Main Event
Day 1b Started
2019 Heartland Poker Tour St. Louis
Main Event
Day: 1b
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
2019 Heartland Poker Tour St. Louis
Buy-in
$1,650
Prize Pool
$646,020
Entries
444
Level
29
Blinds
50,000 / 100,000
Ante
50,000
Welcome to Day 1b of the HPT Hollywood St. Louis Main Event!
Season XV of the Heartland Poker Tour (HPT) continues today with the $1,650 buy-in Main Event Day 1b flight at Hollywood Casino in St. Louis, Missouri. 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 1a flight drew 164 runners, but after 15 levels of play, just 28 remained with 2016 HPT Player of the Year Ryan Gregor and his stack of 565,000 leading the way. Others to bag big stacks were Jason Mangold (357,000), Joe Landazzi (322,000), Rusty Montague (303,000), and Preston Phelps (299,000), who round out the top five.
The surviving players from both flights will return for Day 2 action at 11 a.m. on Sunday. The final table will then be live-streamed at noon on Monday, March 18.
“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, which is less than an hour from now.
Upcoming HPT Stops
PokerNews and the HPT plan to continue their live reporting relationship for stops throughout 2019. Those include visits to the Cincinnati area (Lawrenceburg, Indiana), The Meadows Racetrack and Casino in Pittsburgh, and Ameristar East Chicago.
Here’s a look at the current Season XV schedule with more stops expected to be announced in the near future. For more information, visit hptpoker.com and follow them on Twitter @HPTPoker.
HPT Season XV Schedule
| Series Dates | Venue | Location | Main Event Buy-In |
|---|---|---|---|
| March 21-April 1 | Hollywood Casino Lawrenceburg | Lawrenceburg, Indiana | $1,100 |
| April 4-15 | The Meadows Racetrack & Casino | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | $1,100 |
| April 18-29 | Hollywood Casino Columbus | Columbus, Ohio | $1,650 |
| Mary 2-14 | Ameristar East Chicago | Gary, Indiana | $1,650 |
Level: 1
Blinds: 100/100
Ante: 0
Notable Day 1b Faces in the Crowd
Level 1
: 100/100, 0 ante
| 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 |
Vance Falls to "Tinman" in First Hand of the Day
Level 1
: 100/100, 0 ante
It didn't take long for the first elimination of the day to occur. In fact, it happened in the very first hand in a blind-versus-blind hand.
Doug "Tinman" Holland held 
in the small blind. EPT Copenhagen champ Tim Vance the 
in the big, and the flop came down .
There was a good amount of betting on the flop and the rest went in on the turn. Holland's superior two pair held and Vance's Day 1b came to an in less than two minutes.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
60,000 | 30,000 |
|
Busted |
Two-time HPT Champion Nicholas Davidson Going for the Hat Trick
Level 1
: 100/100, 0 ante
One of the notables in today's field is Nicholas Davidson, a two-time HPT Champion.
Davidson, a regular on the HPT circuit has numerous tournament cashes and total lifetime earnings of $422,788.
Chicago has been particularly good to him and is definitely his kind of town because that is where he won both of his HPT titles. While his first win was back in 2016, his most recent victory, and biggest lifetime cash of $178,709, came just over two months ago.
We'll definitely be keeping our eyes on him today as he goes for his third title.
Level: 2
Blinds: 100/200
Ante: 0
Mullins on the Right Side of a Cooler
Level 2
: 100/200, 0 ante
Just before the level went up, action folded around to the player in the cutoff and she raised to 300, only to be three-bet to 700 by Josh Mullins from his small blind, and she quickly responded with a four-bet of 4,300.
With action back on Mullins he thought for a moment before putting out another raise of 11,500, and was met with an all in from the lady in the cutoff.
Mullins immediately called, both players tabled their hands, and Mullins saw that he was ahead but needed his hand to hold in the early cooler.
Mullins: 
Cutoff: 
The flop came 
, which meant that Mullins only had to fade one out to secure the early double up, which he did on the 
turn and 
river.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
62,300 | 62,300 |
A Made Hand Got Better
Level 2
: 100/200, 0 ante
Table 32 saw early action after the big blind raised to 800 preflop, getting a call from Craig Casino UTG and David Kowalski in the cutoff.
The flop came 
and Kowalski fired off 1,100. He was called from the big blind and Casino folded.
A 
on the turn and Kowalski bet out 2,500. The big blind player called.
The river was a 
and Kowalski tossed out 5,000. The big blind player pushed all-in and Kowalski folded his hand.
The big blind player tabled 
and raked in his chips.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
27,000 | -3,000 |
|
|
20,000 | 20,000 |
Here's What's in Store for Season XV of the HPT
Level 2
: 100/200, 0 ante
Season XV of the Heartland Poker Tour (HPT) is shaping up to be a big one with stops at the Hollywood Casinos in St. Louis and the Cincinnati area (Lawrenceburg, Indiana), The Meadows Racetrack and Casino in Pittsburgh, and Ameristar East Chicago. What's more, the PokerNews Live Reporting Team plans to be at each of them to capture all the action.
“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.”
Here’s a look at the current Season XV schedule with more stops expected to be announced in the near future. For more information, visit hptpoker.com and follow them on Twitter @HPTPoker.
HPT Season XV Schedule
| Series Dates | Venue | Location | Main Event Buy-In |
|---|---|---|---|
| March 21-April 1 | Hollywood Casino Lawrenceburg | Lawrenceburg, Indiana | $1,100 |
| April 4-15 | The Meadows Racetrack & Casino | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | $1,100 |
| April 18-29 | Hollywood Casino Columbus | Columbus, Ohio | $1,650 |
| May 2-14 | Ameristar East Chicago | Gary, Indiana | $1,650 |