Main Event
Day 3 Started
2019 Heartland Poker Tour Golden Gates
Main Event
Day: 3
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
2019 Heartland Poker Tour Golden Gates
Buy-in
$1,100
Prize Pool
$864,360
Entries
588
Level
32
Blinds
100,000 / 200,000
Ante
100,000
Nick Pupillo Leads HPT Black Hawk Final Table
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The third and final day of the $1,650 HPT Black Hawk Main Event will get underway today with the nine players, all with their eyes on the $194,478 top prize. Nick Pupillo leads and will start the day with 2,970,000.
Pupillo boasts an impressive HPT resume with eight cashes while Reginald "Shawn" Roberts, who is second in chips, has far and away the most HPT experience with 21 HPT cashes. Local players Dapo Ajayi, Daniel Wojcik, John Sacha and Jack Peterson will look for a hometown crowd at today's final table.
Sacha won this event in 2009 and has three other HPT cashes. However, he's not the only former Golden Gates champ left in the field. Back in November, Mike Itoafa won the 2018 MSPT Denver Poker Open at the venue for $81,735. He will return on Monday with 2,365,000.
Final Table Lineup
| Seat | Player | Count |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mike Itoafa | 2,365,000 |
| 2 | Dapo Ajayi | 1,835,000 |
| 3 | Ryan Dodson | 1,475,000 |
| 4 | Karim Abuzar | 1,210,000 |
| 5 | Jack Peterson | 2,450,000 |
| 6 | John Sacha | 1,190,000 |
| 7 | Dan Wojcik | 1,260,000 |
| 8 | Nick Pupillo | 2,970,000 |
| 9 | Reginald Roberts | 2,895,000 |
Cards hit the air at Noon and there will be a live stream on the HPT Twitch channel. It'll be on a 30-minute delay and audience members are invited to watch the action on set on the second floor of the Golden Gates. We will also be bringing you all the action here in the live blog on our way to crowning a champion.
A Note on the Livestream
There's an issue with the RFID software and network at the Golden Gates, so the final table will be playing without the RFID decks. The live stream will begin without hole cards and the HPT hopes to solve the technical issue and use the RFID cards at some point today.
Level: 25
Blinds: 20,000/40,000
Ante: 40,000
Shuffle Up & Deal
Level 25
: 20,000/40,000, 40,000 ante
All of the hurrying and up waiting is over, the players had their TV table introductions and it's down to business. Cards are flying with about 20 minutes remaining at the 20,000/40,000 level.
"You Can't Lie About Your Hands Anymore"
Level 25
: 20,000/40,000, 40,000 ante
Mike Itoafa, John Sacha and Dapo Ajayi are local players that know each other rather well and they enjoy needling each other at the table. There was a situation late on Day 2 where Itoafa claimed he had aces on a hand against Ajayi, but then changed his story a couple times over the next h our as to what he actually held.
Itoafa opened, the entire table folded and Itoafa told Sacha that he had aces.
"You can't lie about your hand anymore," Ajayi said. "That's over," he said in reference to the hole cameras.
Itoafa instantly smiled and said, "Oh yeah, I guess the jig is up."
Dodson's Here for Action
Level 25
: 20,000/40,000, 40,000 ante
Three players put in 90,000 to see the flop of 
. Dapo Ajayi checked, Ryan Dodson bet 50,000 and Reginald Roberts called. Ajayi folded, the turn came 
and Dodson check-called 95,000.
The river came 
, Dodson bet 200,000 and Roberts let his hand go.
Level: 26
Blinds: 25,000/50,000
Ante: 50,000
Sacha Shows for the Las Time
Level 26
: 25,000/50,000, 50,000 ante
John Sacha opened for 115,000, Nick Pupillo called on the button and Dapo Ajayi called from the big blind. The flop came 
, Ajayi checked, Sacha bet 115,000 and both players mucked.
Sacha showed 
and told the table that's the last time he shows.
BIg Stacks Not Wanting to Play a Big Pot
Level 26
: 25,000/50,000, 50,000 ante
Nick Pupillo opened to 125,000 and Reginald Roberts raised to 300,000. Pupillo thought for a bit, called and the flop came 
. Both players checked, the turn comes and they checked again. The river was 
, both players checked and Roberts tabled 
to take the pot.