Congratulations Kenny Wang ($97,256), 2022 WSOP Circuit Gold Coast Mystery Bounty Champion!
After coming oh-so-close against best mate Sheng Ye in the $5K High Roller, Kenny Wang has finally broken through for his biggest tournament victory, pocketing more than $97,000 in first-place prize money and the coveted Jostens WSOP Circuit ring!
It’s already been a great year for the Sydneysider, who also finished runner-up in the record-breaking APL Million Main Event at Southport Sharks in August for $264,595 – his biggest career tournament score to date – but it was abundantly clear from the start of the final table that Wang wasn’t going to accept anything less than first.
“These last couple of months … I’ve always come second,” Wang told PokerMedia Australia, “and I admit I was a little bit upset, but I talked with my mate Peter and he said ‘you’re gonna get a ring’. Now, finally … I have one. It’s amazing!”
Wang has been putting in the hours, grinding tournaments and watching training videos whenever he’s able to fit in the time around work, as well as getting plenty of help from another great mate in Yang Lei – and now, he’s got his sights firmly set on taking part in the in WSOP Tournament of Champions next year.
From all of us here at PMA, congratulations Kenny on all of your success!
2022 WSOP CIRCUIT MYSTERY BOUNTY – FINAL TABLE RESULTS ($1,350 buy-in, 692 entries, 95 players paid)*
| Place | Name | Country | Amount |
| 1st | Kenny Wang | Australia | $97,256 |
| 2nd | Mark Montague | Australia | $60,108 |
| 3rd | Mark Bain | Australia | $44,087 |
| 4th | Siana O’Loughlin | Australia | $32,757 |
| 5th | Shem Goltz | Australia | $24,591 |
| 6th | Charbel Boustani | Australia | $18,705 |
| 7th | Joe Sandaev | Australia | $14,407 |
| 8th | Ash Chynoweth | Australia | $11,237 |
| 9th | Alex Lee | Singapore | $8,877 |
This concludes PMA‘s Live Reporting of this event, but be sure to check out our updates from today’s Day 1A of the Main Event, and follow us right through until next Tuesday as we bring you all the updates, images and results right up until the final river falls.
To all of our readers and followers, thank you for your ongoing support and we look forward to seeing you back here real soon. Until then, from all of us here at The Star Gold Coast, it’s ‘bye for now!
Mark Montague eliminated in 2nd place ($60,108)
The chip counts were virtually even going into the final level of play for the night, but as has often been the case here at The Star Gold Coast, our players aren’t afraid to put it all on the line – and that they did, just after 1am local time.
After Kenny Wang raised to 1.5 million from the button, Mark Montague called from the button before check-calling to Wang’s bet of 1.2 million after the flop of 10♦5♥7♣.
The dealer then peeled off the Q♦ on the turn; Montague checked again, Wang open-shoved and after less than a minute of mulling it over, Montague shrugged his shoulders and said, “Okay, I call.”
Montague: K♣J♥
Wang: Q♣3♣
Wang had managed to turn a pair, but still needed to dodge any King, Nine or Ace …
… and the tears of joy almost immediately welled up in Wang’s eyes as he watched the 4♥ brick out on the river.
| Mark Montague | BUSTED! |
It’s been a great day out for Mark, who along with his $60K payday, has picked up 10 bounties including a Major Bounty worth $17,300. Well played, sir!
Time now for PMA to wrap up today’s proceedings – back soon!
Level 35: 250,000/500,000 (500,000)
Put up them dukes!
A fair bit of to-ing and fro-ing between our heads-up combatants, with Mark Montague still holding on against Kenny Wang as we head to the 35th and final level of Day 2.
In the first hand of heads-up, Wang completed from the button and Montague checked his option in the big blind before both players checked the flop of A♦4♣6♣ before Montague forced a fold from Wang after he opened for 700,000 on the turn of the 4♣.
Montague was then able to bring some back a few hands later, completing his button before Wang checked to see a flop of 9♠J♦Q♥. Wang check-called Montague’s c-bet of 400,000, and then both players checked the turn of the 7♠ before Wang check-folded to Montague’s bet of 1,500,000 after the dealer produced the 10♦ on the river.
| Kenny Wang | 13,335,000 |
| Mark Montague | 12,000,000 |
Mark Bain eliminated in 3rd place ($44,087)
Having been cut back to less than 2 million in a previous hand, Mark Bain was eventually whittled down to just 500,000, which he moved into the middle pre-flop after Kenny Wang limped from the button.
Both Mark Montague (in the big blind) and Wang called off the additional 100,000, then checked through the board of A♦K♠A♥9♦6♠.
Montague: Q♥10♣
Bain: Q♦7♥
Wang: J♦8♠
No change to the outcome for either hand, and Bain was outkicked in third place and we are now officially heads-up for the WSOP Circuit Mystery Bounty title!
| Kenny Wang | 15,135,000 |
| Mark Montague | 10,200,000 |
| Mark Bain | BUSTED! |
Wrangling Wang
Kenny Wang is starting to assert himself against his two opponents, with nuance play attracting chips in his direction, bit by bit.
Wang defended his big blind against a raise to 900,000 from Mark Montague in the small. On 4♥7♥9♥, Montague lead for 1,000,000. Wang then asked for a rough count of Montague’s remaining stack before raising to 2,200,000.
Montague elected not to proceed any further, letting his hand go into the muck.
Tournament staff have now advised that following Level 34, there will be a 15-minute break followed by one more level. After which, play will cease for the day and the players will return on Friday.
| Kenny Wang | 16,235,000 |
| Mark Montague | 7,200,000 |
| Mark Bain | 1,900,000 |
Level 34: 200,000/400,000 (400,000)
Swings and roundabouts
The action hasn’t let up between our final three players, however both Mark Bain and Kenny Wang have both doubled up to keep the action going here in at this Mystery Bounty finale.
After Mark Montague folded from the button pre-flop, Wang jammed from the small blind and Bain took a minute to think it over before calling short, but found that he was ahead with A♠J♦ against Wang’s K♦J♠.
A bit of a sweat on fourth street with the board that read 6♦10♠7♦Q♣, but Bain survived after the 8♥ fell on the river.
Down to about 4 million in chips, Wang got them all in a short time later and was called off by Montague.
