Matt Mahek shoved his last few big blinds with 
in the small blind, and Kent Bitzer woke up with 
in the big and called. The ace-jack held, and players are now in the money.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
87,000
22,000
|
22,000 |
|
|
Busted |
According to the players at Alex Queen's old table, Jeremy Cline limped in from the small blind and then called Queen's shove with . Queen was racing with but couldn't overcome the pair.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
Busted |
Season 3 of the Hollywood Poker Open is well underway, with three Regional Events complete, one ongoing here in Grantville, and another three to follow before the summer. Then, it will all come to an end with the highly-anticipated Championship Event to be held June 26-28 at M Resort Spa Casino in Las Vegas.
The $2,500 Championship Event has been a super successful competition the past two years, attracting 692 entries in 2014 and 631 entries in 2013. If the same growth trend occurs in 2015, a field of well over 700 entries could be in the mix.
At each Regional Event, part of the prize for the winner of the Regional Main Event is a $2,500 Championship Event seat. This also goes for the player who tops each Regional Leaderboard. Currently, six players have earned a seat that way, two more will come from this stop in Grantville, and then six more will come from the three later stops. Furthermore, the top three players to finish out the overall Season 3 Leaderboard "will receive a seat to our Championship Event courtesy of HPO Ambassador and World Champion Chris Moneymaker," according to the HPO.
Last year, Simon Deadman earned the Championship Event title and $351,097 in first-place prize money. In 2013, it was Ana Marquez who claimed the $320,189 top prize by winning the event.
While this HPO Grantville Regional Event will be coming to a close today, it's certainly not too late to get in on the action for one of the final three stops on the tour's Season 3 — St. Louis, Charles Town, and Columbus. Please head to the HPO website by clicking here to learn more about each of the upcoming festivals.
Both blinds checked to Chris Moneymaker on a 
flop, and he bet 7,000. Only big blind Jeremy Cline called. Cline check-called another 16,000 on the 
turn, and he checked the 
river. Moneymaker paused for about a minute and fired 32,000, and Cline snap-called.
Moneymaker rolled over 
for a backdoor straight, getting a whistle from someone at the table. The former Main Event champ is now the chip leader.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
320,000
65,000
|
65,000 |
|
||
|
240,000
-34,000
|
-34,000 |
|
|
Busted | |
After a long and grueling Day 1, Hollywood Poker Open Grantville Regional Main Event is set to resume with Day 2, which will see a winner crowned. That winner will take home more than $30,000 and a seat in the HPO season-ending tournament in Las Vegas, worth $2,500.
Play is set to resume at Level 15 (1,500/3,000/500), with 18 players remaining. The most robust stack belongs to Jeremy Cline, with 274,000. Other top contenders include Michael Nolan (260,500), tour ambassador and former Main Event champ Chris Moneymaker (199,000), Kent Bitzer (148,000), Alex Queen (132,000), and Ethan Dolan (100,500). Moneymaker is seeking his third HPO final table and his second outright win.
With a 92-player field having turned out this Easter weekend, that means nine players will be paid. Expect a tense bubble and then a deep-stacked final table as the competitors play out 60-minute levels, with breaks given every two levels until a winner is crowned.
