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$1,650 Main Event
Day 1a Completed
2020 Heartland Poker Tour Ameristar East Chicago
$1,650 Main Event
Day: 1a
Event Info
2020 Heartland Poker Tour Ameristar East Chicago
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 1a
Buy-in
$1,650
Total Entries
520
Level
31
Blinds
80,000 / 160,000
Ante
160,000
Entries
97
Players Left
15
Players Left 1 / 520
Filter
Level 15
: 2,000/4,000, 4,000 ante
A total of 97 players hit the felt for Day 1a of the HPT Ameristar East Chicago $1,650 Main Event, and after fifteen levels of play, just 16 remained, with Robert Keeling and his 422,000 stack leading the survivors.
Keeling's climb to the top came with some good fortune, as he found himself all-in and well behind early in Level 14 (1,500/3,000/3,000). He had his last 150,000 or so in chips in preflop with pocket nines, but Michael Banducci, who spent most of the day atop the counts, held aces. Luckily for Keeling, a nine on the flop sent a more than 100 big blind pot his way, and he kept the momentum going all the way to the Day 1a chip lead.
The rest of the top three includes Andy Ernstein (383,000) and Henry Zou (322,000), while Niel Mittelman (200,000), WSOP Bracelet winner Alex Ziskin (148,000), Kevin Maahs (83,000) and Michael VanderWoude (70,000) all managed to end the night with chips for Day 2.
WSOP Main Event champ Greg Raymer was an early casualty of the day's action, while former HPT Ameristar East Chicago champ Darryl Ronconi found no luck today, either. Craig Casino ran up a healthy stack for a while, but just before the dinner break, he found his top two pair cracked by the set of Jeffrey Orlowski, and he busted one hand after the dinner break.
Others to fall short of a Day 2 bag include Edward Ochana, two-time WSOP Bracelet winner Tom Koral, 2019 WSOPC Potowatomi Main Event champ Richard Bai, Mike Shanahan, and Daniel Sepiol.
The next opportunity for players to find a bag for Day 2 will be tomorrow's Day 1b flight, which will kick off at 2 p.m. local time. A third and final flight starts at Noon on Saturday, and all players that manage to bag up chips will return on Sunday at 11 a.m. to play down to the televised final table of nine. Stay tuned to PokerNews for continuing coverage as we get one step closer to crowning our first HPT champion of Season XVI!
Level 15
: 2,000/4,000, 4,000 ante
Level 15
: 2,000/4,000, 4,000 ante
Andy Ernstein limped in from early position, and Michael VanderWoude limped in next to act. Jeffrey Orlowski limped in from the cutoff, and Donald Carlton eyeballed everyone's stacks before raising to 24,000.
One by one, his opponents folded, and Carlton slightly flashed his hand to the table.
"What'd he show?" a player asked, prompting Carlton to respond, "Aces."
Level 15
: 2,000/4,000, 4,000 ante
The final sixteen players will play five more hands before bagging and tagging for the evening. Stay tuned for end-of-night chip counts as well as a full recap of the day's action.
Level 15
: 2,000/4,000, 4,000 ante
Level 15
: 2,000/4,000, 4,000 ante
Robert Keeling raised to 8,000 from under the gun, and Alex Ziskin three-bet shoved for 72,000 from the button. Kevin Schulz called off his last 42,000 from the small blind, and Henry Zou tanked for a minute before calling in the big blind. Keeling folded.
Kevin Schulz: 
Alex Ziskin: 
Henry Zou: 
Schulz needed to spike a nine to survive, but the 
flop and 
turn left him needing a four or seven to chop, or a nine to triple up. The 
river was no help, and Schulz made his exit.
Level 15
: 2,000/4,000, 4,000 ante
Niel Mittelman raised to 8,500 from the cutoff, then called a three-bet shove for 25,000 from Tim Barany on the button.
Tim Barany: 
Niel Mittelman: 
Mittelman improved to top pair on the 
flop, but the 
turn gave Barany a double-gutter. The 
river was a brick, and Mittelman eliminated Barany.
Level: 15
Blinds: 2,000/4,000
Ante: 4,000
Level 14
: 1,500/3,000, 3,000 ante
Greg Baird raised to 7,000 on the button, and Joe Trezzo called in the small blind.
Trezzo checked the 
flop to Baird, who bet 10,000. Trezzo called.
Both players checked the turn, and Trezzo bet 18,500 on the 
river. Baird folded.
