Lone Star Poker Series Wraps as Oziel Zuniga Takes Down Main Event Title
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On Sunday, the inaugural Lone Star Poker Series wrapped up at Prime Social Club in Houston, Texas. The series, which offered more than $300,000 in guaranteed prize pools over 16 tournaments, proved to be a big success and attracted notable players including World Series of Poker bracelet winners Anthony Zinno and Rep Porter, as well as five-time WSOP Circuit ring winner Ray Henson and Twitch streamer Alex "AlexOptional" Green.
On Sunday night, Oziel Zuniga emerged as the inaugural Lone Star Poker Series Main Event champion and finished $45,960 richer after two long days of play and a three-way deal. The Main Event attracted 660 entries and offered up a $330,000 prize pool.
Understandably, Zuniga was grinning ear to ear after the win: "I was exhausted when I walked in tonight. I was out too late partying last night. I have done nothing but drink coffee all day long."
Coffee was the key to keeping Zuniga tuned in and ready to play. He was caught bluffing when he jammed with deuce-three suited while four-handed but he made a pair and held against Charlie Dawson. Throughout the final hour or so of play, Zuniga would loudly say "deuce-trey" as his rallying cry.
Zuniga took home the $45,960 top prize, an engraved money clip, and the specially-designed sterling silver trophy belt buckle from Max Lang Belts and Buckles.
Lone Star Poker Series Main Event Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oziel Zuniga | $45,960* |
| 2 | Long Nguyen | $40,365* |
| 3 | Kent Kvaal | $42,960* |
| 4 | Charlie Dawson | $21,910 |
| 5 | Min Zhang | $16,510 |
| 6 | Andrew Dartez | $12,580 |
| 7 | Raymond Martin | $9,710 |
| 8 | Justin Phillips | $7,580 |
| 9 | Edward Sebesta | $5,990 |
*Denotes three-handed deal.
Others to cash the tournament were Flavio Palalon (12th - $4,800), Ray Henson (15th - $3,190), Lisa Fleishman (17th - $2,650), Josh Burkhalter (26th - $1,910), Blake Barousse (28th - $1,910), Chris Staats (29th - $1,910), Hayden Fortini (31st - $1,910), Paul Strohm (33rd - $1,650), and William Lahti (37th - $1,650).
It was an especially brutal Day 2 for Lahti, who began the day as chip leader. He and Long Nguyen engaged in a preflop raising war that resulted in Lahti getting his stack in with pocket kings only to see Nguyen roll over aces. The board ran out seven-high and Lahti took an unexpected early exit from the tournament.
Lone Star Poker Series Winners
| Tournament | Winner | Prize | Entrants | Prize Pool |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $360 NLH Kickoff Event | Lisa Fleishman | $30,820 | 555 | $166,500 |
| $400 NLH | Min Zhang | $9,650 | 88 | $29,920 |
| $250 NLH Turbo | Derrick Contreras | $2,640 | 31 | $6,200 |
| $360 NLH | Ramon Chavez | $5,990 | 63 | $18,900 |
| $360 Triple Triple Draw | Robert Valden | $4,030 | 36 | $10,800 |
| $250 NLH Turbo | Sebastiaan F De | $2,500 | 23 | $5,000 |
| $360 NLH Bounty | Laura Hoppe | $5,410 | 84 | $25,200 |
| $360 PLO8 | Marshall Silvestein | $3,260 | 53 | $15,900 |
| $250 NLH Turbo | Jason Lang | $2,600 | 31 | $6,200 |
| $250 NLH | Chy Ling | $6,480 | 108 | $21,600 |
| $360 HORSE | Matthew Rasco | $2,400 | 48 | $14,400 |
| $360 PLO Bountry | Oscar Montemayor | $3,810 | 56 | $16,800 |
| $400 NLH Jacked Stack | Josh Burkhalter | $11,950 | 119 | $40,460 |
| $500 PLO Championship | Mehmet Cetinkaya | $10,770 | 85 | $36,550 |
| $580 Main Event | Oziel Zuniga | $45,960 | 660 | $330,000 |
