button in SafariJovial Mike Hurley Defends His Home Turf With the RGPS St. Louis Main Event Title
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Mike Hurley lives a short drive away from the Hollywood Casino. It’s his home turf, where he comes several times a week to play poker with a sizeable collection of friends from the St. Louis poker community. Those same friends, some of them sharing the table with Hurley just a few minutes earlier, hung around to see one of their own try to win the biggest tournament of his career.
Hurley, supported on the rail by the likes of Jeff Copeland and Craig Welko, spiked two pair to prevail in a heads-up duel with Jacob Tourville and capture the championship ring in the RunGood Poker Series Golden Expedition St. Louis $800 Main Event. The win and $52,597 first prize continue a good run for Hurley, who was also runner-up in the MSPT Main Event in nearby St. Charles last month.
“I’ve had a bunch of deep finishes and a bunch of final tables, and I keep coming in seventh, sixth, and fifth. I came in second at the MSPT last month, so I really wanted to finish this out and to get the title and the ring. It’s just unbelievable, especially on my home turf,” he said after finishing atop the 407-entry field.
RGPS St. Louis Main Event Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mike Hurley | United States | $52,597 |
| 2 | Jacob Tourville | United States | $43,400 |
| 3 | Aaron McIntosh | United States | $28,203 |
| 4 | Darroll Sayles | United States | $20,969 |
| 5 | Jeff Copeland | United States | $15,786 |
| 6 | Quintin Sargent | United States | $12,035 |
| 7 | Justin Coliny | United States | $9,293 |
| 8 | Shaun McBride | United States | $7,268 |
| 9 | Craig Welko | United States | $5,760 |
Hurley works in commercial real estate and describes himself only as a “semi-pro” poker player. He’s usually found playing cash games and lower buy-in events here at Hollywood Casino, where he’s accumulated more than $230,000 in live career earnings. His record includes a run to the final table of this event in 2024.
Poker is a fun hobby for him, and it shows in the atmosphere whenever he’s at the table. The affable Hurley, while at the same time competing against his opponents, was full of laughs, quips, and jokes throughout the marathon day. “Today was a 10 out of 10. I had so much fun,” he said.
“Everybody was enjoyable. Everybody was having a good time, laughing. Nobody was being super serious. It was a home game atmosphere for 50 grand. So it was fantastic.”
Copeland and Welko were also at the final table with Hurley, but after they busted, they stuck around to cheer him on towards the title. A few beers were consumed, a lot of laughs were had, and some playful ribbing was exchanged. The support Hurley received today comes from years of competing against these same players and his jovial nature. “I live 15 minutes away. I play here multiple times a week. I play poker with all these guys, and the fact that they stuck around to support me and have a few beers was fantastic. It’s just amazing. I have so many messages and people reaching out to me, and I just need to respond to them all,” he said.
Hinkle, Jordison Among Day 2 Casualties
Day 2 began with 49 players returning in a race to the ring. Day 1a chip leader Andros Ioakimides, sporting a sparkling black and gold jacket today, had a quick tumble down the counts and busted in 35th, while Chris Audrain (37th), Angela Jordison (28th), Gateway Poker Classic champion Brett Hagopian (16th), and Keith Heine (13th) also fell short of the final table.
Quintin Sargent spiked a set of jacks to crack Alexander Scofield’s kings for a massive double up. At the same time at the other table, Copeland picked up aces to double up off Blair Hinkle. Both Scofield and Hinkle busted shortly afterward, bringing the field down to the nine-handed final table.
The Rise and Fall of Quintin Sargent
Sargent was the big chip leader at the start of the final table with 3,800,000. Short stack Shaun McBride earned two quick double-ups, first winning a race with eights against Justin Coliny’s ace-king, and then spiking a set of queens against Hurley. Welko was the first to bust, shoving for 675,000 with ace-jack as Aaron McIntosh woke up with ace-king to send the Player of the Year out in ninth.
McBride’s luck ran out against Sargent, who flopped a pair of kings to bust McBride in eighth. Coliny then shoved for 935,000 in a four-way pot with a straight draw, and Tourville called with his own draw. Tourville improved to a pair of queens on the turn, and Coliny was sent to the rail in seventh.
Sargent was still the chip leader among the final six as he went up past 5,000,000, but his sudden downfall began when he lost a pot to Tourville’s queens. Hurley called him down with a flopped straight to knock Sargent down to 1,800,000, and Darroll Sayles finished him off by flopping a full house with pocket threes as Sargent went from chip leader to out in sixth place.
Copeland ran his sixes into McIntosh’s aces to fall in fifth place, the same spot he finished in the RGPS Joplin Main Event a few weeks ago. Hurley and Sayles then saw a king-high flop where Sayles bet 250,000. Hurley raised to 1,150,000, Sayles moved all in for 3,600,000, and Hurley snap-called with two pair. Sayles had flopped top pair, but he couldn’t catch up on the turn and river as Hurley took down the big pot to bust Sayles in fourth place and move into the chip lead.
McIntosh doubled up off Tourville and was poised for another double against Hurley until Hurley spiked a pair of tens on the river to set the heads-up match. He led Tourville 11,000,000 to 5,300,000, but Tourville picked up two tens right away and flopped a set to double up into the lead.
Hurley Comes From Behind to Claim the Ring
Tourville remained in the lead and had a chance to close out the tournament in a preflop race, but his king-ten couldn’t overcome Hurley’s two sixes. Tourville was then all in for 5,000,000 with ace-high and had Hurley’s ace-three dominated. Hurley flopped a flush draw, while the three on the turn gave him two pair. When a harmless jack fell on the river, Hurley buried his face in his hands before exchanging a hug with his opponent and going over to celebrate with his friends.
Hurley was overcome with emotion after taking down the title, and while the big score won’t change much in his poker career, it will come in handy as his kids head off to college. “This is something I take very seriously. I mainly play cash, just because tournaments don’t come around here all that often. But my youngest kids are now in college, so I’m going to travel a little bit more. So I’ve just been grinding a lot of cash, a lot of, you know, smaller buy-ins, and it’s just great to hit a big one,” he said.
“I have a job. I have a decent bankroll. I won 60 grand last month at the MSPT. So it’s hugely helpful, but honestly, it’s more helpful for college and taking care of my family than it is for just dumping a bunch of money into poker.”
The nice guy finished first today, and the RGPS St. Louis championship ring is staying right here on the finger of a new hometown hero.
That concludes PokerNews' coverage of the RGPS St. Louis Main Event. Check out the RunGood Rewards app for the schedule of upcoming events.
