John Bonadies Wins First Genting Poker Series Event of 2017
The first Genting Poker Series event of 2017 took place at the Genting Club in Luton over the weekend and set the bar for the remainder of the year’s stops. Three-hundred and thirty-four entries created a £133,600 prize pool and it was John Bonadies who got his hands on the winner’s trophy and £31,591 in cash.
Official Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | John Bonadies | £31,591* |
| 2 | Paul Danko | £20,010* |
| 3 | Rob Buky | £21,519* |
| 4 | Craig Sarginson | £8,950 |
| 5 | Ed Overall | £7,220 |
| 6 | Jacque Ramsden | £5,740 |
| 7 | Stephen Weatherall | £4,410 |
| 8 | Aaron Lincoln | £3,210 |
| 9 | Ben Winsor | £2,540 |
*reflects a three-handed deal
Day 1a saw 11 players progress from the 59 entrants, with Day 1b attracting 100 players to the Genting-branded tables; 24 of those navigated their way through the shark-infested waters. The third and final starting flight saw another 174 players buy in and 45 of those made it through to Day 2.
The mathematicians among you will have worked out this meant there were 80 players in their seats for Saturday’s Day 2. Of those returning, only 35 walked away with any prize money to show for their efforts.
It was David Courtney who was the last player to go home empty-handed after his pocket sixes ran into Xiao Han’s aces. Courtney’s exit meant anyone with chips in front of them had secured a payout of at least £800. By the time the curtain came down on Day 2’s action, Chris Johnson, Yiannis Liperis, the aforementioned Xiao Han and Chris Cooper were among the casualties and only 16 players remained in the hunt for the title.
Play resumed on Day 3 at 2:00 p.m. and five-and-a-half hours later Alex Bounsall’s king-jack lost the ace-queen (both hands were suited in clubs) and the nine-handed final table reached.
GPS Luton Final Table
| Seat | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paul Danko | 1,135,000 |
| 2 | Jacque Ramsden | 445,000 |
| 3 | Rob Buky | 1,910,000 |
| 4 | Craig Sarginson | 1,300,000 |
| 5 | Ben Winsor | 310,000 |
| 6 | Aaron Lincoln | 690,000 |
| 7 | John Bonadies | 1,080,000 |
| 8 | Ed Overall | 660,000 |
| 9 | Stephen Weatherall | 705,000 |
Ben Winsor was the first casualty of the final table, three-betting all in from the big blind with ace-ten after Craig Sarginson opened to 75,000 with king-nine of diamonds. Sarginson called, improved to trip kings and sent Winsor to the rail.
Eighth place went to Aaron Lincoln when he jammed his short stack into the middle with jack-seven and was looked up by the king-three of Rob Buky. The latter’s hand held and the players at the final table got some more elbow room.
The final seven became six with the exit of Stephen Weatherall. A raise to 100,000 from Sarginson was called by Weatherall in the big blind. The rest of Weatherall’s chips went into the middle on a queen-four-six flop, Weatherall holding a pair of fives and Sarginson holding queen-ten. Both the turn and river were safe for Sarginson’s top pair and Weatherall was gone.
Jacque Ramsden then saw his queen-nine lose to the dominating ace-nine to bust in sixth before Ed Overall had his king cracked by Buky’s ace-king, courtesy of a cruel ace on the river to leave only four players in the GPS Luton Main Event.
Next to fall was Sarginson who found himself all in with jack-ten against the dominating king-jack of Bonadies. When the board ran out ace-high, it was game over for Sarginson.
A few hands took place with the tournament three-handed before the last remaining trio decided to strike a deal for the remaining prize pool based on the chip counts. With a deal agreed (payouts shown above), the tournament ended and Bonadies was confirmed as the 2017 Genting Poker Series Luton Main Event champion.
