The Rungood Poker Series is proud to present the $2,500 Million Dollar Main Event at Thunder Valley Resort and Casino in Lincoln, CA. The largest event of the final stop of the Destination RunGood season sees a hefty $1,000,000 prize pool guarantee and looks to pull from all over the spectrum of a variety of poker players and types. From seasoned pros, to players stepping into Thunder Valley for the first time.
Going off of that, our friends at JACK Cleveland offered a promotion to directly satellite two players into the Million Dollar Main Event, bringing the opportunity to play this event to players living over a thousand miles away. “We have been focused on growth over the past few years at JACK Cleveland through strategic partnerships with the best in the industry like RunGood and 8131 Media to provide great player experiences for our guests. This is our first year partnering with Thunder Valley Casino Resort and we could not be more excited to support one of the most prestigious events of the year and have our JACK Cleveland RunGood Main Event winners Louis Ganser (NLHE) and Greg Kolo (PLO) representing our property.” – Joe Schepis | Director of Tournament Operations. We are incredibly grateful for the partnership created with our friends at JACK and cannot wait to see what more prizes they can award in the future.
$1,000 PLO Champion Greg Kolo
One of the two players awarded a seat to the tournament is Ohio tournament regular Greg Kolo. With a Hendon Mob database that dates back 15 years, Kolo has amassed nearly $1 million in lifetime earnings that include such accomplishments as a WSOPC Main Event third place finish for $100,899 as well as a WSOP bracelet in the $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha which earned him $169,225.
He came out to play the $1,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship and made his appearance count as he got heads up with tournament regular and RGPS ring winner Ken Po for the title. Defeating a field of 78 entrants, Kolo took home his first RGPS ring title and the championship, worth $21,576.
Playing in big events in things like the PokerGo Pot-Limit Omaha series, Kolo looks to use his wealth of poker knowledge to navigate the particular highs and lows out in Thunder Valley in the hopes to conquer his second ring in what will be the biggest RGPS Main Event of the year.
$1,000 JACK Cleveland Main Event Champion Louis Ganser
The same day that Kolo was crowned champion, Louis Ganser won his seat to the Thunder Valley Million Dollar Main Event on the other side of the room. The family man and Cleveland local only plays a couple of events a year, but made quite a splash out at JACK Casino this year.
Winning the $1,000 JACK Cleveland Main Event for a whopping $102,225 first place prize, easily surpassing his prior best cash, Ganser defeated a star studded final table that included the likes of WSOP bracelet winner Billy Kopp and RGPS ring winner Daniel “Donk” Hughes. Coming out on top in this affair left him with his first ever six-figure score, a prize which he celebrated with his family to go on a little vacation trip.
He said that poker will always remain a hobby as he has a full-time job, but that won’t dissuade the family man from capitalizing on the gift he was awarded. Having never been to Thunder Valley prior, Ganser looks to bring his own slice of Ohio charm to the NorCal area and play in the biggest event that the RGPS holds during the year.
$300 Winner’s Circle Winner Shari Elks
Last November, Thunder Valley Casino and Resort hosted a Winner’s Circle ring event, one of two events exclusive to just RGPS ring winners. This saw a total of 68 ring winners come out to play with nine of them making the money.
As the dust settled, it was Shari Elks who claimed her second RGPS ring of the year as she topped a stacked final table that included the likes of Ashley “PokerFaceAsh” Frank, Ian Steinman, Louis Ganser, and one of the longest-time RGPS regulars, Duster Ellis. In doing so, she did not only take home the $5,475 first place prize, but was additionally awarded a seat to the $2,500 Million Dollar Main for the following summer.
Elks won her first RGPS ring at the Horseshoe Tunica in September, where she won the $200 Ladies Ring Event. Elks has been a tournament regular for some time and recently collected a career best score of $17,857 just one month ago. Elks looks to end the RGPS season strong with a big score to cap off a fantastic year-long period.
On top of these players, the RGPS will also see a batch of familiar faces and established names on the tour will also be making their way into the Million Dollar Main.
Jeff Platt
Those who have watched poker over the past decade should be quite accustomed to hearing the voice of this dapperly dressed gentleman. Commentator, interviewer, and poker player Jeff Platt will be one of many names making their way out to play the $2,500 Million Dollar Main.
With $799,808 in lifetime earnings, Platt has made a name for himself on both sides of the camera, with multiple six-figure scores throughout the course of his playing behind the felt, which spans over a decade.
The last trip that RGPS took over to Thunder Valley, saw Platt join the list of RGPS ring winners as he took home his first ring in the Dream Crusher bounty, earning himself a ring to add to his already decorated poker resume. He will be one of the many in this stacked field of players looking to carve his name a little bit deeper in RGPS history.
