Graton Casino in California hosted a recent RunGood Poker Series (RGPS) Road Trip. The $800 Main Event attracted 837 players who formed a $585,900 prize pool. Yet, only the leading 105 entrants got a share of the pool.
Anne Bui and Joe Nguyen were the title’s top contenders in the event and they made a deal in the final hand. Nguyen finished second and Bui won the title and $87,425.
Bui was excited when she was declared the winner since it was her first title. However, she recently finished second in the World Series of Poker Circuit (WSOPC) at Graton. She previously had $184,459 in poker earnings before her latest victory.
The Tournament’s Largest Prizes
- Anne Bui from San Jose California- $87,425
- Joe Nguyen from Sunnyvale, California-$87,420
- Terrance Reid from Pocatello, Idaho-$46,600
- Scott Hess from San Francisco, California- $34,745
- Anthony Li from San Francisco, California-$26,425
- Alonso Lau from San Francisco, California-$21,020
- Richard Troendly from Reno, Nevada-$17,395
- Khanh Duy Tran from San Jose, California-$13,835
- Christopher Marcus from Vallejo, California-$10,370
Final Table Highlights
The final day’s action was fast-paced. Some of the players who missed a seat at the final table despite cashing included Brittney Stout, David Prociak, Kasey Mills, John Koo, Craig Carilo, Sean Burson, Reggie Pears, Paul Chai and Jasthi Kumar.
Can Chen rivered a wheel to call his remaining stack but Scott Hess rivered with a seven-high straight. The latter won a pot and busted the former in 10th place with $10,370, hence setting a nine-handed final table.
Alonso Lau doubled up Hess thrice. Yet, Christopher Marcus doubled up Hess once and none of the finalists wanted to leave the table fast.
Marcus used king-queen to stake his remaining stack against the raise Bui made with ace-jack off. The latter called the former and put him in a tricky spot. Marcus made a flush draw flop but Bui’s hand dominated, hence sending him packing in ninth place.
Khanh Duy Tran used ace-ten offsuit to move his last chips facing Terrance Reid’s raise. The latter used pocket sixes to call the former and eliminated him in eighth place.
Richard Troendly used eight-seven to stake his last chips before Hess called with pocket sixes. The latter made a straight draw fade and a six flop. They earned him a stack lead and busted Troendly in the seventh position with $17,395.
Lau used ace-queen to move his remaining stack while Anthony Li held pocket nines which dominated. The latter doubled and the former lost some of his chips. Lau used pocket kings to face Nguyen’s queen-two and Reid’s queen-jack.
Even so, Nguyen got the pot and two pair from the runout before eliminating Lau in sixth place. Nguyen’s pocket nines busted Li in fifth place. The former’s pocket sixes dominated Hess’ ace-five and sent him packing in fourth place.
Reid lacked the board’s aid and exited the tournament in third place. Nguyen battled it out with Bui before losing the last hand and finishing second with $87,420. Bui received the coveted trophy and top prize.