Montague: A♣Q♦
Wang: A♠10♥
Board: 4♥5♣10♠9♥2♦
| Mark Montague | 13,000,000 |
| Kenny Wang | 8,500,000 |
| Mark Bain | 5,550,000 |
Level 33: 150,000/300,000 (300,000)
Siana O’Loughlin eliminated in 4th place ($32,757)
Siana O’Loughlin has picked up her largest career tournament score to date after ending her run in the WSOP Circuit Gold Coast Mystery Bounty in fourth place.
Action folded to Mark Montague who raised to 600,000 from the small blind before O’Loughlin shoved for her last 2,825,000. Montague quickly called her down.
Montague: 4♠4♣
O’Loughlin: A♦9♣
Board: A♣4♦8♠10♥Q♦
Bottom set for Montague, who moves back up past 10 million in chips after that hand, and we are now down to three!
| Mark Montague | 10,285,000 |
| Siana O’Loughlin | BUSTED! |
Kenny applies the pressure
Kenny Wang is now the first player to move beyond the 10 million-chip mark after going up against Mark Montague.
Wang raised to 600,000 from first position and Mark Bain folded from the button before Montague three-bet to 1,725,000 from the small blind. Siana O’Loughlin folded the big blind and Wang tank-called after two minutes to make it heads-up to a flop of 10♣2♠8♣.
Montague then led out for 2 million straight before Wang returned fire by jamming for 6.25 million, which forced Montague into the tank for over a minute before asking: “Will you show me if I fold?”
Wang said yes, prompting Montague to send his hand into the muck before Wang revealed that he had K♠K♦.
| Kenny Wang | 11,000,000 |
| Mark Montague | 8,000,000 |
A chip and a … chisel?
An interesting development during the break, as Alex Lee finally returned long after his ninth-place elimination to cash in his one remaining Bounty Chip – and the end result was definitely worth the wait.
BIG BOUNTY: $7,200!
Now given that the Mystery Bounty concept is still relatively new in Australia, the rules regarding Bounty chip redemption may be different compared to other parts of the world – or indeed, with other operators throughout the country.
That said, the exact wording as per the Star Poker Gold Coast Terms & Conditions states thus:
“Players may redeem Bounty Chips they have won at any time during the Tournament.”
Based on our understanding, there is nothing to suggest that Bounty chips must be redeemed immediately after an elimination, so long as the tournament is still in progress (which as of now is four-handed).
Still, it does raise an interesting topic of discussion: should the rule stay as is, or is there scope for change? Let us know your thoughts by joining the #rulings thread in PMA‘s Discord server!
Updated chip counts
| Name | Chips |
| Mark Montague | 7,350,000 |
| Siana Cotton | 7,025,000 |
| Kenny Wang | 7,000,000 |
| Mark Bain | 3,850,000 |
Level 32: 125,000/250,000 (250,000)
Shem Goltz eliminated in 5th place ($24,591)
The final table of the WSOP Circuit Gold Coast Mystery Bounty is now down to four players after Shem Goltz was taken out in fifth place in the last hand before the break.
Goltz moved all-in pre-flop for around 2 million in chips and found one caller in Kenny Wang as the others moved out of the way.
Wang: A♥Q♥
Goltz: K♠J♣
Board: 2♥9♣8♠A♠4♣
| Shem Goltz | BUSTED! |
Updated counts coming your way after the break – see you back here in 15 minutes!
Charbel Boustani eliminated in 6th place ($18,705)
Another valiant effort from Charbel Boustani, who has bowed out in sixth place after being eliminated at by Siana O’Loughlin.
The action folded to O’Loughlin who jammed from the small blind with 9♥9♣; Boustani short-called out of the big blind with A♥10♠, so it was off to the races once again.
Boustani’s hopes improved a touch with the flop of 7♣6♦8♣, however O’Loughlin held on as the turn and river bricked K♦, 3♥.
| Siana O’Loughlin | 6,400,000 |
| Charbel Boustani | BUSTED! |
Wang and Bain go bang
The chips are moving rapidly across the felt now, with Kenny Wang and Mark Bain both doubling up here at this final table.
Wang was the first to pad his stack after his jammed for 1.65 million from the cut-off holding K♦10♦ before Siana O’Loughlin called out of the big blind with her A♠J♠.
Wang then paired up on the flop of 7♦10♠5♣, then improved to a flush draw with the Q♦ on the turn and completed it with the river Q♦, despite O’Loughlin’s gut-shot Broadway draw.
Soon after, Mark Montague opened to 500,000 from under the gun and action folded to Bain who defended his big blind before he open-shoved after the flop of 3♣8♣7♠. Montague called.
Bain: 10♥10♦
Montague: 9♠9♥
No change with the turn of the A♠, and Bain was well and truly set up with the 10♣ on the river, cutting Montague back below 8 million in chips.
| Mark Montague | 7,450,000 |
| Kenny Wang | 3,600,000 |
| Mark Bain | 3,600,000 |
| Siana O’Loughlin | 3,400,000 |
Bain battling on
Mark Bain has turned up the heat here at this Mystery Bounty final table, taking on both Kenny Wang and Mark Montague in back-to-back hands.
Earlier, action folded around to Wang who jammed from the small blind; Bain called short out of the big blind and rolled over A♠10♥, which held up across the board of K♥3♥7♣J♦A♦ against Wang’s A♣4♦ resulting in a full double.
Then in the very next hand, action folded to Bain who open-shoved from the small blind with A♠9♥ before Montague called for value out of the big blind with 9♦3♦.
Board: K♠K♣K♦8♠8♥.
Alright, we’ll call it a draw!
| Mark Montague | 9,200,000 |
| Kenny Wang | 1,650,000 |
| Mark Bain | 1,400,000 |
Updated chip counts
| Mark Montague | 9,300,000 |
| Siana Cotton | 5,200,000 |
| Charbel Boustani | 3,800,000 |
| Kenny Wang | 2,600,000 |
| Shem Goltz | 1,650,000 |
| Mark Bain | 900,000 |
Level 31: 100,000/200,000 (200,000)
A few for Montague
Mark Montague continues to increase his chip lead, with action still six-handed at this final table as we move into the 30th level of play.
Action folded around to Montague who completed his small blind before Shem Goltz raised to 550,000 from the big blind; Montague called, and then both players checked the flop of 5♠3♦7♣.
Montague then fired 650,000 after the turn of the 5♥, and proceeded to open-shove on the river of the 4♣. Goltz appeared perturbed by this move.
