20 January 2020 (Lincoln, Calif.) - Jamie Haletky has just won the $1,700 Main Event at the Thunder Valley World Series of Poker Circuit stop. The 42-year-old mathematician from San Jose topped a field of 487 players to earn $147,706 and his first WSOP Circuit gold ring.
Thunder Valley Casino has historically treated Haletky well, with all three of his Final Tables being held here in Lincoln. Back in 2016, he finished runner-up in the Ante Up Poker Tour $1,650 World Championship, and later won the Main Event at the Ante Up Norcal Classic.
“It feels great. I feel like the other ones [Final Tables] was a lot of luck, but I have really studied a lot these past two years to improve my game. Obviously this one was also luck, you can’t win without a lot of luck. I was really happy how I played, especially in the start of the tournament,” said Haletky after winning his first WSOP gold ring.
The $1,700 Main Event was a three-day adventure, with nine players remaining at the start of Day 2. The loaded Final Table included WSOP bracelet winner Bryan Piccioli and five-time WSOP ring winner, Scott Stewart.
“It was definitely the toughest final table I have been at, the other two here were not nearly as tough. I knew I had to take it easy, and I did not want to be too aggressive and just let the cards play themselves.”, said Haletky.
Paul Robinson took down last year’s Thunder Valley Main Event, and Haletky admits that he was inspired by the former champion.
“I think really highly of his game, he used to be a chemist and I’m a mathematician- , engineer type person. So I thought that: if he can do it, I should be able to do it.”
Haletky earned $147,706 for the win, along with a WSOP Circuit gold ring. He also secured a free entry at the 2020 WSOP Global Casino Championship.
The $1,700 Main Event attracted 487 players that contributed to a total prizepool of $737,805. Others to cash the Main Event were Jonathan Ingalls (11th - $10,870), Paul Richardson (20th - $6,162), WSOP bracelet winner Scott Bohlman (24th - $5,252), Andreas Kniep (36th - $3,232), Jarod Minghini (50th - $2,789), Bicycle Casino poker manager Mo Fathipour (56th - $2,656), and Matt Livingston (70th - $2,572).
Here are the final table results:
1. Jaime Haletky
2. Dapo Ajayi
3. Marko Pantelic
4. Scott Stewart
5. Marcus Laffen
6. Dann Turner
7. Peter Pap
8. Bin Duan
9. Bryan Piccioli
Full Results
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