The Grand Sierra Resort’s Pot of Gold series, which ended July 29 and paid out more than $475K, may have attracted players from all over the country, but results showed the Reno-Tahoe locals enjoyed most of the success to capture the top prizes.
The series ran 11 days and hosted 30 events, including no-limit hold’em, pot-limit Omaha and H.O.R.S.E. The NLHE tournaments for $140 and $220 were quite popular and averaged first-prize winnings of $2K-$3K. John Wallace of South Lake Tahoe won two of the three $15K guarantee events, pocketing $7,900.
Karen Bochenek of Truckee, Calif., won $13,422 and the title in Event 20, a $40K guarantee that had 106 runners and a prize pool that surpassed $50K.
The largest tournament of the series was the $100K guarantee ($1,080 buy-in) as Steven Friedlander of Reno earned a little more than $22K, beating more than 130 players for the title.
Some other notable winners Christopher Johnson of Sparks, Nev., ($20K guarantee), Joshua Pender of Rock Hill, S.C. (Omaha/8), Randolph Manalang of Reno (six-max) and Joseph Reese, David Horton, Nathaniel James and Jaime Reyes all earned titles in NLHE events.
The next POG series runs Sept. 27-Oct. 7.
WPT AT ATLANTIS: The only World Poker Tour Regional stop in the Reno market makes its way to Atlantis this month for the WPT Western Poker Challenge on Sept. 14-24.
Preliminary events begin Sept. 14, offering a variety of deepstack tournaments, including no-limit hold’em, Omaha and mixed-game disciplines. Atlantis also is offering a free hotel night stay for main-event players who pre-register (by Sept. 9 online and Sept. 16 in person). For a full schedule visit atlantiscasino.com/wpt.
— Leslie Pauls is the Ante Up Ambassador for Reno and pro poker player. Email her at anteupcali@gmail.com.
Summer Pot of Gold, Grand Sierra Resort, Reno, July 19-29
Event 1 • $230 NLHE
Players: 165 • Pool: $32,010
Christopher Johnson, $7,044
Event 2 • $95 NLHE
Players: 36 • Pool: $2,794
Chris Murray, $852
Event 3 • $340 NLHE
Players: 391 • Pool: $113,78
Jedidiah Hoffman, $25,733
Event 4 • $220 NLHE
Players: 45 • Pool: $8,730
Nathaniel James, $2,400
Event 5 • $140 Six-Max
Players: 74 • Pool: $8,614
Randolph Manalang, $2,185
Event 6 • $220 NLHE
Players: 32 • Pool: $6,208
David Horton, $2,359
Event 7 • $145 Bounty
Players: 72 • Pool: $6,930
Timothy Cebulla, $1,224
Event 8 • $230 NLHE
Players: 96 • Pool: $18,624
Greg DerovReno, $4,098
Event 9 • $140 NLHE
Players: 52 • Pool: $6,053
Joseph Reese, $2,200
Event 10 • $140 Omaha/8
Players: 78 • Pool: $9,080
Joshua Pender, $2,372
Event 11 • $230 NLHE
Players: 77 • Pool: $15,000
Daniel Orr, $3,000
Event 12 • $230 Omaha/8
Players: 56 • Pool: $10,864
Tyler Mock, $3,194
Event 13 • $95 Raise It
Players: 47 • Pool: $3,647
Chris Murray, $1,200
Event 14 • $230 NLHE
Players: 69 • Pool: $15,000
John Wallace, $4,649
Event 15 • $140 H.O.R.S.E.
Players: 56 • Pool: $6,518
Frankie Odell, $1,863
Event 16 • $95 NLHE
Players: 57 • Pool: $4,423
Matt Christmon, $1,499
Event 17 • $230 NLHE
Players: 71 • Pool: $15,000
John Wallace, $3,300
Event 20 • $550 NLHE
Players: 106 • Pool: $51,410
Karen Bochenek, $13,422
Event 21 • $220 NLHE
Players: 24 • Pool: $4,656
Gregory Sayabalian, $1,863
Event 22 • $140 PLO w/rbs
Players: 33 • Pool: $8,207
Marc Christy, $3,118
$1,080 Main Event
Players: 132 • Pool: $128,040
Steven Friedlander, $22,804
Event 28 • $170 6-Max
Players: 34 • Pool: $3,247
Paul Sampson, $909
Event 29 • $95 NLHE
Players: 30 • Pool: $2,328
Stuart Faulkner, $680
Event 30 • $140 NLHE
Players: 34 • Pool: $3,958
Jaime Reyes, $1,504
* Missing events were canceled, not reported or satellites.
