Thomas Dominguez used an aggressive approach to the $125 Six-Max Pot-Limit Omaha event at Run It Up Reno to top a field of 136 entries and take down a $3,668 first-place prize. Opponents were able to double through him a number of times, but he took down enough small pots and got lucky enough times to ultimately come out on top.
The tournament paid out 18 places, and some of those who walked away empty-handed included bracelet winners Chad Holloway, Doug "WCGRider" Polk, and Leo Wolpert, as well as Brent Harrington, Jesse Capps, and PokerStars Team Online member Jaime Staples.
After a protracted bubble period that saw a number of short stacks double, PokerNews Editor-in-Chief Donnie Peters was able to sneak into the money with a short stack before busting 14th. Tournament host Jason Somerville followed him out the door in 13th, with both players having booked their second cashes of the series. Somerville made a deep run in the $235 Tuesday Takeoff and Peters made his way through the $235 Survivor earlier in the day.
Dominguez got lucky with the against the of Deb Swift to send her packing and take a chip lead into the unofficial final table of seven. Right away, he picked up the and busted Isaac Leong, who had the . Two more players fell victim to aces-over-kings, while Dominguez continued to pick up smaller pots.
Tyler Rauh held the chip lead for most of the day but found himself on the wrong side of variance when he got a set of kings in on a flop and Dominguez binked an ace with . Dominguez then busted Douglas Charles when his wrap and middle pair bested Charles' top pair, as running spades gave Dominguez a flush.
John Gonzalez was the man charged with stopping Dominguez's run, but he was down more than 2-1 in chips. He got it in good in a four-bet pot with the , as Dominguez opted to gamble with the . That paid off when the board ran out , giving Dominguez a winning pair of kings and his biggest live cash.
"You played well," Dominguez said to Gonzalez.
While that concluded play for the second day of the 2016 Run It Up Reno festival, two more events will be on tap for Thursday. At 2 p.m. local time will be the $235 Thursday Thrilla — Black Chip County event. Later on, at 8 p.m., the $85 Six-Max No-Limit Hold'em Turbo event will take place. Stay tuned for PokerNews.com for continued coverage.
Isaac Leong got his remaining chips in with but his kings were dominated by the of Thomas Dominguez. Leong failed to find improvement and he was first to go at the final table.
Jason Somerville went busto, getting his second cash of the series. He reportedly got his stack in with a double-suited hand with a dangler after opening and having an opponent set him all in with aces.
Tyler Rauh opened on the button for 15,000, and the big blind made it 45,000. Rauh shoved all in, and his opponent called it off with some consternation.
"S***," the big blind said. "You have aces?"
Not just aces but double-suited ones: . The big blind was in bad shape with , and the flop left Rauh pumping his fist with the nut flush. A turn ended things early.
At another table, Jaime Staples went bust when his aces were cracked by an opponent who made two pair.
Kevin Gerhart checked from the small blind, and Deb Swift fired 4,000 on a flop. Doug Polk shoved 9,200 in, and Gerhart thought a bit before jamming over that, chasing Swift away.
Gerhart:
Polk:
Polk had a pair and a flush draw and was facing two pair. The and were running bricks, and Polk wished everyone good luck.
Jaime Staples, who along with Jason Somerville is one of the top poker streamers out there, has taken a seat and already busted an opponent. On a board of , Staples checked and called a pot bet of 4,050 out of the small blind. He checked the river and his opponent announced all in for 3,450.
"Call," Staples said immediately, showing for quads.
His opponent pushed his cards to the muck and the dealer flipped over since the player was all in.
Three events are in the books at Run It Up Reno and it's time for the first non-hold'em event of the series, the $125 Six-Max Pot-Limit Omaha tournament.
This tournament will be a $125 buy-in with 20-minute levels. Players begin with 10,000 in chips and blinds open a 25/50. Breaks are every two hours, and then levels move to 30 minutes at the final table. Players may reenter for nine levels.
The six-max PLO is a new event on this year's Run It Up Reno schedule, but a five-card PLO event last year drew 116 entries, so we can probably expect a similar turnout tonight. Cards are set to begin flying at 8 p.m. local time, so stay tuned for the upcoming PLO action here at Peppermill Reno.