In what amounted to just over an average American work shift, one lucky player took home as much money as some citizens make in an entire year. After close to eight hours at the tables, David “gaucho2121” Paredes netted an even $25,000 in the fifth event of PokerStars’ first ever USA Championship of Online Poker.
In total, 398 players ponied up the necessary $200 + $15 buy-in for this Heads-Up event. Despite failing to surpass its $100,000 guarantee, Event 5 did feature strong winning odds for its participants. The top 64 players each earned a piece of the pie, with the minimum payout set at $400. Extra cash was available via knockout bounties, with $50 paid to each player who managed to out duel a member of Team PokerStars.
Here’s a rundown of the top ten finishers:
#1 – David “gaucho2121” Paredes ($25,000)
#2 – JaFos ($13,000)
#3 – BodogAri ($7,000)
#4 – smsuwrestler ($7,000)
#5 – TwinMSU ($3,200)
#6 – 3mptyS0ul ($3,200)
#7 – Aaralynn ($3,200)
#8 – MI_turtle ($3,200)
#9 – SmokenS2K ($1,200)
#10 – RobertAlbia ($1,200)
With his most recent cash, Paredes runs his all time money total to $211,771.37. Nearly a third of that came from an $85,198.50 win this past July in a Full Tilt $750,000 Guarantee.
Third place finisher Alan “BodogAri” Engel has quietly been building his name in the online realm, playing at a variety of poker sites. His $7,000 bump should provide entry into several more big name tournaments.
Tom McEvoy was the only member of Team PokerStars to make the money, with a fiftieth place finish that was good for a near double return of $400. Like the his mates, McEvoy had a $50 reward on his head. Here’s how the rest of the bounty targets finished their days:
#144 – Jorj95
#261 – VictorRamdin
#332 – ChadBrownPRO
#354 – Barry “barryg1” Greenstein
#356 – Greg “FossilMan” Raymer
#362 – Money800
Next up in PokerStars’ USA COOP is Event 6, a $320 HORSE go-around featuring $150,000 in guaranteed money. Action kicks of on Friday, November 26 at 17:00 ET.