World Series of Poker Circuit -- Samuel Barnhart Wins Tunica Main EventBarnhart Tales Home $148,612 and WSOP Circuit Gold Ring |
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There were 480 players who entered the $1,600 no-limit hold’em main event at the World Series of Poker Circuit Tunica stop and on the final day of play just nine remained in the hunt for the top prize worth $148,612 and a WSOP Circuit gold ring. The tournament created a prize pool worth $698,400 and the top 54 players walked away with prize money in the event. Here is a look at the chip counts when the final table began:
Seat 1: Mary Harden — 1,281,000
Seat 2: Kurt Jewell — 1,851,000
Seat 3: John Holley — 561,000
Seat 4: Sam Barnhart — 758,000
Seat 5: John Nguyen — 2,300,000
Seat 6: Jesse White — 923,000
Seat 7: Preston Derden — 497,000
Seat 8: Brian Burney — 901,000
Seat 9: Marco Palacios — 440,000
John Holley fell pretty quickly at the final table, busting in ninth place when his pocket fours fell to a spade flush held by Kurt Jewell. Two hours later it was the same fate that fell upon Jewell. His A-6 suited was dominated by the A-K suited of Sam Barnhart. The A-K held and Jewell was out in eighth place.
Play had been relatively slow at the final table up to that point, but then someone decided to hit the fast forward button and players fell left and right. First, it was Preston Derden who busted in seventh place when he ran into the pocket aces of Jesse White. Next up was John Nguyen, who fell in sixth place when his pocket fours lost a race against the A-J of Barnhart when he found a jack on the flop. Marco Palacios finished the very busy hour when he fell in fifth place. Barnhart continued his hot streak and he topped the K-J of Palacios with pocket aces and he jumped into the chip lead with 3.4 million.
The final four then caught their breath for an extended period and it was a little bit longer before the next player was exhaled from the tournament. That unfortunate fourth-place finisher was Brian Burney. He picked a good time to move all in with A-K, but Mary Harden was waiting to call with pocket kings. Harden fell on hard times next and she just missed the final match, falling in third place. Barnhart took her out with a full house, and her chips gave him a big chip lead heading into the final face-off.
Heads-Up Chip Counts:
Sam Barnhart: 6.03 million
Jesse White: 3.57 million
Heads-up play didn’t exceed an hour. On the final hand Barnhart raised to 250,000 on the button and White reraised all in for 3 million. Barnhart made the call and they flipped over their cards:
Barnhart: K
K
White: J
10
Board: 7
5 4 7 5
White was eliminated as the runner up and he was awarded $91,881 in prize money. Barnhart was crowned the champion of the event and he took home the top prize worth $148,612. After his victory the 50-year-old from Arkansas was gracious and excited that his hard work had paid off. He also made the quick decision to take a year off from work and see how things went. “Oh gosh, this is what it’s all about right here!” said Barnhart. “All of the tournaments, the time you spend, the money, this is why we play.”
Final-Table Results:
1: Sam Barnhart — $148,612
2: Jesse White — $91,881
3: Mary Harden — $67,122
4: Brian Burney — $49,759
5: Marco Palacios — $37,422
6: John Nguyen — $28,547
7: Preston Derden — $22,084
8: Kurt Jewell — $17,328
9: John Holley — $13,789
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