Main Event Day 1a | 2019 Heartland Poker Tour Ameristar East Chicago

08-30-2019 02:45 UTC

Here's What's in Store for Season XV of the HPT

Anthony Thompson

Level 10 : 600/1,200, 1,200 ante

Season XV of the Heartland Poker Tour (HPT) is a big one with stops at the Hollywood Casinos in St. Louis and the Cincinnati area (Lawrenceburg, Indiana), The Meadows Racetrack and Casino in Pittsburgh, and Ameristar East Chicago. What's more, the PokerNews Live Reporting Team plans to be at each of them to capture all the action.

“HPT is excited to have PokerNews providing additional event coverage in 2019,” said Korey Stewart, HPT Marketing Manager. “Season XV is shaping up to be another record-breaking year for the tour. We’ve already added several new venues to the schedule and we’re hoping to announce a few more new additions soon. There will be plenty of opportunities for poker enthusiasts across the country to take a shot at winning life-changing money at nationally televised final tables. We’re looking forward to having an industry leader like PokerNews there to report on it every step of the way.”

Here’s a look at the remaining Season XV schedule. For more information, visit hptpoker.com and follow them on Twitter @HPTPoker.

Remaining HPT Season XV Schedule

Series Dates	Venue	Location	Main Event Buy-In
August 22-September 2	Ameristar East Chicago	Gary, Indiana	$1,650
September 9-15	Mini Series at Hollywood Casino Toledo	Toledo, Ohio	$350
September 11-23	Golden Gates Casino & Poker Parlour	Black Hawk, CO	$1,650
September 26 - October 7	The Meadows Casino	Pittsburgh, PA	$1,100
October 17-28	Daytona Beach Racing & Card Club	Daytona Beach, Florida	$1,100
November 14-26	HPT Championship Hollywood Casino & Hotel	St. Louis, Missouri	$2,500
December 5-16	M Resort Spa Casino	Las Vegas, Nevada
January 25-February 1, 2020	HPT on the High Sears	Western Caribbean	$1,100

08-30-2019 02:52 UTC

Updated Chip Counts After Break

Anthony Thompson

Level 10 : 600/1,200, 1,200 ante

Player	Chips	Progress
Brendan Shiller	130,000 82,900	82,900
Brian Gabriel	127,000 52,700	52,700
Chandrasekar Vellala	108,000 38,200	38,200
Ravi Raghavan	100,000 60,200	60,200

Tracy Sibson	70,000 -19,000	-19,000
Brett Halan	62,000 38,000	38,000
Mike Shin	51,000 38,000	38,000
Craig Casino	26,000 1,400	1,400
Jacob Baumgartner	22,000 -10,000	-10,000

08-30-2019 02:55 UTC

Gabriel Takes from Magnus

Anthony Thompson

Level 10 : 600/1,200, 1,200 ante

Brian Gabriel opened for 3,200 from middle position and Nadya Magnus called on the button.

The flop fell and Gabriel took down the pot with a 3,400 bet.

Player	Chips	Progress
Brian Gabriel	130,000 3,000	3,000
Nadya Magnus	62,000 19,000	19,000

Tags: Nadya Magnus Brian Gabriel

08-30-2019 03:07 UTC

More Updated Chip Counts

Anthony Thompson

Level 10 : 600/1,200, 1,200 ante

Player	Chips	Progress
Chandrasekar Vellala	110,000 2,000	2,000
Ed Sebesta	100,000 8,000	8,000
Dan Sepiol	100,000 12,600	12,600

Keith Thurman	82,500 41,200	41,200
Artem Zverkhovskyy	79,600 57,000	57,000
Pratap Golla	78,000 -37,000	-37,000
Ruslan Sladkov	77,000 5,800	5,800
Kevin Andriamahefa	70,000 40,000	40,000
Paul Fisher	62,000 28,000	28,000
Bekr Ali	60,000 -11,400	-11,400
Timothy Kane	50,000
Gregory Baird	50,000 -12,500	-12,500
Brett Apter	50,000 12,200	12,200

