RGPS Jamul Casino $575 Main Event
Day 2 Completed
RunGood Poker Series All Stars Jamul Casino
RGPS Jamul Casino $575 Main Event
Day: 2
Event Info
Level 23
: 15,000/30,000, 30,000 ante
After a year and a half hiatus due to the world-changing pandemic, the reigning Mid-Major Poker Tour of the Year returned to much fanfare. The latest RunGood Poker Series All Stars stop took place at Jamul Casino in San Diego, California.
It was there 65-year-old retired Navy veteran Armando Mesina, who a month earlier won the MSPT Sycuan $360 Regional Event for $33,329, finished on top of a field of 558 entries to win the RGPS All Stars Jamul Casino $575 Main Event for $25,175.
The final table featured a rare nine-player deal which left $5,000 in prize money, the $550 invite-only Pro-AM seat in Las Vegas, and the coveted All-Star Ring left on the line for the winner.
Despite winning the extra $5,000 and the title, fourth-place finisher Matt Bradford walked home with an even bigger prize of $26,250 thanks to having a chip edge when the deal was agreed.
Mesina sealed the deal for the title after his ace-four held against the eight-six suited held by Farid Karimi (second - $18,808) in a drama hand where Karimi flopped a pair only to lose his stack after an ace spiked the river to give Mesina a better pair.
RGPS All Stars Jamul Casino $575 Main Event Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Original Payout | Payout After Deal |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Armando Mesina | $53,545 | $25,175 |
| 2 | Farid Karimi | $37,555 | $18,808 |
| 3 | Kyle Miholich | $24,150 | $20,290 |
| 4 | Matt Bradford | $17,065 | $26,250 |
| 5 | Allen Zoura | $13,100 | $14,921 |
| 6 | Stephen O'Dwyer | $10,805 | $21,864 |
| 7 | Chris Stallkamp | $8,960 | $21,332 |
| 8 | Jason Tang | $7,140 | $14,709 |
| 9 | Aaron Knapp | $5,360 | $14,331 |
Tai Reyes-Purpero Wins Casino Champ
Congratulations to Tai Reyes-Purpero for winning himself a Pro-Am qualifier seat to the filmed event to be hosted by PokerGO this December!
Reyes-Purpero started Sunday with one point with a cash in the $185 DeepStack event earlier this week. The Casino Champion point race was wide open, with each side event winner at the top spots holding 25 points each.
At the end of Sunday, Mark Feinberg seemed to be the only threat that could top Tai if he had placed third or better in the closing event, but ultimately ended up tying with Reyes-Purpero for points but generated less total cash earned to determine the tie-breaker.
None of the other Main Event final tablists were in contention with Reyes-Purpero, as none had cashed in any events earlier this week, leaving the second-place Main Event finisher with 25 points, just shy of the 26 points that Tai had collected.
Here's a look at all those who captured titles during the RGPS Jamul stop:
| Tournament | Entries | Prize Pool | Winner | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $135 Opening Event | 234 | $24,570 | Daniel Cronin | $4,432 |
| $185 RG DeepStack | 387 | $56,115 | Ryan Leonis | $11,660 |
| $200 RG Double Green Chip Bounty | 157 | $18,055 | Timothy Vu | $2,426 |
| $125 RG Seniors NLH | 87 | $8,700 | Mona Najimy | $2,203 |
| $575 Main Event | 559 | $279,000 | Armando Mesina | $25,175 |
| $240 RG Black Chip Bounty Closer | 144 | $15,120 | Tai Reyes-Purpero | $4,540 |
| $300 RG PLO | 91 | $23,660 | Alphonso Estrada | $6,605 |
Next Stop for RGPS
The RGPS All Stars Comeback Tour continued June 22-27 at Horseshoe Casino Council Bluffs in Iowa, just across the border from Omaha. Players can expect to enjoy giveaway items, ring events, and two paid-for seats to the invitation-only All-Stars ProAM filmed event at the PokerGO Studio in December during the series.
The stop will offer a full schedule of satellites and side events culminating with a $575 buy-in, $100K GTD Main Event, which PokerNews will live report.
Click here for more information on the RGPS Horseshoe Council Bluffs.
Level 23
: 15,000/30,000, 30,000 ante
Farid Karimi went all in and quickly got called by his last opponent and chip leader, Armando Mesina.
Karimi: 
Mesina: 
The board favored Karimi as it came 
but when the 
arrived on the river, with it ended Karimi's hunt for the ring and top prize. Farid Karimi finished in second place for $18,808.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
Busted |
Level 23
: 15,000/30,000, 30,000 ante
Kyle Miholich shoved from the button and got called by Armando Mesina in the small blind.
Miholich: 
Mesina: 
The board ran out 
to propel Mesina ahead and with Miholich covered, it meant Miholich was eliminated for $20,290.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
Busted |
Level 23
: 15,000/30,000, 30,000 ante
Armando Mesina raised all-in and when action folded around to Matt Bradford, he made the call.
Mesina: 
Bradford: 
The board ran out 
to give each player a boat but Mesina held the bigger boat and knocked Bradford out of the event.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
Busted |
Level 23
: 15,000/30,000, 30,000 ante
Allen Zoura went all in when action made it to him and he pushed his entire stack forward. Immediately after his action was complete, Matt Bradford tossed in a chip to call and everyone else folded.
Zoura: 
Bradford: 
The board ran out 
and Bradford's Ace high was good for the pot. Zoura takes home $14,921 due to the 9-handed chop.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
Busted |
Level 23
: 15,000/30,000, 30,000 ante
Stephen O'dwyer was short after a few hands didn't go his direction and decided to go all-in in late position. Allen Zoura was quick to call and get the cards turned over.
O'dwyer:
Zoura: 
The board ran out 
and Zoura won it with a straight. O'dwyer will take home $21,864 thanks to the chop everyone agreed to earlier.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
Busted |
Level 23
: 15,000/30,000, 30,000 ante
Chris Stallkamp was all in and called by Stephen O'dwyer. Both turned over their cards and awaited the fate of Stallkamp as O'dwyer had him covered.
Stallkamp: 
O'dwyer: 
It looked like this was going Stallkamp's direction until the appeared on the flop. Stallkamp was unable to catch up on the turn or river and his chipstack was pushed to O'dwyer.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
Busted |
Level 23
: 15,000/30,000, 30,000 ante
Jason Tang was all-in with and called by Matt Bradford with the 
. Tang was unable to improve against the strong Ace of Bradford and was eliminated.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
Busted |
Level 23
: 15,000/30,000, 30,000 ante
Aaron Knapp went all in with 
and got called by two others who hit the flop while Knapp was unable to improve. Knapp was down to 1/4th of a big blind during the 10k/20k blind level and was able to rebuild and make an impressive cash.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
Busted |