Level: 9
Blinds: 500/1,000
Ante: 1,000
2019 Heartland Poker Tour Golden Gates Casino
Main Event
Day: 1d
Hocker Clicks Back the Flop
Level 8
: 400/800, 800 ante
Phil Mader opened to 2,200 from under the gun and got a call from a player in middle position. Brendan Hocker called from the cutoff and the player on the button also called.
The flop came 
and action folded to the player in middle position who bet 5,000. Hocker quickly raised to 10,000 and both the player on the button and Mader both folded and the middle-position player folded quickly thereafter.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
77,000 | |
|
39,500
13,500
|
13,500 |
Wahdan Doubles Through Pupillo
Level 8
: 400/800, 800 ante
Nader Wahdan was seen walking away from his chair leaving a newly-peaked stack of red, T$5,000 chips with a few stacks next to it and some unstacked small-denomination chips in a pile surrounding the stacks.
Jason Vangold was happy to recap the action, saying that Nick Pupillo had opened from the hijack and Wahdan defended his big blind. The two saw a flop of 
with two hearts and a diamond. Wahdan check-raised Pupillo's 7,500 continuation-bet to 17,500 and Pupillo called.
The turn came 
and Wahdan continued, betting 38,000. Pupillo raised him all in and he called.
Nader Wahdan:
Nick Pupillo: 
The river fell 
to give Pupillo trips, though it was not enough to beat Wahdan's full house as he doubled up, leaving Pupillo back to square one.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
235,000
93,000
|
93,000 |
|
37,000
-120,500
|
-120,500 |
|
||
Suzuki Flops a Set and Doubles
Level 8
: 400/800, 800 ante
Patrick Suzuki opened from under the gun to 1,800 and saw action folded around to the button who called, as did both blinds.
The flop came 
and the small- and big blind checked. Suzuki made a continuation-bet of 5,200 and was raised by the player on the button to 11,000. The small blind quickly folded and the big blind went into the tank for about a minute before following suit.
With action back on Suzuki, he announced he was all in. The player on the button quickly put forward a stack of chips to signify a call.
Patrick Suzuki: 
Opponent: 
Suzuki's opponent had flopped aces up but was in a cooler situation against Suzuki's middle set. The turn and river came 
and Suzuki's opponent wished him a nice hand and paid off the 29,000 his stack was totaled to be.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
66,400
66,400
|
66,400 |
O'Toole Fires River
Level 8
: 400/800, 800 ante
Michael O'Toole opened the action from under the gun with a raise to 2,100 and received calls from the hijack and the small blind who closed the action due to a big blind who was sitting out.
The flop came 
and the small blind checked. O'Toole made a continuation-bet of 3,500 and the hijack called. The small blind folded and the turn came . O'Toole checked and his opponent checked behind.
The river fell 
and O'Toole bet 7,000. His opponent took about 15 seconds to think about his decision and let his cards go towards the muck while O'Toole collected the pot, bringing him above the 100,000-chip mark.
Level: 8
Blinds: 400/800
Ante: 800
A Look at the Current HPT Season XV POY Race
Level 7
: 300/600, 600 ante
The Heartland Poker Tour (HPT) Player of the Year race is always competitive, and right now Nick Davidson is out in front with 163.80 points followed closely by Nick Pupillo with 158.2 points. Sitting in third thanks to back-to-back final tables and winning the HPT Lawrenceburg for $119,101 is Greg Wood with 152.5 points.
Whoever wins the POY title will claim more than bragging rights. Our POY earns a $10,000 package to use next season as well as complimentary hotel accommodations at those six stops. In case of a tie, all winning players will split the POY prize package evenly.
Here's a look at the current top 10 headed into the HPT Golden Gates stop:
| Place | Player | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nick Davidson | 163.8 |
| 2 | Nick Pupillo | 158.2 |
| 3 | Greg Wood | 152.5 |
| 4 | Mike Sabbia | 146.4 |
| 5 | Spenser Cramer | 140 |
| 6 | Chris Moon | 140 |
| 7 | Bill Byrnes | 134.8 |
| 8 | Shawn "Reginald" Roberts | 132 |
| 9 | Dan Wagner | 114 |
| 10 | Keith Heine | 107.3 |
Mader Doubles With Kings
Level 7
: 300/600, 600 ante
There was around 6,000 in the pot on a flop of 
and Phil Mader had just check-raised all in from middle position over a bet from a player in the hijack. The player called and hands were exposed.
Phil Mader: 
Opponent: 
Mader found himself significantly ahead and the 
runout put an exclamation mark on the double up, putting him back near starting stack.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
26,000 |
Graham Makes a Straight, Eclipses Six Figures
Level 7
: 300/600, 600 ante
A player in early position opened to 1,500 and received calls from a player in middle position, the hijack, Ruth Graham on the button, and both blinds. The dealer announced six players and turned over a flop of 
. Action checked to Graham and she bet 3,000. Only the original raiser called.
The turn came 
and Graham saw the original raiser check to her. She bet 6,000 and he made the call. The river was and Graham's opponent checked to her again. She fired 15,000 and was immediately called.
Graham tabled 
for the turned straight and her opponent mucked, giving her credit for her hand.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
109,000
32,000
|
32,000 |
Chip Counts After Break
Level 7
: 300/600, 600 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
142,000
119,200
|
119,200 |
|
136,000
-3,500
|
-3,500 |
|
102,000
47,000
|
47,000 |
|
|
77,000
54,000
|
54,000 |
|
66,800
31,000
|
31,000 |
|
|
65,500
22,500
|
22,500 |
|
39,000
22,500
|
22,500 |
|
32,800
-1,700
|
-1,700 |
|
|
28,000
1,000
|
1,000 |
|
27,500
-18,300
|
-18,300 |
|
25,600
-200
|
-200 |
|
|
||
|
20,000
8,500
|
8,500 |
|
|
13,000
-3,100
|
-3,100 |
|
Busted | |
|
|
Busted | |