Recreational Player Randy Gil Nabs WSOP Gold in Event #3: $400 NLH Knockout
The PokerNews Live Reporting Team is at Thunder Valley to live report action from both the $1,700 Main Event and $3,250 High Roller, but those are just a couple of the dozen gold ring events at the stop. As such, we thought we��d profile some of the preliminary tournaments and those who struck it big.
In Event #3: $400 No-Limit Hold��em Knockout, 142 entrants created a $32,660 prize pool. That was distributed to the top 22 players including Niv Decalo (10th - $578), Andrew Duffy (13th - $497), Brian Borst (19th - $404), and Kevin Weinmann (22nd - $383).
In the end, it was recreational player Randy Gil taking home the title, $8,762 in prize money, and his first gold ring.
��It feels good. It was a long day but it��s worth it. It means a lot because it is a WSOP Circuit ring. I finished second a few times before. It��s nice to finally break through and get first place,�� Gil said after his win.
To claim victory, he had to defeat two-time ring winner Jasthi Kumar in heads-up play.
��He is a great opponent, he is tough,�� Gil said. ��You gotta be on your game when you play against him. He is a very good player, he has a lot of cashes, and he is very respected in the poker community. It was definitely nice to get it against him.��
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Randy Gil | Roseville, California | $8,762 |
| 2 | Jasthi Kumar | San Ramon, California | $5,413 |
| 3 | Denis Lee | Fremont, California | $3,731 |
| 4 | Peter Dirksen | San Francisco, California | $2,636 |
| 5 | Daniel Guevara | N/A | $1,912 |
| 6 | Chet Sickle | Manteca, California | $1,423 |
| 7 | Christopher Vezzetti | N/A | $1,089 |
| 8 | Hakeem Mashal | Davis, California | $857 |
| 9 | Roberto Rosales | Fontana, California | $694 |