Justin Arnwine Runs Good to Capture Glory on Single Buy-In

A stunning conclusion to the latest RunGood Poker Series saw Justin Arnwine’s single bullet hit home. The regular on American live circuit events won the top prize of over $80,000 after outlasting legends of the felt such as Nicholas Rigby and Roy Kim at the final table, as bracelet winners such as Chris Chatman and Russell Brooks both cashed.

Another Well Attended RGPS Stop

Live poker is more than back. This week’s event Grand Prix Maryland Main Event was example enough of that, with 251 entries in the tournament culminating in a big win for Justin Arnwine. Only 33 of those players made it into the money places, among them WSOP bracelet winners Russell Brooks (28^th for $3,418), Chris Chatman (21^st for $5,031) and the former WSOP Ladies Event winner Lara Eisenberg, who came 11^th for $7,297.

By the time the final nine were formed, Lee Sommers was once of the short stacks and he paid for that position in the pecking order with his tournament life. All-in with the superior pocket queens, he was nevertheless unlucky to lose against the suited ace-jack of Craig Delisle. An ace and a jack on the flop were overkill but did the job, as Sommers left with a result worth $9,985 soon after the final table had begun.

Next to go was Delisle himself, who did the opposite of putting those chips to good use. Winning $11,482 in eighth place, Delisle  was all-in and at risk pre-flop with pocket tens only to lose a flip to the bigger stack of Roy Kim, who called it off with ace-queen from the big blind, Delisle having shoved from the button. Delisle might have thought his luck was in when he saw a ten on the flop to make a set, but with a king and jack alongside it, Kim’s Broadway straight held through turn and river to eliminate his opponent.

Rigby’s Diaper Emptied

Kai Nicholls was dominated to defeat in seventh place for a score of $13,057. The Australian, the only non-American left in play at that stage, held king-jack to the eventual winner’s king-queen as Justin Arnwine chipped up and sent the Aussie down and under as the final half-dozen players were confirmed.

After winning a coinflip, Nicholas Rigby, also known as the ‘Dirty Diaper’ was all-in against Roy Kim, with the latter holding the superior ace-eight to Rigby’s king-jack. A jack on the flop was all the new Rigby needed to provoke that grin that charmed the world during the World Series of Poker Main Event four years and two years ago and the man who always seems to go deep in the Main eliminated Kim for $14,977.

Surprisingly, Rigby lasted little longer. His rollercoaster ride continued with a drop to short stack then two double-ups, before he finally lost a flip with all his chips on the line. Ace-eight needed to hit against the pocket sixes of Arnwine, but after a flop of Q-3-3, a six on the turn instead confirmed Rigby’s departure as he cashed for $18,203 in fifth place.

Arnwine Has the Goods

“We’ve made it this far – let’s play.”

Down to four players, Arnwine pulled off the bluff of the tournament on a board showing Q-T-4-K-7, as he pushed Russ Dunlevy off his hand holding just nine-high. Dunlevy even called what Arnwine had, but couldn’t click the call button in real life, getting shown the hand but not the chips as Arnwine continued to pile them up.

“You called my hand!” Arnwine shouted as he flipped over nine-deuce for a missed flush draw from the flop.

“You sick f**k!” Dunlevy yelled back with humor.

Soon, Kade Venkatesan went the same way as so many others, losing with ace-eight to Dunlevy as ace-ten was good enough for the man who lost the last hand to recover some of his power at the felt. Venkatesan went home with $23,042 in fourth place.

Soon, Hamid Izadi was out too, this time in third place for $34,947. All-in with ten-eight of clubs, he lost to Arnwine’s eight-deuce of spades, with both men putting their chips in on the flpp of 8-7-5 with two spades. A third spade hit the river to give Arnwine the chips and a lead of 7.1m to Dunlvey’s 2.9m going into the final battle.

“What do you want to do?” Dunlevy asked Arnwine about the prospect of a deal.

“Do you want to look at the numbers?” Arnwine asked but Dunlevy considered it for a moment before deciding to play on.

“We’ve made it this far, he said. “Let’s play. [I’d] like to think I can come back from this, J-Man, I really do.”

That confidence was misplaced, as on a board of T-3-2-A, Arnwine moved all-in on the turn, winding up his pocket Hello Kitty cat on the table. As a tournament official moved to the table to ‘color up’ some of the chip leader’s stack, Dunlevy commented that it was unfortunate timing and called with pocket sevens.

Arnwine showed ace-three for a flopped pair and turned two-pair. He only had to fade a seven to become champion and  did so on the river, prompting a handshake and an admission from the runner-up Dunlevy who cashed for $52,228 in second place.

“You’re one of the people I would be most happy to lose to.” He said, in a last gracious moment of a tournament played in an excellent spirit, evident of the special atmosphere that RunGood events always seem to conjure.

As Justin Arnwine celebrated winning the top prize of $80,646 and posed for the cameras, the memories would live long in those in Maryland for another superbly run Main Event.

Photographs by Michael Olivas for the RunGood Poker Series