In earning his biggest payday of his poker career, Lansdowne, Virginia’s Shahriar Assareh added to a poker resume that promises bright things for his future.Assareh only has two years of official tournament records to his credit, starting in 2010 when he journeyed to the Bahamas for the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure. He finished in 73rd place in the $10,000 Main Event of the PCA for what was at that time his biggest ever cash of $28,000. After taking a year off in 2011, Assareh has been able to add some more to his poker bankroll during the 2012 tournament poker season.
In June, he finished in third place in a $400 No Limit Hold'em event during the Borgata Summer Poker Open, good for $4,000. Perhaps buoyed by that success, he came to the 2012 World Series of Poker and earned his first cash in early July by finishing 237th in the final $1,000 No Limit Hold'em event on the WSOP schedule. It was a precursor to what would be an outstanding run in the Main Event.
Making Day 6 of the Main Event, Assareh held a stack of 4.395 million in chips and was primed for a deep run. He would do exactly that, working into the early morning hours before meeting his demise. After an opening bet from Marc Ladouceur, Assareh moved all-in, only to find Robert Corcione willing to move all-in over the top of Assareh’s bet.
After Ladouceur got out of the way, Assareh saw the bad news: his pocket tens had run into Corcione’s pocket kings and, after the board ran queen-high with no ten, Assareh was eliminated in 31st place.
With that strong finish, Assareh added $236,921 to his career poker earnings. After the 2012 WSOP Main Event, he had earned $271,924 for his career and might be a force to reckon with as the 2012 tournament poker season moves forward.
