Don’t call it a comeback … Vinnie Vinh, from Houston, had done little on the tournament scene since his chair finished 3rd in a limit hold’em event at the ‘08 WSOP. But he did book a 14th place finish in a $970 No-Limit tourney at the LA Poker Classic in February … and check out results of Event #10 — a $335 NLH — at the Commerce Hold’em Series:

EVENT #10 $335 NO LIMIT HOLD’EM
ENTRIES 152 PRIZE POOL $43,776

PLACE NAME/HOMETOWN PRIZE
1 Vinnie Vinh, Houston, TX $14,006 plus $2,580 Seat
2 David Lopez, Tucson, AZ $7,486
3 Pho Tran, West Covina, CA $4,772
4 Glenn Forster, Los Angeles, CA $3,502
5 Huy Quach, West Covina, CA $2,845
6 Derwin Lowery, Los Angeles, CA $2,145
7 David Liau, Los Angeles, CA $1,707
8 Dono Terranova, Los Angeles, CA $1,270
9 Patrick Karschamroon, Los Angeles, CA $919
10 Adam Weinraub, Orange, CA $657
11 Nhut Tran, Norwalk, CA $657
12 Panayotis Kalessis, Los Angeles, CA $657
13 Impounh Vongvone, Los Angeles, CA $569
14 Sami Banizuraij, Salt Lake City, UT $569
15 Rocky Eniso, Glendale, CA $569
16 Gideon Cross, Los Angeles, CA $482
17 Bobby Binsky, Miami, FL $482
18 Yarom Limor, Beverly Hills, CA $482

I’m keeping tabs on these big-little tourneys via Steve Hall.

UPDATE: Steve tells me that Vinnie is playing these minor league Commerce tournaments for Men the Master.

Semi-interesting video from Steve Hall and Michael Chung … an overhead time-lapse shot of one of the events going on at the Commerce Hold’em Series in California.

The plot of this silent short-film: You’ll see a packed field piddling in pots early, and they seem to do that for awhile, but then things really pick up as bustouts accelerate and tables break — boom-boom-boom! And not to give away the ending, but the climax comes not with a final table, but a dramatic pan that makes you realize this event is even bigger than you thought it was … but this time, when players are gone, it could be because they’re just on break …

(Sigh.)

Check out PokerGossip.com for more of the ongoings at the Commerce, where Matt Savage’s experimental lower-middle-stakes festival is still going strong-ish.

The Commerce Hold’em Series just got underway yesterday in California. It’s a 2+ week festival with limit, no-limit, and pot-limit hold’em tourneys … most of them in the $200, $300, and $500 range … and some with fun little twists such as knockout bounties and creative payout structures. They got off to a good start with 1,217 entries on Day 1A in their $220 NLH — with a $500k guarantee — and It all culminates in a $2,580 main event (also with a $500k guarantee).

But the event that’s most intriguing to me: Event #15 — a $1,600 “Ironman” tourney, on Wednesday, Sep 23.

The concept, from a Commerce spokesman:

$1600 Ironman Tournament. 10,000 in starting chips. 1 hour levels starting at 25-50, with slow progressions. Includes 50-75, 250-500, 900-1800 blinds. The key is that there are no breaks! We will play from start to finish without interruption. 3 meals provided as long as you are in the tournament. Must play down to one player. Paying only the final table with 50% for first.

Wow. Awesome. Cool. While part of me thinks this might-should be called the Meth-head Invitational, it will be really interesting to see who plays the best under those conditions. Short-stacked smokers at a disadvantage, but hey … them’s the (only) breaks.

UPDATE: Event #1 seems pretty unique, too. Each Day 1 plays down to 27, and 90 players have already made the money. An additional funky caveat — those who have already busted can re-enter on Day 1B or Day 1C. What-the …