3-Bet: Alex Massman Wins LA Poker Open, Jerry Moore Ships RGPS Old West Hard Rock Tulsa Main Event & WPT Announces 12 Additional Season XVII Stops

Tournament action kept the pace going at multiple locations around the world. The 2018 Los Angeles Poker Open (LAPO) played out at the Commerce Casino recently, culminating with the $500K GTD $1,100 Main Event that saw Alex Massman taking down the title for $136,610.

The RunGood Old West Poker Series (RGPS) was the latest stop that took place at Casino Hard Rock-Tulsa and following record-breaking attendance; Jerry Moore took down the $675 Main Event for $38,417.

After a successful second WPT India edition, World Poker Tour (WPT) came out with details of 12 more stops for the second half of Season XVII.

Alex Massman Wins Los Angeles Poker Open For $136,610

The 2018 Los Angeles Poker Open (LAPO) that was hosted at Commerce Casino wrapped up on Sunday, with Alex Massman taking down the $500K GTD $1,100 Main Event. Along with pocketing the winner’s payday of $136,610, Massman also won a $10,000 entry into the 2019 LAPC WPT Main Event Championship.

The poker festival featured 18 tournaments and ran from November 2-18. Massman entered the Main Event along with 772 others who registered across three opening flights.

All 62 players who returned on Day 2 were in the money for $2,400.

It was quite a journey for Massman, who started the day with a stack of healthy stack of 513,000 but entered the final table as the second shortest stack. From there he scripted a success story that took him straight to the heads-up finale where he defeated Adam Demersseman to win the title.

Final Table Recap

The shortest stack on the final table was Abbas Dehaghi and he made his way out in ninth place after his ace-queen came up short against Antonio Mallol Heredia’s pocket kings.

Elvis Toomas crashed next in eighth place in a surprise hand where he held pocket aces but saw Adam Demersseman’s ace-king suited improving to a flush on the river.

Nikhil Gera’s all-in move preflop with ace-jack resulted in his seventh place elimination as Massman with pocket eights decided to call and Gera failed to connect on the board.

Gera’s elimination saw Massman taking the lead and he extended it after eliminating Cody Bell in sixth place. In a blind versus blind hand, Gera held queen-ten against Bell’s ace-nine. Bell clipped a pair on the flop, but runner-runner queens kept Massman ahead.

Thomas Zanot finished in fifth place after his pocket sevens lost out to Demersseman’s ace-king.

Antonio Mallol Heredia was the next casualty as he shoved with ace-jack suited against Massman’s ace-three suited, but got unlucky as Massman flopped a gutshot straight draw and got there on the river.

Three-handed play was quite a roller-coaster ride for Robert Schmidt who lost some of his stack to Massman but avenged it by doubling up through him. Soon thereafter, Schmidt moved all in with jack-seven over Massman’s raise and was called by Massman who held ace-nine suited. Massman’s hand held and Schmidt was eliminated in third place.

Massman came into the heads-up matcb as the chip leader and it wasn`t long before he eliminated Adam Demersseman in runner-up place with his queen-jack suited landing a jack-pair on the flop against Demersseman’s pocket sixes.

Final Table Results (USD)

1. Alex Massman – $136,610

2. Adam Demersseman – $90,340

3. Robert Schmidt – $66,570

4. Antonio Mallol Heredia – $49,610

5. Thomas Zanot – $37,390

6. Cody Bell – $28,510

7. Nikhil Gera – $21,990

8. Elvis Toomas – $17,160

9. Abbas Dehaghi – $13,550

Jerry Moore Ships RGPS Old West Hard Rock Tulsa Main Event For $38,417

The RunGood Old West Poker Series (RGPS) at the Hard Rock-Tulsa was a six-day long series that broke attendance records in three of its five events, including the $675 Main Event, which crowned a winner in Omaha, Nebraska native Jerry Moore. Moore took home $38,417 for his win.

Moore is a former flooring and remodeling contractor, who briefly went into the house-flipping business, but has for the past decade pursued a career as a professional poker player. With over 27 cashes to his name, Moore’s poker resume reflects $80,000 in poker winnings.

Final Table Recap

Down to three-handed play, Moore (3,420,000) was in the lead, followed by Kiran Suram (2,760,000) and Louie Huynh (1,520,000). The three players began discussing a chop after playing a few hands, and ultimately reached an agreement that awarded Moore $38,417 and the title of RGPS Main Event Champion.

After the three-way deal was reached, the runner-up spot was awarded to Suram who received $36,917 and Huynh finished third for $32,417.

As for the non-monetary prizes, Moore collected the Montana Silversmiths championship belt buckle but elected to gift the cowboy boots from Boot Factory Outlet to Suram.

When asked what he’ll do with his winnings, Moore first answered “Nothing,” but later clarified that it would be added to his poker bankroll to play more events, including the final RGPS fall stop in December.

Final Table Results (USD)

1. Jerry Moore – $38,417

2. Kiran Suram – $36,917

3. Louie Huynh – $32,417

4. William McCracken – $15,131

5. Mike White – $11,435

6. Blair Hinkle – $8,894

7. Peter Phan – $7,392

8. Debbie Barlow – $6,122

9. Gary Sixkiller – $5,174

10. Rich Dixon – $3,950

WPT Announces Additional Stops For Second Half of Season XVII

It seems that 2019 is going to a very happening year for World Poker Tour (WPT) with the brand announcing 12 more stops from November 2018 to June 2019 for the second half of Season XVII.

With 2018 wrapping up with the WPT Seminole Rock N Roll Poker Open (November 23 to 28) and the WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic (December 10 to 15), the new year will begin with WPT Gardens Championship (January 12 to 16) which was where Season XVII had started this year. In fact, it was in the 2018 edition of the $5,000 WPT Gardens Poker Festiva that Simon Lam outlasted a 584-entry field to claim the title and top prize of $565,000.

The HyperX Esports Arena Las Vegas at Luxor Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas will host the final table, making it the first Main Tour event in WPT history to have the final table played and filmed for television at the arena.

Commenting on the newly announced schedule, WPT CEO Adam Pliska said, “The World Poker Tour is proud to announce more events to our growing Season XVII WPT Main Tour calendar. In addition to the great events on the schedule, the WPT looks forward to the first of this season’s final tables to be played at the HyperX Esports Arena Las Vegas at Luxor Hotel & Casino. In partnership with our sister company, Allied Esports, and backed by the support of Ourgame, we are thrilled to host the best final tables in poker at Esports Arena.”

The schedule announcement also revealed that for the first time ever, Choctaw Casino Resort in Durant, Okla. would play host to a second event in the same season. The WPT Choctaw will run from May 17-20 and its final table will also be played at the HyperX Esports Arena Las Vegas.

“Our players and casino partners deserve the brightest spotlight poker has to offer and what better way to give them that than inside the new official home of poker at the HyperX Esports Arena,” added VP of Global Tour Management Angelica Hael. “The WPT is excited to work with our Esports Arena final tablists to provide a true superstar VIP experience.”

Season XVII WPT Stops: