Elvis Has Left the Building: Stars and Stripes Forever at the Bike

The Bicycle Casino’s annual Stars and Stripes poker series commemorates Independence Day and kicks off every year on or around the Fourth of July. This year’s Stars and Stripes event began July 1 and ran through July 14. Now there’s only a short, two-week break in the action until the start of the Legends of Poker, the Bike’s signature event, which runs from July 28 - August 30.

The Bike incorporated multiple day events into Stars and Stripes, bringing the series right in line with what appears to be a growing trend in the poker community. But there were still numerous one-day events at Stars and Stripes too that featured buy-ins of $120 to $340.

At the main event, when Elvis left the building, he did so with $54,000 in winnings. But it was Elvis Huynh, not the guy from Graceland with the sideburns and jumpsuit, who took the main event by outlasting a field of 614 entrants that generated a prize pool of $178,674. In heads-up action, Elvis Huynh defeated Richard Castro, who won $26,950 for second place. Finishing third was Jim Pittman, who walked away with $14,304.