Over the weekend, the
$2,200 buy-in Benny Binion Summer Shootout took place at
South Point Casino in Las Vegas. The tournament, which attracted 94 players, ended in a three-way deal that saw a triumvirate of players secure mid-five-figure paydays.
With the trio holding nearly identical chip stacks, a deal was struck that saw
Patrick Gunraj and
Kyle Grosshanten each lock up $55,000, while poker pro
Ian Steinman took top honors and $65,000 in prize money. Originally, first place was to receive $100,000 while second and third place would have received $50,000 and $25,000 respectively.
âThe table was great to grind on,â Steinman told the
Las Vegas Review-Journalâs
Ronnie Bardah and
Chris Lindh were among those cashing but missing the final table as they were felted in the penultimate round, while 2018 bracelet winner
Dan Matsuzuki made the final table but got bounced in fifth.
Pupillo and Firebaugh, the two start-of-day leaders, made it to heads-up play deep-stacked. While Pupillo was able to get close to square, he d have to settle for second when Firebaugh shoved a five-high combo draw and got there against Pupillo s top pair. The well-traveled Arizona resident settled for $50K in a year that s seen him scrape together $300K in cashes in spite of the pandemic.