Brett Murray Wins WSOP Circuit Thunder Valley Main Event for $151,145
Over the weekend, the 2018/19 World Series of Poker Circuit wrapped up its stop at Sacramento’s Thunder Valley Casino. It was there a dozen gold rings were awarded and two players won their way into the season-ending Global Casino Championship.
The first was 29-year-old Brett Murray, last year’s Thunder Valley Casino Champ, who won the Main Event for $151,145, and the other was Manju Gera, who finished as the Casino Champ.
The $1,700 Main Event attracted 464 entries, which created a $702,960 prize pool. Among those to get a piece of it were Dylan Wilkerson (12h - $11,311), Amir Lehavot (24th - $5,469), JC Tran (31st - $3,534), and Allen Kessler (50th - $2,669).
Murray defeated Viet Tran to take down the tournament. In the final hand, the two got it in on a jack-high flop. Tran had a straight draw and backdoor options, while Murray held an overpair with kings. Tran missed and had to settle for second place and a $93,444 consolation prize.
"I just thought that they would all be wanting to get into the top nine and nobody would want to get tenth," Murray said of his journey to the final table. "I've played with most of them before and I knew that they would all be playing pretty tight and kind of let me abuse them unless they have a good hand."
Prior to the win, Murray’s best score was $135,980 for finishing runner-up in the 2018 California State Poker Championship Main Event. He also won $58,000 for winning a $385 NLH Deepstack event at the 2014 Heartland Poker Tour Lincoln, and $54,407 for winning the 2018 Ante Up World Championship Event #14: $460 NLH Monolith.
Official Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brett Murray | Santa Rosa, CA | $151,145 |
| 2 | Viet Tran | Alexandria, VA | $93,444 |
| 3 | Adam Duong | San Jose, CA | $68,264 |
| 4 | Paul Richardson | San Ramon, CA | $50,606 |
| 5 | Stuart Tuvey | Los Altos, CA | $38,058 |
| 6 | Eyyal Altar | Sherman Oaks, CA | $29,032 |
| 7 | Marlon Nonales | Sunnyvale, CA | $22,460 |
| 8 | Jason Mayer | Daly City | $17,623 |
| 9 | Tommy Chen | San Jose, CA | $14,024 |
Manju Gera Wins Casino Champ Title
Diamond Bar, California's Manju Gera took down the Thunder Valley's Casino Champion, which went to the player who accumulated the most overall points during the stop’s 12 ring events. By winning it she received an automatic entry into the WSOP Global Casino Championship.
Interestingly, Gera won her way in through non-hold’em events. First, she won Event #4: $400 H.O.R.S.E. for $8,303 and her first gold ring. The next day, she placed 10th in Event #5: $400 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better for $819, and a day after that finished seventh in Event #8: $400 Pot-Limit Omaha for $1,232. She amassed 80 points and held it through the stop’s final five tournaments.
The next WSOP Circuit stop is already underway at Florida’s Seminole Casino Coconut Creek and will run through September 24. After that, the first-ever WSOP.com Online Circuit event will take place.
Here’s a look at all those who won rings at the WSOPC Thunder Valley:
WSOPC Thunder Valley Ring Winners
| Event | Entries | Winner | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| Event #1: $400 NLH | 1,253 entries | Khoa Tran | $73,401 |
| Event #2: $400 NLH Bounty | 239 entries | Francis Zhang | $13,745 |
| Event #3: $400 NLH | 102 entries | Brian Pritchard | $10,099 |
| Event #4: $400 HORSE | 74 entries | Manju Gera | $8,303 |
| Event #5: $400 Omaha 8 | 121 entries | Tom Walch | $11,180 |
| Event #6: $400 NLH Big Blind Ante | 168 entries | Abraham Meyers | $14,969 |
| Event #7: $400 Monster Stack | 318 entries | Raymond Wong | $24,668 |
| Event #8: $400 PLO | 84 entries | David Larson | $8,870 |
| Event #9: $250 Seniors | 158 entries | Loretta Sax | $8,531 |
| Event #10: $400 NLH 6-Handed Turbo | 84 entries | Ken Turner | $15,525 |
| Event #11: Main Event | 464 entries | Brett Murray | $151,145 |
| Event #12: $400 NLH 8-Handed | 106 entries | Stephen Knapp | $10,493 |
| Event #13: $2,200 High Roller | 57 entries | Aaron Messmer | $42,750 |
