Donnie McCormick Wins Run It Up Reno VIII $235 Black Chip Bounty Event
On Tuesday, the Run It Up Reno VIII hosted its $235 Black Chip Bounty event, which saw all 236 runners have a $100 bounty on their head. The one-day tournament took 10 hours to play down to a winner, and it was Oregon’s Donnie McCormick coming out on top to capture a $5,060 first place prize, plus an additional $1,900 in bounties.
It was the cherry on top of a great RIU Reno series thus far for McCormick, who the night before finished sixth for $1,430 in the $235 Pro Bounty. He also finished 22nd for $1,080 in the Mini Main Event and 12th in the $125 Super Sonic for $310.
Prior to the win, McCormick had $17,656 in lifetime earnings, including a career-best $9,634 for winning a Rio Daily Deepstack back in 2017.
McCormick began the final table as the chip leader and steamrolled his opponents notching six eliminations at the final table. In one hand he held king-three and got lucky to spike a king and crack Brian Stafford’s pocket tens. In another, he jammed Big Slick and got a call from Sherman Mah, who had the inferior ace-nine.
McCormick held and took a huge chip lead into heads-up play against Twitch streamer Eric “TABLECAPTAINN” Wemlinger, who briefly battle back and took over the chip lead but ultimately had to settle for second place and $3,220 in prize money.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Donnie McCormick | $5,060 + $1,900 in bounties |
| 2 | Eric “TABLECAPTAINN” Wemlinger | $3,220 |
| 3 | Sherman Mah | $2,204 |
| 4 | Phil Winberg | $1,635 |
| 5 | Chris Johnson | $1,300 |
| 6 | Brian Stafford | $1,060 |
| 7 | Jason Daniele | $885 |
| 8 | Ron Shephard | $740 |
Among those to cash the tournament but fall short of the official final table were Kevin Bratner (9th - $600), Michael Trivett (13th - $380), Mini Main Event champ John Boriolo (15th - $380), LFG Podcast co-host Jamie Kerstetter (20th - $300), Survivor winner Tyson Apostal (23rd - $300), and both Dan Brown and Jovanny Jayme, who became duel bubble boy for $150 each after busting in the same hand.
John Lewis Wins Bomb Pot Event
The PokerNews Live Reporting Team is focused on five events at the RIU Reno VIII, but there are plenty of side events throughout including Monday’s $125 NL Bomb Pot, a tournament played like traditional no-limit hold’em but requires players to each put up an ante and action starts on the flop.
The tournament attracted 124 runners which surpassed the guarantee by creating a $12,028 prize pool. The top 20 players got a piece of it including Michael Holmes (20th - $200), Kyle Anderson (15th - $250), Carlos Pal (9th - $390), Twitch streamer Arlie Shaban (7th - $570), Adam Owen (4th - $970), and former RIU Reno Main Event champ DJ Fenton (3rd - $1,228).
In the end, John Lewis of Portland, Oregon defeated Michael Wood in heads-up play to win the title and a $2,440 first-place prize.
Bomb Pot Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | John Lewis | Portland, OR | $2,440 |
| 2 | Michael Wood | Jackson, CA | $1,670 |
| 3 | Dale Fenton | Las Vegas, NV | $1,228 |
| 4 | Adam Owen | United Kingdon | $970 |
| 5 | Anthony Lombard | Las Vegas, NV | $800 |
| 6 | Derrick Jann | Oakley, CA | $670 |
| 7 | Arlie Shaban | Stouffville, ON | $570 |
| 8 | Nicolo Audannio | Las Vegas, NV | $480 |
PokerNews’ coverage of the RIU Reno VIII will continue Thursday with the start of the $1,100 Thursday Thrilla. Check out our dedicated portal here for all things RIU Reno.
PR & Media Manager for PokerNews, Podcast host & 2013 WSOP Bracelet Winner.
