The televised ESPN Bounty Shootout, held as part of the Bicycle Casino’s Big Event, held its final table on Saturday. The $10,000 buy-in tournament featured a winner-take-all top prize of $171,000 and nine players were left standing, including reigning World Series of Poker Main Event champion Jonathan Duhamel. Every player who reached the final table banked $40,000.
Victor Ramdin, fresh off a victory in the Main Event of the Big Event on Friday, was the first player sent packing from the Bounty Shootout’s final table. Ramdin was all-in before the flop and up against two players, Duhamel and Matt Woodward. After the board ran out 10-5-4-8-6 with three hearts, Ramdin showed Big Slick for ace-high, Duhamel tabled Q-10 for top pair, and Woodward showed K-J for king-high.
Ramdin picked up $48,000 for his ninth place finish. The final table of the Main Event, which aired on Live at the Bike, featured Ramdin defeating 2005 WSOP Main Event winner Joe Hachem heads-up. Live at the Bike offered viewers the option to see players’ hole cards and, according to Bicycle Casino officials, most users elected to see what the competitors held. Viewers could actually turn hole on and off cards from hand to hand.
Team PokerStars Online pro Shane “Shaniac” Schleger was the next player sent packing. Schleger ran pocket tens into Alex Keating’s pocket kings on his final hand. Keating flopped a king to make a set and no running tens came, sending “Shaniac” to the rail in eighth place.
Woodward was the next to go after his A-10 could not withstand John Smith’s K-J after all of the money went in before the flop. Smith hit a king on the flop and no ace saved the day for Woodward on the turn or river to go out in seventh place.
Duhamel got his money in with K-8 of spades and was up against North American Poker Tour Los Angeles Main Event winner Joe Tehan’s A-10 of diamonds. The flop came down 10-4-3 with two diamonds, giving Tehan top pair and the nut flush draw. He’d get a sweat when an offsuit eight fell on the turn. The river was the king of diamonds, giving Duhamel kings-up, but also improving Tehan to a flush.
The eliminations were then fast and furious. Smith fell at the hands of Keating when his K-10 could not draw out on Keating’s A-Q of clubs. Then, Tehan quickly ran K-Q into A-K to depart in fourth place.
Pat Walsh doubled up on a K-7-4 two-heart flop after making top and bottom pair with K-4. Keating showed A-J of hearts to put Walsh at risk and the five of hearts on the turn seemingly was about to send the champ home. However, a four on the river gave Walsh a boat and a critical double up three-handed to take a healthy chip lead.
Keating bit the dust in third place after his K-10 of diamonds could not fend off Ali Eslami’s Q-4. Eslami ultimately hit a flush and Keating exited stage right. In the Bounty Shootout at the Bike’s final hand, Eslami committed his chips with J-7 of diamonds on a flop of 9-8-5 with two diamonds for straight and flush draws. Walsh showed 9-3 for top pair, which held when a black eight and a black ace came on the turn and river, respectively.
Here were the final payouts from the ESPN Bounty Shootout:
1. Pat Walsh – $241,700
2. Ali Eslami – $56,000
3. Alex Keating – $62,000
4. Joe Tehan – $56,000
5. John Smith – $58,000
6. Jonathan Duhamel – $58,000
7. Matt Woodward – $42,000
8. Shane Schleger – $46,000
9. Victor Ramdin – $48,000
Remember to catch all of the action from the Big Event’s Main Event on Live at the Bike.