2019 Heartland Poker Tour Ameristar East Chicago

Main Event
Day: 1a
Event Info

2019 Heartland Poker Tour Ameristar East Chicago

Final Results
Winner
Josh Reichard
Winning Hand
73
Prize
$186,812
Event Info
Buy-in
$1,650
Prize Pool
$833,760
Entries
579
Level Info
Level
30
Blinds
60,000 / 120,000
Ante
120,000
Players Info - Day 1a
Entries
103
Players Left
20

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

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 DatesVenueLocationMain Event Buy-In
August 22-September 2Ameristar East ChicagoGary, Indiana$1,650
September 9-15Mini Series at Hollywood Casino ToledoToledo, Ohio$350
September 11-23Golden Gates Casino & Poker ParlourBlack Hawk, CO$1,650
September 26 - October 7The Meadows CasinoPittsburgh, PA$1,100
October 17-28Daytona Beach Racing & Card ClubDaytona Beach, Florida$1,100
November 14-26HPT Championship Hollywood Casino & HotelSt. Louis, Missouri$2,500
December 5-16M Resort Spa CasinoLas Vegas, Nevada 
January 25-February 1, 2020HPT on the High SearsWestern Caribbean$1,100

Updated Chip Counts After Break

Level 10 : 600/1,200, 1,200 ante
Player Chips Progress
Brendan Shiller us
Brendan Shiller
130,000
82,900
82,900
Brian Gabriel us
Brian Gabriel
127,000
52,700
52,700
Chandrasekar Vellala us
Chandrasekar Vellala
108,000
38,200
38,200
Ravi Raghavan us
Ravi Raghavan
100,000
60,200
60,200
WPT 1X Winner
Tracy Sibson us
Tracy Sibson
70,000
-19,000
-19,000
Brett Halan us
Brett Halan
62,000
38,000
38,000
Mike Shin us
Mike Shin
51,000
38,000
38,000
Craig Casino us
Craig Casino
26,000
1,400
1,400
Jacob Baumgartner us
Jacob Baumgartner
22,000
-10,000
-10,000

More Updated Chip Counts

Level 10 : 600/1,200, 1,200 ante
Player Chips Progress
Chandrasekar Vellala us
Chandrasekar Vellala
110,000
2,000
2,000
Ed Sebesta
Ed Sebesta
100,000
8,000
8,000
Dan Sepiol us
Dan Sepiol
100,000
12,600
12,600
WSOP 1X Winner
WPT 1X Winner
Keith Thurman us
Keith Thurman
82,500
41,200
41,200
Artem Zverkhovskyy ua
Artem Zverkhovskyy
79,600
57,000
57,000
Pratap Golla us
Pratap Golla
78,000
-37,000
-37,000
Ruslan Sladkov us
Ruslan Sladkov
77,000
5,800
5,800
Kevin Andriamahefa us
Kevin Andriamahefa
70,000
40,000
40,000
Paul Fisher us
Paul Fisher
62,000
28,000
28,000
Bekr Ali us
Bekr Ali
60,000
-11,400
-11,400
Timothy Kane us
Timothy Kane
50,000
Gregory Baird us
Gregory Baird
50,000
-12,500
-12,500
Brett Apter us
Brett Apter
50,000
12,200
12,200
WSOP 1X Winner
Matt Shepsky us
Matt Shepsky
45,000
21,400
21,400
James Kasputis us
James Kasputis
40,000
-77,000
-77,000
Ronald Rindone us
Ronald Rindone
39,000
Michael Lehner us
Michael Lehner
32,000
32,000
32,000
Cheryl Choon us
Cheryl Choon
30,000
30,000
30,000
Thomas Gabriel us
Thomas Gabriel
30,000
22,500
22,500
Joe Messineo us
Joe Messineo
30,000
-10,000
-10,000
Richard Cooks us
Richard Cooks
30,000
30,000
30,000
Aaron Johnson us
Aaron Johnson
26,000
2,000
2,000
Jay Goldenberg us
Jay Goldenberg
22,000
-13,000
-13,000
Michael Esquivel us
Michael Esquivel
16,000
-31,000
-31,000
William Conway us
William Conway
15,000
-12,000
-12,000

Level: 11

Blinds: 800/1,600

Ante: 1,600

Apter Eliminated by Johnson

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: {a-Hearts}{a-Diamonds}
Brett Apter: {10-Hearts}{10-Clubs}

Apter picked up a top made hand but ran into Johnson's aces and couldn't get ahead as the board ran out {4-Hearts}{q-Hearts}{7-Spades}{6-Diamonds}{q-Clubs} eliminating him from the tournament.

Player Chips Progress
Aaron Johnson us
Aaron Johnson
90,000
48,000
48,000
Brett Apter us
Brett Apter
Busted
WSOP 1X Winner

Tags: Brett ApterAaron Johnson

Get to Know Reigning HPT Player of the Year Aaron Johnson

Level 11 : 800/1,600, 1,600 ante
Aaron Johnson with Jeremy Smith
Aaron Johnson with Jeremy Smith

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.

Andriamahefa Bets First, Takes Pot from Zverkhovskyy

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 {5-Diamonds}{7-Spades}{5-Hearts} and Andriamahefa took down the pot after he lead out for 10,000.

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

Tags: Kevin AndriamahefaArtem Zverkhovskyy

Golla Sets Up Zverkhovskyy

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 {a-Clubs}{6-Clubs}{q-Spades} and Zverkhovskyy check-called Golla's 4,000 bet.

The {10-Hearts} came on the turn and Zverkhovskyy checked his option to Golla who bet 7,00o. Zverkhovskyy called.

The dealer completed the board with the {3-Hearts} 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 {6-Diamonds}{6-Hearts} for a set of sixes to scoop up the pot.

A few short hands later Zverkhovskyy would be eliminated.

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

Tags: Pratap GollaArtem Zverkhovskyy