Vito Distefano Leads RIU Reno VIII Final Table; Loren Klein Seeks Third Main Event Title
Day 2 of Run It Up Reno VIII's $600 Main Event has reached its final table of nine, and leading the way with 3.61 million in chips is Vito Distefano, who cruised his way up the counts all day without much trouble.
Tim Tucker is in second with 2.465 million chips and has a RIU Reno Main Event title to his credit, winning $23,000 for taking down the Season 4 Main Event after a five-way chop.
Tucker found a bevy of big hands to propel him near the top, including this cooler in Level 20 (8,000/16,000/16,000), where Dan Healey raised to 35,000 from UTG, and Ty Kohler three-bet to 120,000 next to act. Tucker four-bet jammed for 1.05 million in the cutoff, and after Healey folded, Kohler snapped off his last 600,000.
Kohler: K♣K♥
Tucker: A♥A♠
"Jesus Christ, how do I walk into them?" Kohler said. He found no help on a 7♥Q♦3♥5♦Q♣ board, and Tucker eliminated Kohler.
Dan O'Brien (1.995 million) will be looking to add to his over $3.2 million in live tournament earnings as reported by Hendon Mob, and he made his first RIU Reno cash a final table appearance. Loren Klein (1.622 million) is going for his third Run It Up Reno Main Event title, after taking down titles at Run It Up Reno III ($33,970) and V ($46,300).
The rest of the final table is made up of Kevin Gerhart (2.405 million), Julio Uribe (1.4 million), Christopher Gallagher (1.235 million) Austin Roberts (790,000), and short-stack Robert Valdez (405,000).
Final Table Draw
| Seat | Player | Count |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vito Distefano | 3,610,000 |
| 2 | Austin Roberts | 790,000 |
| 3 | Kevin Gerhart | 2,405,000 |
| 4 | Christopher Gallagher | 1,235,000 |
| 5 | Tim Tucker | 2,465,000 |
| 6 | Robert Valdez | 405,000 |
| 7 | Loren Klein | 1,622,000 |
| 8 | Dan O'Brien | 1,995,000 |
| 9 | Julio Uribe | 1,400,000 |
At the start of Day 2, 143 players returned to action meaning 42 of them would leave empty-handed. Some of those that were unable to get a piece of the prize pool included Jesse Sylvia, Frank Lagodich, Ryan Laplante, Arlie Shaban, Chris Moneymaker, Mark Mazza, and bubble boy Walter Parker, who flopped jacks and deuces against the flush draw of Andrew Neeme, but a diamond on the turn and a brick on the river left him one spot short of a payday.
The bustouts came quickly after the bubble burst, and some of those able to score some cash include final table bubble boy Michael Trivett (10th - $6,750), Johnnie "JohnnieVibes" Moreno (12th - $5,400), Andy Camou (14th - $4,320), Eric "TABLECAPTAINN" Wemlinger (16th - $4,320), Jim Petzing (17th - $3,455), Scott Stewart (19th - $3,455), Andrew Neeme (20th - $3,455), Vincent Newland (21st - $2,755), Steve Roselius (29th - $2,215), Adam Owen (33rd - $1,780), Ricky Guan (36th - $1,780), Jamie Kerstetter (45th - $1,460), Jason Somerville (75th - $970), Shirin Oskooi (88th - $970), Kevin Martin (93rd - $970), and Katie Lindsay (95th - $970).
Action for tomorrow's Day 3 flight will kick off at noon, with 22:35 remaining in Level 23 (15,000/30,000/30,000), and the live stream will begin at 2:30 p.m. The PokerNews Live Reporting blog will coincide with the stream, so stay tuned then to see who will walk away with the $46,681 top prize!
