Card Player Poker Tour: John Miner Wins All-In Poker Series Atlantis Main Event

The final table at the Card Player Poker Tour Atlantis Reno $1,080 no-limit hold’em main event crowned a champion today in Northern Nevada at the Atlantis Casino Resort Spa. Perennial chip leader in the event John Miner from Carson City, Nevada took home the tournament title and $45,153 in prize money after just over four hours of play on the final day of the tournament.

Miner chopped up the prize money with Reno resident Jerry Morrell (second place – $45,153) in a deal when play got to the heads-up final. The two friends were close to even in chips. They ran out one final hand to determine who would take home the trophy and CPPT tournament title, and here is what transpired.

John Miner: AQ
Jerry Morrell: Q2

Board: KJ837

“It feels very good to win, I’m glad that the Atlantis put it on for us. I’m very excited to make a good showing for the hometown,” said Miner after the win. He continued, “It was a tough field, everybody played very well and it was definitely challenging, but I felt very confident most of the time.” There was also a little bit of humor at the end of his winner interview. With his wife who had cheered him on at the final table standing close by, Miner was asked what he planned to do with the prize money: “Yeah, give it to my wife [Laughs]. I’ll probably also play some more poker and try to win some more tournaments.”

The tournament attracted a total of 190 players and eliminations during the earlier days of the main event included Reno pro Steve Brecher, David Randall, Charles “Woody” Moore, Howard “Tahoe” Andrew, and former world champion Jerry Yang, who was eliminated on the money bubble. Defending champion Randy Gil was also eliminated before the money. Last year he topped a field of 160 players to win the Atlantis All In Poker Series main event title. This tournament saw 18.75 percent year-over-year growth during its first year as a CPPT tour stop.

The final nine players took their seats at 1 p.m. today and the action was fast, with the first six players falling in just three hours. This rush of eliminations set up a thee-handed battle for the CPPT title between Miner, Morrell, and Jeff Spruitenburg; but Jeff’s stack began to dwindle during one of the rare prolonged periods of play at the final table without an elimination taking place. Spruitenburg held on for an hour before busting in third place. After that it was just a matter of a quick conversation between the final two competitors to find an agreeable deal that brought the tournament to a quick end.

Be sure to catch the encore broadcast of the CPPT Atlantis Reno final table Live Stream on CardPlayer.com at 1 p.m. PT on Friday, March 29.

Here are the final table results:

The next stop on the Card Player Poker Tour will be a $1,100 no-limit hold’em event hosted aboard the Royal Caribbean Oasis of the Seas, the largest cruise ship in the world. This destination tournament will run from April 15-18. The cruise will make stops at Ports of Call in the Western Caribbean, including Labadee, Haiti; Falmouth, Jamaica; and Cozumel, Mexico.