The sixth edition of Jason Somerville’s Run It Up Reno wrapped up at the Peppermill Resort & Casino on Monday after hosting 15 events over eight days. It proved an especially good week for Twitch streamer Jaimie Staples, who not only won his $150K weight loss bet but also made a bunch of money playing poker.
Main Event Madness
The Run It Up Reno $600 Main Event drew 500 entries, and a number of recognizable names cashed including Jaime Staples (3rd for $26,320), 2003 World Series of Poker champ Chris Moneymaker (11th for $2,620), Ian Steinman (22nd for $1,780), Lex Veldhuis (51st for $1,050), and American Poker Award winner Andrew Neeme (73rd for $920).
In the end, the title came down to DJ Fenton and Paul Sampson with the latter at one point holding an 11-to-1 chip lead. Still, Fenton battled back and managed to seize the lead. In the final hand of the tournament, which took place in Level 30 (80,000/160,000/20,000), Fenton raised the button holding the J♥J♠ and Sampson defended with the 6♦5♠.
When the flop came down 8♠5♦2♦, Sampson got his last 4.5 million in and was looking to improve. The 8♥ turn left Sampson looking for a six on the river, but it was not meant to be as the 7♦ bricked. Sampson had to settle for second place and a $38,770 consolation prize.
“A lot of the people here are like ‘Oh yeah, he streams, he vlogs, he’s a pro, he’s an online pro.’ I’m not in the scene, I don’t know most of the people, you know? But yeah, I’m in the scene now,” said Fenton, an Illinois native who has only been playing live poker since August.
Fenton, who is stationed at the Beale Air Force Base in Marysville, California along with his wife, earned $56,200 for the win, far ahead of his previous best score of $1,800.
Main Event Final Table Results
1 DJ Fenton $56,200
2 Paul Sampson $38,770
3 Jaime Staples $26,320
4 Nathan Manuel $17,030
5 Peter Lynn $10,840
6 Ryan Carter $7,600
7 Daoud Majid $5,500
8 Daniel Jones $3,700
RIU Warriors Out in Force
There was more than a dozen Run It Up Reno side events throughout the week, and Staples managed to capture one. He bested a field of 232 entries to win Event #6: $125 Win the Button for $5,100 while streaming it all start to finish.
“I don’t think this has been done before,” Staples told officials after the win. “I think this is a first for poker, from a first-person perspective anyway.”
“It’s obviously not going to work at every venue, but here at Run It Up Reno, it’s based around streaming. We are able to stream the events and it’s a lot of fun. It gives a different angle at what playing poker is like.”
The biggest buy-in of the series was the $1,100 Thursday Thrilla, which offered $500 bounties. Jimmy Cappucci set a RIU Reno record in that tournament by winning an unprecedented fourth title. He defeated a field of 129 entries to win $18,680 plus untallied bounties, which made him one of the most profitable players in series history.
“This is the funnest. It’s great,” said Cappucci. “It’s a $1K. It’s probably one of the hardest $1K’s that runs live. Period. But it’s still just the funnest one, so it doesn’t really matter. I love it. I’m a big fan.”
Another highlight took place on Easter Sunday when Kevin Gerhart finally scored his first RIU Reno win after five visits to the series. He outlasted 44 other entrants in Event #12: $550 6-Max 8-Game Dealer’s Choice to win $7,165.
“Finally. I’ve fired so many bullets into these things,” said Gerhart, who defeated poker media member Brent Harrington in heads-up play. “Played all the tournaments for the last five [RIU] Reno’s and it’s finally come true. I guess it’s just fitting that I hit it in a mixed tournament instead of a no-limit tournament.”
RIU Reno will return to the Peppermill Resort & Casino for its seventh edition Oct. 19-29.
Here’s a look at all those who won titles at the latest Run It Up Reno:
Camilo Uribe won Event #1: $235 NLH Kickoff (209 entries) $10,726 + $600 ME seat
Patrick Preston won Event #2: $125 NLH All In of Fold (104 entries + 244 rebuys) $6,012
Dwight Ross won Event #3: $235 NLHE Knockout (234 entries) $6,031
Kim Stone won Event #4: $125 HORSE (154 entries) $3,723
Shawn Van Arsdale won Event #5: $235 6-Max 8-Game Championship (122 entries) $6,368
Jaime Staples won Event #6: $125 Win the Button (232 entries) $5,100
Jimmy Cappucci won Event #7: $1,100 Thursday Thrilla (129 entries) $18,680
Kamil Nagji won Event #8: $125 NL 3-Card Super Hold’em (172 entries) $3,959
DJ Fenton won Event #9: $600 Main Event (500 entries) $56,200
Adam Poulack won Event #10: $125 6-Max OE (96 entries) $2,600
Albert Ng won Event #11: $235 6-Max PLO Bounty (82 entries) $2,433
Kevin Gerhart won Event #12: $550 6-Max 8-Game Dealer’s Choice (45 entries) $7,165
Brendon Kaufman won Event #13: $150 NLH Turbo $25 Bounty (182 entries) $4,808
Eddie Cybulski won Event #14: $125 6-Max NLH Deepstacks (128 entries) $3,336
Andre Hengchua won Event #15: $125 Taiwanese Poker (81 entries) $1,767
