Main Event
Day 3 Started
2019 Heartland Poker Tour Golden Gates Casino
Main Event
Day: 3
Welcome to Day 3 of HPT Golden Gates
The official final table has been set at the Heartland Poker Tour Golden Gates $1,100 Main Event. Seven hundred and thirty-two entries were logged over four initial flights and the 128 players to advance to Day 2 have been whittled down to nine.
Entering the day with more than double the stack of the next-closest competitor is chip leader Nathaniel Zoller. Zoller comes into the final table with a stack of 7.485 million in chips with just over two minutes remaining in Level 27 (30,000/60,000/60,000). With just two recorded lifetime cashes for a total of $528 in live earnings, this is already Zoller’s biggest score and deepest run of his career and while just eight players stand between him and his first HPT title, the road to victory will not be easy.
Second in chips with a stack of 3.45 million is Dapo Ajayi, a familiar face to tournaments at the Golden Gates Poker Parlour. Ajayi has experience with deep runs, having made final tables of main events for the HPT, MSPT, and Colorado Poker Championships all here in Black Hawk just within the past year to contribute to his total lifetime earnings of just over $500,000.
The next six players on the leaderboard are all within the range of 1.115 to 2.15 million in chips, being separated by what will be less than 15 big blinds after the last two-plus minutes of Level 27 roll off the clock.
The shortest stack entering the day is Nick Pupillo, finding himself looking up at the other eight players on the leaderboard coming into the day as the shortest stack with 675,000 in chips. Pupillo is the most acclaimed player in the field with over $2.6 million in live earnings. He is also currently in second place on the HPT Season XV Player of the Year leaderboard and slated to take the lead in that race regardless of where he finishes today.
Cards will fly on the final table at noon local time at the Gates in the upstairs overflow room with a live stream following on a 30-minute delay. Levels will remain at 40 minutes in length until heads-up play begins, at which point they will become 30 minutes each until the $152,671 first-place prize has been claimed. Updates will be provided here at PokerNews all day long to correspond with HPT’s live stream. Stay glued to both and make sure to catch all the action as a victor is determined.
HPT Golden Gates Final Table
| Seat | Player | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nathaniel Zoller | 7,485,000 |
| 2 | Rich Dixon | 2,150,000 |
| 3 | Austin Peck | 1,615,000 |
| 4 | Maxx Holland | 1,350,000 |
| 5 | Igor Leshchinskiy | 1,115,000 |
| 6 | Dapo Ajayi | 3,450,000 |
| 7 | Albert Winchester | 2,110,000 |
| 8 | Nick Pupillo | 675,000 |
| 9 | Scott Horvath | 1,970,000 |
Play To Be Underway Shortly
Play is about to be underway at the final table of HPT Golden Gates upstairs in the back overflow room. Updates will be provided until a champion is crowned along with a live stream at HPT's Twitch Channel.
Level: 27
Blinds: 30,000/60,000
Ante: 60,000
Picking Up Where We Left Off
Level 27
: 30,000/60,000, 60,000 ante
On the first hand of the day, action folded to Nathaniel Zoller in the small blind and he raised to 170,000. Rich Dixon defended his big blind and the flop came 
. Both players checked.
On the turn 
, Zoller bet 185,000 and Dixon called. The river came 
and Zoller bet 315,000. Dixon folded.
Dapo Ajayi told Zoller to show the four-six, referencing the last hand of Day 2 where he won the largest pot of the night after hitting a flush with 
versus 
. Zoller was in the one seat and had pushed his hand forward to muck it. Before the dealer grabbed it, he turned over, one by one, a black six-four suited and the table erupted as he raked in the pot, getting the day started in fun fashion.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
7,900,000 | 415,000 |
|
1,735,000 | -415,000 |
Level: 28
Blinds: 40,000/80,000
Ante: 80,000
Holland Picks Off Dixon
Level 28
: 40,000/80,000, 80,000 ante
Rich Dixon saw action folded to him on the button and he opened to 170,000. Maxx Holland defended his big blind and the flop came 
. Both players checked, bringing the turn . Holland checked to Dixon, who bet 210,000 and was called.
The river came 
and Holland checked once more. Dixon put out a bet of 320,000 and Holland went into the tank for around two minutes before announcing a call.
Dixon showed for no pair and Holland tabled 
, taking down the pot with jacks up.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
2,200,000 | 850,000 |
|
|
965,000 | -770,000 |
Ajayi Puts Dixon To the Test
Level 28
: 40,000/80,000, 80,000 ante
Rich Dixon opened to 180,000 from middle position and action folded to Dapo Ajayi in the small blind. Ajayi three-bet to 440,000 and Dixon made the call.
The dealer fanned a flop of 
and Ajayi announced an all-in bet, effectively putting Dixon to a decision for his last 525,000. Dixon chose not to commit his last chips and sent his cards to the muck.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
3,800,000 | 350,000 |
|
|
525,000 | -440,000 |
Updated Chip Counts
Level 28
: 40,000/80,000, 80,000 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
8,100,000 | 200,000 |
|
|
3,800,000 | |
|
|
2,400,000 | 200,000 |
|
2,100,000 | -10,000 |
|
1,800,000 | -170,000 |
|
1,100,000 | -515,000 |
|
895,000 | -220,000 |
|
815,000 | 140,000 |
|
|
325,000 | -200,000 |
Dixon Finds a Double
Level 28
: 40,000/80,000, 80,000 ante
After losing a couple of pots early in the day, Rich Dixon found himself down to 325,000 after the blinds moved through him and shoved all in from middle position. Action folded to Albert Winchester in the big blind who made the call for three more big blinds.
Rich Dixon: 
Albert Winchester: 
Dixon found himself ahead and in position to double up and give himself a chance at getting back into the thick of things. The flop came 
to give Winchester a gutshot straight draw and bring his total number of outs to 10.
However, that was all the improving Winchester would do as the turn 
and river 
fell and Dixon got the double.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
1,700,000 | -400,000 |
|
|
770,000 | 445,000 |