John Gardner Wins 2021 Grand Poker Series $600 Championship Event ($100,266)

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

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: