Main Event
Day 2 Completed
2019 Heartland Poker Tour Golden Gates Casino
Main Event
Day: 2
Nathaniel Zoller Leads Final Table After Day 2 of HPT Golden Gates
Level 27
: 30,000/60,000, 60,000 ante
Day 2 of the Heartland Poker Tour Golden Gates $1,100 Main Event saw 128 players come into the day with their hopes of making it to the final table of nine and after nearly eight hours of play, that number has been reached. Leading the way by a wide margin is Nathaniel Zoller who bagged a massive stack of 7,485,000.
Zoller entered the day well below the average stack with 88,000 in chips and a stack just shy of 18 big blinds. He built his stack as the tournament progressed, eclipsing the one million-chip mark when there were five tables left in the tournament. He secured a knockout and took down a few more pots before reaching the unofficial final table of 10 with a stack of 3.2 million, good to put him in second in chips. Then the fireworks flew.
Maz Keshavari had entered the unofficial final table as the chip leader with 4.1 million after winning a huge pot with pocket kings versus Anthony Piazza’s (12th place - $10,012) pocket queens shortly before the redraw was reached at 10 players. Zoller found himself on Keshavari’s left and took a chunk off of him with ace-king on an ace-high board to take the chip lead.
On the final hand of the night, both players called an under-the-gun raise by Rich Dixon from the blinds. Dixon got out of their way on the flop and the two both ended up making it to showdown with six-four suited. However, Zoller backed into a flush and ended up calling an all-in bet from Keshavari to knock him out in what was around a 6.5 million-chip pot to end play for the night.
Other notable players to make the final table include Dapo Ajayi who finished the day second in chips with 3,450,000 and Nick Pupillo who will enter the final table as the short stack after bagging 675,000.
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 | 34,50,000 |
| 7 | Albert Winchester | 2,110,000 |
| 8 | Nick Pupillo | 675,000 |
| 9 | Scott Horvath | 1,970,000 |
The action was loaded across the four Day 1 flights and was kicked up a notch today as the money bubble burst shortly before the first break of the day. Players to make the money and fall short of the final table included reigning HPT Player of the Year Aaron Johnson (81st place - $1,917), Chris Moon (55th place - $2,414), Mike Englert (22nd place - $4,473), and Neil Blumenfield (19th place - $4,473).
Play will resume Monday at noon local time upstairs in the overflow room with 2:14 remaining in Level 27 (30,000/60,000/60,000) and the final table will be live-streamed and televised. Come back to PokerNews for live updates and be sure to visit HPT’s Twitch channel to watch all the action unfold in real-time as a champion is crowned and presented the HPT trophy along with a first-place prize of $152,671.
End of Day 2 Chip Counts
Level 27
: 30,000/60,000, 60,000 ante
The final table of 9 players has been reached and the official chip counts are as follows.
A recap of the Day 2 action will be published soon.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
7,485,000 | |
|
3,450,000 | 500,000 |
|
2,150,000 | |
|
2,110,000 | -30,000 |
|
1,970,000 | -715,000 |
|
1,615,000 | -5,000 |
|
1,350,000 | -160,000 |
|
1,115,000 | 300,000 |
|
675,000 | -150,000 |
Maz Keshavarzi Eliminated in 10th Place ($10,012)
Level 27
: 30,000/60,000, 60,000 ante
Rich Dixon opened to 140,000 from under the gun and action folded around to Maz Keshavarzi who called out of the small blind. Nathaniel Zoller defended his big blind to take action three ways to a flop of 
. Keshavarzi checked and Zoller bet 210,000. Dixon folded and Keshavarzi check-raised to 440,000. Zoller called.
Keshavarzi kept firing, putting out a bet of 675,000 on the turn 
. After close to two minutes, Zoller called. The river came 
and Keshavarzi announced he was all in. Zoller quickly called.
Keshavarzi showed 
for a pair of sixes and Zoller tabled 
for what had been the same-strength hand until filling up to a backdoor flush on the river.
Zoller's stack was totaled to be 2.665 million and Keshavarzi's was counted to have been covered by close to 700,000, resulting in Keshavarzi being eliminated from the tournament in 10th place.
With his elimination, play is finished for the night. Official final table chip counts and a recap of the day's action is soon to follow.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
7,485,000 | 3,565,000 |
|
|
2,150,000 | 850,000 |
|
Busted |
Zoller Chips Up With Ace-King
Level 27
: 30,000/60,000, 60,000 ante
Maz Keshavarzi opened to 155,000 from middle position and received a call from Nathaniel Zoller on his direct left. Austin Peck also called from the hijack to take action three ways to a flop of 
. Keshavarzi made a continuation-bet of 150,000 and Zoller called. Peck folded and the turn came 
. Both players checked.
The river fell 
and Keshavarzi checked. Zoller made a bet of 250,000 which was called.
Zoller showed 
and Keshavarzi mucked.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
3,920,000 | 720,000 |
|
|
3,550,000 | -550,000 |
|
|
1,620,000 | -155,000 |
Updated Chip Counts
Level 27
: 30,000/60,000, 60,000 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
4,100,000 | 200,000 |
|
|
3,200,000 | 1,700,000 |
|
|
2,950,000 | 1,520,000 |
|
|
2,685,000 | 240,000 |
|
|
2,140,000 | -400,000 |
|
|
1,775,000 | -850,000 |
|
|
1,510,000 | 220,000 |
|
|
1,300,000 | -50,000 |
|
|
825,000 | -345,000 |
|
|
815,000 | -105,000 |
Unofficial Final Table Draw
Level 27
: 30,000/60,000, 60,000 ante
The unofficial final table draw is as follows. Updated chip counts will be provided shortly.
| Seat | Player |
|---|---|
| 1 | Maz Keshavarzi |
| 2 | Nathaniel Zoller |
| 3 | Rich Dixon |
| 4 | Austin Peck |
| 5 | Maxx Holland |
| 6 | Igor Leshchinskiy |
| 7 | Dapo Ajayi |
| 8 | Albert Winchester |
| 9 | Nick Pupillo |
| 10 | Scott Horvath |
Bob Sweeney Eliminated in 11th Place ($10,012)
Level 27
: 30,000/60,000, 60,000 ante
Bob Sweeney was in the small blind and saw action fold to him. He shoved all in for around 700,000 and Scott Horvath quickly called him from the big blind.
Bob Sweeney: 
Scott Horvath: 
Sweeney was in need of improving and was unable to make anything happen on a board of 
as he was sent home in 11th place, resulting in the tournament redrawing to the unofficial final table of 10 players.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
2,445,000 | 1,698,000 |
|
Busted |
Anthony Piazza Eliminated in 12th Place ($10,012)
Level 27
: 30,000/60,000, 60,000 ante
Anthony Piazza opened to 175,000 from the hijack and action folded around to Maz Keshavarzi in the small blind. He went all in for over 30 big blinds effective and after some thought, Piazza called off his stack of 1.615 million.
Anthony Piazza: 
Maz Keshavarzi: 
Piazza had a sweat on the flop 
but was unable to improve any further as the turn and river 
resulted in his departure from the tournament in cold fashion.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
3,900,000 | 2,000,000 |
|
Busted |
Level: 27
Blinds: 30,000/60,000
Ante: 60,000