573,876.

Event #65: $5,000 Seniors High Roller No-Limit Hold'em Final Table Results

Winner's Reaction

PokerNews had an opportunity to catch up with Checkwicz after his maiden WSOP win to hear exactly what this victory meant to him.

“Listen, I'm gonna tell you exactly what it means," Checkwicz said. "I promised my wife, she's a school teacher, she's been a school teacher for twenty-four and a half years, she's got nine more years to work. I promised her if I won this tournament, I would buy her a year more of retirement. She now has eight years more to work! It's awesome.”

With his previous biggest cash coming nearly ten years ago for $25,986, how did Checkwicz keep so cool under the bright lights?

“I'm telling you, I have a beautiful family. I truly do to the core. These people love me and I love them back and I can't find a reason to be unhappy when I'm playing the game. It’s just so perfect. Poker is just so beautiful and really there has to be a winner and a loser and I appreciate both sides of the equation. That's what makes it work.”

However, with his daughter coming to visit from LA, we won’t be seeing Checkwicz back on the felt anytime soon;

“I'm hoping she can drive out, spend some time with me after this and then I'm flying back on Tuesday. I think I'm done, man. What more can I ask for? I can't find another reason to play another tournament right now.”

Action of the Day

The day started with tension right from the words “Shuffle up and deal,” as the remaining ten players were now on the stone bubble of the final table.

The misfortune of this bubble was bestowed upon Judith Bielan only a matter of minutes after the cards were in the air. Bielan’s dominated ace-nine couldn't improve against the superior holding of Bruno Lopes, who woke up with ace-jack to send Bielan out in tenth place.

Bielan secured her second cash of the series having come 123rd in the $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em Seniors Championship just over a week ago. Her cash there of $5,654 was completely dwarfed by today’s yield of $33,968.

The remaining players found their new seats after the final reshuffle of their tournament. The scene was set with bright lights and a full rail. The first place prize of over half a million dollars and the coveted gold WSOP bracelet were now within reaching distance.

Amongst the final nine, Angela Jordison had one of the most volatile tournament journeys, having started by bagging an overwhelming chip lead by the conclusion of Day 1. Jordison managed to convert her impressive stack into a deep tournament run, retaining her status as a table captain for the majority of Day 2. That was until a cooler saw Jordison’s kings run into the aces of Kevin Nathan, reducing her chip lead into a below-average stack for the start of Day 3.

It was another cold deck that saw the remainder of Jordison’s stack sent in the way of Mark Checkwicz. Jordison got two streets of value from her flopped two pair before Checkwicz’s rivered gutshot straight draw materialized, ensuring Jordison was the first casualty of this final table.

This was Jordison’s second career WSOP final table having come third in the $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em Freezeout in 2022 for $151,544. Jordison may not have been able to replicate her previous podium finish but with one of the biggest rails in the room, she certainly had an entourage of believers.

Next to crash out of this final table was Richard Lowe, as his inferior ace-ten couldn’t improve against the ace-king of Nathan, sending him to the rail.

Lowe’s eighth-place finish marked the eighth WSOP cash of Lowe’s poker career; his last coming in 2019 when he finished 23rd in the six-max $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em event for $26,976. Lowe clearly boasts good form in tournaments of this price point, cashing for back-to-back career-best scores as he walks away today with an additional $55,998 for his efforts.

John Thornton's pocket sixes couldn’t overcome the pocket nines of his opponent, Michael Vela, ending his deep tournament run in seventh. Although deprived of a win on the felt, today’s finish marks Thornton’s largest recorded live tournament cash on his poker resume. With tournament results spanning over a decade, Thornton’s score of $73,877 surpasses his previous best, set in 2017, by over seven times.

The Winamax-sponsored professional Bruno Lopes came into the final table as one of the most experienced players amongst the finalists, however, no amount of experience could help avoid the volatile swings of tournament poker. Lopes saw the majority of his chips sent to Checkwicz in a huge pot on Level 26.

This table-changing dynamic ensured Lopes’ departure in sixth place, depriving the Frenchman of his career-first bracelet; his only consolation being his prize of $99,203 which makes for his second, and largest, cash of the series so far.

Play slowed down as the first six-figure score loomed. It was nearly three hours before the drought of bustouts was finally ended by Checkwicz, who sent Samuel Wagner to the rail in fifth place.

Wagner’s live tournament earnings stood at $6,072 before the conclusion of this event, meaning his payday of $135,543 will certainly be a defining day in his poker journey.

Wagner’s departure seemingly set the pace for proceedings to come as Nathan soon made his way to the payout cage to claim his own $188,385. Nathan was on the right side of a cooler, holding pocket kings against the queens of Arie Kliper, however, an unlikely queen on the flop reversed their fates and Nathan was sent to the rail in brutal fashion.

Nathan was the only player amongst the final nine who already had a gold WSOP bracelet to their name, having won the $1,500 No Limit Hold'em event in 2006. Klipner’s queens denied Nathan an opportunity for two-time glory, almost two decades later.

Michael Vela’s bronze-place finish came almost as quickly as Nathan’s exit. Checkwicz was the beneficiary of another stack as his top pair held against the open-ended straight draw of Vela.

This was Vela's second deep run of the series having come 44th out of 10,939 runners in the $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Millionaire Maker only a week ago, making for an ever more profitable series, as he adds an additional $266,257 to his bankroll.

The grueling heads-up battle between Kliper and Checkwicz lasted nearly two hours. The swings were marginal and the pots were small but Checkwicz soon ground down his opponent, hand by hand, until his flopped nut straight held against the monster draw of Kliper, sending his final opponent to the rail.

Kliper displayed his skills as one of the most studied players at the table and won’t be disappointed with his career-best cash of $382,581. Kilper soon went to celebrate with his rail, which included fellow Israel professional poker player Gabi Livshitz, who accompanied Kliper for the duration of his final table run.

All that was left was for Checkwicz to take his winner's photos and collect his spoils having successfully brought this final table to life with his active table talk and positive outlook, earning himself a cool $573,876 and his first gold World Series of Poker Bracelet.

That wraps up the coverage of Event #65: $5,000 Seniors High Roller No-Limit Hold'em. Be sure to stick with PokerNews for all your live coverage of the rest of the 2024 World Series of Poker at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas.

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