Timothy Gundrum is on cloud nine today after becoming a poker champion. The poker grinder from Illinois outlasted 927 opponents in the $1,100 MSPT Main Event at Riverside Casino, Iowa. His reward? A cool $170,769.
Gundrum bought into Day 1A and made it safely through with 158,000 chips. This stack put him in the middle of the pack, neither short nor deep-stacked. Peter Schmall was the overnight chip leader courtesy of his 584,000 chips.
Day 2 started well for Gundrum, and he managed to chip up. One by one, the 120 returning players fell until they were on the money bubble. Keith Heine was the unfortunate soul who popped it.
The blinds were 5,000/10,000/10,000a, and Stephen Torre opened to 26,000 with Ah-2s. Heine three-bet all-in for 50,000 with Kc-Qd, and Torre called. The five community cards ran Ts-6s-Js-6d-As to send Heine home empty-handed.
Gundrum Second In Chips at the Final Table
Each of the nine finalists locked up at least $16,175 for their efforts. Gundrum sat down second in chips, trailing only the aforementioned Torre.
Jalen Heald busted during the 50,000/10,000/20,000a level. Torre opened to 225,000 from late position. Heald jammed all-in for 1,460,000 from the button, and Torre called. Torre turned over Ad-7h to find himself against the dominating Ac-Qc. The board came to Torre’s rescue, running Ah-9d-3h-7d-8h.
Peyton Smith crashed out shortly after Heald’s exit. Torre did the damage again. A raising war between Smith and Torre broke out on the 4c-Qh-Js flop, which resulted in Smith ripping it in for 2,300,000. Torre called and showed Qs-9c. Smith’s Ks-Th needed help, but it never arrived.
Seventh place and $26,061 went to Todd Bartlett. Mike Estes raised to 300,000 with Ah-As. Gundrum three-bet to 700,000, Bartlett called off his last 225,000, only for Estes to jam all-in for 2,900,000. Gundrum tank-folded and Bartlett revealed the Ad-5d. A Tc-9s-8s-3h-7c board sent Bartlett to the showers.
The blinds increased to 75,000/150,000/30,000a by the time Jason Gross was eliminated. That man Torre did the damage once again. Gundrum made it 375,000 to go, Torre called; Gross fired in an all-in bet of 1,500,000. Gundrum ducked out of the way, but Torre called. It was a coinflip scenario with Gross holding Ah-Jd and Torre 6c-6s. A final board of Qs-9s-8h-Qd-7c resigned Gross to a $33,250 prize.
Torre Leads With Five Remaining
It only took one hand after a scheduled break for the tournament to lose another player. Jim Erikson raised to 450,000 on the button only for Wesley Cannon to raise all-in for 4,445,000. Estes called for less, and Erikson bowed out. Estes’ hopes lay with his Tc-Td, which faced off against Ah-Qc. Cannon flopped trips on the Ad-As-8h-Js-3h board.
Torre was the chip leader before the break but was still the fourth-place finisher. He got the last of his 1,900,000 stack in with As-3h and ran into the Kh-Ks of Erikson. Torre found a three on the 3c-9h-4d-9s-Ts board, but it was not enough.
Heads-up was set soon after when Cannon crashed out. Cannon announced he was all-in for 5,000,000 with blinds of 150,000/300,000/40,000a. Gundrum called. Cannon flipped over Tc-Td and Gundrum Kh-Jh. A final board reading Ks-Qd-Kd-8c-9c busted Cannon and gifted a huge chip lead to Gundrum.
Gundrum held 19,800,000 chips to Erikson’s 3,400,000, and it did not take long for him to possess all the chips in play. Erikson raised to 1,050,000 with As-Qh before calling when Gundrum set him all-in with what turned out to be Ad-Kh. Ace-king held as the board ran 2c-Js-5h-6c-Ts.
MSPT Iowa, Riverside Casino Main Event Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Timothy Gundrum | $170,769 |
| 2 | Jim Erikson | $105,143 |
| 3 | Wesley Cannon | $77,194 |
| 4 | Stephen Torre | $58,412 |
| 5 | Mike Estes | $44,034 |
| 6 | Jason Gross | $33,250 |
| 7 | Todd Bartlett | $26,061 |
| 8 | Peyton Smith | $20,669 |
| 9 | Jalen Heald | $16,175 |
There is not long to wait before the next MSPT Main Event. MSPT Black Hawk Showdown Series runs August 12-15 at Bally’s Black Hawk, Colorado.
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Brad Johnson
You name the game, and you can bet your bottom dollar that Brad has either played it or placed a wager on it! Brad calls himself a natural gambler, and someone who gains as much enjoyment from writing about the crazy game of poker as he does playing it.