Matt Shepsky	45,000 21,400	21,400
James Kasputis	40,000 -77,000	-77,000
Ronald Rindone	39,000
Michael Lehner	32,000 32,000	32,000
Cheryl Choon	30,000 30,000	30,000
Thomas Gabriel	30,000 22,500	22,500
Joe Messineo	30,000 -10,000	-10,000
Richard Cooks	30,000 30,000	30,000
Aaron Johnson	26,000 2,000	2,000
Jay Goldenberg	22,000 -13,000	-13,000
Michael Esquivel	16,000 -31,000	-31,000
William Conway	15,000 -12,000	-12,000

Level: 11

Blinds: 800/1,600

Ante: 1,600

08-30-2019 03:20 UTC

Johnson Scoops Pot

Anthony Thompson

Level 11 : 800/1,600, 1,600 ante

Aaron Johnson opened for 3,200 from late position and Brett Apter called on the button.

The big blind player three-bet to 10,000 and Johnson four-bet all in for 40,000 getting folds from both his opponents.

Player	Chips	Progress
Aaron Johnson	42,000 16,000	16,000
Brett Apter	30,000 -20,000	-20,000

Tags: Brett Apter Aaron Johnson

08-30-2019 03:26 UTC

Apter Eliminated by Johnson

Anthony Thompson

Level 11 : 800/1,600, 1,600 ante

Aaron Johnson opened for 3,500 from early position and Brett Apter moved all in for roughly 30,000 from the cutoff, Johnson called.

Aaron Johnson:
Brett Apter:

Apter picked up a top made hand but ran into Johnson's aces and couldn't get ahead as the board ran out eliminating him from the tournament.

Player	Chips	Progress
Aaron Johnson	90,000 48,000	48,000
Brett Apter	Busted

Tags: Brett Apter Aaron Johnson

08-30-2019 03:34 UTC

Get to Know Reigning HPT Player of the Year Aaron Johnson

Anthony Thompson

Level 11 : 800/1,600, 1,600 ante

One of the best stories of 2018 was the incredible year of Minnesota’s Aaron Johnson. Back in May, PokerNews spoke with Johnson about leading the Player of the Year races on both Season 9 of the Mid-States Poker Tour (MSPT) and Heartland Poker Tour (HPT) Season XIV.

Over the next seven months, Johnson maintained his lead on the MSPT, and while he lost the HPT lead for a bit, he ultimately ended with it thanks to a deep run in the season finale. That allowed Johnson to become the first player to ever win POY titles on two different tours in the same year.

For doing so, Johnson won a $10,000 prize package for each tour.

“It feels amazing,” Johnson told PokerNews. “Coming into the year I certainly wanted to make a run at MSPT POY (which has always been a goal of mine), but I never imagined that I’d be in contention for multiple POY titles. To actually achieve it is unreal.”

Johnson, who was out at the 2019 WSOP, is in action at the HPT Golden Gates.

For more on the reigning HPT POY, check out his full interview here on PokerNews.

08-30-2019 03:34 UTC

Andriamahefa Bets First, Takes Pot from Zverkhovskyy

Anthony Thompson

Level 11 : 800/1,600, 1,600 ante

Artem Zverkhovskyy opened for 4,000 on the button and Kevin Andriamahefa three-bet to 14,000 from the small blind, Zverkhovskyy called.

The flop fell and Andriamahefa took down the pot after he lead out for 10,000.

Player	Chips	Progress
Kevin Andriamahefa	98,200 28,200	28,200
Artem Zverkhovskyy	62,300 -17,300	-17,300

Tags: Kevin Andriamahefa Artem Zverkhovskyy

08-30-2019 03:40 UTC

Golla Sets Up Zverkhovskyy

Anthony Thompson

Level 11 : 800/1,600, 1,600 ante

Artem Zverkhovskyy opened for 4,000 from under the gun and Pratap Golla called from late position.

The flop fell and Zverkhovskyy check-called Golla's 4,000 bet.

The came on the turn and Zverkhovskyy checked his option to Golla who bet 7,00o. Zverkhovskyy called.

The dealer completed the board with the river and Zverkhovskyy checked his option one last time to Golla who fired out 12,000.

Zverkhovskyy tossed in his chips of the call and Golla tabled for a set of sixes to scoop up the pot.

A few short hands later Zverkhovskyy would be eliminated.

Player	Chips	Progress
Pratap Golla	100,000 22,000	22,000
Artem Zverkhovskyy	Busted

Tags: Pratap Golla Artem Zverkhovskyy