James Coyle Claims First RGPS Title at Home, Wins $32,211 in Dallas

DALLAS — James Coyle captured his first RunGood Poker Series ring at Palace Poker, topping a 569-entry field in the RGPS Passport Dallas $360 PowerStack to earn $32,211 from a $170,700 prize pool.

The win landed in familiar territory. Coyle is a Palace Poker Ambassador who plays the room regularly, and he made the deepest run of the day alongside his wife, Dora Coyle, who also returned for Day 2.

"RunGood runs such a great series. We were hoping we could get them here," Coyle said after his victory. "It's a great piece of hardware. You gotta wear it for a couple of days, for sure."

Zozimo Cardenas finished runner-up for $21,465. Michellee Simon took third for $15,802.

The Coyles Were Both in the Hunt

The tournament had a domestic subplot from the start. James and Dora, who retired in 2023 and have since played poker tournaments more regularly together, each came into Day 2 with live stacks. Dora was running well early, but her tournament ended in 18th place, leaving James as the last one standing from their household.

Off the felt, the two have a long-running competition tracked on The Hendon Mob. Dora holds the lead with more than $500,000 in live earnings; James sits north of $400,000.

"We have a Hendon Mob race. I've been ahead of her for years. She's passed me. She's been on a tear this year," Coyle said. "I said to myself, 'I still have work to do.'"

This win does some of that work.

How the Tournament Unfolded

Coyle entered Day 2 with around 50 big blinds and stayed patient through the middle stages. The hand that changed his trajectory came before the final table, when he got it in against Jose Garcia and spiked a jack on the river to double up to roughly 1.5 million chips.

The final table opened with Michael Insall running pocket jacks into Taylor Carlat's pocket tens. Carlat flopped a set and sent Insall out in ninth. Coyle got into elimination mode shortly after, knocking out Carson Winneker in seventh.

Stacks stayed close through the late stages, and the tournament was still wide open four-handed.

Coyle Took Over When It Mattered

Zozimo Cardenas had built past eight million chips by the time the field reached four, making him the clear threat. Simon eliminated Garcia in fourth, but the momentum quickly flipped.

Coyle doubled through Simon to stay in it, then doubled again through Cardenas to take the chip lead. He closed out Simon in third and needed only a few more hands to finish off Cardenas heads-up, completing the comeback and locking up the title.

"It's an amazing room," Coyle said of Palace Poker. "Opening up a new room in Texas is difficult, even when you have a room as beautiful as this. We're very lucky to be here. We love the owners. They treat us great."

Final Table Results

Players who cashed also earned points toward the season-long PowerStack Leaderboard, which runs across the full RGPS Passport season. The top ten finishers at year's end each receive a $1,100 seat in the RGPS Passport Thunder Valley Main Event plus two nights' accommodation.