John Gardner Wins Golden Nugget's 2021 Grand Poker Series Championship Event ($100,266)

Brandon Bloom

Level 30 : 75,000/150,000, 150,000 ante

John Gardner has claimed victory in Event #22: $600 Championship No-Limit Hold’em $500,000 Guarantee, the Main Event of The Grand Poker Series at the Golden Nugget in downtown Las Vegas.

Three Day 1 flights attracted 1,096 combined entries for a total prize pool of $565,536. Of those, 138 players made it into the money for Day 2. The second day ended with only nine players left, and a final table was set for a third and final day. The final table lasted just under three hours and Gardner, who came into the day second in chips, ended up playing heads-up with Mark Harraka, who was the final table chip leader.

2021 Grand Poker Series Championship Final Table Results

Place	Player	Country	Prize
1	John Gardner	United States	$100,266
2	Mark Harraka	United States	$66,570
3	Danny Dagostino	United States	$44,325
4	Ken Huynh	United States	$31,025
5	Jason Bartholomew	United States	$22,515
6	Jesse Jaurigue	United States	$17,095
7	Benjamin Jacobs	United States	$13,615
8	Phillip Latimer	United States	$12,390
9	Greg Koutelidakis	United States	$9,545

Final Table Action

Action at the final table started quickly, and only a few hands into the day, Jason Bartholomew knocked out Greg Koutelidakis after completing his nut flush draw on the turn against Koutelidakis’ flopped two pair.

Three shorter stacks were soon gone in quick succession, with Phillip Latimer getting knocked out in eighth, Benjamin Jacobs falling in seventh, and Jesse Jaurigue gone in sixth.

After a short break, Gardner stared down and called down Bartholomew with second-top pair while Bartholomew could only show ace-high in a huge pot that helped propel Gardner to eventual victory. Ken Huynh was next to go when he ran his sevens into the eights of Danny Dagostino, who then fell in third when his cowboys were cracked by Gardner’s flopped straight.

That set up a heads-up battle between Gardner and Harraka, with the former starting with a chip advantage of almost three times the latter's stack. The first all-in and call came on a nine-eight-seven flop and Gardner’s jack-nine was in a great position against Harraka’s jack-eight. The board ran out blanks and Gardner was officially the champion of the championship event.

Gardner, who is from Eagle Mountain, Utah and describes himself as “just a recreational” with a wife and three kids, said he was into poker when he was younger but only recently got back into it within the last couple of years. His previous biggest cash before this was for under a thousand dollars.

He added, “Thanks to the casino and the tournament directors and the dealers. They were all great. It was a good tournament and a lot of fun.”

Congratulations to John Gardner, winner of the Golden Nugget Grand Poker Series Event #22: $600 Championship!

While the 2021 Grand Poker Series Championship is in the books, the series continues through October 18. That includes the popular invite-only Bar Poker Open Championship, which will see players from across the country descend upon the Golden Nugget. Click here for a look at the remaining Grand Poker Series schedule.

Here's a look at all those who've captured titles thus far at the 2021 Grand Poker Series:

Date	Tournament	GTD	Entries	Prize Pool	Winner	Hometown	Prize
28-Sep	Event #1: $250 Omaha 8 or Better	$5,000	95	$18,990	Jose Leon	Bellflower, CA	$3,480
28-Sep	Event #2: $150 Daily NLH	$5,000	41	$5,000	Mary Campbell	Spring, TX	$1,535
28-Sep	Event #3: $250 Big-O	N/A	70	$10,640	Eric Plunkett	Solvan, CA	$3,370
28-Sep	Event #4: $120 Nightly NLH	$3,000	47	$4,089	Daryl Oppelt	Brookings, SD	$1,324
29-Sep	Event #5: GNLV Poker Room Invitational	$100,000	99	$100,000	Michael Brewer	Oxford, NC	$9,100
29-Sep	Event #6: $150 Daily NLH	$5,000	72	$7,920	Adam Mirliss	Prescott, AZ	$2,460
29-Sep	Event #7: $100 Pot-Limit Omaha Fire Till You're Tired	N/A	48	$9,470	David Wortham	Murrieta, GA	$2,376
29-Sep	Event #8: $120 Nightly NLH	$3,000	36	$3,132	Matthew Maddox	Toulumne, CA	$1,034
30-Sep	Event #9: $250 HORSE	$5,000	87	$17,400	Kathy Chang	Valencia, CA	$3,765
30-Sep	Event #10: $200 NLH Ultimate Re-Entry	$100,000	2,076	$315,552	Justin Hagan	Roseville, CA	$28,402
3-Oct	Event #11: $250 Omaha 8/Stud 8	$10,000	178	$35,600	Darlene Springman	Las Vegas, NV	$5,387
3-Oct	Event #12: $150 Daily NLH	$10,000	155	$17,050	June Jenkins	Hamilton, Ontario, Canada	$3,580
3-Oct	Event #13: $120 Nightly NLH	$5,000	101	$8,787	Michael James	West Allis, WI	$1,000
4-Oct	Event #14: $250 Mixed PLO/8, Omaha 8/B, Big-O	$10,000	186	$37,200	Derek Bugg	Puyallup, WA	$7,240
4-Oct	Event #15: $150 Daily NLH	$10,000	219	$24,090	Qijon Troy	Honolulu, HI	$3,035
4-Oct	Event #16: $200 Mixed Triple Draw Lowball Limit	N/A	108	$16,416	Joe Konstan	St. Paul, MN	$4,796
4-Oct	Event #17: $120 Nightly NLH	$5,000	75	$6,525	Eric Kendall	Carmel, IN	$840
5-Oct	Event #18: $250 Big-O	$10,000	109	$21,800	Michael Howell	Las Vegas, NV	$5,965
5-Oct	Event #19: $200 NLH $100K GTD	$100,000	1,905	$289,560	Jenyue Chiang	Mesa, AZ	$23,550
6-Oct	Event #20: $250 Pot-Limit Omaha 8-Handed	$10,000	141	$28,200	Luis Alvarez	South Houston, TX	$7,070
7-Oct	Event #21: $250 8-Game Mix	$5,000	102	$20,400	Jacob Naumann	Largo, FL	$5,200
7-Oct	Event #22: $600 Championship NLH	$500,000	1,096	$565,536	John Gardner	Eagle Mountain, UT	$100,266
7-Oct	Event #23: $150 Daily NLH	$10,000	123	$13,530	Norsavanh Phousith	Woonsocket, RI	$1,370
7-Oct	Event #24: $120 Nightly NLH	$5,000	50	$5,000	Gregory Robbins	Fresno, CA	$1,700
8-Oct	Event #25: $150 Daily NLH	$10,000	108	$11,880	Braxton Lake	Jersey City, NJ	$2,420
8-Oct	Event #26: $200 Night HORSE	N/A	91	$13,832	Michael Ornelas	Los Angeles, CA	$3,972
8-Oct	Event #27: $120 Nightly NLH	$5,000	42	$5,000	Yette Silverman	Jensen Beach, FL	$1,700