Graton Resort and Casino held the first RunGood Poker Series (RGPS) stop, and Kulwant Singh emerged victorious after beating Bryan Saltzman in a heads-up match. Singh received $100,070 and the RGPS ring. The $600 Main Event attracted 1,144 players who created a $594,880 prize pool.
The event's four starting flights saw 144 entrants advancing to Sunday as each Day 2 finisher was assured to get an $800 min-cash. Reports state that Singh has played poker for over two decades, but this was the largest score in his career.
Singh had won more than $270,000 in poker career earnings before his latest six-figure score. He is based in Northern California and claims that he plays Omaha poker. His recent victory earned him a seat in the RGPS Pro/Am that the PokerGO Studio will hold later this year in Las Vegas.
The Main Event's Final Table Results
- Kulwant Singh from the U.S. – $100,070
- Bryan Saltzman from the U.S. – $69,115
- Paul Serrate from the U.S. – $44,660
- Julian Ruvalcaba from the U.S. – $33,205
- Jose Castillo from the U.S. – $25,465
- Matt Massaro from the U.S. – $20,590
- Sean Burson from the U.S. – $17,010
- Max Gratuito from the U.S. – $13,480
- Jeff Spruitenburg from the U.S. – $10,000
Singh's Run
Singh's deep run began after he got a double knockout a few minutes after a three-table redraw. Frank Neuhauser used pocket aces to move all in, while Gerald Balfour used pocket tens to take a shot. Besides, Singh used pocket eights to cover the two players.
An eight appeared on the river as Singh yelled for viewers to hear him in the event room. Yet, he continued collecting many chips at the last three tables. The player was second on the chip standings after Saltzman when he reached the final table.
Action at the Final Table
A double knockout occurred shortly after the final table was set. Julian Ruvalcaba busted Jeff Spruitenburg and Max Gratuito. The two players shoved as Ruvalcaba held pocket kings while waiting.
The hand reduced the table to seven players and helped Ruvalcaba have the largest number of chips. Sean Burson left the table in seventh place after using king-queen to shove, but Saltzman's pocket aces held him.
Matt Massaro got busted in sixth place after using a suited ace-three to shove and failing to improve against Paul Serrate's pocket nines.
Jose Castillo's run ended in sixth place as eliminations took place fast. He used queen-jack to shove, but Singh busted him using ace-king.
Ruvalcaba left the table while anticipating the four-handed play. He used queen-ten to go all-in, but Singh used ace-jack to eliminate him in fourth place.
Action at the table slowed down after the play became three-handed. Yet, the gap between the remaining three players started reducing as Singh got a chip lead and added pressure on his opponents.
Singh used a pair of aces to bust Serrate and get a 3:1 chip lead while entering heads-up play against Saltzman. The latter drew near despite flopping a two pair while the former lacked an open-ended straight draw.
Saltzman used a pair of queens to shove the turn while Singh used a two pair to call and missed several outs to get a pot. The turning point came after two hands when Saltzman used a suited queen-nine to shove and Sign used king-six to draw him.
