Wynn Resorts in Las Vegas hosted a highly competitive Mystery Bounty event as the World Poker Tour (WPT) set its $10,400 WPT World Championship's final table. The $1,600 buy-in Mystery Bounty attracted 3,715 players who played in three starting flights.
Even so, 404 entrants advanced to Day 2 action on Monday. They had already gotten into the money bracket and were determined to battle it out for huge bounties of up to $250,000. This is besides the 15 Virgin Voyage Cruise Packages that they would get.
The tournament had one $250,000 bounty and four $100,000 bounties. Then, the players would try their luck at 10 bounties and eight $50,000 bounties. Moreover, there were $500, $1,000, $2,500, and $5,000 bounties.
Dave McGowan Eyes the $250,000 Bounty
The field drastically reduced to 130 players after four hours of play and the $250,000 envelope draw took place. Dave McGowan, a 40-year-old finance expert from Chicago busted five players and wasn't in a hurry to redeem his ticket.
The player drew small bounties and used two up. McGowan redeemed three tickets a few minutes before the day's second break.
He stated after the tournament that he got five bounties and was lucky in two of them. Jackie, his girlfriend, stood by his side the whole week and he notified her via text that he would pull.
McGowan asked Jackie to come and watch his next move. Todd joined them too and he admitted that having a close trail motivates a player to face tough opponents.
The poker pro added that he felt great and understood how lucky he was when pulling it. The event was fantastic and McGowan believes that players need to understand the value of each bounty in such tournaments. He strived to collect many chips and make light calls that he exploited.
McGowan isn't a novice in Las Vegas. He finished second in October 2021 in the Mid-States Poker Tour (MSPT) Venetian $1,600 Main Event after losing to Gediminas Uselis and bagged $210,202.
The Hendon Mob indicates that McGowan has almost $600,000 in lifetime poker tournament earnings, excluding the bounty. He still holds many chips and has an opportunity to advance in the tournament and win more bounties.
McGowan stated that he believes a player should have luck than be good at poker. But, he is still in the tournament as it has other big prizes and he intends to run deep after bagging $250K.
Ren Lins Makes Another Huge Draw
Ren Lin, a GGPoker team member, finished eighth in the WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic at Bellagio in October and won $129,000. Yet, he topped up this figure on Monday after making two consecutive huge envelope draws.
Lin decided to redeem several tickets on the day's second break. They include one for the $50,000 bounty and another one for the $100,000 bounty. Still, Lin had more chances to make huge cashes.
