The biggest poker series in Texas history is currently underway with the Texas Poker Championship at Houston’s Prime Social, which has already awarded players over $1.7 million in prize money.
The series kicked off on March 10 with Event #1: $500 Mystery Bounty, which had a staggering seven starting flights and attracted an enormous field of 1,322 runners. The bounty tournament had a guaranteed prize pool of $500,000 and surpassed that with $511,840 in prize money.
Joseph Caffaro took down the opening event for the first-place prize of $45,950, defeating Carlos Saucedo during heads-up play to earn Saucedo $38,500. Other players who made deep runs in the mystery bounty event include Blake Barousse (3rd – $25,000), Derek Normand (4th – $18,500), Laura Hoppe (9th – $5,100) and Kristopher Burchfield (12th – $4,000).
Joseph Caffaro
Later in the series, Justin Bond took down Event #9: $1,100 The Big Texas to earn the trophy and a big score of $115,480. Bond defeated Jason Gooch during heads-up play to send the second-place finisher home with $75,960.
The $500,000 guarantee tournament attracted 643 players and generated $630,140 in prize money. Other players who made Bond sparred with at the final table include Sean Cha (3rd – $56,620) Jeremy Meacham (5th – $31,740), Mazen Abdallah (7th – $18,680) and Gabriel Andrade (9th – $11,540).
Bond, a resident of Dallas, now boasts an impressive $1.8 million in tournament earnings, which includes a 35th place finish in the 2017 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event worth $214,913. His latest victory in The Big Texas gives him the fifth biggest score of his career.
Event #9: $1,100 The Big Texas Final Results
| RANK | PLAYER | HOMETOWN | PRIZE (IN USD) | |
| 1 | Justin Bond | Dallas, TX | $115,480 | |
| 2 | Jason Gooch | Vidor, TX | $76,960 | |
| 3 | Sean Cha | Houston, TX | $56,620 | |
| 4 | Tyler Rawlinson | Tomball, TX | $42,140 | |
| 5 | Jeremy Meacham | Oak Bluffs, MA | $31,740 | |
| 6 | Peter Lynn | Olympia, WA | $24,200 | |
| 7 | Mazen Abdallah | Houston, TX | $18,680 | |
| 8 | Thongv Nguyen | McAllen, TX | $14,590 | |
| 9 | Gabriel Andrade | Houston, TX | $11,540 |
Later in the series, Brandon Johnson earned the trophy in Event #13: $600 One Day after striking a four-way deal at the final table that also left him with $18,500. Johnson had the biggest stack when the deal was made and therefore earned the victory.
The other players who got in on the deal were Southisak Seunsom (2nd – $18,350), Trung Pham (3rd – $17,120) and Dara Taherpour (4th – $14,530).
The one-day tournament had a $100,000 guarantee and surpassed that with 101 runners bringing the prize pool to $121,680.
Additionally, Ricardo Alvarado took down Event #16: $1,100 PLO Championship for $37,640 after defeating Twich streamer Alexander “AlexOptional” Green during heads-up play, who in turn earned $25,100. Four-time WSOP bracelet winner Benny Glaser, meanwhile, found a third-place finish worth $17,920.
Ricardo Alvarado
The PLO Tournament attracted 157 runners to generate $153,860 in prize money, smashing the guaranteed $100,000.
Other Texas Poker Championship winners so far include James Farley, who won $50,820 in Event #2: $400 NLH Jacked Stack, Sergio Braga, who won $7,510 in Event #5: $600 Triple Stud, and Barousse, a two-time WSOP ring winner who took down Event #12: $1,100 Mystery Bounty Turbo for $10,000.
The best of the Texas Poker Championship at Prime Social is still to come with the $5,300 No-Limit Hold’em Main Event scheduled to get underway on Thursday, March 24. The four-day event has a huge $2 million guarantee and will offer three starting flights.
The Main Event will wrap up on Tuesday, March 29 with the final table being live-streamed with hole cards and commentary at twitch.tv/primesocialtx.
A full list of winners so far in the Texas Poker Championship is available in the table below.
Texas Poker Championship Winners
| TOURNAMENT | ENTRIES | PRIZE POOL | WINNER | HOMETOWN | PRIZE | |
| Event #1: $500 $500k GTD Mystery Bounty | 1,322 | $511,840 | Joseph Caffaro | Spring, TX | $45,950 | |
| Event #2: $400 NLH Jacked Stack | 154 | $50,820 | James Farley | Corpus Christi, TX | $13,660 | |
| Event #3: $600 Omaha 8 | 55 | $28,600 | Tim Wong | $8,730 | ||
| Event #4: $400 NLH Short Deck | 21 | $7,330 | Salim Ishikov | N/A | $3,660 | |
| Event #5: $600 Triple Stud | 39 | $20,280 | Sergio Braga | N/A | $7,510 | |
| Event #6: $200 Sweat and Go (Canceled) | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | |
| Event #7: $400 NLH Seniors | 72 | $21,700 | Larry Astolfo | Houston, TX | $8,320 | |
| Event #8: $600 H.O.R.S.E. | 50 | $26,000 | Jonathan Breneman | Woodbury, MN | $8,840 | |
| Event #9: $1,100 The Big Texas $500k GTD | 643 | $630,140 | Justin Bond | Dallas, TX | $115,480 | |
| Event #10: $600 Dealer’s Choice | 32 | $16,640 | Jason Fitzpatrick | Houston, TX | $5,430 | |
| Event #11: $600 No Limit 2-7 Single Draw | 24 | $12,480 | Christopher Williams | Mesa, AZ | $4,185 | |
| Event #12: $1,100 Mystery Bounty Turbo | 37 | $51,800 | Blake Barousse | Lafayette, LA | $10,000 | |
| Event #13: $600 One Day $100k GTD | 101 | $121,680 | Brandon Johnson | East Chicago, IL | $18,500 | |
| Event $14: $600 PLO 8 | 36 | $18,720 | Ravee Sundara | Brooklyn, NY | $7,030 | |
| Event #15: $250 Ladies Event sponsored by LOUD Lacquer | 43 | $8,600 | Alexis Lee | N/A | $3,250 | |
| Event #16: $1,100 PLO Championship $100k GTD | 157 | $153,860 | Ricardo Alvarado | Denison, TX | $37,640 | |
| Event #17: $600 NLH Survivor | 96 | $50,880 | Dirty John | Houston, TX | $5,300 |
Read highlights from the PokerNews Texas Road Trip here!
*Images courtesy of Prime Social.
