$600 Main Event
Day 2 Completed
2023 RGPS Reno
$600 Main Event
Day: 2
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 2
2023 RGPS Reno
Buy-in
$600
Prize Pool
$186,680
Entries
359
Level
27
Blinds
75,000 / 125,000
Ante
125,000
Entries
44
Players Left
1
Newcomer Stacey Berger Wins RunGood Poker Series Reno Main Event For $39,655
Level 27
: Blinds 75,000/125,000, 125,000 ante
The $600 RunGood Series Checkpoint Main Event has concluded after ten hours of play saw the 44 players that started the day, out of a field of 359, play all the way down to a winner.
Coming out on top with the $39,655 grand prize and getting the lion's share of the $186,680 prize pool along with the RunGood Poker Series ring was Stacey Berger who captured the title in what became quite the story.
Berger is a Reno local realtor by trade, and she made no secret of the fact that she was not used to playing main events as this was only the second one she had ever played.
“I love the game; I love to play. But it’s just hard to find time to do so. I usually play about once or twice a month,” she said afterward. “I expected to come in today to win $900 dollars (the min-cash), and here I am with the ring!”
She said the moment where she thought that winning may be possible was when she clawed her way back from just two big blinds to survive and keep going in the middle part of the day. As she kept the momentum rolling, her supporting rail grew as her local friends rooted her on, which was a new phenomenon to Berger.
“I didn’t know what a rail was before today,” she was heard saying to her tablemates at the final table when her support was mentioned.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stacey Berger | Sparks, NV | $39,655 |
| 2 | [Removed:420] | San Matteo,CA | $27,610 |
| 3 | Darrel Dier | Mexico City, Mexico | $17,860 |
| 4 | Dwight Englekirk | Zephyr Cove, NV | $11,575 |
| 5 | Tony Barrera | San Ramon, CA | $8,915 |
| 6 | Harley Brooks | Sparks, NV | $7,375 |
| 7 | Charles Himes | CA | $6,190 |
| 8 | Pat Lyons | San Mateo, CA | $5,070 |
| 9 | Paul Sampson | Reno, NV | $3,965 |
Berger’s inexperience and freshness on the scene were a factor in the heads-up battle that eventually led to her win. She entered heads-up play with only 25% of the chips against [Removed:420], and she was nearly eliminated as runner-up just a couple of hands in as she blinked a river straight to stay alive and denied Vinluan the victory.
From there, it was mostly one-way traffic for her as she was using large preflop opens, as much as 7x in some cases, and making large 30-40 bb jams on flops and turns, which kept Vinluan off balance. She compiled pot after pot this way and eventually whittled down her opponent to conquer the field and win the ring.
Action of the Day
The day began with 44 players and was trimmed exactly in half down to 22 before the first break of the day. That brisk pace of eliminations would continue as it was one after another all the way down until the final table, where things started to get interesting.
Paul Sampson was the first victim of the final table in ninth place to kick it off.
Pat Lyons entered the final table with a big chip lead as things were looking to be going his way. But his luck would change quickly as his aces were cracked by ace-jack to lose a significant portion of his stack. He would never quite recover from that as he lost some flips to complete his fall from chip leader to an eighth-place finish.
After the initial quickness of the day, play slowed down seven-handed as it took some time before Charles Himes was eliminated in seventh place. Harley Brooks followed him out the door in sixth and Tony Barrera went out in fifth, after he had been the one to deal the decisive early blow to Lyons and change the dynamic of the final table.
Dwight Englekirk went under the radar for most of the night and slid into fourth place.
Darrel Dier was eliminated next in third place as he has quite a story of his own, which he noted he would like to share at some point with the poker world.
That would set up the aforementioned heads-up match between Vinluan and Berger.
That wraps up the PokerNews coverage of the RunGood Poker Series Reno Main Event. Check out the highlights section to read about even more of the day’s action.
[Removed:420] Eliminated in 2nd Place ($27,610)
Level 27
: Blinds 75,000/125,000, 125,000 ante
[Removed:420] raised to 500,000 from the small blind. Stacey Berger three-bet all in and Vinluan called after a moment.
Christan Vinluan: A♦4♠
Stacey Berger: A♥Q♦
Berger was in prime position to take the ring. The flop came J♠6♦2♠. The turn was the 10♦ and the river came the 8♥ to end the day for Vinluan and give Berger the RGPS ring.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
10,770,000 | 3,350,000 |
![[Removed:420]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
|
Busted |
Berger Forces Out Vinluan on Turn Again
Level 27
: Blinds 75,000/125,000, 125,000 ante
[Removed:420] raised to 450,000 from the small blind and Stacey Berger defended the big blind.
The flop came 10♣J♥A♦. Vinluan continued for 650,000 and Berger called.
The turn was the Q♣. Berger changed the flow of action and led for 900,000. Vinluan shook his head and folded after a few moments.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
7,420,000 | 1,000,000 |
|
|
3,150,000 | -1,150,000 |
Berger Takes Lead With Another Turn Jam
Level 27
: Blinds 75,000/125,000, 125,000 ante
Stacey Berger raised preflop from the small blind and [Removed:420] called.
The flop came 4♥2♠J♦. Berger bet 750,000 and Vinluan called.
The turn was the 9♣. Berger jammed and Vinluan folded after a bit to send the chip lead over to Berger.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
6,420,000 | 1,100,000 |
|
|
4,300,000 | -1,150,000 |
Berger Jams Turn
Level 27
: Blinds 75,000/125,000, 125,000 ante
[Removed:420] raised from the small blind and Stacey Berger called.
The flop came 7♠8♥K♣. Vinluan bet 600,000 and Berger called.
The turn brought the Q♣. Berger led jammed all in for 3,375,000. Vinluan took a few moments before he folded.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
5,450,000 | -1,150,000 |
|
|
5,320,000 | 1,170,000 |
No Hands Going to Flop
Level 27
: Blinds 75,000/125,000, 125,000 ante
The last seven hands have not seen a flop as the two remaining players, remain coy for the time being.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
6,600,000 | 80,000 |
|
|
4,150,000 | -50,000 |
Level: 27
Blinds: 75,000/125,000
Ante: 125,000
Heads Up Break Time
Level 26
: Blinds 50,000/100,000, 100,000 ante
The two remaining players are now on a 15-minute break.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
6,520,000 | -680,000 |
|
|
4,200,000 | 630,000 |
Bets and Folds
Level 26
: Blinds 50,000/100,000, 100,000 ante
Several of the more recent hands have been bets on the flop and folds. The most recent being when Stacey Berger made a big raise to 725,000 from the small blind. [Removed:420] called in the big blind.
The flop came K♠10♠2♠. Berger moved all in and Vinluan folded.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
7,200,000 | -20,000 |
|
|
3,570,000 | 50,000 |