“Will you show me if I fold?” Goltz asked.
Montague nodded.
“Yeah, for sure!” he replied.
Goltz mucked his hand, and Montague obliged with his request as he showed K♦2♦.
More small ball
No signs of change here in this six-handed battle, but there’s been a little bit of movement from Siana O’Loughlin’s side.
The button completed a full orbit before Montague came out with another UTG raise of 350,000; O’Loughlin called him from the cut-off, so it was heads-up to a flop of 2♣5♠K♣.
It didn’t go much further though, as O’Loughlin folded after Montague continued for 375,000 post-flop, but she then came back with a UTG shove for 4.45 million from under the gun just a few hands later, which got no takers.
Easy game!
Slowing up
Action at this Mystery Bounty finale has slowed to a trickle as we head into Level 30, with a lot of pre-flop raises going unanswered, but there was one full board played out between Mark Montague and Kenny Wang.
Montague raised to 350,000 from under the gun and found one caller in Wang from the small blind to make it heads-up to a flop of 10♠7♦5♥, which both players checked.
Wang then opened for 300,000 after the turn of the 8♠ and Montague flat-called before both players checked down the river [invalid notations], but Montague’s A♦8♥ was best to take down the pot.
Level 30: 75,000/150,000 (150,000)
Boustani’s back in business
Charbel Boustani has put himself in contention after scoring a vital double-up through Mark Bain.
In the very next hand after Joe Sandaev’s elimination, action folded around to Siana O’Loughlin who min-clicked to 250,000 from the cut-off before Boustani three-bet-shoved from the button for 1.55 million.
Bain made the call, which elicited a fold from O’Loughlin.
Boustani: 6♥6♦
Bain: A♠K♦
No change to either hand after the board was spread 8♦3♠10♠J♦2♣ … cue the noise from Boustani’s rail!
| Charbel Boustani | 3,550,000 |
| Mark Bain | 3,050,000 |
Joe Sandaev eliminated in 7th place ($14,407)
Another great result for Joe Sandaev, who has now picked up another five-figure payday after he was eliminated by Mark Bain in seventh place.
All the money was in the middle before the flop; Sandaev was at risk with 8♠8♦, but although he found himself in the proverbial coin flip situation against Bain’s A♥K♥, Sandaev was given the flick after Bain flopped top-top and held on the board of Q♠A♣4♣2♥10♥.
| Mark Bain | 4,500,000 |
| Joe Sandaev | BUSTED! |
Goltz’s chopportunity
Action folded around to Kenny Wang who min-raised to 250,000 from the cut-off; Mark Bain called from the cut-off before Goltz came out with a shove from the big blind worth 2.125 million.
Wang deliberated for almost two minutes before making the call and Bain released his hand into the muck.
Goltz: A♠Q♣
Wang: A♦J♥
Goltz was in good shape to double up, but had to settle for a split after both players made the same two pair with the board of 6♥4♦8♥6♣4♠. Chop it up!
| Kenny Wang | 4,250,000 |
| Shem Goltz | 2,300,000 |
Level 29: 75,000/125,000 (125,000)
Break time!
Our last seven players are now on another 15-minute break, which gave the Star Poker Gold Coast team time to colour up the T1,000s and a full round of counts.
| Name | Chips |
| Mark Montague | 6,325,000 |
| Siana O’Loughlin | 4,850,000 |
| Kenny Wang | 4,700,000 |
| Mark Bain | 3,700,000 |
| Joe Sandaev | 2,000,000 |
| Charbel Boustani | 1,925,000 |
| Shem Goltz | 1,650,000 |
Ash Chynoweth eliminated in 8th place ($11,237)
The WSOP Circuit Mystery Bounty final table is now down to seven after Ash Chynoweth was eliminated by Mark Montague.
Action folded to Montague who raised to 250,000 from the hijack; Chynoweth defended his big blind to go heads-up to a flop of J♦9♦4♦, where he then open-shoved for his last 400,000. Montague quickly called.
Montague: Q♣10♦
Chynoweth: 10♣7♦
Nothing changed after the turn and river ran out 3♣, J♣, and Chynoweth was confirmed as our eighth place finisher.
| Mark Montague | 6,000,000 |
| Ash Chynoweth | BUSTED! |
Major moolah
A quick update on the Mystery Bounties, for those of you keeping score at home: the largest prize now in play is $7,200, with Mark Montague pulling the $32,400 Major, before Dean Boskovic claimed the second $17,300 bounty on offer after he was eliminated in 11th place.
But it’s great news also for Siana O’Loughlin, who has scored another crucial double through Shem Goltz to move up to more than 3 million in chips.
Goltz raised to 210,000 from the +1 position before O’Loughlin jammed immediately behind, forcing the others out of the way before Goltz tank-called with A♣Q♠, but O’Loughlin tabled 10♠10♣ and flopped a set on the board of 10♥3♠K♠8♦4♦.
| Siana O’Loughlin | 3,210,000 |
| Shem Goltz | 1,800,000 |
Level 28: 50,000/100,000 (100,000)
Double trouble for Montague
Mark Montague has been cut back by both Ash Chynoweth and Siana O’Loughlin in quick succession as we move into the 28th level of play.
In earlier action, Montague and Chynoweth got all their money over the line after a flop of 3♣K♦8♣; Montague had called Chynoweth’s all-in bet and revealed A♦K♠, but was annihilated by the 3♠3♦ of Chynoweth, which turned quads as the board completed 3♥, K♥.
Then just before the blinds went up, Joe Sandaev opened to 160,000 from under the gun before O’Loughlin shoved for 650,000. Action then folded to Montague who iso-shoved out of the big blind and Sandaev mucked, resulting in a heads-up showdown.
Montague: 6♠6♥
O’Loughlin: K♣10♣
The board of 5♥A♠K♠2♦10♦ gave two pair to O’Loughlin, reducing Montague’s stack below 7 million in chips.
| Mark Montague | 6,500,000 |
| Siana O’Loughlin | 1,660,000 |
| Ash Chynoweth | 1,180,000 |
Alex Lee eliminated in 9th place ($8,877)
Another valiant effort from the Singaporean sensation that is Alex Lee, who has been sent to the rail in 9th place by Mark Montague.
