Wayne Leonard Captures CPPT bestbet Jacksonville Mystery Bounty

The 2024 Card Player Poker Tour bestbet Jacksonville series ran from Aug. 15-26, with 2,000 entries made across the nine tournaments.

The strong turnouts resulted in nearly $1.2 million in prize money being awarded during the 12-day festival, with more than half of that coming from the marquee $1,700 buy-in no-limit hold’em mystery bounty main event. That tournament attracted 440 entries (up from 357 in 2023), more than doubling the $300,000 guarantee to create a final prize pool of $662,200.

After a back-and-forth heads-up match, James ‘Wayne’ Leonard emerged victorious with the title. The longtime Jacksonville resident, now based out of Tampa, earned $87,820 as the champion. In addition to the top prize, Leonard also secured $29,500 in bounty payouts from his five knockouts. He picked the third-largest bounty that was up for grabs, a $20,000 payout, along with a $5,000 bounty, two $2,000 bounties, and one $500 payout.

“It could have been him, it could have been me,” said Leonard of his final showdown against Gourg Khanchat. “I’ve been in that situation three or four times in my career, and to get it one time… I’ll remember this for the rest of my life.”

Leonard, who is known locally as ‘The Irishman,’ has definitely had several close calls at this very venue. He previously finished third in a $400 RunGood Poker Series event earlier this year, second in a $360 buy-in during the 2019 Summer Series, and had another runner-up showing in a $1,500 buy-in during the 2022 Summer Heater. Now, he finally broke through for a marquee victory on the big stage.

“bestbet is just amazing,” said Leonard when asked about his years of experience playing at the Jacksonville cardroom. “I remember when they opened it and it was just such a relief to get this kind of a poker room in Jacksonville… I mean, it’s top-notch. You get the best food, get the best service. Everybody here treats you with respect. They know your name and they really, really appreciate the players.”

This latest score increased Leonard’s lifetime tournament earnings to $375,000. While he is a dentist by trade, he has been playing poker for more than 25 years.

“In the last three years, I’ve really put time into [poker] and have been working really, really hard for this win. I’m fortunate to have video of myself that I can watch, kind of take away some of my tendencies, see what I do, and correct those actions and really work on it myself.”

There was $220,000 in total prize money set aside for the bounties in this tournament. Those were all awarded from day 2 on, with the 55 players that cashed in this event earning a bounty for each knockout they secured. Runner-up Khanchat drew the top bounty of $50,000. The payouts ranged from that hefty sum down to $500.

The final day of this event began with nine players remaining, with Khanchat in the lead and Leonard in second chip position. Nikhil Sunku was the first to fall, with his short stack going in with K 5 against a dominating K Q for Anthony Pathman. Sunku was unable to come from behind and was eliminated in ninth place ($8,780.)

Yi Chi Li soon followed Sunku to the rail. The bestbet Jacksonville regular got all-in with A-J trailing the A-K of Thad McNulty and found no help on a queen-high runout. Li earned $11,135 as the eighth-place finisher.

Juan Tellez’s run came to an end when his J-10 suited was outrun by the J-9 suited of Khanchat, who had been more or less on fire since drawing the $50,000 bounty back on day 2. Both players had flush draws going into the river, but Khanchats’ club came in on the end to eliminate Tellez in seventh place ($14,280).

Longtime poker industry member and former bestbet tournament director Johnny Pham lost a huge chunk of his stack in a clash with Khanchat during six-handed play. He managed a few double ups but was soon all-in and at risk again with K 6 trailing the pocket tens of Pathman. Pham failed to connect with the board and was knocked out in sixth place ($18,525).

This was McNulty’s third CPPT bestbet Jacksonville main event final table showing, having finished fourth in the 2019 running and ninth in 2023. This time around he placed fifth for $24,295. The score increased the Jacksonville mainstay’s lifetime tournament earnings to $650,000.

McNulty was sent packing when he got all-in with J 9 on a 10 4 4 J board. He was trailing the K J of Anthony Pathman, and the 3 on the end was of no help. With that, the field was narrowed to four contenders.

