Graton Casino & Resort’s May 2-12 RunGood Poker Series in California Wine Country just put a wrap on 18 successful tournaments. The Poker Live Updates team was there to cover all of the action, including the $800 buy-in Main Event that closed out the record-setting series.
The Main attracted a field of 773 entries that eclipsed the half-million guarantee to put the total prize pool at $541,100. The top 97 entries took home at least $1,400 in prize money, but Michael Wang took home the largest chunk of the prize pool worth $85,780 along with his first RunGood ring as the winner.
Wang is a local player from nearby San Francisco, and this is his first tournament victory despite the fact that he has well over six-figures in career tournament earnings (over $200,000 now thanks to his big win today). We caught up with him for a few questions after claiming the title.
“It feels great, I’ve been grinding tournaments for a while and this is my first win. I was on a pretty big downswing last year, and it’s nice to have this year going a little better,” said Wang a short time after the win.
The Bay Area resident had this to say when he was asked about having multiple big tournament series hosted by Graton on a short commute just over the Golden Gate Bridge: “It’s pretty good for me, I drive a Mazda Miata convertible so it’s fun to hit the road and get out of the city and come up here. It’s great, Graton didn’t used to have as many tournament series, so this is great. They have a World Series of Poker Circuit, and RunGood; and this event space is pretty great right here. I really like coming here to play.”
The chip stacks were very fluid at the final table with different chip leaders at different times. Wang had this to say when asked about how he kept his focus during those fluctuations: “The way I try to keep focused is trying to keep track of how many chips everybody has, it’s a useful mental exercise. When you’re the big stack, as I was a number of times, you can put the pressure on the medium stacks who are just waiting for the short ones.”
And one last question for him at the end of the interview was how he planned to celebrate. Since the final table ended late he has plans for that in the works for the future. “I was going to get together for some Korean barbecue with some friends next week, so that will be as good a time as any to celebrate,” said Wang.
On the final hand Victor Parades was all in with Ad . Jd, and Wang had him covered on the button holding Kh . 7s. The board was dealt 8c . 5d . 3s . Js . Kd, and Paredes was eliminated in second place for a payout worth $58,000 thanks to his deep run in the tournament.
Click the link below for full results for the Main Event:
MAIN EVENT – FINAL
Other big events that took place during the Graton RGPS saw Adam Curchack win the largest field ever at the casino with a massive turnout of 1,216 runners. This big tournament saw the top 153 players cash for at least $660, with Curchack claiming the top prize of $62,260 for a very nice ROI in a $400 buy-in tournament. The WPTDeepStacks champion also added a RunGood ring to his trophy case.
“That’s awesome, OK cool, I appreciate knowing that. Graton is my hometown, I live 10 minutes away from here. I’ve been playing here since they opened 10 years ago. I love the proximity, and I love the room, and I love that they run tournaments here now. I hope they keep building it,” said Curchack when he was informed about beating the record field.
Some other notable winners that took home RunGood rings in big tournaments over the course of the series included Ari Engel, James Cavanaugh, Kathy Nguyen, and Randy Gil; as well as RGPS Event Coordinator and poker reporter Liam Gannon.
Click the link below for full results from every tournament during the series:
TOTAL SERIES RESULTS
Dan is the founder of PokerLiveUpdates, a veteran poker tournament reporter who can be found wandering somewhat aimlessly through tournament arenas worldwide. As a founding member of FunTour2.0, he searches for the best in craft beer at all locations in the poker world.
