Nashville poker player wins Horseshoe Tunica Main Event
28 Jan 2020
Christopher Nunnally, a 43-year old maintenance man, claimed the title of the first event of the series. He topped a field of 339 entries in Event #1: $400 No-Limit Hold’em Double Stack, scoring his first Circuit ring and $23,984, his biggest cash to date.
The next three titles were claimed by repeat winners, including some of the most recognized Circuit champions.
First, Blake Whittington took down Event #2: $400 No-Limit Hold’em (1 Day), adding a sixth Circuit ring to his collection and $19,786 to his WSOP earnings. The 28-year old poker professional had clenched two of his Circuit rings at the previous Horseshoe Tunica Circuit stop of the 2018/2019 season in May and found success again this series.
Next up was Michael Lech. Just a couple of months after winning his seventh Circuit ring in his fifth different country at the WSOP Circuit stop in Monterrey, Mexico, Lech managed to shine again, claiming another Circuit title. He took down the first multi-flight Event of the series, Event #3: $400 No-Limit Hold’em (3 Flights) after navigating through a field of 1,005 players, collecting his eighth Circuit ring and earning the top prize of $53,320. The 29-year old now has over $960,000 in WSOP cashes.
Just a few hours after Lech’s victory, Aaron Gamino, an economics professor, also added a second gold ring to his collection after defeating 207 competitors in Event #4: $400 No-Limit Hold’em (1 Day) for $16,194.
Gamino’s success didn’t stop here and a few days later, he appeared at the final table of Event #11, then at the final table of Event #13, falling a few spots short each time from clenching his third ring.
Other players who stepped into the WSOP Circuit spotlight for the first time this stop include Bryan Salerno, Grant Hart, and Walker Miskelly.
Bryan Salerno was the winner of Event #5: $400 No-Limit Hold’em Six-Handed. During the previous 2018/2019 Circuit season, Salerno had to settle for the runner-up title of the Six-Handed event at Horseshoe Tunica. However, he was able to get the job done this series and he walked away with the winner title of this event, collecting his first gold ring, and $18,438.
Grant Hart also grabbed his first ring at this stop. Hart retired from profession rodeo in 2015 and decided to transition to a professional poker career. He worked mostly on his Pot-Limit Omaha game and his efforts were paid off when he conquered the title of Event #6: $400 Pot-Limit Omaha, taking home his first trophy ring and $11,209.
Concerning Walker Miskelly, he was the winner of the WSOP signature event, Event #8: $400 No-Limit
Hold’em Monster Stack. This event attracted 738 competitors, and after two days of play, Miskelly was the last man standing. The 27-year old poker professional earned his first trophy ring and $43,209, the first five- figure score of his WSOP resume. He also made two other deep runs at this stop, including a 10th place finish in the Main Event, and an 8th place finish in Event #11.
As for the $1,700 Main Event, the two starting days attracted a total of 491 players, creating a prize pool of
$743,865. After two days of play, the field was whittled down to just six competitors involving some of the toughest on the Circuit.
Defending champion Kyle Cartwright, Matthew Higgins, as well as Scott Stewart and Bryan Piccioli who had both made the final table of the Circuit Main Event at Thunder Valley the previous weekend, had all secured seats into the final six. Day 1A Chip Leader Lytle Allen, and James Todd Osborne who was at his third final table of the stop, were also still in contention. The final day was fast-paced and action-packed and after a couple of hours of play, it is Allen who emerged victorious collecting his first Circuit ring, and $144,313. He also earned a free seat into the 2020 Global Casino Championship with his victory.
Regarding the second seat, Christopher Nunnally was in the top spot of the Casino Champion race during the first week with his win in Event #1 and with his 11th place finish in Event #4. However, he couldn’t stay there longer as multiple players started catching up to him and eventually it is Aaron Gamino who won the Casino Champion title with four cashes including three final tables and one victory, worth 107.5 points.
Additionally, all players who cash in ring events earn points that apply toward the season-long race to claim one of the limited at-large bids.
That wraps it up for the first Circuit stop in Tunica for the 2019-2020 season. There will be a second stop at Horseshoe Tunica starting April 23rd until May 4th.