Alex Kimpel placed fourth in this same event in 2023. Incredibly, that was his finishing position this year as well. Kimpel got all-in with A 4 leading the 7 6 of Khanchat, but the J 7 2 4 3 runout gave Khanchat a pair of sevens and the elimination. Kimpel secured $32,220 for the most recent leg of his back-to-back final tables in this tournament.

The next knockout hand began with Pathman moving all-in from the button with 8 5. Khanchat three-bet from the small blind, only to have Leonard come over the top with a four-bet shove out of the big blind. Khanchat went into the tank before laying down his A 5. Leonard revealed pocket queens.

The A K 8 flop gave Pathman a pair and some hope, but the 2 turn and 7 brought no more help. Pathman earned $43,190 as the third-place finisher, his largest score yet on the circuit.

Heads-up play began with Leonard holding 7,105,000 to Khanchat’s 5,980,000. Khanchat was able to close the gap and then overtake the lead in the early going. He had extended his advantage to roughly 3:1 when the next big clash arose.

All of the chips went in preflop with Leonard’s Q J trailing the A J of Khanchat. The board came down 10 9 8 7 4 and Leonard flopped a straight to double back to roughly even.

Leonard had stretched out a lead of his own when a very similar situation played out. Khanchat was all-in with K 10 in rough shape against the K Q. This time Khanchat spiked broadway on the turn to double back in front.

Eventually, Leonard was able to retake the lead for the final time. In the last hand, Khanchat raised to 480,000 from the button with A 3 and Leonard three-bet shoved with A 5 out of the big blind. Khanchat called all in for 5,430,000.

The A Q 4 5 6 runout gave Leonard aces and fives for the win. Khanchat earned $58,530 as the runner-up. This was the second time he had finished in this position in a $1,700 mystery bounty event at bestbet Jacksonville. He previously did so during the 2023 World Poker Tour stop.

Former CPPT Champ Headlines Side Event Winners

While the mystery bounty tournament was the largest on the schedule, both in terms of buy-in and guarantee, there was over half of a million dollars in prize money awarded across the other eight events of the festival.

The series kicked off with a $100,000 guaranteed $400 buy-in no-limit hold’em event. A total of 858 entries were made across the six starting flights, smashing the guarantee to build a final prize pool of $278,850.

In the end, the largest share of that money was awarded to Jacksonville local Ben Scrogins. He took home $59,166 as the champion, the third-largest score of his tournament career.

Scrogins is no stranger to success at bestbet Jacksonville. In fact, this was his third title earned at the venue. His top payday came when he took down the 2021 CPPT bestbet Jacksonville $2,500 buy-in no-limit hold’em main event for $158,915. Scrogins now has more than $550,000 in recorded tournament earnings to his name.

The $400 no-limit hold’em progressive knockout bounty event drew 110 entries, resulting in a main prize pool of $25,300. Lunique Petiote emerged victorious in the end, taking home $6,917 along with $1,850 in bounty payouts. This was the eighth recorded tournament win for the Woodbine, Georgia resident, growing his career earnings to $650,000.

Event no. 3 was a $300 buy-in no-limit hold’em tournament. With 90 entries, the prize pool grew to $22,050. Robert Townsend earned $5,294 as the eventual champion.

The $360 buy-in no-limit hold’em Mega Stack drew 184 entries, resulting in a prize pool of $54,280 that was paid out across the top 24 finishers. The largest share was awarded to Mark Perrott, who earned $6,274 as the chip leader when a deal was made between the final 10 contenders.

Christopher Labrie scooped the final pot in the $300 big O tournament, earning $4,887 as the champion. The Wesley Chappel, Florida resident beat out a field of 61 entries in the pot-limit five-card Omaha eight-or-better event. Labrie now has more than $115,000 in career tournament earnings.

The $660 buy-in six-max no-limit hold’em event drew 82 entries, but only one would walk away with the title. That player was Hunter Wroten, who earned $13,542 for the win. The St. Augustine resident now has more than $50,000 in career tournament scores, with this being his largest payday yet.

The $300 ladies no-limit hold’em event ended up with 84 contenders, resulting in a prize pool worth $20,580. Tammy Ehrhart pocketed $6,068 as the last player standing. This was the second title for Ehrhart, who now has nearly $200,000 in lifetime cashes to her name.

