John Bunch Wins Heartland Poker Tour Stratosphere Main Event for $150,080
The Heartland Poker Tour (HPT) recently completed its stop at Stratosphere Casino, Hotel, & Tower in Las Vegas, Nevada. The $1,650 Main Event attracted 441 entries and created a prize pool of $638,655. In the end, local technical advisor John Bunch emerged victorious to win the title and $150,081 first-place prize.
"It was definitely a tough table," Bunch said, referencing a final table that include poker pros Ryan Laplante and recent November Niner Dan Sindelar. "I knew coming in that I just had to play my game. I stuck in there, got lucky, and here I am,"
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | John Bunch | Las Vegas, NV | $150,081 |
| 2 | Joey Brown | Springfield, MO | $92,605 |
| 3 | Ryan Laplante | Las Vegas, NV | $60,672 |
| 4 | Gary Bolden | Las Vegas, NV | $42,151 |
| 5 | Paul McCaffrey | San Ramon, CA | $31,294 |
| 6 | Ryan Tosoc | Chicago, IL | $24,269 |
| 7 | Peter Nigh | Kirkwood, MO | $21,012 |
| 8 | Dan Sindelar | Las Vegas, NV | $17,244 |
| 9 | Ben Palmer | Deadwood, SD | $14,050 |
According to live updates of the HPT Stratosphere, Ben Palmer was the first elimination of the final table when he got his short stack all in preflop holding the J♠9♦ only to run into the A♠A♦ of Laplante. Not long after, Sindelar joined him on the rail.
Sindelar's bust happened in Level 26 (20,000/40,000/5,000) when he open-shoved for 585,000 from early position and Joey Brown, who finished runner-up in the 2010 HPT Championship, called from the hijack. The rest of the players folded and the cards were turned up.
Brown: Q♣Q♠
Sindelar: K♠J♠
Sindelar, who finished seventh in the 2014 World Series of Poker Main Event for $1,235,862, was in need of some help, but he was left wanting as the board ran out a clean 8♣5♠3♥4♣4♦. Sindelar earned $17,244 for his eighth-place finish.
From there, Peter Nigh (7th - $21,012), Ryan Tosoc (6th - $24,269), and Paul McCaffrey (5th - $31,294) all hit the rail before Gary Bolden followed them out the door in fourth. It happened in Level 28 (30,000/60,000/10,000) when Laplante raised to 150,000 from the small blind, Bolden defended from the big, and the flop came down J♠8♥7♥.
Laplante continued for 115,000, Bolden called, and the J♣ appeared on the turn. Laplante bet again, this time 185,000, and Bolden shoved all in for about a million more. Laplante called with the A♥10♥ for a flush draw, while Bolden held two pair with the Q♦7♦. The dealer burned one last time and put out the 6♥ on the river. Laplante hit his flush and Bolden was out in fourth place for $42,151.
Laplante was next to go when his 7♦7♠ failed to hold up against the A♠Q♦ of Brown, and that set up a heads-up match between Brown and Bunch with the former holding a more than 3-1 chip lead. The duo battled back and forth for an extended period of time, and eventually Bunch seized the chip lead.
Then, in Level 31 (60,000/120,000/15,000), Brown opened for 275,000 and Bunch called to see a flop of J♥10♣9♥. Bunch checked, Brown bet 325,000, and Bunch check-raised to 875,000. Brown responded by moving all in for 4.205 million and Bunch called.
Bunch: 8♦7♣
Brown: Q♦9♦
Brown had flopped a pair with an open-ended straight draw, but Bunch had flopped a straight. The 2♦ turn was no help to Brown, and neither was the {7} river. Brown once again finished runner-up in an HPT event, this time taking home $92,605.
The HPT continues next week with their Season X HPT Championship at Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort in Michigan. PokerNews will bring you a tournament recap upon completion of play. A full schedule of events is available at HPTpoker.com.
For more on the HPT Stratosphere, check out this video:
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PR & Media Manager for PokerNews, Podcast host & 2013 WSOP Bracelet Winner.
