Forty-five players pocketed their share of $200,000 as Bodog hosted the $470 + $30 Main Event of the Bodog Poker Open V (BPO) on Sunday. With just 360 registered players, there was a $30,000 overlay, as a $200,000 prize pool was guaranteed by Bodog. Taking the top spot at the $50,000 first prize was Evansville, Indiana’s “Whitey03,” who will also receive an engraved Corum Romulus Chronograph watch, which retails for $5,900.
Sunday’s triumph was by far Whitey03’s biggest cash at Bodog, with his previous best coming on July 6th, 2008 , when he placed fifth for $5,700 in the $100,000 Guaranteed tournament. His last tournament cash on Bodog before this weekend was way back on July 11th, when he won the $4,000 Guaranteed Double Stack, taking home $1,236.
Fellow Hoosier Joe “hebs” Hebda placed second and received $32,000 for his runner-up finish, while “how8life” came in third and won $20,200. Rounding out the final table were “Bravehart,” “EstyzBalln,” “fishy23,” “t2g,” “kingb51,” and “aimtj.”
Despite coming in under the number of players needed to meet the guarantee, the turnout for this weekend’s Bodog Poker Open was greater than last year’s BPO, which saw the smallest field in the event’s five year history at just 257 players. The Main Event of the first BPO was the largest, with 596 players taking part, creating a $305,120 prize pool (Bodog added $25,000).
“Whitey03” will now also be of inducted into the Bodog Poker Open Hall of Fame, joining past winners “phatcat” (BPO I), “zubs1aa” (BPO II), “biffsworld” (BPO III), and “MrElPaso” (BPO IV).
In addition to the Main Event, which was part of what Bodog called the Championship Series, Bodog held a lower buy-in Contender Series finale, which cost just $46 + $4 to enter. With 376 players, the Contender Main Event met its $15,000 guarantee. Player “palcemvglaz” was the winner, nabbing $4,324. “I M A King” was almost king, finishing second ($2,767.36), while “bornwinner86” didn’t quite live up to his name, as he placed third ($1,746.89).
All Contender Series Main Event winners are also immortalized in the Bodog Poker Open Hall of Fame. This was only the second year that Bodog held Contender Series tournaments. The first two years of the BPO, there was only one buy-in level, the Championship Series. Bodog actually split BPO III into three different levels: Championship, Mid, and Mini. The Championship Main Event was $470 + $30, the Mid-Main Event ran $150 + $13, and the Mini-Main Event cost $46 + $4.
Bodog’s traffic has declined significantly in recent years, as the once popular poker room now ranks just 25th in in terms cash game players, according to PokerScout.com. Its 670-player seven-day average puts it just 10 behind 3-D poker room PKR and more than 200 players ahead of Full Tilt Poker’s French-only offering. The decline seems to be the result of a lack of deposit options, as the only choices are credit card – which is not reliable method for United States residents – eWalletXpress, Click2Pay, and MyPaylinQ.
Complete final standings for both the Championship Series and Contender Series Main Events are below.
Bodog Poker Open V Championship Series Main Event Final Table Results
1. Whitey03 – $50,000
2. hebs – $32,000
3. how8life – $20,200
4. Bravehart – $16,000
5. EstyzBalln – $11,200
6. fishy23 – $9,000
7. t2g – $7,000
8. kingb51 – $4,400
9. aimtj – $3,400
Bodog Poker Open V Contender Series Main Event Final Table Results
1. palcemvglaz – $4,324.00
2. I M A King – $2,767.36
3. bornwinner86 – $1,746.89
4. Nope 1124 – $1,383.68
5. johnpavlon – $968.57
6. Evil_E – $778.32
7. armstrizal21 – $605.36
8. B Pars – $380.51
9. Dimeboy – $294.03