Poker Player Wins His First-Ever Live Tournament in RGPS San Diego Main Event
The $600 Main Event for the RunGood Poker Series at Jamul Casino has concluded. After three Day 1 flights over two days, the event drew 339 entrants, creating a prize pool of $176,280. The 44 players who advanced to Day 2 today were all guaranteed a minimum cash of $900, but it was Maksim Tatarintsev who ultimately claimed the top prize of $37,250, defeating Josh Mok in heads-up play.
The Russian native Tatarintsev said after his victory, “This is the first time I have ever played in a live poker tournament. I play online a lot, but It feels great to win.” Despite playing in his first live tournament, Tatarintsev didn't look out of his element. He said, “I was feeling really confident today; I was always stealing, squeezing, bluffing for sure; I love bluffing.” His confidence didn't wavier at the final table, being one of the most aggressive and amongst the chip leaders throughout. He also mentioned “When we got to final three players, I really believed in my game and my confidence was really high that I could win this."
Tatarintsev is visiting the United States from Russia for two months and said after this win, “I may be in the running for the WPT Passport, but either way, I may go to Vegas and play a few tournaments there.” Tatarintsev's friend was on the rail when he won, and Tatarintsev joked, “I offered him 50% of my action, and he didn't take it”. His friend laughed and said, “It's okay, I’m just so happy for him; he really deserves this."
RGPS San Diego Main Event Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maksim Tatarintsev | Russia | $37,250 |
| 2 | Felipe Koury | United States | $26,090 |
| 3 | Smriti Dewari | United States | $16,770 |
| 4 | Thomas Carlin | United States | $10,930 |
| 5 | Michael Kaplitz | United States | $8,425 |
| 6 | Jessie Casanada | United States | $6,970 |
| 7 | Michael Collopy | United States | $5,850 |
| 8 | Andrew Whitmer | United States | $4,805 |
| 9 | Andrew Whitmer | United States | $3,765 |
Reality TV star Rob Mariano, known as "Boston Rob," started the day among the chip leaders, sitting in fifth place. However, he had a disappointing start to the day and soon found himself as one of the short stacks. Unfortunately, his run ended when he was unable to improve with king-queen against his opponent's ace-ten, finishing in 21st place.
One of the big stories in the Jamul Casino Poker Room today was the deep run of Smriti Dewari. She received support and words of encouragement from players in other tournaments throughout the day. Her run gained momentum after she eliminated two players back-to-back. First, she more than doubled up by flopping a set of sixes to eliminate Keith Eoll in 19th place and crack the pocket kings of Ron Segni. Then, in 18th place, Brian Brown had Dewari in trouble after getting all-in on the turn. Segni had top pair with a gut shot straight draw and jammed on Brown, who had slow-played his pocket aces, which turned into a flopped set. However, Dewari rivered the gutshot straight, sending Segni to the rail and putting her near the top of the leaderboard.
She rode that momentum into a fourth-place finish, securing a cash worth $10,930. After her elimination, while exiting the poker room, Dewari received a standing ovation from the entire room.
Final Table
The first two eliminations at the final table came quickly, with Andrew Whitmer being the first to hit the rail, followed closely by Michael Collopy. Both players were eliminated after losing crucial flips.
After the eliminations of Jessie Casanada and Michael Kaplitz, the overall chip leader coming into Day 2, Thomas Carlin, found himself next to exit following a pre-flop cooler. Carlin four-bet jammed his pocket jacks into the pocket queens of his opponent. The board ran out unfavorably, for Carlin as he was unable to improve, sending him to the rail in fifth place.
Once Dewari was eliminated in fourth, the players found themselves three-handed for over two levels. But that changed quickly once Josh Mok and Felipe Koury played a massive flip. Mok holding pocket deuces and Koury holding ace-six, but Kourey could not improve past the pocket pair, and was eliminated in third shortly after.
Heads-Up
After reaching heads-up play, Mok and Tatarintsev, nearly even in chips, discussed an ICM chop. However, they ultimately decided to play for the full prize pool and the RGPS ring.
Just a few hands into heads-up, the two players found themselves in a massive collision. Mok four-bet jammed with pocket tens, and Tatarintsev called with ace-jack suited. The surrounding tables gathered to watch as the two went off to the races.
The 3♣7♥3♦ flop and K♣ turn kept Mok in front, but when the A♥ hit the river, Mok was eliminated in second place, giving Tatarintsev the title and his first RGPS ring—on his very first live tournament.
That concludes our coverage from Jamul Casino in San Diego, but be sure to stay tuned to PokerNews for live updates and coverage from all around the world.
