Kim Dao Banks $286,402 for Poker Night in America Win at Choctaw
Choctaw Casino Resort in Durant, Okla., has played host to some of the biggest poker tournaments in the U.S. over the past few years, and the Poker Night in America stop over the weekend was no different. The $1,620 Main Event drew 1,064 runners and when it was all over, Kim Dao had conquered all of her opponents for a $286,402 score.
Dao came into the tournament with roughly $3,000 in recorded cashes.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kim Dao | $286,402 |
| 2 | Hasan Haq | $177,704 |
| 3 | David Morton | $131,590 |
| 4 | Gregg Merkow | $98,925 |
| 5 | Richard Dixon | $75,223 |
| 6 | Long Nguyen | $57,869 |
| 7 | Allen Baker | $45,035 |
| 8 | Brian Green | $35,452 |
| 9 | Andy Spears | $28,238 |
| 10 | Robert Shuptrine | $22,757 |
A total of 109 players made the money, and some of the notables cashing included DJ Mackinnon (97th), Nick Pupillo (63rd), Tommy Vedes (56th), Matt Glantz (41st), Andy Hwang (39th), and 2015 World Series of Poker bracelet winner Anthony Spinella (16th).
When the final 10 player redrew for seats, according to the live updates, Dao had 3.3 million at 40,000/80,000/10,000 and trailed only the 3.7 million of Hasan Haq, who finished second at RunGood Downstream last year.
She quickly surged into the lead after limping the A♣A♠ and seeing Robert Shuptrine shove all in for 1.23 million and Haq make the call. Dao jammed and Haq folded, and the aces held against Shuptrine's Q♣Q♥.
New York pro Andy Spears may have been the most dangerous player at the final table, but he came in short-stacked and busted in ninth, followed by Brian Green, both at the hands of Haq. Next to go was Allen Baker, and then Long Nguyen sent most of his chips to Haq with K♥Q♥ against A♣Q♣. Left crippled, he was busted by Dao.
The final day of action dawned with Dao holding 8.345 million at 80,000/160,000/20,000, about 40 percent of the chips five-handed.
Rich Dixon saw his A♥K♠ outdrawn by the A♦5♣ of Haq to bust in fifth, and then Nguyen picked up aces once again and busted Gregg Merkow, who held jacks in a blind-versus-blind scenario. After David Morton fell in third, it was the two executioners, Haq and Dao, heads up with the latter leading 13 million to 8 million at 120,000/240,000/40,000.
The match lasted a couple of hours but Haq found himself whittled down and ultimately called a shove with 10♥9♠ and had live cards against Q♣J♠. Both players made spade flushes on the K♠Q♠2♠8♠3♣ runout, but Dao's was better and secured her the win.
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