All the money was in the middle pre-flop; Lee was at risk with A-Qo, however Montague had him covered with A♣K♠ and outkicked Lee on the board of A♠7♦7♥3♠J♣ to increase his chip lead at this final table.
| Mark Montague | 7,940,000 |
| Alex Lee | BUSTED! |
WSOP Circuit Gold Coast Mystery Bounty final table
| Seat | Name | Country | Chips | BBs |
| 1 | Ash Chynoweth | Australia | 1,420,000 | 18 |
| 2 | Alex Lee | Singapore | 1,725,000 | 22 |
| 3 | Charbel Boustani | Australia | 2,600,000 | 33 |
| 4 | Kenny Wang | Australia | 3,100,000 | 39 |
| 5 | Mark Bain | Australia | 2,100,000 | 26 |
| 6 | Mark Montague | Australia | 6,075,000 | 76 |
| 7 | Joe Sandaev | Australia | 4,145,000 | 52 |
| 8 | Shem Goltz | Australia | 3,520,000 | 44 |
| 9 | Siana O’Loughlin | Australia | 650,000 | 8 |
Level 27: 40,000/80,000 (80,000)
Three more down, nine remain: final table set!
The final table of the WSOP Circuit Gold Coast Mystery Bounty has now been confirmed, after the successive eliminations of Benjamin Setta, Dean Boskovic and Alex Lynskey!
Earlier, Setta ripped in his last 375,000 with 5♠5♥, but lost the crucial flip against Ash Chynoweth’s A♥8♥ after the dealer ran out a board of A♦7♣K♠K♦9♣ to finish in 12th place.
Chynoweth then took out Boskovic in 11th, before Lynskey moved all-in pre-flop and was called down by Mark Montague.
“I’ve just got to gamble,” Lynskey remarked to Montague as the two players tabled their cards.
Lynskey: 4♠4♥
Montague: A♣10♥
Board: Q♥7♦J♣A♦J♥
| Alex Lynskey | BUSTED! |
| Dean Boskovic | BUSTED! |
| Benjamin Setta | BUSTED! |
Our players are now drawing for their seats before the action gets back underway – stay with us and we’ll be back with the official line-up right after this!
Let’s hustle!
Level 26 proved to be the calm before the storm, as the rate of attrition has now been dialled back up to 11 here in the WSOP Circuit Gold Coast Mystery Bounty.
After John Duggan was taken out in 17th place, Yang Lei was busted at the hands of Kenny Wang in 18th, getting his money in with 9♠9♥ but lost the flip against Wang’s [/pcn]AdTc[/pcn] on the board of 3♦7♠4♣10♦Q♥.
Jim Doumit then departed in 15th place, moving his last 625,000 in pre-flop with Q♥10♥QhTh[/pcn], but was obliterated by Shem Goltz’s K♥K♦ which held after flopping a set on the K♠9♠4♥2♦A♦ board.
Zhi Hong Ma followed almost immediately afterward in 14th place, jamming for 790,000 pre-flop with A♦10♦, but Mark Montague woke up with a monster: A♥A♣.
Board: 8♠Q♣9♦5♠8♦
| Mark Montague | 3,100,000 |
| Shem Goltz | 2,500,000 |
| Kenny Wang | 2,000,000 |
| Zhi Hong Ma | BUSTED! |
| Jim Doumit | BUSTED! |
| Yang Lei | BUSTED! |
| John Duggan | BUSTED! |
Level 26: 30,000/60,000 (60,000)
Four-way madness
Although action has slowed down considerably during this stanza, we did catch a massive hand as we approached the final two tables, with four players all-in pre-flop.
Chris Colaneri was the shortest of them all, with only 20,000 in chips to his name. Kenny Wang, Kee Chan and Ash Chynoweth were also in the mix and we got there just as they all went to showdown.
Chynoweth: 7♥7♦
Chan: A♠10♠
Wang: K♥J♣
Colaneri: 9♠3♦
The board ran out 2♦6♠J♥5♦K♣ to hand Wang the main pot, knocking out Colaneri and moving his stack up to around 1.1 million. Chan collected the side pot, which resulted in the elimination of Chan.
Top 10 chip counts
Our remaining 17 players have returned from the break, and Joe Sandaev leads the way with more than 3.4 million, with WSOP Circuit Champion Alex Lynskey not far behind.
| Name | Chips |
| Joe Sandaev | 3,425,000 |
| Alex Lynskey | 3,300,000 |
| Shem Goltz | 2,300,000 |
| Kenny Wang | 2,000,000 |
| Alex Lee | 1,925,000 |
| Charbel Boustani | 1,600,000 |
| Liam Murray | 1,600,000 |
| Siana O’Loughlin | 1,200,000 |
| Jim Doumit | 1,000,000 |
| Ben Turner | 1,000,000 |
Level 25: 25,000/50,000 (50,000)
Sandaev soaring
South Australian crusher Joe Sandaev has picked up right from where he left off at the WPT Australia series in September, and is now dominating the field after taking out Jazz Matthews in dramatic fashion.
Action folded to Sandaev who opened from the button to 80,000; Matthews three-bet it to 215,000, the big blind folded Sandaev called to go head-up to a flop of K♥7♣9♣.
Matthews led out for 165,000 and Sandaev smooth-called, then the action repeated after Matthews fired 325,000 after the turn of the 7♠ before Matthews snap-shoved the river 4♣.
Sandaev insta-called and rolled up A♣2♣, which crushed Matthews’ A♦Q♣ – and just like that folks, we have ourselves a new chip leader with only minutes to go before the next break!
| Joe Sandaev | 4,025,000 |
| Jazz Matthews | SLUGGED! |
More gains for Bain
Having pulled the Grand Bounty in the previous level, Mark Bain has now moved up to more than 2 million in chips after taking out Zhengmin Zhang.
Zhang moved the last of his chips in from the button after a pre-flop raise from Bain in the cut-off; Bain quickly called and tabled K♠K♣, which dominated Zhang’s 10♠10♦.
Bain stayed ahead all the way through to fourth street on the runout of 6♠7♣A♠7♦, and sealed Zhang’s fate on the river, filling up with the K♦. That’ll do it.
| Mark Bain | 2,500,000 |
| Zhengmin Zhang | BUSTED! |
Tran taken down
Just before the blind clock ticked over to the 24th level of play, Chris Tran – who had elected to hold his four Bounty chips up until this point – took them all up the cage, but found only Minor Bounties for $400 apiece.
