Family Man Matthew Dunn Captures First Gold Ring
The PokerNews Live Reporting Team is at the Horseshoe Southern Indiana in the Louisville area to live report the $1,700 Main Event; however, that is just one of more than a dozen gold ring events that have taken place over the past week. As such, we thought we’d profile some of the preliminary tournaments and those who struck it big.
For instance, Event #4: $400 No-Limit Hold’em 6-Handed had 160 runners compete for a $52,800 prize pool. That was paid out to the top 24 players including Mark Boggs (10th - $1,205), Jerod Smith (13th - $802), Kayeen Elliskemp (20th - $688), and Kevin Sherrill (24th - $611).
In the end, 33-year-old Matthew Dunn from Fort Wayne, Indiana came out on top to win the title $13,828 in prize money, and his first gold ring.
“I definitely thought I was going to win. Got to have confidence in this game,” he said after a two-hour heads-up match. “It was a battle really, I was short, then she was short and back and forth. I just kept my cool and grinded.”
He added: “I am not sure yet, we extended our stay a couple more days, but I have two young kids waiting on me at home.”
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Matthew Dunn | Fort Wayne, Indiana | $13,828 |
| 2 | Renee Gibbon | Downers Grove, Illinois | $8,546 |
| 3 | Merton Toler | Princeton, West Virginia | $5,740 |
| 4 | Simon Samokovski | South Point, Ohio | $3,963 |
| 5 | David Thurston | Fort Wayne, Indiana | $2,815 |
| 6 | Alan Percal | Weston, Florida | $2,058 |
| 7 | John La Rose | Perryville, Missouri | $1,551 |
| 8 | Randall Jones | Canton, Georgia | $1,551 |
| 9 | Alan Lipson | Cary, North Carolina | $1,205 |