Main Event Day 1c | 2019 Hollywood St. Louis

08-03-2019 10:15 UTC-5

Welcome to Day 1c of the HPT Hollywood St. Louis Main Event

Anthony Thompson

HPT logo and cards

Season XV of the Heartland Poker Tour (HPT) continues today with the third and final starting flight as Day1c of the $1,650 buy-in Main Event kicks-off in St. Louis, Missouri noon local time. Players will start with 30,000 in chips and play 15 40-minute levels with late registration and re-entry being available through the dinner break after Level 9.

Yesterday's Day 1b flight drew 172 runners, but after 15 levels of play, just 24 remained with Bryan Johnson and his stack of 454,00 leading the way. Johnson was followed by Lisa Morrow-McBride (437,000), Nick Pupillo (375,000), Joshua Turner (374,000), and Gyan Gurung (373,000) who rounded out the top five in chip stacks for the day.

The surviving players from all starting flights will return for Day 2 action at noon Sunday, August 4th. The final table will then be live-streamed at noon on Monday, August 5.

“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.”

Cards will be in the air at Noon local time and will end after 15 levels of play.

Upcoming HPT Stops

PokerNews and the HPT plan to continue their live reporting relationship for stops throughout 2019. Those include visits to the Ameristar Vicksburg in Mississippi, Ameristar East Chicago, Hollywood Casino Toledo in Ohio, Golden Gates Casino & Poker Parlour in Colorado, The Meadows Racetrack & Casino in Pennsylvania, and Daytona Beach Racing & Card Club in Florida.

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

HPT Season XV Schedule

Series Dates	Venue	Location	Main Event Buy-In
August 1-12	Ameristar Vicksburg	Vicksburg, Mississippi	$1,100
August 22 - September 2	Ameristar East Chicago	Chicagoland, Illinois	$1,650
September 9-15	Hollywood Casino Toledo	Toledo, Ohio	$500
September 11-23	Golden Gates Casino & Poker Parlour	Denver, Colorado	$1,650
September 26 - October 7	The Meadows Racetrack & Casino	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	$1,100
October 17 - 27	Daytona Beach Racing & Card Club	Daytona Beach, Florida	$1,100
January 25 - February 1	HPT On The High Seas	Western Caribbean	$1,100

Tags: Bryan Johnson Gyan Gurung Joshua Turner Lisa Morrow-McBride Nick Pupillo

08-03-2019 16:07 UTC-5

Casino Rivers Straight, Eliminates Vonderheide

Anthony Thompson

Level 6 : 200/500, 500 ante

Craig Casino limped in from middle position along with the button and small blind players. Action was on Lance Vonderheide who moved all in for 10,000 from the big blind and Casino called for just 100 more.

Craig Casino:
Lance Vonderheide:

Vonderheide was ahead but Casino flopped a gut-shot with the flop.

The turn gave Vonderheide a broadway draw but Casino could still win the hand with a connection on the river.

The was indeed that connection as Casino rivered his staright and Vonderheide exited the playing field.

Player	Chips	Progress
Craig Casino	20,100 -9,900	-9,900
Lance Vonderheide	Busted

Tags: Craig Casino Vonderheide

08-03-2019 18:17 UTC-5

Green Cracks Hinkle's Aces, Rivers Straight Flush

Anthony Thompson

Level 9 : 500/1,000, 1,000 ante

Brian Green opened for 2,500 from early position and Grant Hinkle three-bet to 7,500 sitting directly on his left, Green called.

The flop came and Green jammed for 22,500, Hinkle called.

Brian Green:
Grant Hinkle:

Hinkle was ahead with his rockets until the fell on the turn giving Green the nut-flush.

That wouldn't be the end as the dealer dropped the on the river improving Green's hand to s staright flush as he raked in the pot.

Player	Chips	Progress
Brian Green	53,700 5,900	5,900

Grant Hinkle	19,600 -10,400	-10,400

Tags: Brian Green Grant Hinkle

08-03-2019 18:28 UTC-5

Sebesta Runs Tens Into Kings, Eliminated by Schaal

Anthony Thompson

Level 9 : 500/1,000, 1,000 ante

Edward Sebesta opened for 2,800 from late position and Austin Schaal three-bet to 7,000 sitting directly on his left. Action folded back to Sebesta who jammed for 55,600 and was called.

Edward Sebesta:
Austin Schaal:

Sebesta picked the wrong time to make a move running into kings and didn't receive any help from the flop.

The turn, however, fell the giving Sebesta the heart flush draw but he couldn't get there as the board completed with the and he exited the playing field.

Player	Chips	Progress
Austin Schaal	128,700
Edward Sebesta	Busted

Tags: Edward Sebesta Austin Schaal

08-03-2019 20:48 UTC-5

Webster Gets Aces Back to Back, Eliminates Copeland

Anthony Thompson

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

Hand #1:

Action on the table folded around to Quentin Crossley who limped in from the cutoff and before looking at his cards, Simon Webster said, "I probably have aces," after the dealer flipped over , and he then raised to 5,000.

Keith Heine folded his small blind and Jeffry Copeland moved all in from the big blind and was called by Webster after Crossley mucked his hand.

Simon Webster:
Jeffrey Copeland:

Webster called his hand and Copeland was in bad shape receiving no help from the board and he was eliminated from the tournament.