Tran then returned to his table and defended his big blind after a UTG+1 raise from Ben Turner, before he check-raising all-in after Turner’s c-bet of 30,000 on a flop of 4♣7♣K♦. Turner snap-called.
Turner: K♥K♣
Tran: K♠4♠
The turn and river 7♠, 8♦ completed the board, and thus it was the end of the line for Tran.
| Ben Turner | 1,800,000 |
| Chris Tran | BUSTED! |
Level 24: 20,000/40,000 (40,000)
The Bain attraction
Another flurry of eliminations from this Mystery Bounty event saw the departures of Andrew White, Chit Saw, Daniel Johnson and Alexander Alford, but all eyes were on Mark Bain as he approached the Bounty Bank.
Bain pondered his decision carefully before picking up a gold bar.
“This could be the one, I can feel it!” bellowed MC Tanera.
And wouldn’t you know it …
GRAND BOUNTY: $65,500!
Bain let out a guttural roar and threw his arms wide in celebration as rapturous applause echoed throughout the room. MC Tanera then stepped in to ask Bain exactly how he felt in a quick post-pick interview, to which a shell-shocked Bain could only utter: “Yeah, baby!”
From all of us here at PMA and Star Poker Gold Coast, congratulations Mark!
See ya, Shahine
Simon Chahine was one of the first eliminations in the early stages of this new stanza, taken out in 27th place at the hands of Mark Montague.
Action folded around to Chahine on the button who moved all-in from the button, only to then see Montague iso-shove out of the small blind, forcing the big blind out of the way.
Montague: Q♠Q♣
Chahine: K♠9♣
Board: 5♠J♠6♦5♣A♣
| Mark Montague | 1,355,000 |
| Simon Chahine | DRY-GULCHED! |
Count ’em up!
Time for another random assortment of betting disc distributions!
| Name | Chips |
| Jim Doumit | 1,895,000 |
| Jazz Mathers | 1,725,000 |
| Alex Lynskey | 1,655,000 |
| Ben Turner | 1,300,000 |
| Zhi Hong Ma | 1,220,000 |
| Ash Chynoweth | 1,200,000 |
| Mark Montague | 1,160,000 |
| Alex Lee | 1,020,000 |
| Charbel Boustani | 1,000,000 |
| Dean Boskovic | 920,000 |
Level 23: 15,000/30,000 (30,000)
Second Sun down
Wenjie Sun and Thibaut Klinghammer have both been sent on an early and permanent dinner break, taken out at the hands of Jazz Mathers and Shem Goltz accordingly.
Sun went down after he got his last 465,000 effective in with 4♥4♣, but ran head-first into Mathers’ J♠J♥ which held firm across the board of 7♦Q♦8♦Q♠9♣.
A short time later, Goltz jammed for 390,000 from UTG+1 and Klinghammer short-called, but despite being the favourite pre-flop wit J♥J♣, Goltz’ A♥9♥ flushed him out on the river as the board was spread K♥4♥2♦5♦10♥.
| Jazz Mathers | 1,700,000 |
| Shem Goltz | 655,000 |
| Wenjie Sun | BUSTED! |
| Thibaut Klinghammer | BUSTED! |
Time for all of us to grab a bite to eat. See you in 30 minutes!
Oosthuzien ousted
Another elimination during this level, with Belinda Oosthuizen taken out at the hands of Michael Hill.
All the money was in the middle before the flop; Ootzhuizen had Ace-Queen, but although she hit top pair on the board of 7♦A♦8♣2♠9♥, Hill had all his ducks in a row, having turned bottom set with his 2♠.
| Michael Hill | 570,000 |
| Belinda Oosthuizen | BUSTED! |
All that (for) Jazz!
Jazz Mathers is now cruising after taking out Aroha Ngata as we head into the closing stages of this Mystery Bounty event.
After a mid-position min-click and a late position call, Jazz Mathers also called from the button, as did the small blind, before Aroha Ngata jammed out of the small blind for 305,000.
The MP and late position players both folded, but Mathers then came over the top for 760,000, which forced the small blind out of the way before Ngata and Mathers went to showdown.
Ngata: A♣10♠
Mathers: 7♦7♣
Board: 6♦2♣J♥K♦5♥
| Jazz Mathers | 1,200,000 |
| Aroha Ngata | CLIPPED! |
Level 22: 15,000/25,000 (25,000)
Varma vanquished, Sun down
Two more eliminations picked up as we head into the 22nd level of play here, with Hari Varma and Mao Sun confirmed additions to the casualty list.
Varma was the first to go after he open-shoved for his last 125,000 from the cut-off; Alex Lee called from the button, however Andrew White shoved over the top out of the small blind, which forced the fold from Lee.
White: A♠J♥
Varma: Q♠J♠
Board: 6♦Q♣K♥7♣A♣
Sun then found himself all in for his last 180,000 after a flop of 2♣10♠J♦ into a pot worth about 200,000; Shem Goltz flatted, but quickly got out of the way after Ben Turner iso-shoved.
Sun rolled up A♦J♥ for top pair, top kicker, ahead of Turner’s K♠Q♠, but despite Sun improving to two pair with the 10♥ on the turn, Turner completed his open-ender with the 9♦ on the river!
| Ben Turner | 1,150,000 |
| Shem Goltz | 1,150,000 |
| Andrew White | 900,000 |
| Hari Varma | SLUGGED! |
| Mao Sun | CROAKED! |
Locsin at a loss
After scoring a Big Bounty earlier today, Lloyd Locsin’s run in this Mystery Bounty tournament has come to an end, having been felted at the hands of Jim Doumit.
Action folded to Doumit who raised from the hijack to 55,000; Locsin three-bet it to 150,000 and Doumit called, then check-called after Locsin shoved on the flop of 3♠10♠Q♥.
Locsin: J♥J♣
Doumit: 3♥3♣
Turn: 6♦
River: K♠
| Jim Doumit | 1,000,000 |
| Lloyd Locsin | ICED! |
Show me the money!
With so much action across the felt today, the PMA team have been focused on ensuring we capture as much of the action as we can, but as the pace of play begins to steady, it’s time now to bring you the full prize pool breakdown for today’s tournament.
As mentioned, today’s WSOP Circuit Gold Coast Mystery Bounty has been confirmed as the biggest tournament of its kind in Australian history, and the payouts are also very juicy, with first place worth a very tidy $97,256!
