At noon on Sunday, September 11, 57 players returned to the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino to play their best in the RGPS Main Event. 36 players would cash, with the top finisher taking home $38,810. The eliminations began immediately as short stacks clamored to double-up early and improve their chances of making it into the money. Thanks to this break-neck pace, hand-for-hand play began just 45 minutes into Day 2.
The money bubble burst 12 hands later when Mark Martin's J♣J♠ held up against John Popa's 8♥8♣. At that point, Eric Bunch and Jose Montes were neck-and-neck for the chip lead with about 450,000 each, but neither would make it to the final table. Montes, who started the day as the overwhelming chip leader, went out after a few bang-bang plays, first moving all-in with A♠K♠ against Joe Ferguson's J♠J♦ on a board of K♥Q♣J♠. Ferguson's set held up and Montes was left short. Montes was eliminated a hand or two later when he moved all-in from the hijack with Tx7x and was called by Shane Fuller in the big blind with 3x3x. A 3x hit the flop and Montes exited the tournament in 21st place for $1,519.
Eric Bunch couldn't keep the momentum going once the bubble burst. He started the day with 212,000 chips and peaked when the bubble burst, but four levels of play later he was back to 240,000. With the blinds at 4,000/8,000 with a 1,000 ante, Bunch open-shoved with AxJx and was called by a single opponent holding AxKx. Bunch failed to improve and was eliminated in 17th place for $1,890.
WSOP bracelet holder and eventual RGPS Main Event champion David "ODB" Baker quietly navigated the field, mostly flying under the radar until he picked up pocket aces and eliminated RG Pro Justin Gardenhire in 16th place for $1,890. After that, Baker went back into incognito mode, emerging at the final table to knock out Shelby Fall in 9th place for $4,066. But with five players left, Baker found himself the short stack.
He took a key pot with top set of aces, then doubled through Tai Du by coming from behind with A♣J♦ against Du's Q♠Q♣. Baker later eliminated Du in 4th place for $11,474 when Baker's 6♠6♦ held against Du's A♦9♦.
The three remaining players, David Baker (2,495,000), John Reynolds (1,985,000), and Stephan Guy (1,195,000), negotiated an ICM chop of the remaining prize pool, with the trophy going to Baker.
Photos from the event can be found here (Day 1A), here (Day 1B), here (Day 1C), and here (Day 2).
Official $675 RGPS Main Event Tulsa results:
Place | Name | Home Town | Prize |
1 | David Baker | Sahuarita, AZ | $29,154 |
2 | John Reynolds | Tulsa, OK | $27,257 |
3 | Stephan Guy | Osage County, OK | $23,420 |
4 | Tai Du | Oklahoma City, OK | $11,474 |
5 | Cary Marshall | Reno, NV | $8,606 |
6 | Joe Briscoe | Tulsa, OK | $6,750 |
7 | Joe Ferguson | Catoosa, OK | $5,703 |
8 | Leslie Hallaway | Bartlesville, OK | $4,724 |
9 | Shelby Fall | Vincennes, IN | $4,066 |
10 | JD Ontiveros | Tulsa, OK | $3,205 |
11 | Alegria Lotero | Cleveland, OK | $3,205 |
12 | Mark Martin | Dexter, KS | $3,205 |
13 | Chris Hooper | Tulsa, OK | $2,412 |
14 | Benjamin Reason | Whitehouse, TX | $2,412 |
15 | Tammie Jacobs | Sand Springs, OK | $2,412 |
16 | Justin Gardenhire | Broken Arrow, OK | $1,890 |
17 | Eric Bunch | Tulsa, OK | $1,890 |
18 | Shane Fuller | Olatha, KS | $1,890 |
19 | James Dunkelberger | Wichita, KS | $1,519 |
20 | David Cantrell | Claremore, OK | $1,519 |
21 | Jose Montes | Bronx, NY | $1,519 |
22 | Timothy Black | Pittsburgh, KS | $1,519 |
23 | James Tyner | Tulsa, OK | $1,519 |
24 | Mina Greco | Katy, TX | $1,519 |
25 | Raymond Henson | Spring, TX | $1,519 |
26 | Robert Shuptrine | Bentonville, AR | $1,519 |
27 | Justin Morris | Mcloud, OK | $1,519 |
28 | Sherry Haney | Tulsa, OK | $1,266 |
29 | Gregory Jennings | Overland Park, KS | $1,266 |
30 | Jasen Currie | Kansas City, MO | $1,266 |
31 | Louis Barlow | Oklahoma City, OK | $1,266 |
32 | Pete Petree | Owasso, OK | $1,266 |
33 | Phillip Jones | Tulsa, OK | $1,266 |
34 | Caleb Roland | Moore, OK | $1,266 |
35 | Michael Klatt | Sioux Falls, SD | $1,266 |
36 | John Song | Dallas, TX | $1,266 |
Congratulations to David Baker and all of the winners in the RGPS Main Event!
Of course, the Main Event wasn't the only action going on Sunday. We also had the $135 Jack 'n' Jill tournament that kicked off at 3pm. 30 male/female teams entered, creating a prize pool of $6,300. Six teams would earn cash awards.
The winning team would also receive custom prizes: for "Jack", a Custom Yeti Roadie 20 cooler and 2 Yeti colsters, and for "Jill", a custom Rustic Cuff bracelet set.
Photos from the Jack 'n' Jill event can be found here.
With four teams left, the remaining eight players agreed to chop the remaining prize pool, with the official payouts as follows:
Place | Name | Hometown | Prize |
1 | Jami Walters | Salina, OK | $1,900 |
1 | Chris Conrad | Peach Tree, GA | $1,900 |
2 | Cindy Luna | Tulsa, OK | $1,223 |
2 | Pete Petree | Owasso, OK | $1,223 |
3 | John Popa | Bixby, OK | $933 |
3 | Debbie Inman | Bixby, OK | $933 |
4 | Edson Oliva | Tulsa, OK | $933 |
4 | Kim Brumley | Tulsa, OK | $933 |
5 | Joe Swenson | Wagoner, OK | $933 |
5 | Sandy Jennings | Wagoner, OK | $933 |
6 | Kristi Hamrick | Tulsa, OK | $378 |
6 | Leon Hamrick | Tulsa, OK | $378 |
Congratulations to Chris Conrad and Jami Walters on your win! And thank you to all the Jacks and Jills who came out to play!
RunGood will take Monday to restock the inventory and reopen with our final End of Summer series at Harrah's North Kansas City on Tuesday, September 13. Click here for schedules and structure sheets. We look forward to seeing you there!