$

Awarded to date

Silverado Casino

May 20 - 22, 2022
Main Event: 506 Entrants
Winner: Gerald Cunniff
recap_icon

EVENT RECAP

A tournament steeped in history and tradition has another outstanding champion to call its own as Gerald Cunniff of St. Paul, Minnesota has won the 2022 South Dakota State Poker Championship on the Mid-States Poker Tour (MSPT).

Cunniff takes home one of the most iconic trophies in poker for his victory, outlasting 506 entries at the Silverado-Franklin Hotel and Gaming Complex in Deadwood, South Dakota.

The tournament was one of the region’s biggest and most successful ever, as the massive field created a prize pool of $489,320 which was spread among the final 54 players.

Winner's Reaction

“It’s going right on the mantle, until my wife takes it away”, joked Cunniff when asked if he was putting the legendary trophy in a special place.

Along with that incredible trophy, Cunniff takes home $94,483, which is his largest-ever tournament score.

“The trophy is really cool, but the money is really the best thing.” said Cunniff when asked to compare the significance of the trophy to a near $100,000 score.

In the end, it was Cunniff taking home the largest piece of the prize pool and that trophy, as a deal was agreed upon before heads-up play began, with Cunniff holding a near five-to-one chip lead over runner-up Mike Estes of Coralville, Iowa. The deal saw Estes take home an even $75,000 for his efforts.

Road to the Final Table

Cunniff came into Sunday as the chip leader and kept building his stack as he battled his way through a day which saw many quick eliminations as the bubble was burst quickly with just 12 of the 66 returning players needing to be eliminated to reach the money.

Patricia Baumann was the unfortunate bubble elimination when Jeff Heiberg sent her home shy of the money with ace-ten against Baumann’s ace-four.

From there, many notables fell shy of the final table, including MSPT stars Matt Kirby (30th - $2,642) and DJ Buckley (23rd - $3,768), along with Jeff Heiberg (12th - $7,340) and Joshua Reichard (11th - $7,340).

Final Table Action

After the final nine returned from dinner, it looked like Estes would run away with the event as he took an early pot off Cunniff before scoring the table’s first elimination by ending the run of 2019 champion Sergio Mireles.

Cunniff then began his final ascension to the title, first knocking out Alex Smith in 7th place, then cutting into Estes’ chip lead in a key pot.

The wild card at the table was Ron Kohner, whose random aggressive style had players shaking their heads throughout the day. But it was Cunniff who finally got to him midway through the final table in a key pot, then put him on fumes with a huge double up that sent Cunniff to a chip lead that he would not relinquish before finishing off Kohner.

From there the deal was agreed upon that declared Cunniff the champion.

This concludes our coverage from Historic Deadwood, South Dakota and the Silverado-Franklin Hotel and Gaming Complex.

Congratulations to Gerald Cunniff, the 2022 South Dakota State Poker Champion!

result

The RESULTS

Rank
Player Name
City
State
Amount
Points
1
MN 
$94,843
1,400
2
IA 
$75,000
1,400
3
Peoria 
AZ 
$46,583
1,300
4
MN 
$35,231
1,200
5
Denver 
CO 
$26,423
1,100
6
MT 
$20,062
1,000
7
Casper 
WY 
$15,658
900
8
MT 
$12,233
800
9
WY 
$9,297
700
10
Casper 
WY 
$7,340
600
11
WI 
$7,340
600
12
WY 
$7,340
600
13
SD 
$5,872
500
14
MN 
$5,872
500
15
SD 
$5,872
500
16
SD 
$4,893
400
17
Logan 
IA 
$4,893
400
18
Pierre 
SD 
$4,893
400
19
MT 
$4,453
300
20
ND 
$4,453
300
21
ND 
$4,453
300
22
SD 
$3,768
200
23
MN 
$3,768
200
24
OH 
$3,768
200
25
ND 
$3,278
200
26
SD 
$3,278
200
27
Casper 
WY 
$3,278
200
28
ND 
$2,642
100
29
Quinn 
SD 
$2,642
100
30
MN 
$2,642
100
31
SD 
$2,642
100
32
SD 
$2,642
100
33
MN 
$2,642
100
34
SD 
$2,642
100
35
ND 
$2,642
100
36
Omaha 
NE 
$2,642
100
37
SD 
$2,398
75
38
SD 
$2,398
75
40
SD 
$2,398
75
41
NE 
$2,398
75
42
WY 
$2,398
75
43
SD 
$2,398
75
44
Dallas 
SD 
$2,398
75
45
MT 
$2,398
75
46
SD 
$2,202
50
47
MT 
$2,202
50
48
Oacoma 
SD 
$2,202
50
49
Egan 
SD 
$2,202
50
50
 
 
$2,202
50
51
ND 
$2,202
50
52
Sydney 
MT 
$2,202
50
53
SD 
$2,202
50
54
ND 
$2,202
50