Mass. poker pro Bernard Lee is inaugural RunGoodGear.com Main Event Champion

BOSTON -- (PRESS RELEASE) -- New England’s top professional poker player Bernard Lee is champion of RunGoodGear.com’s (RGG) inaugural main event at Downstream Casino Resort in Quapaw, Oklahoma. Lee, a member of the poker apparel company’s Team Run Good, bested 344 entrants to capture the $47,555 prize and a seat at the 2014 World Series of Poker (WSOP) in Las Vegas.

“It’s a privilege to be a member of the Run Good team, a group of players with exceptional skills on the felt,” said Lee, a Wayland, Mass. resident. “I had a fantastic week — Downstream Casino was an exceptional host. For me, playing in the inaugural RunGoodGear.com tournament series was exciting, but winning the Main Event is an honor. I am truly ecstatic about this victory.”

The RunGoodGear.com tournament series kicked off on March 5 at the Quapaw, Oklahoma casino with a sold out RGG pro bounty tournament. RGG Pro and WSOP bracelet winner Bryan Campanello captured the six-max no-limit hold’em title. The series culminated with the $675 buy-in No-Limit Hold'em Main Event, which surpassed the $100,000 guarantee with a nearly double prize pool. Attendance exceeded initial estimates, and more than $250,000 was awarded over the six-day series.

“The energy and excitement throughout the whole series was mind blowing. We can't wait to do another one,” said Tana Karn, president and CEO of RunGoodGear.com, which went live during the 2012 WSOP. “Many thanks to our players and Downstream’s staff for making this an event incredibly successful, but more importantly, fun.”

Lee has won over $2 million and now four titles on the tournament circuit since turning pro following his 13th finish in the 2005 WSOP. Recognized as “the voice of poker in New England” by Cardplayer.com, Lee is known worldwide as a poker media personality.

The Harvard University and Babson College graduate is host of The Bernard Lee Poker Show, which airs from 7 to 8 p.m. on Tuesdays in Massachusetts. The show is also simulcast on Rounders Radio, www.roundersradio.com, one of the largest online poker talk radio station in the world with listeners in more than 85 countries. Finally, the show is also available via podcast on iTunes.

The show incorporates interviews with poker players and prominent industry personnel with poker news and tips as well. Previous guests have included WSOP champions Doyle Brunson, Greg Merson, Ryan Riess, Pius Heinz, Jonathan Duhamel, Joseph Hachem, Greg Raymer, Peter Eastgate, Joe Cada and Phil Hellmuth; WPT commentator Mike Sexton; ESPN commentators Norman Chad and Lon McEachern; poker superstars Daniel Negreanu, Erik Seidel, Dennis Phillips, and Jason Mercier; and members of the 2008 through 2013 WSOP November Nine.

A poker writer for ESPN.com, Card Player and All-In magazines, Lee was recently the lead commentator for the WSOP Circuit livestream, which was seen on ESPN3.com and WSOP.com. His two books, The Final Table, Volume I and Volume II, are compilations of the Sunday Boston Herald poker columns he penned for seven years. Lee is also a poker instructor and commentator for the WSOP and New England’s Eastern Poker Tour. Lee is a former co-host of ESPN.com’s weekly online poker show, “ESPN Inside Deal.”