Blair Hinkle Wins RunGood Poker Series CardPlayer Cruise Main Event
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Over the past week, the RunGood Poker Series (RGPS) has on the high seas. They partnered with CardPlayer Cruises to host a series of events on a seven-day Royal Caribbean cruise in the Caribbean with stops in St. Thomas and San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Among those on the cruise were Poker Hall of Famer Linda Johnson, World Series of Poker bracelet winner Dieter Dechant, Chip & Karina Jett, and the Hinkle Bros. (Grant, Blair & Mason). As part of their Fall season, the RGPS awarded four championship rings from Signature Rings.
Blair Hinkle Does It Again
The $360 buy-in RGPS CardPlayer Cruises Main Event saw 209 entrants battle it out over two starting flights on the Allure of the Seas.
Among those to get a piece of the prize pool were Karina Jett (27th - $669), Chris Conrad (23rd - $669), Tyler Patterson (22nd - $669), Preston McEwen (16th - $760), Grant Hinkle (15th - $973), Chip Jett (13th - $973), RGPS Council Bluffs champ Nick Burris (4th - $4,318) and former RGPS CardPlayer Cruises champ Shawn Sparks (3rd - $6,082).
In the end, the title came down to WSOP bracelet winners Blair Hinkle and Dechant. The former held an 8:1 chip lead entering heads-up play and it didn’t take long for things to come to a head. Dechant jammed with queen-three and Hinkle called with ace-eight. An ace in the window sealed the deal for Hinkle, and Dechant had to settle for second place and $9,001 in prize money.
It marked the third RGPS Main Event title for Hinkle, who earlier this year won both the RGPS Grand OKC and Hard Rock Tulsa.
Main Event Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Blair Hinkle | $14,597 |
| 2 | Dieter Dechant | $9,001 |
| 3 | Shawn Sparks | $6,082 |
| 4 | Nick Burris | $4,318 |
| 5 | Steve Myrick | $3,345 |
| 6 | Les Mildenberg | $2,737 |
| 7 | Kevin Smith | $2,281 |
| 8 | Melissa Bouchard | $1,916 |
| 9 | Will Johnson | $1,581 |
Jack Matsuura Claims Pro Bounty Title
In Event #1: $170 Pro Bounty NLH, 115 runners created an $8,750 prize pool that was paid out to the top seven players. Poker Hall of Famer Linda Johnson was one of the bounties and made it all the way to fourth place, though she was ineligible for the prize. That meant an extra spot got paid.
In the end, Jack Matsuura came out on top to win a $3,062 first-place prize.
Event #1 Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jack Matsuura | $3,062 |
| 2 | Pat Jones | $1,893 |
| 3 | Preston McEwen | $1,255 |
| 4 | Linda Johnson | - |
| 5 | Joel Rettew | $888 |
| 6 | Laura Poulter | $669 |
| 7 | Dina McFeeley | $533 |
| 8 | Chad Holloway | $450 |
Papa Karn Gets Breakout Win
In Event #2: $180 DeepStack, 206 entries competed in two separate starting flights. That created a $29,973 prize pool that was paid out to the top 27 players.
Among those to cash but fall short of making the final table were Chad Holloway (11th - $614), Paul Strohm (13th - $480), Julie Cornelius (20th - $330), and Ann Spinetti (23rd - $330).
At one point, Papa Karn, the father of RGPS founder Tana Karn, was down to just two big blinds. He was able to spin it up and the tides slowly turned to give Papa some footing and eventually the chip lead. Papa pushed the tempo knocking out the remaining opponents which included a short heads-up match against Joel Rettew after finding pocket kings to send him into the winner's circle.
It marked the first tour victory for Papa Karn, a favorite among the RGPS crowd.
Event #2 Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Papa Karn | $7,190 |
| 2 | Joel Rettew | $4,436 |
| 3 | Ryan Stupek | $2,997 |
| 4 | Ed Betz | $2,128 |
| 5 | Danny Hassan | $1,649 |
| 6 | Marty Robbins | $1,349 |
| 7 | George Scarborough | $1,124 |
| 8 | Johnny Walker | $944 |
| 9 | Greg Beckmann | $779 |
Another Win for Nick Burris
The fourth and final ring event of the stop was the Event $4: $50 All In or Fold tournament, which featured $20 rebuys. The event saw 101 entrants account for 251 rebuys, and in the end it was Nick Burris, a regular on the RGPS, claiming the title.
It was just the latest victory for Burris in 2019 after winning February’s RGPS Horseshoe Council Bluffs $575 Main Event for $44,767 and then following it up two months later by taking down the World Series of Poker Circuit $1,700 Main Event at the same venue for a career-high $99,267.
PokerNews will live report the RunGood Poker Series' inaugural Poker Industry Championship this Tuesday followed by the RGPS Hard Rock Tulsa $675 Main Event this weekend.
PR & Media Manager for PokerNews, Podcast host & 2013 WSOP Bracelet Winner.