TOP 30 PAYOUTS (95 players paid)*
| Place | Amount |
| 1st | $97,256 |
| 2nd | $60,108 |
| 3rd | $44,087 |
| 4th | $32,757 |
| 5th | $24,591 |
| 6th | $18,705 |
| 7th | $14,407 |
| 8th | $11,237 |
| 9th | $8,877 |
| 10th-12th | $7,104 |
| 13th-15th | $5,760 |
| 16th-18th | $4,732 |
| 19th-21st | $3,941 |
| 22nd-24th | $3,327 |
| 25th-27th | $2,847 |
| 28th-30th | $2,472 |
Level 21: 10,000/20,000 (20,000)
Taylor stitched up
After being crippled down to 260,000 in chips in a previous hand, Clint Taylor ripped them in pre-flop with A♦10♥, but found himself up against the 3♦3♣ of Ash Chynoweth.
Hope appeared in the form of a gut-shot Broadway draw after the flop of J♦K♠9♠, but any skerrick of joy diminished when Chynoweth spiked bottom set on the turn as the board completed 3♥, A♥.
Dee Dee Chen was then eliminated after a three-way all-in against Lloyd Locsin and Mark Bain and our reporter arrived just as the cards were tabled.
Chen: A♦K♥
Locsin: A♥10♦
Bain: Q♠J♣
Board: 9♥8♦4♦6♠10♣
| Ash Chynoweth | 800,000 |
| Mark Bain | 480,000 |
| Lloyd Locsin | 150,000 |
| Clint Taylor | BUSTED! |
| Dee Dee Chen | BUSTED! |
O’Loughlin pickin’ them off
Siana O’Loughlin has picked up an elimination, taking out Yan Wan Wee as action continues here in the WSOP Circuit Mystery Bounty.
Earlier, O’Loughlin and Wee clashed in one of the first hands after the break on Table 14; Wee shoved pre-flop from late position with A♠7♠ and found himself flipping for his tournament life against O’Loughlin’s 4♦4♣, but missed his open-ended straight draw after the board was spread 10♥5♣8♥6♥Q♠.
The cry of “all-in, call” then went up from Table 17, where a three-way all-in showdown transpired between Daniel Johnson, Elton Muzha and Josh Hutchins.
Hutchins: A♠Q♥
Johnson: K♥J♦
Muzha: 10♥9♥
Hutchins effectively tripled, cutting back Johnson’s stack and taking out Muzha in the process as the dealer spread a board of 7♥Q♦4♥2♣5♦.
| Daniel Johnson | 1,600,000 |
| Josh Hutchins | 655,000 |
| Siana O’Loughlin | 328,000 |
| Yan Wan Wee | BUSTED! |
| Elton Muzha | POPPED! |
Assorted stacks
Our PMA gumshoes have hot-footed it around the tables here at The Star Gold Coast to get the latest round of chip counts. In our travels, we’ve also been able to confirm that Billy ‘The Croc’ Argyros, Mike ‘The Tank’ Ivin, Gavin Best, Adam Thagggard, Jai Duffy and Michael O’Grady were amongst those to hit the rail during the first stanza.
| Name | Chips |
| Alex Lee | 1,793,000 |
| Daniel Johnson | 1,780,000 |
| Joseph Sandaev | 811,000 |
| Alexander Alford | 719,000 |
| Simon Chahine | 705,000 |
| Chit Saw | 670,000 |
| Dean Boskovic | 625,000 |
| Yang Lei | 576,000 |
| Micheal Hill | 567,000 |
| Benjamin Setta | 514,000 |
| Aroha Ngata | 485,000 |
| Hari Varma | 485,000 |
| Chin Wei Lim | 480,000 |
| Mark Bain | 470,000 |
| Guangyu Wang | 462,000 |
| Andrew White | 450,000 |
| Kee Huo Chan | 427,000 |
| Charbel Boustani | 395,000 |
| Chris Colaneri | 366,000 |
| Mao Sun | 363,000 |
| Phat Nguyen | 185,000 |
| Blinda Oosthuizen | 153,000 |
| Siana O’Loughlin | 145,000 |
| Yan Wan Yee | 128,000 |
| Jeison Berdugo | 125,000 |
Level 20: 10,000/15,000 (15,000)
Lloyd licks Lim, calls Mum
Our 56 remaining players have all headed off on their first 15-minute break of the day, with Lloyd Locsin managing to pick up some decent scratch.
Earlier, Tristan Bain jammed from the button pre-flop with A♥10♠, but was called out of the big blind by John Duggan who J♥10♥, which then rivered a straight on the board of 4♠8♣3♠Q♦9♣.
Lim then put himself at risk a short time later with K♣Q♦, but although he found himself ahead of Locsin’s J♦3♦ rivered trips on the board of A♥2♦J♠6♣J♥ to claim Lim’s Bounty chip, which he brought to the Bounty Bank in one hand, while video-calling his Mum with the other.
“This might be the first-ever ‘Phone-a-Friend’ Mystery Bounty pick ever!” announced Star Poker Gold Coast’s ‘MC Tanera’.
“Which one do you reckon Mum, left or right?” Locsin asked as he turned his phone camera to the gold bricks.
She chose … wisely.
BIG BOUNTY: $9,900!
| John Duggan | 540,000 |
| Lloyd Locsin | 368,000 |
| Fergus Lim | CRUNCHED! |
| Dejan Boskovic | BUSTED! |
Zenenos smashed, Crilly cut
The PMA Live Reporting team have been rushed off their feet with eliminations, with WSOP Circuit Gold Coast Opening Event Champion Chris Zenenos and Lachlan Crilly amongst those to have hit the rail.
Zenenos moved all-in for his last 147,000 pre-flop with A♥5♦, but was no good against the 9♠9♦ of Yang Lei, which held all the way across the board of 2♦10♥10♦2♣6♥.
Crilly was then forced to take a powder after moving all-in pre-flop for 181,000, but was called off by Day 1A chip leader, Daniel Johnson.
Crilly: A♦K♥
Johnson: J♦5♥
Board: J♥7♠3♠9♠J♣
| Daniel Johnson | 1,250,000 |
| Yang Lei | 385,000 |
| Lachlan Crilly | STIFFED! |
| Chris Zenenos | SLUGGED! |
Tran’s double slam
Chris Tran – who is certainly no stranger to big-time Mystery Bounty action – has just found himself a two major scalps in the form of Sam Adams and George Frilingos.
Earlier on Table 17, Adams put himself at risk with A♥9♥, but ran into Tran’s A♠K♣ which hit top-top on the board of K♠9♦10♣7♣2♥.
Some time passed before Frilingos got the last of his money into the middle after a flop of 6♥2♣5♥ with 2♠2♦, but despite flopping the bottom set, Tran’s 9♥9♣ struck gold on the river as the board completed K♠, 9♠.
| Chris Tran | 786,000 |
| Sam Adams | CHILLED! |
| George Frilingos | CROAKED! |
Level 19: 6,000/12,000 (12,000)
What a dish!
Three more eliminations were picked up by our PMA gumshoes, including Liam Murray, Chuck Caris and WSOP Circuit Gold Coast $1,500 Action Clock Champion, Jarrod Thatcher.
Earlier, Murray moved the last of his chips in and found that his A♦10♦ was ahead of the A♥7♥ of Alex Lynskey, but Lynskey turned two pair on the board of 7♦J♦4♣J♣6♥ to send Murray to the rail.
“How can you be so handsome and so lucky?” Murray asked tongue-in-cheek as he took his leave.
Luke Martinelli then took out Caris after his A♦7♥ held up against Caris, despite him flopping an open-ender with J♥10♥ on the board of Q♦K♦4♥2♣Q♥.
That was before Thatcher decided to jam for the last of his chips with 10♦9♥, only to run into Jeison Berdugo’s 6♠6♥. Thatcher then put on his best racing announcer voice as he commentated the action to all and sundry, but all that gum-bumping was for naught as Berdugo improved to two pair on the board of 5♠K♥Q♥5♣7♥.
| Alex Lynskey | 880,000 |
| Luke Martinelli | 300,000 |
| Jeison Berdugo | 215,000 |
| Liam Murray | BLIPPED! |
| Chuck Caris | ICED! |
| Jarrod Thatcher | WASTED! |
Another big’un
Not to be outdone by Mao Sun’s Major Bounty pick, Zhengmin Zhang quickly jumped up from his seat to claim his first gold, and found himself a quintet set he won’t soon forget:
MAJOR BOUNTY: $13,900!
Sadly, Dylan Wayne wasn’t able to follow suit, but instead was given a proverbial Chicago overcoat after his 10♥10♣ were outdrawn by Hari Varma’s A♠K♠ on the board of 9♥4♠3♥7♣A♦.
| Hari Varma | 565,000 |
| Dylan Wayne | ZOTZED! |
Sun is shining
The weather is … well, not so sweet outside, but already, things are heating up in The Star Gold Coast poker room, with the first of our Major Bounties already gone!
On Table 25, action folded around to Michael Hill in the lojack, who shoved his last 47,000 before Aroha Ngata called from the cut-off, as well as Mao Sun from the button to go head-up with Ngata to a sidepot on a flop of 5♠4♦10♣, which both players checked.
Ngata then check-folded to Sun’s bet of 15,000 on the turn of the 3♣ before he and Hill tabled their hands.
Sun: A♣Q♦
Hill: Q♥J♦
Hill was eliminated after the river K♠ completed the board, and Sun legged it over to the Bounty Bank to select his prize.
It certainly wasn’t a trip for biscuits.
MAJOR BOUNTY: $17,300!
| Mao Sun | 315,000 |
| Michael Hill | BOPPED! |
Let’s rock this joint!
A brief pause to un-bag the AWOL stacks, and cards are now in the air for Day 2 of the WSOP Circuit Gold Coast Mystery Bounty! The blinds have been wound back to 5,000/10,000 (10,000) and we’ll be playing through 40-minute levels until we have a winner tonight.
The good news is that all our 95 players are already in the money, so nobody’s going home empty-handed … but there’s a whole lotta cabbage up for grabs in the Bounty Bank, including a quintet of five-figure sums, including a Grand Bounty worth $65,500!
We’ll have the payout dividends up for you a little later on.
Level 18: 5,000/10,000 (10,000)
This’ll be a doozy!
Live from wherever you’re watching in Australia, New Zealand or around the world … hello and welcome to Day 2 of the WSOP Circuit Gold Coast Mystery Bounty!
Today’s another milestone moment for The Star Entertainment Group, as this Mystery Bounty tournament is officially the biggest ever held in Australian poker history, locked out last night at 629 total entries for a combined payout and bounty pool of $754,800.
Both Day 1 flights for the $1,350 buy-in Mystery Bounty tournament have now been run and won; from the 95 survivors returning today, Daniel Johnson initially set the benchmark with 893,000 in chips at the end of Day 1A, however was relegated to second overall after Singapore’s Alex Lee bagged up 1.15 million at the end of last night.
But as we’ve seen with tournaments like these, there’s no telling what will happen, but it’s gonna be a hoot – especially seeing as Star Poker Gold Coast have made this joint togged to the bricks with ‘Old Vegas’ inspired decor, complete with a Bounty Bank stacked with sourdough (fake) gold bars. Just watch out for those goons keeping watch though, they’re lookin’ kinda shifty, see?
But the most coveted gold on offer is, of course, the Jostens champion’s ring, and today, we’ll get to find out who’s gonna get their mitts on it, so don’t be a wet sock – stick around to get the lowdown on all that’s happening in this jolly-up from 11:30am AEST. Abyssinia!
Day 2 seat draw
The WSOP Circuit Gold Coast Mystery Bounty will resume today at 11:30am AEST.
A friendly reminder to all players to bring their photo ID and Star Club Card to verify their bags, and to make themselves known to a Star Poker Gold Coast team member should they have any questions regarding their seat allocation. Best of luck to all players and may the flop be with you!
To assist our WPT Live Reporting Team, please ensure your PMA ID cards are kept close to your stack, face-up and visible at all times.
Players are also asked to move their PMA IDs with them when broken or balanced to another table, and they must be left on the table to be collected after an elimination and at the end of day’s play.
