With each passing season, the Pot of Gold series at the Grand Sierra Resort seems to become more popular, attracting more players from around the country and some established pros. The fall series wrapped Oct. 7 after paying more than $500K over 11 days, again offering players a variety of games with $100-$1K buy-ins. The series offered some great guaranteed tournaments, all of which had been met or exceeded.
The first event, a $20K guarantee no-limit hold’em event for $200, had 152 runners with a prize pool of nearly $30K. Ian Remmel from Truckee, Calif., took home $8K for first, followed by Steven Liebenthal and Michelle Denolf.
The next biggest event was the $100K guarantee, which attracted 404 players for a $118K prize pool. Shawn Daniels of Placerville, Calif., was the top finisher of Event 3, taking home more than $24K, followed by Rellie Sigua and Jesse Capps each receiving $16K.
As expected the main event (Oct. 6) rewarded the largest purse (153 players, $148K pool). Pro Matt Alffeck of Seattle played an impressive game and finished in the top spot for $34K, followed by Gordon Vayo of San Mateo, Calif., ($31K), and Zak Gilbert of Reno ($17K).
Poker room manager Charles Williams couldn’t be more pleased with the results and is excited to see future series continue to bring big numbers, and players, into the area.
HHPT ATLANTIS: The High Heels Poker Tour stopped at the Atlantis Resort on Oct. 27 and gave men and women an opportunity to duke it out in the poker ring. Primarily a women’s tour, the HHPT offered a “Battle of the Sexes” tournament; men and women play in separate tournaments with the top-five finishers of each group going to the final table. Participants were allowed to come in as a team or on an individual basis to compete. In the end, the women were pretty impressive taking home all three top spots with Adriana Lopez finishing first, Erin Green second, and yours truly finishing third. For the full HHPT tour schedule, visit highheelspokertour.com.
— Leslie Pauls is an Ante Up Ambassador for Reno and pro poker player.Email her at anteupcali@gmail.com.
Pot of Gold, Grand Sierra Resort
Event 1 • $200 NLHE
152 Players • Pool: $29,488
Ian Rommel, $8,029
Event 2 • $100 NLHE
38 Players • Pool: $3,686
Charlito Asberos, $1,200
Event 3 • $300 NLHE
404 Players • Pool: $117,564
Shawn Daniels, $24,121
Event 4 • $120 PLO
29 Players • Pool: $3,376
Michael Fernandez, $986
Event 5 • $100 6-Max
116 Players • Pool: $11,252
Pamela Wilson $3,252
Event 6 • $200 O/8
43 Players • Pool: $8,342
Marc Christy, $834
Event 7 • $100 NLHE
147 Players • Pool: $14,259
Loc Phang, $3,646
Event 8 • $200 NLHE
115 Players • Pool: $22,310
Derek Dowdell, $5,716
Event 9 • $200 H.O.R.S.E.
36 Players • Pool: $6,984
David Davenport, $1,492
Event 10 • $100 NLHE
69 Players • Pool: $6,693
Errol Davidson, $1,272
Event 11 • $200 NLHE
73 Players • Pool: $15,000
Ryan Reed, $4,529
Event 12 • $120 O/8
31 Players • Pool: $3,608
Matt Christmon, N/A
Event 13 • $100 NLHE
55 Players • Pool: $5,335
Felix Durairaj, $1,627
Event 14 • $200 NLHE
67 Players • Pool: $12,2998
James Thompson, $4,029
Event 15 • $120 PLO/8
25 Players • Pool: $2,910
Cory Wilbur, $1,164
Event 16 • $100 NLHE
35 Players • Pool: $3,395
Timothy Smith, $905
Event 17 • $200 NLHE
78 Players • Pool: $15,132
Joseph Carlson, $3,234
Event 20 • $500 NLHE
102 Players • Pool: $49,470
Lance Donnell, $11,535
Event 21 • $120 H.O.R.S.E.
25 Players • Pool: $2,910
Johnny Knight, $1,380
Event 22 • $125 6-Max
78 Players • Pool: $7,507
Harold Cox, $1,652
$1K Main Event
153 Players • Pool: $148,410
Matt Affleck, $34,050
Event 28 • $200 O/8
25 Players • Pool: $4,850
Gary Rosso, $806
Event 29 • $150 NLHE
39 Players • Pool: $5,675
Robert Oliver, $2,000
Event 30 • $200 NLHE
58 Players • Pool: $11,252
David Lucchesi, $3,432
