Over the weekend, the $2,200 buy-in Benny Binion Summer Shootout took place at South Point Casino in Las Vegas. The tournament, which attracted 94 players, ended in a three-way deal that saw a triumvirate of players secure mid-five-figure paydays.
With the trio holding nearly identical chip stacks, a deal was struck that saw Patrick Gunraj and Kyle Grosshanten each lock up $55,000, while poker pro Ian Steinman took top honors and $65,000 in prize money. Originally, first place was to receive $100,000 while second and third place would have received $50,000 and $25,000 respectively.
Steinman, who last summer claimed his first World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet and won the WSOP.com bracelet points leaderboard, has in excess of $900,000 in live tournament earnings according to The Hendon Mob.
“The table was great to grind on,” Steinman told the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Jim Barnes after the win. “… I knew I could survive on the short stack because of the great structure.”
South Point’s unique twist on the “Shootout” format saw players participate in five sessions, with half the field being eliminated in each. Put another way, rather than the winner of each table advancing, the players started each table eight-handed and played until four were left. Therefore, until the final table, the goal for each player was to accumulate as many chips as possible while surviving through the eliminations of four opponents.
Steinman also told PokerNews: “It felt great to win, especially in a unique format that I hadn’t ever played before. Having to think about and adjust to the format and the unique and changing dynamics is why I love tournament poker in general so this was fun and exciting for me to play. I’m happy I could come out on top.”
2021 Benny Binion Summer Shootout Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ian Steinman | $65,000* |
| 2 | Patrick Gunraj | $55,000* |
| 3 | Kyle Grosshanten | $55,000* |
| 4 | Zachary Andrews | $18,000 |
| 5 | Ryan Laplante | $14,000 |
| 6 | Joseph Baranowski | $11,000 |
| 7 | Nellie Park | $8,000 |
| 8 | Dustin Dirksen | $6,000 |
*Denotes three-handed deal.
Last December, the inaugural $2,050 buy-in Benny Binion Shootout, which was capped at 128 runners, saw William Firebaugh defeat Nick Pupillo in heads-up play to claim a $100,000 top prize. Pupillo received $50,000 for finishing as runner-up.
Tournaments at South Point continue through June 22 as part of the Summer Tournament Mini Series, which features bigger guarantees on their usual daily tournaments. Every day at 6 p.m. local time for the next week, players can enjoy a $250 buy-in, $50K GTD No-Limit Hold’em Mega Stack tournament.
*Images courtesy of South Point.