Hand #2:

A player from early position opened for 4,000 and action folded around to Webster who asked the initial raiser who much he was playing behind. After getting a confirmed 8,600 more, Webster three-bet to 10,500 from the cutoff and action folded back to the initial raiser.

"I have aces again, this time they're black," said Webster as his opponent mucked his hand and sure enough, Webster tabled and raked in another pot.

Player	Chips	Progress
Simon Webster	96,500 8,900	8,900
Quentin Crossley	47,800 -26,400	-26,400
Jeffrey Copeland	Busted

Tags: Jeffrey Copeland Keith Heine Quentin Crossley Simon Webster

08-03-2019 22:12 UTC-5

Heine Cracks Kings for Double

Anthony Thompson

Level 13 : 1,000/2,500, 2,500 ante

Action on the table folded around to a player in late position who limped in and Quentin Crossley raised sitting directly to his left.

Simon Webster folded from the cutoff and Keith Heine jammed for 34,000 on the button. The initial raiser called while Crossley got out of the way.

Keith Heine:
Opponent:

Heine was behind but there was an ace in the window as the flop fell .

The turn paired the board with the and Henie doubled up after the dealer dropped the on the river.

Player	Chips	Progress
Quentin Crossley	80,000 32,200	32,200
Keith Heine	73,000 2,800	2,800

Tags: Keith Heine Quentin Crossley Simon Webster

08-03-2019 22:58 UTC-5

Bland Cracks Patel's Kings, Sends Him to the Rail

Anthony Thompson

Level 14 : 1,500/3,000, 3,000 ante

Gary Bland opened for 8,000 from early position and Tajesh Patel three-bet to 30,000 sitting directly o his left. Action folded back around to Bland who four-bet all in and Patel snap-called.

Tajesh Patel:
Gary Bland:

Patel was ahead until Bland paired his ace on the flop.

The turn fell the adding a broadway draw to Patel's hand but Bland also picked up the nut flush draw.

Patel's tournament ended after the dealer completed the board with the river.

Player	Chips	Progress
Gary Bland	250,000 88,000	88,000
Tajesh Patel	Busted

Tags: Tajesh Patel Gary Bland

08-03-2019 23:15 UTC-5

Mackey Spkies King to Eliminate Opponent

Anthony Thompson

Level 15 : 2,000/4,000, 4,000 ante

James Mackey opened for 9,000 under the gun and a player from middle position moved all in for 70,000. Action folded around the table back to Mackey who called.

James Mackey:
Opponent:

The flop came pairing Mackey's king and putting him in the lead.

The turn fell the and Mackey won the race after the fell on the river eliminating his opponent.

Player	Chips	Progress
James Mackey	400,000 316,000	316,000

Tags: James Mackey

08-04-2019 00:30 UTC-5

Blythe Bags Top Stack After Final Flight at HPT St. Louis

Anthony Thompson

Level 15 : 2,000/4,000, 4,000 ante

The largest day of all three starting flights by a long shot has been completed and the field for Day 2 has been set at HPT St. Louis $1,650 Main Event. Day 1c saw a total of 261 entries to bring the entire total to 480 entries over three initial flights.

Of the 261 players, 45 players advanced with Rick Blythe bagging a total of 531,000 to find himself as the chip leader for the flight. Next up was Jason Darland who was the only other player to bag over 400,000 with (438,000).

Rounding out the top five for the flight include WSOP bracelet winner Blair Hinkle (395,000), Umut Ozturk (359,000), and WSOP bracelet winner James Mackey (350,000).

Saturday’s flight saw a ton of recognizable faces make it up the mountain at their final shot at advancing to Day 2. Some players to advance in this flight after failing in previous flights include BJ McBrayer (240,500), Mike Shin (237,000), Craig Casino (236,000), John Richards (217,000), Nick Davidson (136,000), Simon Webster (107,000), Bill Haner (105,000), Derek Schroeder (100,000), Stephen Green (98,00), Dave Simon (53,000), and Ryan Gregor (50,000)

Other players who found a bag at the end of the day were Stan Jablonski (273,000), Adam Lamphere (181,00), Brian Green (175,000), and defending champ Bill Byrnes (119,000).

A few players who were not fortunate enough to advance included Keith Heine, Grant Hinkle, Mike Rieck, and Chris Tryba.

Day 2 will begin Sunday, August 4 at 11 a.m. local time. There will be 75 players returning with 54 players making it into the money. Those who earn a first-level payout will receive $3,003 and payouts will climb from there to the eventual first-place prize of $160,632.

Play will resume at the beginning of Level 16, with blinds of 2,000/5,000 and a 5,000 big-blind ante. Levels will last 60 minutes throughout the duration of the day with 15-minute breaks at the completion of every two levels. From the time the cards are in the air, action will continue until the official final table of nine has been reached.

Which nine players will find themselves putting chips in bags when Day 2 concludes? Come back to PokerNews for updates along the way as that question is answered.

Tags: Adam Lamphere Bill Byrnes Bill Haner BJ McBrayer Blair Hinkle Brian Green Chris Tryba Craig Casino Dave Simon Derek Schroeder Grant Hinkle James Mackey Jason Darland John Richards Keith Heine Mike Rieck Mike Shin Nick Davidson Ryan Gregor Simon Webster Stan Jablonski Stephen Green