Boston Rob Takes RGPS All-Stars ProAM Trophy
The RunGood Poker Series ended its normal season at the beginning of December. It was the mid-stakes poker tour’s best season to date, with its sixteen tour stops attracting entries totaling 10,119 in Main Event tournaments alone. And those Main Events paid out $6,168,379, up 102% from the previous equivalent season.
RGPS started its year at Thunder Valley Casino in Northern California and ended it there as well. The poker room’s love for the game matched the passion of RGPS crew, and players benefited from a $1M guarantee to close it out.
And then it was time for the best of the best of the RunGood Poker Series to gather in Las Vegas for one last poker tournament to close the year.
ProAM Featured RGPS Stars
It was the second annual RGPS All-Stars ProAM presented by PokerGO, a chance for tour qualifiers to gather for a freeroll poker tournament. The PokerGO Studio was the place to be for the 48 players, including seat winners from the RunGood Poker Series season and others invited to play for just $550. They gathered on December 16 in Las Vegas to play it out.
Some of the well-known names in the field, ones who bought in to participate, included Eli Elezra, David Williams, Johnnie Vibes, Josh Arieh, Daniel Weinman, Tyson Apostol, PokerGO Ambassador Rob “Boston Rob” Mariano, and Chad Holloway.
Day 1 played to the final table of nine, with Dakotah O’Dell as the chip leader going into the final day of play. Mariano held second place on the leaderboard, with Denise Pratt in third.
LIVE NOW! 🎥 https://t.co/rA9G5SpzVS
— RunGood Poker Series (@RGPokerSeries) December 17, 2022
Boston Runs Good
Mariano started strong and right into the chip lead by eliminating Vladimir Grechnikov in ninth place and then Jean Ortega in eighth and Forrest Kollar in seventh. O’Dell stapped in to bust Timoteo Callejo Jr in sixth place and Ashley Jenkins in fifth.
Ashley Jenkins finishes the @RGPokerSeries: All-Stars ProAM in 5th place.
Jenkins earned her seat in a giveaway and was able to parlay that into a $2,600 payday.
▶️ – Four remain including chip leader @BostonRob! Watch it here: https://t.co/kDfafvWesi pic.twitter.com/j2Mxd9e00b
— PokerGO (@PokerGO) December 17, 2022
Mariano was back in action to bust Kulwant Singh in fourth place. Three-handed play saw Mariano holding most of the chips, though he lost some when Pratt doubled through him. Mariano did bust O’Dell in third place, however, and he took 4.71M chips into heads-up play. Pratt had 1.79M.
It took only a minute for Mariano to shove with A-3 and Pratt to call with K-Q. Pratt hit a spade flush on the river to double her stack and take the lead.
Pratt strikes back!
It's the first hand of heads-up play and it looks like it may be over, but both players fail to realize that @SneakieNesie has made a flush to double into the chip lead.
▶️ – Watch Now: https://t.co/kDfafvWesi pic.twitter.com/dTRV3p1orS
— PokerGO (@PokerGO) December 18, 2022
But in less than 15 minutes, Mariano worked his stack back over 4M and then to a two-to-one chip lead within 30 minutes. Finally, Pratt pushed her stack in with K-9 (king of spades) on an all-spade flop of A-8-2, and Mariano called with A-8 and two pair. Pratt couldn’t catch a spade flush again, though, as Mariano filled up on the river.
Got ‘em! If you dream it, and believe it, you will Achieve it! 🔥Let’s Go!!! We are the official @RunGoodGear AllStars Pro-Am Champion!!! Big thanks to @PokerGO @PokerNews @RGPokerSeries President and CEO @tkarn421 @ChancesCards and @ChipLDR and my boy @TysonApostol pic.twitter.com/WOwQG99cSU
— Boston Rob (@BostonRob) December 18, 2022
The final results were:
-1st place: Rob Mariano ($8,775)
-2nd place: Denise Pratt ($6,500)
-3rd place: Dakotah O’Dell ($4,225)
-4th place: Kulwant Singh ($3,250)
-5th place: Ashley Jenkins ($2,600)
-6th place: Tim Callego ($1,950)
-7th place: Forrest Kollar ($1,625)
-8th place: Jean Ortega ($1,300)
-9th place: Vladimir Grechnikov ($1,300)
With that, the RunGood Poker Series went on a short holiday hiatus.
