Pack 15 Q4: Some professional poker players prefer not to play...

Question

Pack 15, Question 4 of 5:

Some professional poker players prefer not to play in Las Vegas, convinced that expanding their playing territory,  even though it is undoubtedly  the premiere gambling city, allowed for broader experiences.
 
A. even though it is undoubtedly

B. which, while it is undoubtedly

C. despite that that territory is undoubtedly
 
D. which, though undoubtedly
 
E. although, undoubtedly as

◀ Pack 15, Question 3  
 ▶ Pack 15, Question 5 
 ⏏ Question Pack Home

48 Hour Window To Win An $85 EMPOWERgmat Tuition Credit (1 Month Free!)   
Share your explanation!  The GMAT Club member with the most verified Kudos  in total on the 5 question SC Block 15 question pack will  win an $85 EMPOWERgmat tuition credit , which will entitle the winner to a full month of complete access to the EMPOWERgmat system. Even if you're not sure about your answer or your rationale, share your explanation to help boost your learning and earn a chance to win.

To be eligible, your explanation must:
 be submitted within the 48 hour window after this post was created
should explain your reasoning why the answer you chose is correct, and why the other 4 options are incorrect within 48 hours of this post

The OA and official explanation will be held until the 48 hour window has lapsed.

Saasingh · Answer

IMO its A.
Some professional poker players prefer not to play in Las Vegas, .... even though it is undoubtedly the premiere gambling city.....

A. even though it is undoubtedly
It non-ambiguously refers to Las Vegas and that is what we want. We want to make sure it is Las Vegas --> premier gambling city.
 CORRECT

B. which, while it is undoubtedly

Some professional poker players prefer not to play in Las Vegas, convinced that expanding their playing territory, which, while it is undoubtedly....

Here which refers to the territory. We dont mean to say that territory is the premier city.

WRONG

C. despite that that territory is undoubtedly
Same as B, we dont mean to say that the TERRITORY is the premier city, it is LAS VEGAS.

WRONG

D. which, though undoubtedly

Some professional poker players prefer not to play in Las Vegas, convinced that expanding their playing territory, WHICH, THOUGH UNDOUBTEDLY the premiere gambling city, allowed for broader experiences.

WRONG because verb is missing ---> WHICH, THOUGH UNDOUBTEDLY__ the premiere gambling city

E. although, undoubtedly as
VERB missing, WRONG. Same as D

HoneyLemon · Answer

IMO  A .

Some professional poker  players   prefer  not to play in Las Vegas, 
 convinced  that 
expanding their playing territory, even though it is undoubtedly the premiere gambling city, 
 allowed  for broader experiences.

A. even though it is undoubtedly
 --  Correct

B. which, while it is undoubtedly
 
1.-- clause that expanding their playing territory has no verb 
 that expanding their playing territory,which, while it is undoubtedly the premiere gambling city, allowed for broader experiences.
2.which refer to incorrect entity .

C. despite that that territory is undoubtedly
  -- that that is redundant.. Also meaning error

D. which, though undoubtedly
  
1.-- clause that expanding their playing territory has no verb 
 that expanding their playing territory,which, while it is undoubtedly the premiere gambling city, allowed for broader experiences.
2.which refer to incorrect entity .

E. although, undoubtedly as

-- Meaning error . . undoubtedly as doesnot convey the intended meaning . 
 that expanding their playing territory,which, while it is undoubtedly the premiere gambling city, allowed for broader experiences.

EMPOWERgmatVerbal · Answer

Official Explanation

Some professional poker players prefer not to play in Las Vegas, convinced that expanding their playing territory,  even though it is undoubtedly  the premiere gambling city, allowed for broader experiences.
 
 A.  even though  it is undoubtedly

B.  which, while  it is undoubtedly

C.  despite that that territory  is undoubtedly 
 
 D.  which, though  undoubtedly 
 
 E.  although,  undoubtedly as

This sentence deals with modifiers and parenthetical statements.  Parenthetical statements are between two commas and are not essential clauses, meaning if we remove the clause, the remaining parts should still make sense. To make mistakes easier to spot, let’s also add in the non-underlined portions to better test out the non-essential clauses and modifiers.
 
A. Some professional poker players prefer not to play in Las Vegas, convinced that expanding their playing territory,   even though it is  undoubtedly  the premiere gambling city, allowed for broader experiences.

This is  CORRECT . The pronoun “it” clearly refers to Las Vegas and the modifier is worded correctly. Also, if you cross out the parenthetical phrase “even through...gambling city,” the rest of the sentence still makes sense. This means the punctuation and wording choices work!

B. Some professional poker players prefer not to play in Las Vegas, convinced that expanding their playing territory,   which,    while  it is undoubtedly    the premiere gambling city,  allowed for broader experiences.

This is  INCORRECT . Using “which” in this case chops up the modifier for no good reason. If we cross out the parenthetical phrase “while it is undoubtedly the premiere gambling city,” leaving the word “which” there doesn’t make sense because you’d still have to keep the comma after “which,” and that doesn’t work.

C. Some professional poker players prefer not to play in Las Vegas, convinced that expanding their playing territory,   despite that that territory  is undoubtedly  the premiere gambling city, allowed for broader experiences.

This is  INCORRECT . This option is overly wordy and confusing. The pronoun (the second “that”) does not clearly link to its antecedent. Also, by repeating the word “territory,” the reader may be mislead into thinking the pronoun “that” is referring back to “playing territory” and not “Las Vegas.” 
 
D. Some professional poker players prefer not to play in Las Vegas, convinced that expanding their playing territory,   which, though  undoubtedly  the premiere gambling city, allowed for broader experiences.

This is  INCORRECT . It has the same issues as option B. Using “which” and a comma in chops up the modifier and causes the sentence to no longer make sense if you remove the parenthetical phrase.
 
E. Some professional poker players prefer not to play in Las Vegas, convinced that expanding their playing territory,   although, undoubtedly as   the premiere gambling city, allowed for broader experiences.

This is  INCORRECT . It has the same issues as option B. Using “although” and a comma chops up the modifier and causes the sentence to no longer make sense if you cross out the parenthetical phrase.
 
 There you have it - option A was the correct choice all along!

Don’t study for the GMAT. Train for it.

EMPOWERgmatVerbal · Answer

Well done Saasingh ! You cracked the code on this one! Kudos to you! We look forward to seeing more great explanations from you in future questions. The next one is already posted!

EMPOWERgmatVerbal · Answer

Another great explanation, DasAshishAshutosh ! Kudos to you! Looking forward to seeing how you tackle question #5!

Pack 15 Q4: Some professional poker players prefer not to play...

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards

GMAT Sentence Correction (SC - EA only) Questions

Pack 15 Q4: Some professional poker players prefer not to play...

Prep Toolkit

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards