Grant Hart ends his wait to win his first RGPS Main Event title.

Grant Hart won the RGPS New Orleans Gold Expedition $800 Main Event, emerging victorious from 279 entries to claim the $44,000 and his first RGPS Main Event title.

Grant Hart's moment had finally arrived. Hart was a regular in the RunGood Poker Series, but the Main Event title had always eluded him until this fateful trip to New Orleans.

Hart no longer needs to wait for his moment to arrive. He emerged victorious from a field of 279 players in the RGPS New Orleans Gold Expedition $800 Main Event, claiming his first title in Caesars New Orleans. Hart took home the largest prize in the $200,000 prize pool, with the winner receiving $44,000.

Final table results

"I'm probably the happiest cowboy in the world," Hart told PokerNews after winning the title. "It feels amazing. I play a lot of PLO, so winning No-Limit Texas Hold'em means a lot to me."

This victory represents Hart's second-largest single-event prize of his career and his highest single-event prize in RunGood events, surpassing his 2023 RGPS Tulsa Main Event third-place finish of $29,091. Hart no longer needs to imagine what winning feels like, as he can now call himself the RGPS Main Event champion.

Hart started the day with less than 20 big blinds, but his stack grew to 35 big blinds when the table was redrawn. As the game progressed, he steadily grew to 85 big blinds, with 18 players remaining. Hart remained on the sidelines, observing and maintaining a healthy stack, but he still had a lot of work to do to reach the final table, as he was sixth in chips later in the game.

Early in the final table, Hart adopted a conservative strategy. He picked his opportunities but avoided participating in any large pots. As the final table progressed, the situation began to change. After eliminating My Nguyen in sixth place, Hart began to take control of the game.

“When Hamid (Izadi) was out, I knew I really had a chance. When Preston (McEwen) was out, I started putting all the pressure on him. I knew this was a game of win or lose,” Hart said. “I tried to apply maximum pressure, while also managing to get out when they went all-in against shorter stacks. I folded some pretty good hands because I thought I could beat them in the late game.”

Hart saw his opportunity, and his chip stack began to climb. He won a huge pot against Christopher Savage, bringing his chip count to nearly 4 million with only four players remaining. This was a crucial turning point for Hart, who carried that momentum to the finish line. Hart then eliminated Savage in fourth place, entering heads-up action with a chip lead against Wess Durocher.

Hart initially gained an advantage in heads-up play with better two pairs, but the match ended abruptly afterward – Hart caught Durocher bluffing with a missed straight draw and won his first Main Event title.

Day 2 Match Results

A total of 33 players returned to Caesars New Orleans Poker Room hoping to become the next RunGood Main Event champion, and the players quickly got into the game, with eliminations occurring one after another.

Notable players Rob Mariano from Boston, Kathryn Lindsay, and Hamid Izadi were eliminated early in the day's games. World Series of Poker bracelet winner Corey Harrison was the next notable player to be eliminated, finishing in 17th place.

When the tournament reached the final table, Preston McEwen was the only remaining former Main Event champion, but he suffered a setback early in the nine-player final table when Crystal Galyon doubled up against him, taking away a portion of his chips. McEwen's bad luck continued as Brian Senie's nemesis, Ace against Jack, left him with only a few chips. McEwen was unable to turn the tide, and the experienced champion was eliminated in ninth place.

Senie was then eliminated in eighth place, Galyon in seventh, and Nguyen in sixth.

Durocher began to make his presence felt at the final table. He caught Savage bluffing with Q-high on the river and took a large chip stack from Savage. Durocher then eliminated Chris Baudean in fifth place, followed by David Cocheles in third place, setting up a heads-up match against Hart.

Hart eliminated Durocher in no time, bringing the RGPS Gold Expedition New Orleans $800 main event to a close.

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