2020 World Series of Poker Circuit Horseshoe Tunica

$1,700 Main Event
Day: 3
Event Info

2020 World Series of Poker Circuit Horseshoe Tunica

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
kk
Prize
$144,313
Event Info
Buy-in
$1,700
Prize Pool
$743,865
Entries
491
Level Info
Level
30
Blinds
50,000 / 100,000
Ante
100,000

Lytle Allen Captures First WSOP Circuit Ring in Horseshoe Tunica Main Event

Level 30 : 50,000/100,000, 100,000 ante
Lytle Allen Horseshoe Tunica Main Event champion
Lytle Allen Horseshoe Tunica Main Event champion

It only took less than four hours on the final day of the World Series of Poker Circuit Horseshoe Tunica $1,700 Main Event before a champion was crowned. Coming through one of the toughest final tables of the circuit, Lytle Allen captured his first-ever WSOP Circuit ring along with a payday of $144,313.

Allen came into the day as one of the shorter stacks but after a double up on the first hand of the day, Allen never relinquished the chip lead as he soared to a comfortable victory, topping some of the best players on the circuit. It only took one hand for Allen to defeat Bryan Piccioli heads-up who earned over $89,000 for his efforts. Coming into heads-up play with only 17 big blinds, Piccioli jammed all-in with ace-eight suited only to run into the pocket kings of Allen.

Allen was asked what it meant to finally get his first WSOP Circuit ring and he was a little bit shocked, to be honest. "It means a lot to me! I've been working hard to get to this point and to beat the field that I was playing with, they were tough. I feel really good about it."

Allen had to battle his way through the likes of Scott Stewart, defending champion Kyle Cartwright, and a formidable heads-up opponent in Piccioli who all have a long list of accomplishments at the poker table. "My strategy was to come in and just play my game. I figured I was the underdog so I just wanted to get it in with some good cards and they held up. Everything just worked out for me. Everything just went my way."

This will go down as Allen's second-largest score of his poker career after a third-place finish in the WSOP Circuit Hammond Main Event back in 2015 netted him over $161,000. Going forward, Allen said that he will continue playing professional poker but plans on staying in the mid-west area for the most part. "Definitely going to be in Vegas for the summer but I'll try to stay in this area where I can drive to events."

Final Table Results

PlacePlayerCountryPrize
1stLytle AllenUnited States$144,313
2ndBryan PiccioliUnited States$89,191
3rdKyle CartwrightUnited States$65,574
4thMatthew HigginsUnited States$48,840
5thJames Todd OsborneUnited States$36,857
6thScott StewartUnited States$28,187
7thBlake BarousseUnited States$21,849
8thGreg JenningsUnited States$17,170
9thHyun LeeUnited States$13,681

Day 3 Action

The action kicked off at 12 p.m. local time with the final six players returning to their seats and as mentioned above, the chips got in the middle in a hurry. Allen picked up pocket aces in the very first hand and James Todd Osborne was the unfortunate player to hold ace-king. Allen scored a double up into the chip lead which left Osborne on the short stack.

Osborne managed to battle back, including a couple of double-ups, one against Stewart. It turned out to be a tough day at the table for Stewart who struggled to win pots and eventually found himself below ten big blinds. He finally shoved all-in with ace-nine suited but Cartwright woke up with ace-king. A full house for Cartwright sent Stewart to the payout desk in sixth place.

Five-handed play continued for an hour before Osborne eventually saw his stack dissipate as well. With less than big blinds as well, Osborne moved the last of his chips in the middle with king-eight and found a call from Matthew Higgins with a weaker king. However, Higgins paired his kicker and Osborne was forced to settle for fifth place. It was a good comeback for Osborne who was sitting on just two big blinds during hand-for-hand on the money bubble yesterday.

With four players remaining, Allen continued to pad his lead while the other three jockeyed for position. As the other three players fell to around 20 big blinds, Allen started picking up premium holdings and went on a tear. His first victim was Higgins who jammed ace-seven suited only to be called by Allen's ace-queen. A clean board for Allen boosted his stack to over 10 million chips with just three players left.

Cartwright was looking to go back-to-back in the WSOP Circuit Horseshoe Tunica Main Event and his odds were looking good as the chip leader when the day began. One bad beat that saw Allen flop a set of deuces against Cartwright's pocket kings meant Cartwright had to battle from the short stack. He picked up a suited ace in the big blind but it was no match for Allen's ace-queen once again. Allen turned a straight and Cartwright bowed out in third place.

Kyle Cartwright fell just short of defending his title
Kyle Cartwright fell just short of defending his title

That left Allen to battle with Piccioli heads-up, a matchup that wouldn't last very long. Piccioli entered the final day as the shortest stack but managed to stay out of the way of Allen who was steamrolling the final table. Piccioli scored some key pay jumps but was ultimately a huge underdog entering heads-up play. Allen's hot streak continued when he picked up pocket kings in the first hand and eliminated Piccioli in second place.

Aaron Gamino Casino Champ

Aaron Gamino
Casino Champ Aaron Gamino

Aaron Gamino, a 31-year-old economics professor, claimed the WSOPC Horseshoe Tunica Casino Champion title with four cashes including three final tables and one victory, worth 107.5 points. That means he too will receive a seat into the 2020 Global Casino Championship.

“It's nice. I think I’ve cashed like half of the tournaments I’ve played recently and I’ve final tabled the fourth of them,’’ Gamino said after his win in Event #4: $400 NLH One-Day, which was good for $16,194 and his second gold ring.

TournamentEntriesPrize PoolWinnerPrize
Event #1: $400 NLH Double Stack339$111,870Chris Nunnally$23,984
Event #2: $400 NLH (One-Day)271$89,430Blake Whittington$19,786
Event #3: $400 NLH Multi-Flight1,005$331,650Michael Lech$53,320
Event #4: $400 NLH One-Day207$68,310Aaron Gamino$16,194
Event #5: $400 NLH 6-Handed238$78,540Bryan Salerno$18,438
Event #6: $400 Pot-Limit Omaha124$40,920Grant Hart$11,209
Event #7: $400 Monster Stack738$243,540Walker Miskelly$43,209
Event #8: $600 NLH238$122,570Sam Washburn$28,101
Event #9: $250 NLH One-Day303$60,600Neil Patel$13,354
Event #10: $1,700 Main Event491$743,865Lytle Allen$144,313
Event #11: $400 NLH One-Day219$72,270Brandon Smith$16,971
Event #12: $400 NLH One-Day184$60,720Jenneth Norman$14,925
Event #13: $400 Double Stack256$84,480Brian Green$18,945

While things have wrapped up here in Tunica, Mississippi, the WSOP Circuit will head off to their next stop in Potawatomi followed by another stop in Tampa Bay. That brings an end to the coverage here for PokerNews but stay tuned for updates from the next live events happening in the poker world.

Tags: Bryan PiccioliJames Todd OsborneKyle CartwrightLytle AllenMatthew HigginsScott StewartWSOP Circuit