Catching up with Platinum Pass winners Shallow, Newman and Porter

A quick catch up on the mixed fortunes for three of the Platinum Pass winners we have got to know over the past few years

January 31, 2023

PSPC

by Howard Swains

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5 Minute Read

We have been getting to know a lot of Platinum Pass winners over the past few years, hearing some fascinating life stories from mainly amateur players anticipating this phenomenal tournament.

All of them had the same dream, to follow Ramon Colillas into the winner’s circle. But all of them also knew that the odds would be stacked against them. Having fun was the most important goal for their trip to the Bahamas.

So, how have some of those folk been doing since they arrived to the PSPC tournament room to play?

For Dave Shallow, the boom-era poker superstar (who has been taking things a bit more easy over the past decade), it’s been like falling back into an easy old routine.

“Didn’t lose a hand,” Shallow said of his opening day’s play. “Didn’t have many hands, but didn’t lose any of them.”

Tough crowd…

Shallow bagged 165,000 overnight, which he built further in the opening couple of levels today.

That may be good news for the poker player in him, but bad news for the family man. His two children have been enjoying life on the beach, and their dad was happy to skip the opening three levels yesterday. But he tried to explain to them that it was a different matter in Day 2 and he’d need to be seated on time.

Dave Shallow: Always looking up to Moorman

This was only partially understood by the young Shallow children, who do not seem that impressed by their dad’s performance. Particularly not in comparison with their dad’s drinking partner last night.

Shallow is an old friend of Chris Moorman, who bagged a tie for the chip lead at the end of Day 1. Shallow had nearly three time starting stack, but Moorman had 6x, and the Shallow kids called their dad’s performance “rubbish” by comparison.

Apparently they have been taking a liking to the pineapple drinks on offer from one of the beach cabanas. But it’s only their eye-watering cost that means they can’t have more than two a day. But if they allow their dad to focus on poker for the next couple of days, cost might matter less.

Newman flipped out

Two of Shallow’s fellow Platinum Pass winners, Andrew Porter and Jonathan Newman, also battled through Day 1 yesterday and returned to playable stacks this afternoon.

But by the end of Level 11, both had been knocked out — although TV viewers will likely still get to see something of them when the broadcast edit goes out.

Newman, who put a career as a high-school teacher on hold to try poker for a while, had a full camera crew tailing him into the tournament room this morning. They watched as he opened his bag, stacked his chips, and then talked them through his Day 1.

Newman ended the day yesterday with something similar to his starting stack. However, he lost it all in a flip with pocket jacks against ace-queen. He had 28 big blinds and no regrets about his play, just a shame the adventure was over.

He was last seen heading away from the tournament room with his good friends, who had come to rail him.

Porter perishes

As for Porter, his event also ended on Day 2. The man from Philadelphia survived a super tough table yesterday, where he played alongside Erik Seidel and Faraz Jaka.

But it was the lesser known players who got him today, ending his chances of reporting on himself at his sports radio producer’s gig.

Andrew Porter suffered a tough day 2

Although he continues to work for the radio station, where he produces digital content for its social media channels, he is essentially a part-time poker pro as well. He’ll be back playing tournaments like this pretty soon.

MORE PLATINUM PASS WINNERS

Get to know some more about some Platinum Pass winners in our in-depth interviews:

• JEROME MOREAU: ELITE DEALER ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE TABLE
• ANDREW PORTER: FROM PA TO THE PSPC
• STEPHEN GRAY: FREEROLLING EN ROUTE TO AN OIL RIG
• JONATHAN NEWMAN: ‘LIFELONG LEARNER’ TRADES CLASSROOM FOR POKER SUCCESS
• TANAY SAMANT: PLATINUM PASS WINNER WORKING TO CURE CANCER
• FRANCO SPITALE: CHARITY SPURS SPITALE AFTER PSPC AGONY
• RISH IYER: WOMEN’S CHAMPION HOPING FOR PSPC TELL-ALL
• CHAD MCVEAN WILL BE REPPING THE RECS AT THE PSPC 2023
• MATS ROSÉN’S PLATINUM PASS IS HIS “LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL”
• DANIELLE SUMMER IS “BUZZING” TO USE HER PLATINUM PASS
• THE PSPC RETURN OF DAVE ‘DUBAI’ SHALLOW, ONE OF UK POKER’S BOOM-TIME GREATS
• MILITARY VETERAN KARL ROBINSON “DUSTED OFF” HIS POKER MINDSET
• JONAS JULIEN – HOPING TO “WING IT” WITH FREE PLATINUM PASS
• FLORENCIO CAMPOMANES PREPARES FOR PSPC WITH EPT LONDON HIGH ROLLERS

MORE ABOUT THE PSPC

• PSPC official site
• PSPC Information Hub
• Full tournament series results