John Gallaher Shows Why He's "Johnny Run-Good" with 3rd Gold Ring Win
The PokerNews Live Reporting Team is in Milwaukee to live report action the $1,700 Main Event, but is just one of a dozen gold ring events at the stop. As such, we thought we’d profile some of the preliminary tournaments and those who struck it big.
In Event #8: $1,125 No-Limit Hold’em – a tournament that drew 121 entries and created a $121,000 prize pool – 53-year-old optometrist John Gallaher of Lebanon, Tennessee bested Lee Rzentkowski in heads-up play to win the title and $32,964 first-place prize. It marked his third career gold ring but first since 2014.
“Tournaments can always be super swingy, so it feels good to be able to validate my game and get number three.” said Gallaher. “I’m not typically a player to bag heaps at the end of the day. When I won my first two rings I didn’t bag anywhere near the top. I like to grind it out and pick my spots.”
He added: “My nickname is Johnny Run-Good so I usually do run pretty well, especially heads-up, it was just ridiculous.”
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | John Gallaher | Lebanon, Tennessee | $32,964 |
| 2 | Lee Rzentkowski | Madison, Wisconsin | $20,373 |
| 3 | Mitchell Bank | Arlington, Virginia | $14,173 |
| 4 | Darren Martin | Lexington, North Carolina | $10,106 |
| 5 | James Pupillo | Gilbert, Arizona | $7,392 |
| 6 | Mark Harmon | Carterville, Illinois | $5,550 |
| 7 | Michael Shanahan | Avon, Indiana | $4,279 |
| 8 | Will Souther | Biloxi, Mississippi | $3,392 |
| 9 | Nik Stone | Auburndale, Wisconsin | $2,765 |