The inaugural PokerGO Tour Texas Poker Open $3,300 buy-in no-limit hold’em main event drew 735 entries to the Champions Club Texas in Houston, TX for a hefty $2,205,000 prize pool, surpassing its $2,000,000 guarantee. The top 86 finishers shared the prize pool and the largest chunk went to the champion Ren Lin, who secured the belt buckle trophy and $400,000 in top prize. This marked Lin’s third PGT title and he now has more than $11.6 million in live tournament earnings.
PokerGo Tour Texas Poker Open $3,300 Main Event Recap
This event running April 24-29 had eight starting flights and two more days of action. Victoria Livshitz (28th), David Coleman (27th), Jeremy Becker (21st), Isaac Kempton (16th), Shaun Deeb (15th), Jeremy Ausmus (11th), and DJ Alexander (10th) all finished deep but fell short of the final table.
Lin started the final table second in chip position behind Yunkyu Song. 2013 WSOP main event champion Ryan Riess started as the shortest stack on the final table but managed to outlast Miguel Use (9th – $40,000). Lin scored his first knockout when his A-10 bested the K-Q of bracelet winner Tyler Brown (7th – $66,000). The next to fall was PokerGO commentator and bracelet winner Brent Hanks whose flush and straight draws failed to improve against the top pair of Jonathan Tamayo.
Lin scored his second knockout by busting Daniel Holmes (5th – $103,000). Holmes held K-J suited, which failed to overcome the A-Q suited of a surging Lin. The eventual champion Lin continued his domination and eliminated Yunkyu Song in fourth place ( $133,000), with his flopped top two pair improving to jacks full to dominate the fives full of Song, who had flopped bottom set. A few hands later, Jonathan Tamayo departed in third place ($180,000), leaving Lin and Daniel Moran in heads-up.
Lin entered heads-up with the chip lead over Moran and finished it off quickly. Lin raised on the button with Js Jd and Moran three-bet with 10s 10c. Lin’s four-bet was matched with a five-bet shove from Moran. Lin called and won the title on the board running out with Ah Jh 5h 3s 5h.
PokerGo Tour Texas Poker Open $3,300 Main Event Final Table Payouts
1- Ren Lin $400,000
2- Daniel Moran $275,000
3- Jonathan Tamayo $180,000
4- Yunkyu Song $133,000
5- Daniel Holmes $103,000
6- Brent Hanks $83,000
7- Tyler Brown $66,000
8- Ryan Riess $52,000
9- Miguel Use $40,000
Image Credit: PGT/PokerGO
Klint Griffin Takes Down 2024 WSOPC Tunica Main Event For $127,307
Another main event winner was Klint Griffin, who emerged victorious in WSOP-C Tunica Main Event, the $1,700 buy-in tournament that drew in 395 entries and generated a prize pool of $588,425. The top 58 players were paid out, with the largest chunk going to the champion Griffin who finally defeated Lucian Camargo (2nd for $76,678) to earn $127,307 and his first WSOP ring.
WSOPC Tunica Event #12: $1,700 Main Event Recap
Following two starting flights and one more day of play, the third and final day saw six players return to battle it out for the main event title. Griffin began the day as the fourth largest stack but with his strategic prowess was able to move into the chip leader pretty quickly in the day. Drew Dunaway was the first player to fall in 6th place for $22,160 – his biggest cash on his 30th birthday. He was followed by Phuong Nguyen and Trace Henderson, falling in fifth and fourth places, respectively.
ALSO READ: NIA, HART & WEITZEL SHINE AT WSOP TUNICA
Last year’s main event winner Trace Henderson, who held a brief chip lead during the four-handed play, finally pitted his pocket sevens against Griffin’s As Ks. The board brought a king and an ace and no seven, sending Henderson to the rail. Griffin then eliminated Dickerson who held pocket fours against the pocket fives of Griffin and the board brought no help for him.
After busting Dickerso in third place, Griffin began the heads-up with an advantage of 12.4m to 3.4m, and kept up the pressure on his Brazilian opponent. Finally, Camargo shoved with pocket tens against the ace-queen of Griffin. With an ace and seven on the river, Griffin claimed the title and $127,307. Brazil’s Lucian Camargo had to settle for the runner-up payout worth $78,678.
WSOPC Tunica Event #12: $1,700 Main Event Final Table Payouts
1. Klint Griffin – $127,307
2. Lucian Camargo Silveira – $78,678
3. Billy Dickerson – $55,792
4. Trace Henderson – $40,272
5. Phuong Nguyen – $29,600
6. Drew Dunaway – $22,160
7. Daniel Kusnerak – $16,904
8. Thomas Tackett – $13,144
9. Eric Sutton – $10,421
Image Credit: WSOP and Poker.Org
Aaron Speer Wins 2024 Moneymaker Daytona Main Event For $87,790
The 2024 Moneymaker Tour wrapped up at the Daytona Beach Racing and Card Club, with Aaron Speer, a local from Florida, emerging as the Main Event champion and taking home a cool $87,790.
Event #10: $1,500 Moneymaker Main Event NLH
Entries: 296
Prize Pool: $399,600
Places Paid: 38
Dates: April 25 – 29, 2024
This was the tenth tournament at the 2024 Moneymaker Tour. With a buy-in of $1,500, it drew 296 players across three starting flights, surpassing the specified $300,000 guarantee. Despite the field featuring the heavyweights like Ryan Hogan (32nd), PBKC Main Event winner Bryce McVay (15th), and Indian-origin poker pro Raminder Singh (4th), Speer clinched the victory, earning him not only the cash prize of $87,790 but also the prestigious Moneymaker crystal trophy. He eventually defeated Roger Thompson who earned $61,595 as the runner-up finisher.
The brand’s next stop heads to a familiar venue, Palm Beach Kennel Club in West Palm Beach, Florida. The festival will begin on May 2 and run all the way through May 14. There will be a whopping 28 trophy events with a massive $500,000 in guarantees, including the $1,500 Buy-in, $300,000 GTD Main Event!
Event #10: $1,500 Moneymaker Main Event NLH Top 10 Payouts
1- Aaron Speer $87,790
2- Roger Thompson $61,595
3- Le Tran $39,600
4- Raminder Singh $24,855
5- Juan Tellez $19,180
6- Andrew Denick $15,885
7 – Edward Mroczkowski $13,345
8 – William Meadows $10,970
9 – Chad Gardner $8,780
10 – Allen Swilling $7,395
Image Credit: moneymakerpt.com & Poker.Org
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