Carl McKay triumphed in the final tournament of the series, overcoming a field of 91 entries in the $500 buy-in no-limit hold’em event to earn $10,976. 2017 CPPT bestbet Jacksonville main event champion Jared Reinstein finished second for $7,318. ♠

$400 NLH
Aug. 15-18
$100,000 GTD
Entries: 858
Prizepool: $278,850

1 Benjamin Scrogins $59,166 (365)
2 Kevin Costello $36,473 (304)
3 Jared Gable $22,496 (243)
4 Jimmy Li $14,120 (182)
5 Matthew Parker $10,429 (152)
6 Charles Clement $8,696 (122)
7 Richard Swain $7,285 (91)
8 Nick Fox $5,730 (61)
9 Shane Sinnott $4,638 (30)

$400 NLH KO
Aug. 18
Entries: 110
Prizepool: $25,300

1 Lunique Petiote $6,917 (96)
2 Zane Lipsey $4,611 (80)
3 Jack Sumner $3,133 (64)
4 Frantz Fleury $2,207 (48)
5 Edward Mroczkowski $1,614 (40)
6 Karl Manning $1,227 (32)
7 Robert Terrel $971 (24)
8 Chongyou Chen $802 (16)
9 Phillip Napier $692 (8)

$300 NLH
Aug. 19
Entries: 90
Prizepool: $22,050

1 Robert Townsend $5,294
2 Anthony Pathman $4,960
3 Alexis Kivu $2,862
4 Guy Marcot $2,013
5 Jacob Williams $1,471
6 Eric Chastain $1,118
7 Mark Shulla $886
8 James Joyner $732
9 Roy Crews $633

$360 NLH
Aug. 20
Entries: 184
Prizepool: $54,280

1 Mark Perrott $6,274
2 Zachary Arthur $5,968
3 Nathan Washington $5,910
4 Ramazan Tahhusoglu $5,810
5 Ryan Powell $5,126
6 Paul Chung $4,532
7 Patrick Serafim $4,295
8 Joel Jenkins $4,237
9 Lonnie Stevens $1,295

$300 Big O 8/OB
Aug. 20
Entries: 61
Prizepool: $14,945

1 Christopher Labrie $4,887
2 Scott Risi $3,258
3 Drake Espenlaub $2,172
4 Bradley Bragg $1,508
5 William Wallace $1,092
6 Linda Darcy $827
7 Edward Nobles $656
8 Steve Idels $546

$660 NLH 6-Max
Aug. 21
Entries: 82
Prizepool: $45,920

1 Hunter Wroten $13,542 (96)
2 Bradley Beetz $9,026 (80)
3 Caleb Larsen $6,120 (64)
4 Jeffrey Trudeau $4,304 (48)
5 Danny Clarkson $3,145 (40)
6 Donovon Wright $2,390 (32)

$300 NLH Ladies
Aug. 21
Entries: 84
Prizepool: $20,580

1 Tammy Ehrhart $6,068
2 Kelly Salgado $4,045
3 Valerle Terracciano $2,743
4 Erin Giddens $1,929
5 Audrey Park $1,409
6 Renee Bacherman $1,071
7 Dee Oakes $849
8 Sharon Whalen $702
9 Starr Valdez $607

$1,700 NLH KO
Aug. 22-26
$300,000 GTD
Entries: 440
Prizepool: $662,200

1 Wayne Leonard $87,820 (720)
2 Gourg Khanchat $58,530 (600)
3 Anthony Pathman $43,190 (480)
4 Alexander Kimpel $32,220 (360)
5 Thad McNulty $24,295 (300)
6 Johnny Pham $18,525 (240)
7 Juan Tellez $14,280 (180)
8 Yi Li $11,135 (120)
9 Nikhil Sunku $8,780 (60)

$500 NLH
Aug. 25
Entries: 91
Prizepool: $38,220

1 Carl McKay $10,976 (108)
2 Jared Reinstein $7,318 (90)
3 Michael Jagroo $4,961 (72)
4 Michael Robilotto $3,489 (54)
5 Ewan Leatham $2,549 (45)
6 Mervan Kizgin $1,938 (36)
7 Thomas Johnston $1,535 (27)
8 Curtis Anderson $1,269 (18)
9 Edith Oakes $1,098 (9)