Ken Sumner Wins the Ante Up Wild Horse Pass Main Event ($12,886)
A wild tournament ended on Saturday at the Ante Up Wild Horse Pass $400 Main Event, with Arizona resident Ken Sumner coming away with the championship. Sumner came out on top of a field of 475 total entries in the $400 Main Event, taking home $12,886 after two different chop deals at the final table.
Sumner took home the second-biggest score of his career with the payday, and also secured a seat in the 2020 Ante Up World Championship Main Event ($1,650 value). Sumner will also grace the cover of the December issue of Ante Up Magazine.
Sumner fired three bullets in the Main Event and spent most of the final day short-stacked before going on a heater at the final table. The turnaround started with a big win in a three-way hand in the opening minutes of the ten-handed final table.
From there, Sumner stayed near the top of the chip leaderboard. Sumner defeated Furkan Beg ($12,886) heads-up to clinch the win.
"I came back from pretty far down," Sumner said. "I was obviously very happy to make the final table."
"I was carrying ten big blinds through the last five hours up to the final table."
Final Table Results
| Place | Winner | Country | Prize (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ken Sumner | United States | $12,886 |
| 2 | Furkan Beg | United States | $12,886 |
| 3 | Tiffany Henize | United States | $12,886 |
| 4 | Justin Nguyen | United States | $12,886 |
| 5 | Brian Goble | United States | $10,000 |
| 6 | Jeremiah Dibble | United States | $10,000 |
| 7 | Vince Barone | United States | $10,000 |
| 8 | Brent Hammonds | United States | $10,000 |
| 9 | Tracy Lawrence | United States | $10,000 |
| 10 | Heng Chao | United States | $10,000 |
Deals Struck at the Final Table
Before final table play began, the 10 finalists struck a deal to award $10,000 to each player, and play a winner-take-all format for the remaining $11,544 in the prize pool, the seat into next year's $1,650 Main Event at the Ante Up World Championship at Thunder Valley, and the right to make the cover of the December issue of Ante Up Magazine.
With that deal in place, the eliminations took place at rapid speed for the final levels of the tournament. Heng Chao (10th - $10,000) was the first to go out, on the aforementioned three-way hand that started Sumner's run to the championship.
Tracy Lawrence (9th - $10,000) went out about 20 minutes later, and after that the chips started flying around among the final eight. Brett Hammonds and Vince Barone (8th & 7th - $10,000 each) were each out of the running within the next 15 minutes, with Jeremiah Dibble (6th - $10,000) going out 10 minutes after Barone. Five-handed play then slowed down a bit before Brian Goble (5th - $10,000) exited.
The four remaining players were each relatively equal after Goble's elimination, and a second deal was reached among the final four.
The terms of that agreement saw each of the final four take home $12,886, and play on for the $1,650 AUPT World Championship Main Event seat and the magazine cover.
Sumner then eliminated each of his three opponents, starting with fourth-place finisher Justin Nguyen ($12,886), third-place Tiffany Henize ($12,886), and finally, runner-up Beg.
The final table deal ensured that each player would earn something close to a top-four finish money-wise, as the original pay structure awarded $11,638 to fourth place.
Sumner, who was one of the shorter stacks at the ten-handed table when the first deal was reached, was more than happy to oblige to the terms.
"I was quiet because I was the short stack," Sumner said. "Surprisingly, some of the shorter stacks were pointing out that you were going to have to get to (fourth) place to get more than $10,000."
Big Turnout at Wild Horse Casino
The Wild Horse Pass Casino, operated in Chandler, Arizona by Gila River Hotel & Casinos, saw 475 total entries come through the poker room for the first major tournament series held at the property.
The tournament boasted a $100,000 guaranteed prize pool, and that figure was well surpassed. The 475 entries brought the total prize pool to $166,250, and the original payout structure awarded $30,329 to the winner.
A total of 63 places were paid on the final day of the three-day event.