Table 14
| PMA ID | Seat | Name | Chips |
| 1401 | 1 | Yan Wan Yee | 416,000 |
| 1402 | 2 | Malcolm Trayner | 245,000 |
| 1403 | 3 | Siana O’Loughlin | 234,000 |
| 1404 | 4 | Phat Nguyen | 119,000 |
| 1405 | 5 | Shivan Abdine | 269,000 |
| 1406 | 6 | Wenjie Sun | 261,000 |
| 1407 | 7 | Prithvi Nejjur | 619,500 |
| 1408 | 8 | Alex Lee | 1,150,000 |
| 1409 | 9 | Chin Wei Lim | 193,000 |
Table 15
| PMA ID | Seat | Name | Chips |
| 1501 | 1 | Luke Martinelli | 224,000 |
| 1502 | 2 | Robert Damelian | 320,000 |
| 1503 | 3 | Peter Robertson | 23,000 |
| 1504 | 4 | Jazz Mathers | 198,000 |
| 1505 | 5 | Shem Goltz | 180,000 |
| 1506 | 6 | Dean Boskovic | 373,000 |
| 1507 | 7 | Alex Lynskey | 681,000 |
| 1508 | 8 | Charles Caris | 79,000 |
| 1509 | 9 | Liam Murray | 115,000 |
Table 16
| PMA ID | Seat | Name | Chips |
| 1601 | 1 | Ash Chynoweth | 338,000 |
| 1602 | 2 | Tam Nguyen | 118,000 |
| 1603 | 3 | Craig Blight | 186,000 |
| 1604 | 4 | Michael Gross | 148,000 |
| 1605 | 5 | Emanuel Seal | 171,000 |
| 1606 | 6 | Michael Kalin | 109,000 |
| 1607 | 7 | Elton Muzha | 352,000 |
| 1608 | 8 | Andrew White | 68,000 |
| 1609 | 9 | Mark Montague | 290,000 |
Table 17
| PMA ID | Seat | Name | Chips |
| 1701 | 1 | Michel Bouskila | 354,000 |
| 1702 | 2 | George Frilingos | 292,000 |
| 1703 | 3 | Gavin Best | 159,000 |
| 1704 | 4 | Sam Adams | 164,000 |
| 1705 | 5 | Lachlan Crilly | 121,000 |
| 1706 | 6 | Jai Duffy | 100,000 |
| 1707 | 7 | Josh Hutchins | 411,000 |
| 1708 | 8 | Tu Christopher Tran | 256,000 |
| 1709 | 9 | Daniel Johnson | 893,000 |
Table 22
| PMA ID | Seat | Name | Chips |
| 2201 | 1 | Kelvin Li | 120,000 |
| 2202 | 2 | Vasilios Argyros | 231,000 |
| 2203 | 3 | Rodni Kisnar | 306,000 |
| 2204 | 4 | Jarrod Thatcher | 220,500 |
| 2205 | 5 | Adrian Sportelli | 57,000 |
| 2206 | 6 | Blinda Oosthuizen | 184,000 |
| 2207 | 7 | Adam Thaggard | 57,000 |
| 2208 | 8 | Thibaut Klinghammer | 95,000 |
| 2209 | 9 | Todor Kondevski | 340,000 |
Table 23
| PMA ID | Seat | Name | Chips |
| 2301 | 1 | Mark Bain | 475,000 |
| 2302 | 2 | Steven Vogt | 335,000 |
| 2303 | 3 | Benjamin Setta | 266,000 |
| 2304 | 4 | Leo Boxell | 237,000 |
| 2305 | 5 | Jim Doumit | 353,000 |
| 2306 | 6 | Chen Yi Liu | 158,000 |
| 2307 | 7 | Silvana Agius | 125,000 |
| 2308 | 8 | Lloyd Locsin | 128,000 |
| 2309 | 9 | Fergus Lim | 137,000 |
Table 24
| PMA ID | Seat | Name | Chips |
| 2401 | 1 | Michelle Psarras | 117,000 |
| 2402 | 2 | Dylan Foster | 269,000 |
| 2403 | 3 | Ryan Stevenson | 267,000 |
| 2404 | 4 | Alexander Alford | 419,000 |
| 2405 | 5 | Hari Varma | 479,000 |
| 2406 | 6 | Michael O’Grady | 176,000 |
| 2407 | 7 | Jason Yu | 396,000 |
| 2408 | 8 | Joseph Sandaev | 345,000 |
| 2409 | 9 | Micheal Hill | 176,000 |
Table 25
| PMA ID | Seat | Name | Chips |
| 2501 | 1 | Aroha Ngata | 371,000 |
| 2502 | 2 | Mao Sun | 167,000 |
| 2503 | 3 | John Parker | 38,000 |
| 2504 | 4 | Ali Zebarjad | 421,000 |
| 2505 | 5 | Mladen Ivin | 515,000 |
| 2506 | 6 | Simon Chahine | 459,000 |
| 2507 | 7 | Antoine Follet | 47,000 |
| 8 | |||
| 2509 | 9 | Ben Turner | 284,000 |
Table 26
| PMA ID | Seat | Name | Chips |
| 2601 | 1 | Kee Huo Chan | 182,000 |
| 2602 | 2 | Alan Dang | 190,000 |
| 2603 | 3 | Benedikt Eberle | 117,000 |
| 2604 | 4 | Ken Demlakian | 272,000 |
| 5 | |||
| 2606 | 6 | Chris Colaneri | 309,000 |
| 2607 | 7 | Jeison Berdugo-Rojas | 125,000 |
| 2608 | 8 | Yang Lei | 154,000 |
| 2609 | 9 | Charbel Boustani | 210,000 |
Table 29
| PMA ID | Seat | Name | Chips |
| 2901 | 1 | Antonio Cercone | 88,000 |
| 2902 | 2 | Zhengmin Zhang | 324,000 |
| 2903 | 3 | Clinton Taylor | 414,000 |
| 2904 | 4 | Johnathan Rodden | 358,000 |
| 2905 | 5 | Dejan Boskovic | 237,000 |
| 2906 | 6 | Barney Thomas | 146,000 |
| 2907 | 7 | Tristan Bain | 247,000 |
| 2908 | 8 | John Duggan | 685,000 |
| 9 |
Table 30
| PMA ID | Seat | Name | Chips |
| 3001 | 1 | Guangyu Wang | 89,000 |
| 3002 | 2 | Zhi Hong Ma | 151,000 |
| 3003 | 3 | Chris Zenonos | 301,000 |
| 3004 | 4 | Chit Saw | 277,000 |
| 3005 | 5 | Peidi Chen | 276,000 |
| 6 | |||
| 3007 | 7 | Zhifan Ye | 213,000 |
| 3008 | 8 | Antonio Serment | 133,000 |
| 3009 | 9 | Tino Lechich | 544,000 |
Mark Bain is a poker God