Terrance “TJ” Reid
Another player who has managed to balance a lifestyle both on the felt and the media side of it is Terrance “TJ” Reid. Poker Org’s own will be spending time out here at Thunder Valley to join the festivities.
Hailing from Missouri, Reid spent many years on the cash game felt before transitioning into playing tournaments more regularly. Over the past five years, Reid has accumulated $217,992 in lifetime tournament earnings, just recently cashing in the WSOP Main Event after memorably bursting the bubble.
As far as his Rungood prowess is concerned, Reid has had multiple cashes over the years with a career best third place finish in the $800 Graton Main Event for $46,600, collecting a slew of other cashes between that location and Horseshoe Tunica. Still hunting for his first RGPS ring, Reid will be among those hunting that massive first place prize in the Million Dollar Main.
Ashley “PokerFaceAsh” Frank
Exploding in popularity over the past couple of years, Ashley “PokerFaceAsh” Frank has made a name for herself as one of the bright new stars of the game. Balancing out content creating and playing, she will find herself among the players at Thunder Valley competing for the prizes.
The vlogger collected her first tournament cash back in 2016 where she competed at the WSOP in a field of 21,613, finishing in the top ten percent. Since then she has regularly made deep runs in tournaments all over the country, with a career best cash in the 2023 $1,500 Monster Stack where she finished in 16th for $56,980.
On top of her $286,579 in lifetime earnings, she has been a staple of the RGPS circuit for the better part of three years. She has amassed 20 cashes in that time, 8 final tables, and a ring in the $300 6-Max in 2023 in The Horseshoe in Council Bluffs. She will be looking to add to her already established name on the tour by adding another title in the highest buy in RGPS event of the year.
Jamie Kerstetter
Another player who has made a name for herself in front of and behind the camera, Jamie Kerstetter will be another player making their way out to the Northern California area. Many have heard her voice and commentary on all manner of livestreams and coverage of various events all around the world.
Kerstetter found her first tournament cash back in 2009 and has steadily amassed tournament earnings to put her at $951,686 for lifetime earnings. This year was especially significant in that final tally as she added a career best score of $114,479 with her runner up finish in the 2024 WSOP $1,000 Ladies Event.
Kerstetter started off her RGPS year with a bang as she took home her first RGPS ring at Jamul Casino. This brings her total up to 15 cashes over the past ten years of playing with the tour, and she looks to carve her name even deeper into the RunGood history books out here at Thunder Valley.
Tyler Patterson
Very few professional poker players have proven their longevity in the same way as Tyler Patterson. Making a name for himself on the felt over the past 20 years, he will be joining us out here at Thunder Valley as well to defend his crown in the Million Dollar Main.
Starting his poker journey in Reno back in 2005, Patterson has cashed for $3,344,178 which include quite a lot of significant tournament wins. Winning his first WSOP bracelet in 2014 and his first WPT championship in 2015. Tournament titles that most players only dream of having.
Patterson already has a very special place in RGPS history at Thunder Valley especially. In 2022, Patterson finished in second place in the first $2,500 RGPS Main Event to Brett Murray for $156,845. The following year, he ended up winning the very same event for $200,422. This put him up on top of the all-time RGPS money list and a deep run here could see Patterson extend his lead on that list.
Brian Winter
This year, the RGPS ran the player of the year race, which saw many players all across the country competing for the top spot and RG immortality on a banner that will be traveling with the tour for the foreseeable future. Taking that top spot is none other than Brian “TheGoldenBlazer” Winter.
Spending many years grinding on the online felt, Winter transitioned into live poker and focused on live tournaments this year, specifically on the RGPS circuit. This year Winter put up an impressive total of 49 cashes, 21 final tables, and 6 RGPS wins to win the title of Player of The Year and immortalize himself on the banner.
With this, Winter put himself up on top of the all-time titles list, tying with Daniel Lowery at 9. Not many players in any tours history have put on a performance on the same level as Winter as he looks to close out the season out here at Thunder Valley before taking a well-deserved rest. Winter also announced the shuffle up and deal at the Hendon Mob championship as he looks to make his mark one more time out here at Thunder Valley Casino and Resort.
These are just a few of the names of the players that will be making appearances at the conclusion of this very fun RGPS season. The $2,500 Million Dollar Main Event will be covered by PokerNews where you can keep track of the tournament’s progression and see where all of these players and more end up placing. Thank you so much for reading along with us at Rungood.com. Be sure to stay tuned for exciting new updates on the following season here with the tour.