It was back to winning ways for poker celebrity females last night as Bachelorette star Katie Thruston took down the Celebrity Poker Tour Invitational III, scooping the $20,000 top prize.
Thurston, who shot to fame with appearances on The Bachelor, the Bachelorette, and then with a guest appearance in Bachelor In Paradise was one of 79 TV stars, social media content creators, sports stars and poker pros who battled it out in the PokerGO Studios.
Among the runners were NFL stars Peyton Barber and Prince Amukamara, basketball heroes Larry Sanders and Glen “Big Baby” Davis, as well as championship boxers Chris Eubank Jr. and “Sugar” Shane Mosley.
From the poker world there were Brad Owen, Ethan “Rampage” Yau, and Alexander “Wolfgang Poker” Seibt, the latter looking to go back-to-back having won Celebrity Poker Tour Invitational II last month.
That win broke the run of female dominance that saw Qiyu “Nemo” Zhou and Princess Love pick up victories, and this time content creators Ashley Nocera and Sofie Dossi, along with TV stars Parker McKenna Posey and Joe Gatto were looking to upset the trend.
The play itself was a mix of the brilliant and the bizarre, with contortionist Sofie Dossi, an America’s Got Talent finalist, performing one of the most unusual all-ins ever seen in poker…
Congratulations to our CPT Invitational III champion @katiethurston! Thank you for playing! 🥂♠️ pic.twitter.com/kZFnbCfttH
— Celebrity Poker Tour (@celebpokertour) May 5, 2024
The final table featured three women, the two previous winners – chess streamer Qiyu “Nemo” Zhou and reality TV star Princess Love – as well as Thurston.
It was Zhou and Thurston who would clash first in a huge rollercoaster of a hand, the chess master all-in and at risk…
Zhou: J♣ 10♦
Thurston: 7♥ 7♦
Flop: 10♣ 6♣ 9♣
Turn: 7♠
River: 10♥
Seventh place and $2500 for Zhou, and it was only one spot better for her successor, winner of CPT II, Princess Love, who hit the flop hard but watched the turn in horror…
Love: K♣ 10♦
Yau: J♥ J♦
Nunez: 9♠ 9♣
Flop: A♦ K♦ 6♠
Turn: 9♦
River: Q♥
You've never seen an all in like this 😂@celebpokertour | @sofiedossi
📺: https://t.co/o7zHIc3iXa pic.twitter.com/ZUImsQ523k
— PokerGO (@PokerGO) May 5, 2024
Out in 6th for $2500, that left only Thurston batting for the females, but she outlasted singer Hoodie Allen and then busted Ethan “Rampage” Yau, spiking an ace on the flop to overtake his pocket 8s.
That left three amateurs taking the top three spots, and when Thruston rivered a straight against singer Carson Lueders, she was heads-up against actor Miguel Nunez Jr.
When the finale arrived, the turn card turned against Nunez this time and it was all over…
Thurston: A♣ J♦
Nunez: K♣ 5♠
Flop: Q♥ 9♥ 8♣
Turn: 10♦
River: 10♥
Celebrity Poker Tour Invitational III Results
| 1 | Katie Thurston | $20,000 |
| 2 | Miguel Nunez Jr. | $10,000 |
| 3 | Carson Lueders | $5,000 |
| 4 | Ethan Yau | $3,500 |
| 5 | Steven “Hoodie Allen” Markowitz | $2,500 |
| 6 | Princess Love | $2,500 |
| 7 | Qiyu “Nemo” Zhou | $2,000 |
| 8 | Mark Dohner | $2,000 |
| 9 | Alex Bachman | $2,000 |
As PGT reported, Thurston’s victory and $20,000 payday landed her in a 7-way tie for 170th place on The Hendon Mob’s Celebrity All-Time Money List.
That list – non-pro rather than celebrity in most senses – is headed by Rick Salomon with earnings of $9,906,283 followed by David Einhorn ($5,281,731) and Haralabos Voulgaris ($3,497,797).
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