Main Event
Day 1c Started
2019 Heartland Poker Tour East Chicago
Main Event
Day: 1c
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
2019 Heartland Poker Tour East Chicago
Prize Pool
$820,800
Entries
570
Level
28
Blinds
40,000 / 80,000
Ante
80,000
Welcome to Day 1c of 2019 HPT Ameristar East Chicago Main Event
The halfway point has been reached out of the starting days at Heartland Poker Tour Ameristar East Chicago $1,650 Main Event, with two starting flights down and two remaining.
Through the first two flights, 36 players are in the bag and set for the Monday restart. The likes of Nadya Magnus and Craig Casino lead the way thus far, the former bagging nearly 500,000 off of the 30,000 starting stack after a huge performance in Day 1b.
As for who will join them, that's to be determined in part of the course of the 15 40-minute levels scheduled for Day 1c. Once again, it will be unlimited reentry with levels rising from 100/100 at the beginning to 2,000/4,000 at the end with a 4,000 big blind ante.
PokerNews will be on the floor providing live updates from the time of the first card pitched to the time of the last bag being sealed up.
Level: 1
Blinds: 100/100
Ante: 0
Early Risers
Level 1
: 100/100, 0 ante
Cards have just started flying a little over 10 minutes ago, but already plenty of recognizable faces populate the conference room at HPT Ameristar East Chicago.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
30,000 | 30,000 |
|
30,000 | 30,000 |
|
30,000 | 30,000 |
|
30,000 | 30,000 |
|
30,000 | 30,000 |
|
30,000 | 30,000 |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | 30,000 |
|
30,000 | 30,000 |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | 30,000 |
|
30,000 | 30,000 |
|
30,000 | 30,000 |
|
|
30,000 |
Ziskin Straightened Out
Level 1
: 100/100, 0 ante
On a board of 
, Alex Ziskin checked in early position and called 1,200 from Stephen Green, in the hijack. Ziskin check-called a further 1,500 on the 
river and his opponent showed 
for a straight that Ziskin couldn't beat.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
38,000 | 8,000 |
|
29,500 |
Raymer Firing
Level 1
: 100/100, 0 ante
Former WSOP Main Event champ Greg Raymer is in the mix here on Day 1c at HPT Ameristar East Chicago.
While best known for his iconic Main Event win, Raymer has also put together a strong run of results in the HPT, primarily in 2012. Then, he bagged an incredible four titles and pocketed just under $400,000 in winnings. More recently, he's had several top-20 finishes. We'll see if he can get back to his 2012 form and add yet another trophy here at HPT Ameristar East Chicago.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
30,000 | 30,000 |
|
|
30,000 | 30,000 |
|
|
30,000 | 30,000 |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 |
Level: 2
Blinds: 100/200
Ante: 0
HPT East Chicago Main Event FLT C Photos by Hayley Hochstetler
The New Ace-King
Level 2
: 100/200, 0 ante
A player under the gun bet 500 on a 
flop and got called by the hijack and Keith Heine in the small blind. On the 
turn, Heine came out betting with 1,800. Both of his opponents quickly folded.
"Ace-five?" the under-the-gun player asked. "Looked like ace-five to me."
"It's the new ace-king, isn't that what they say?" Heine responded. "I liked the five, I'll just say that."
Sporting second-place and third-place finishes in the HPT, Heine will try to finish the job here in Ameristar East Chicago.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
29,000 | -1,000 |
Vodovoz Trying to Add HPT Title
Level 2
: 100/200, 0 ante
One player in the field here in the early going: Elik Vodovoz.
If you don't recognize the name, that's because Vodovoz really only has one big cash to his credit but it was a very large one. The Chicago-area native took down WSOPC Hammond Main Event here just a few months back for just under $295,000. His previous biggest cash was around $13,000.
The retired dentist, who typically grinds much smaller buy-ins, won a satellite into the Circuit Main and got through a field of 1,050 to bink his ring win. He'll now try to bring home an HPT title to go with his Circuit ring.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
30,000 |