The Final 9 Players are Set for Heartland Poker Tour Ameristar East Chicago $1,650 Main Event with Mike O'Neill Leading the Way
After a flurry of eliminations put a furious finish to Day 2, the final table of Heartland Poker Tour Ameristar East Chicago $1,650 Main Event is set with Mike O'Neill pacing way in front of the competition after bagging almost one-third of the chips in play.
With over $300,000 in cashes, O'Neill certainly isn't lacking experience as eight of his eleven career cashes come from HPT events and he'll look to add another HPT trophy to his collection after his first-place finish at HPT Meadows last year taking home $93,340.
He's certainly put himself in a fantastic position to break through with a win. O'Neill will enter the final table toting just shy of 5 million, almost 2 million more than second-place Josh Reichard.
Aside from Reichard's 2,820,000, no other player eclipsed the 2 million mark but eight of the nine players all hold over 1 million in chips with Michael Koh falling just shy of the milly mark with 970,00.
HPT Ameristar East Chicago Final Table
| Seat | Player | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eddie Blumenthal | 1,105,000 |
| 2 | Michael Koh | 970,000 |
| 3 | Josh Reichard | 2,820,000 |
| 4 | Kevin Albers | 1,455,000 |
| 5 | Mike O'Neill | 4,920,000 |
| 6 | Henry Zou | 1,270,000 |
| 7 | David McDermott | 1,775,000 |
| 8 | Nikola Budzakoski | 1,380,000 |
| 9 | Brett Apter | 1,710,000 |
The last nine players compete on the streamed and televised final table starting Monday at noon, with the stream coming in on a slight delay. There's $186,812 plus an HPT Championship Package worth $3,500 on the line, with everyone having $16,605 locked up.
HPT Ameristar East Chicago Final Table Payouts
| Place | Prize Money |
|---|---|
| 1 | $186,812 |
| 2 | $115,406 |
| 3 | $75,637 |
| 4 | $52,555 |
| 5 | $38.192 |
| 6 | $29,640 |
| 7 | $24,908 |
| 8 | $20,757 |
| 9 | $16,605 |
Come back to PokerNews for updates or catch the stream on HPT's Twitch channel.
taking three outs away from O'Neill as Sepiol picked up a gutterball. 
and Sepiol needed any king, queen or jack to win the hand. 
and Sepiol would be eliminated in 10th place.
and Reichard jammed his 895,000 stack into a 875,000 pot. 
dropped on the flop giving Reichard the flush draw. 
and Palo was eliminated after the 
river completed the board.
flop. 
sending him home in 12th place.
. 
turn would seal the deal and the dealer put the 
