Roy Peters was one of 170 entries in the opening event of Jason Somerville's 2015 Run It Up! Reno festival. When it came time for the final table, Peters sat fourth in chips amongst the final nine and was looking to pad his poker résumé that consisted of nearly $175,000 in live tournament earnings. As it turned out, Peters found himself as the last competitor standing when the dust settled and earned himself the $5,885 top prize and winner's trophy.
Peters was part of the group of entrants that opted into the Run It Up! warrior last-longer contest, by sporting a piece of Run It Up! apparel in the event. For that, Peters earned himself and additional prize in the form of a $565 Main Event seat.
Peters' best career result came in 2010 when he took second place in the $2,100 Championship from the World Poker Challenge right here in Reno, Nevada. There Peters earned $38,745, and this result will come in as his sixth highest cash ever. Peters defeated Valerie Hanley in second place to earn the victory.
Also reaching the final table was Jesse Capps (3rd - $2,185), Dan O'Brien (4th - $1,539), William Recker (5th - $1,188), Jason Unsain (6th - $903), Skip Ferguson (7th - $703), Jesse Fullen (8th - $523), and Lance Donnell (9th - $371). The tournament generated a prize pool of $19,000.
While the first event of Jason Somerville's 2015 Run It Up! Reno festival has come to a close, there are plenty more events and activities to come, including the welcome party that is going on right now. That's where you can find us, drink in hand, until the next event kicks off at 8 p.m. local time later tonight.
It took 26 hands of heads-up play, but the match between Valerie Hanley and Roy Peters has come to an end. Falling in second place was Hanley, earning $3,420 for her efforts. That gave the $5,885 top prize to Peters, plus he earned the $565 Main Event seat as the last Run It Up! warrior standing.
On the final hand, Peters moved all in from the button. Hanley called with the to put herself at risk for a little over 400,000. Peters was the and was looking for the best hand to hold up.
The flop gave Peters a pair of eights and kept him in front. The on the turn left Hanley needing a jack and a jack only on the river, but she couldn't find it when the hit the felt.
With that, the tournament has come to an end and Peters was awarded the trophy.
William Recker was down to his final 55,000 chips when he moved all in under the gun. The action folded to Roy Peters in the big blind he called for a tiny bit more to create the following showdown.
Recker:
Peters:
The board ran out and Recker hit the rail in fourth place.
The action folded to Skip Ferguson, and the man with the pirate card protector, moved all in for right around 160,000 in the small blind. William Recker, in the big blind, snap called and the showdown went as following.
Ferguson:
Recker:
The board ran out and Ferguson hit the rail in seventh place, while Recker took the chip lead.
Jason Somerville, who jumped into the action after doing the announcements at the start, has gotten an amazing response from all the players who gathered here today, and he himself is stoked about the turnout of this event already.
"This is amazing, to get over 100 players for the opening event on a Tuesday afternoon," Somerville said, as he was the 103rd player to register.
We followed Somerville to his table, and it was clear that everyone was excited to get a chance to play against him.
"You're playing with us?" the lady at Table 24 said with a sigh of excitement and fear, as Jason Somerville took his seat in the opening event.
"Rigged!" one of the other players yelled.
"This is Merry Christmas for you guys," Somerville smiled, "Because I'm planning to re-enter at least six times."
"This is what I came here for, to get busted by Jason," Jeff Jansen said, sporting a Run it Up hoodie and a Green Bay Packers hat.
"I think I've got an advantage, because I know his tendencies from watching him play every day!" Jansen smiled.
"I've only started playing poker in January and watched Jason for part of every day when he was streaming," Jansen added.
Welcome to the opening event of the 2015 Run It Up! Reno poker series live from the Peppermill Reno. The kickoff event is the $125 Tuesday Takeoff No-Limit Hold'em Turbo that comes complete with $2,000 in added money to the prize pool. Players will begin with 10,000 in tournament chips, blind levels will begin at 50/100, and each level will last 15 minutes. There's no dinner break, but a 10-minute break every eight levels.
Reentries will be allowed through the first seven levels, so expect lots and early gambling as the players look to grab ahold of big stacks.
Run It Up! Reno boasts more than just a few poker tournaments, too. Each day will be chalk full of planned activities, including poker seminars hosted by Jason Somerville, morning workouts led by UFC fighters, and cash game hangouts, and more.
The biggest feature of the series will be the $565 Main Event boasting a $100,000 guarantee, starting on Friday, Oct. 23. The Main Event will feature two starting days, but Day 1b will be a turbo that takes place starting at 8:30 a.m. with 15-minute levels. Players will be allowed to enter until the first hand is dealt on Day 2, and we expect plenty of people to fire away.
to put herself at risk for a little over 400,000. Peters was the 
and was looking for the best hand to hold up.
flop gave Peters a pair of eights and kept him in front. The 
on the turn left Hanley needing a jack and a jack only on the river, but she couldn't find it when the 
hit the felt.
.
and the river the 
and Recker hit the rail in fourth place.
and Recker lead out for 75,000, which was quickly called by Hanley. O'Brien folded and the turn was the 
.
