James Coyle Wins First RGPS Ring
As James Coyle walked into the tournament area at Palace Poker for Day 2 of the RunGood Poker Series Passport Dallas $360 PokerNews PowerStack, he was not alone, as his wife Dora Coyle was also a competitor looking to add to her own poker résumé.
The couple had two shots to bring home a ring and title, but it was James this time who managed to make it all the way to the finish, capturing his first RGPS title and the $32,211 first-place prize after outlasting 569 entries to get the biggest piece of the $170,700 prize pool.
“RunGood runs such a great series. We were hoping we could get them here,” Coyle, a Palace Poker Ambassador, said to PokerNews following his victory. “It’s a great piece of hardware. You gotta wear it for a couple of days, for sure.”
James and Dora have been retired since 2023, and shared that they began playing poker tournaments with more regularity. The couple almost moved to Las Vegas in order to have more options to play, but their retirement coincided with more options in Texas becoming available, so they decided to stay.
Both have racked up a respectable resume, with James earning over $400,000 and Dora leading the way with over $500,000 in earnings, according to The Hendon Mob. The couple shared that they have a Hendon Mob race between them.
“We have a Hendon Mob race. I’ve been ahead of her for years. She’s passed me. She’s been on a tear this year,” Coyle said. “I said to myself, ‘I still have work to do.’”
With his win, James gets one step closer to narrowing that gap between him and Dora, and he did it in his home room, which added another special element to his coronation.
“It’s an amazing room. Opening up a new room in Texas is difficult. Even when you have a room as beautiful as this,” Coyle said. “We’re very lucky to be here. We love the owners. They treat us great.”
Final Table Payouts
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | James Coyle | United States | $32,211 |
| 2 | Zozimo Cardenas | United States | $21,465 |
| 3 | Michellee Simon | United States | $15,802 |
| 4 | Jose Garcia (US) | Mexico | $11,768 |
| 5 | Taylor Carlat | United States | $8,867 |
| 6 | Joseph Franks | United States | $6,760 |
| 7 | Carson Winneker | United States | $5,215 |
| 8 | Isaac Ovalle | United States | $4,073 |
| 9 | Michael Insall | United States | $3,219 |
Day 2 Action
Coyle entered Day 2 with a healthy stack of 50 big blinds, but it was Dora who enjoyed an early rush on Day 2, while James bided his time.
Day 1a chip leader Isaac Ovalle passed the seven-figure mark when he eliminated La Senghphet, which would carry him deep into the tournament before Ovalle finished in eighth place.
A feud developed between Day 1c chip leader Mason “The Milkman” Vieth and Wayne Harmon as they clashed time and time again in the early part of Day 2. Vieth would get the final say when Harmon made a correct call with king high, but busted when Vieth hit a deuce on the turn to pair up.
By the three-table redraw, Coyle was just below where he started the day, while Vieth, Carson Winneker, Michellee Simon, and Ovalle all had seven-figure stacks.
Coyle finally gained traction when he survived a hand by spiking a jack on the river to double through Jose Garcia to surge to a million and a half in chips. Just as Coyle was gaining traction, his wife, Dora, busted in 18th place, leaving him as the last one remaining from their household.
Michael Insall emerged as a force on Day 2 when he busted Steve Sparks in 16th place. Insall would go on to eliminate Christopher Hosier in 13th place.
Zozimo Cardenas would spell the end of Vieth, who, after holding the chip lead a significant portion of Day 2, stalled out and was eliminated in 12th place when he fell to the pocket eights of Cardenas.
By the final table, Coyle had emerged from the pack as he went into the final stretch as the chip leader.
Insall would be the first to fall at the final table when his jacks were beaten by the pocket tens of Taylor Carlat, who spiked a set on the flop.
Simon would eliminate Ovalle in eighth place when she cracked Ovalle’s pocket nines.
Coyle took over the role of eliminator when he busted Carson Winneker in seventh place, but by the time players reached the final four, it was still anyone’s game as the blinds got higher and stacks were still close.
Players would jockey for position, but Cardenas began to emerge as a leading candidate when he reached over eight million in chips. Simon would eliminate Garcia in fourth place, and it was from this point forward that Coyle began to take control of the tournament.
Coyle doubled through Simon to survive, before doubling up again shortly after against Cardenas to take control of the chip lead.
Coyle’s RGPS title began to appear on the horizon after he eliminated Simon in third. It was just a few hands later that he would put the finishing touches on his title run when he eliminated Cardenas to capture the RGPS title.
This concludes coverage of the RGPS Passport Dallas PokerNews PowerStack. Check back here at PokerNews for all your poker coverage and news around the world.