Billy Casey Wins The RGPS Reno Main Event at Atlantis Casino For $29,092!
A total of 291 players came out to play the RunGood Poker Series Reno $600 Main Event at Atlantis Resort in Reno, Nevada. Though all had eyes on the $150,000 prize pool, only 33 survived long enough to see a piece of it, as they returned to play for the prize today.
As the dust settled, it was Billy Casey who ended up as the newest RGPS Main Event champion, taking home $29,092 for his efforts and his very first ring.
“I feel like a winner,” the newest member of the RGPS champions club said with a big smile on his face. “All my grandkids have gotten my jewelry as they have grown up,” he continued, emphasizing why winning this was special for him. Casey wore a flashy assortment of different rings and bracelets, each symbolic of one of his grandsons, and each one of them will be given to them as they grow up.
Starting the day as one of the middling stacks and spending much of the day as one of the shortest, his patience was rewarded as he made the final table as the second shortest stack, only to take home the lion's share. “It was a grind, a grind all day,” he said when talking about his journey to the title “I just gotta be patient.”
Casey becomes the seventh player this stop to secure an invitation to The Dream Seat Invitational at Thunder Valley in November, a trip he is very happy to make. “You’ll see me there, you can count on that.”
RGPS Reno Main Event Final Table Results
| Rank | Player | Hometown | Prize (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bill Casey | Reno, NV | $29,092* |
| 2 | Andrew Fredericks | Reno, NV | $29,092* |
| 3 | Bret Troups | Reno, NV | $15,375 |
| 4 | James Adkins | Chehalis, WA | $9,355 |
| 5 | Chris Wilcox | Scottsdale, AZ | $7,225 |
| 6 | Steve Nevius | Pacifica, CA | $5,985 |
| 7 | Jeffrey Day | Berkley, CA | $5,025 |
| 8 | Brittney Barnes | Las Vegas, NV | $4,200 |
| 9 | Adam Saven | Del Mar, CA | $3,415 |
*denotes heads-up deal
Final Day Action
Defending Champion Stacey Berger (25th-$1,170) found her day coming short. She joined the rail with Matthew Betti (24th-$1,350), Sasha Guerin (18th-$2,085), start of day chip leader Susie Peterson (14th-$2,480), and Pedro Baptista (11th-$2,890).
Doug Englekirk saw his chances of making a final table shrivel up when he lost a massive pot to James Adkins with two tables left. He was all in from the small blind the next hand, and he took his leave in tenth place for $2,890.
Final Table Action
The fireworks did not take too long to start as a massive confrontation saw the second-biggest and third-biggest stacks at the beginning of the final table collide. Adam Saven ended up all in and at risk with his pocket kings against Chris Wilcox’s pocket queens. All seemed well for Saven to take over the chip lead, but a queen-high flop brought Wilcox a set for him to take a massive lead on the final table, while Saven was eliminated in ninth place for $3,415.
Short stack Brittney Barnes found herself receiving a ladder courtesy of that cooler, but her time at the final table came to an end shortly after. She ended up getting runner-runner trip jacks, but Bret Toups also caught the same running jacks and held an ace-kicker. Both players got all of their chips in on the river, and Barnes wished her opponents luck as she collected $4,200 for her eighth-place finish.
While Wilcox held the lead in the early goings of the final table, he suffered a big cooler when his ace-king ran into Bret Toups's aces. The massive pot resulted in Toups hopscotching over Wilcox and Andrew Fredericks into the chips lead.
Today was not to be for Jeffrey Day. Day came into the final table as one of the shorter stacks after he doubled up James Adkins just prior to the final table. His last chips went Fredericks’ way as his ace-ten could not improve against Fredericks’ pocket jacks, and Day ended his day in seventh place for $5,025.
In sixth place shortly after came Steve Nevius. Nevius spent much of the day on the short stack and his chips, like Day’s before him, went over to Fredericks. Fredericks had opened on the button with ace-king, and Fredericks had moved in his final six big blinds with nines. The board ran out almost all the way good for Nevius, but a river king brought the pot over to Fredericks while Nevius collected $5,985 for his efforts.
The next all-in confrontation saw Casey double up through Fredericks to leave him short while Casey rose to neck and neck with Toups. Another massive pot would prove beneficial as four players limped to see a flop where both Casey and Wilcox flopped a flush. They got their chips in, and Wilcox’s jack-high flush was drawing dead against Casey’s ace-high flush, and he took the overall chip lead while Wilcox ended his run in fifth place for $7,225.
The four-handed battle went on for a while, but it was Adkins who would be the next to fall. He drifted down to the shortest stack and eventually got in his final chips with queen-jack and ran into Casey’s kings. The turn left Adkins drawing dead and Casey added to his chip lead while Adkins ended his run in fourth place for $9,355.
Fredericks doubled through Toups to flip who was sitting in second and third place. The three-handed match lasted just under an hour. Casey called in the small blind with five-four offsuit and flopped a straight against Toups, who held seven-six and flopped two pair. No help was brought to Toups, and he collected $15,375 for his third-place finish.
After some discussion, the two players settled on the deal. Casey held the chip lead, so he took $29,092 and the ring, while Fredericks took home the same number after being the shortest stack for much of the five-handed battle.
Thank you for reading along with PokerNews, be sure to check back in next week for the live updates on The RGPS St. Louis Main Event.
