Men Lie, Women Lie, Numbers Don't

Facts and figures. They make the world go around and, more often than not, tell a story without letting opinions or biases get in the way. Which numbers from thie past week tell that story and what quick opinions do we have?

$1,370,000 – The biggest tournament score from the past week was again from a California-based World Poker Tour event. The record breaking WPT Bay 101 Shooting Star Main Event drew over 800 entrants and when the dust settled, Sam Panzica emerged victorious from a stacked final table. Panzica earned $1,370,000 for the win, his second WPT victory of Season XV, and he now sits just 50 points behind Benjamin Zamani on the WPT Player of the Year leaderboard.

5 – Chino Rheem entered that Bay 101 Shooting Star Main Event final table with a massive chip lead and he had a chance to turn that advantage into a record breaking WPT victory. Rheem is one of five players with three World Poker Tour titles but he couldn’t break that lock in Sacremento. Rheem finished 3^rd and it would be interesting to see what odds each of those five players, Rheem, Anthony Zinno, Carlos Mortensen, Anthony Zinno and Gus Hansen, would get on being the first to four WPT titles.   

$44,500,000 – Over the last decade and a half, Phil Hellmuth has not only been one of the most successful poker players on the planet but he’s also one of the most charitable. Hellmuth has raised over $44.5 million for a variety of charities and he is now working towards a goal of $100 million. The 14-time WSOP bracelet winner is listing his donations and philanthropic efforts on his website and has already been a part of some amazing initiatives through the first few months of 2017.

128 – Upsets are what put the madness in March Madness but don’t expect any of the #1 seeds to fall in the opening round. Top seeds are undefeated against #16 seeds, scoring 128 consecutive victories and most games aren’t even close. The last time a #1 vs. #16 match-up was decided by one score, when Purdue beat Western Carolina by 2 points in 1996.

6 – After months of waiting and hundreds of tweets on the match-up, Cate Hall vs. Mike Dentale is less than a week away. The two East Coast-based poker players will play a best-of-three heads up match at the SugarHouse Casino in Philadelphia this weekend with some big money and bragging rights up for grabs. Poker Central’s own Drea Renee breaks down the Tale of the Tape below.