2020 Heartland Poker Tour Ameristar East Chicago

$1,650 Main Event
Day: 1a
Event Info

2020 Heartland Poker Tour Ameristar East Chicago

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
83
Prize
$171,411
Event Info
Buy-in
$1,650
Entries
520
Level Info
Level
31
Blinds
80,000 / 160,000
Ante
160,000
Players Info - Day 1a
Entries
97
Players Left
15

Bunce Raises and Takes it

Level 7 : 300/600, 600 ante
Dan Bunce
Dan Bunce

Tom Koral raised to 1,400 from early position, and Dan Bunce made the call in the cutoff, as did Brian Dewindt in the big blind.

Dewindt checked the {5-Hearts}{q-Spades}{2-Spades} flop over to Koral, who bet 1,800. Bunce raised to 5,000, which chased Dewindt out. Koral didn't take long to follow suit, and Bunce took down the pot.

Player Chips Progress
Tom Koral us
Tom Koral
50,900
-14,100
-14,100
WSOP 2X Winner
Dan Bunce us
Dan Bunce
38,000
5,500
5,500
Brian Dewindt us
Brian Dewindt
30,500
-3,500
-3,500

Tags: Brian DewindtDan BunceTom Koral

Nick Pupillo Wins HPT Season XV Player of the Year Race

Level 6 : 200/500, 500 ante
Nick Pupillo
Nick Pupillo

The Heartland Poker Tour has had many prestigious names claim the title of player of the year since its inception, including heavy hitters such as Greg “Fossilman” Raymer, Ari Engel, Shawn Roberts, Aaron Massey and Allen "Chainsaw" Kessler.

Season XV saw a new phenom join the ranks, as Nick Pupillo put together a dominating season to take the title of Player of the Year, finishing the year with 324.70 POY points, more than 100 points ahead of second-place finisher Eric Salazar.

Pupillo notched six cashes totaling $330,646 in HPT events, or about a third of what he’s won in 2019. He got off to a good start when he topped a 588-entry field to win February’s HPT Golden Gates in Colorado for $194,479, which marked his second HPT title after winning the HPT East Chicago in 2015. The tour returned later in the year and Pupillo cashed twice more at the venue. He also had a runner-up finish in St. Louis for $98,810.

For his efforts, Pupillo earns $10,000 in buy-ins at HPT stops throughout the year, as well as hotel accommodations at those stops. The Season XVI Player of the Year race will surely be another hotly contested affair, and we'll be keeping track of Pupillo all season long as he looks to defend his crown.

Season XV POY Final Standings

PlaceNamePoints
1Nick Pupillo324.70
2Eric Salazar217.80
3Nick Davidson204.80
4Mike O'Neill189.00
5Mike Shin175.40
6Chris Moon166.10
7Spenser Cramer154.00
8Greg Wood152.50
9Mike Sabbia146.40
10Dan Wagner143.40

Tags: Aaron MasseyAri EngelEric SalazarNick PupilloShawn Roberts

Casino Cracks 100k With the Goods

Level 6 : 200/500, 500 ante
Craig Casino
Craig Casino

On a {7-Spades}{j-Diamonds}{9-Hearts}{q-Spades} board, Craig Casino raised a 6,000 bet from his under-the-gun opponent to 30,000, enough to put the under-the-gun player at risk for his last 18,000 total. The under-the-gun player tanked for a minute, then elected to fold.

"Flopped it," Casino said, tabling {10-Hearts}{8-Spades} for a flopped straight, and he cracked a grin as he pulled in the pot to hit the six-figure marker.

Player Chips Progress
Craig Casino us
Craig Casino
110,000
20,000
20,000

Tags: Craig Casino

Koral Bounces Becker

Level 6 : 200/500, 500 ante
David Becker
David Becker

Tom Koral raised to 1,200 from middle position, and Michael VanderWoude called from the hijack. David Becker three-bet shoved for 5,100 on the button, and Koral four-bet to 9,000, chasing out VanderWoude.

Tom Koral: {k-Diamonds}{q-Diamonds}
David Becker: {2-Spades}{2-Clubs}

Becker's deuces couldn't hang on, as Koral spiked a king on the {9-Diamonds}{j-Spades}{8-Clubs}{k-Hearts}{7-Spades} runout to eliminate Becker.

Player Chips Progress
Tom Koral us
Tom Koral
72,000
28,000
28,000
WSOP 2X Winner
Michael VanderWoude us
Michael VanderWoude
48,000
-3,000
-3,000
David Becker us
David Becker
Busted

Tags: David BeckerMichael VanderwoudeTom Koral

Orlowski's Set Good For a Near Triple

Level 5 : 200/400, 400 ante
Jeffrey Orlowski
Jeffrey Orlowski

A flurry of action took place on a {6-Diamonds}{8-Hearts}{a-Clubs} flop, and Jeffrey Orlowski found himself at risk for his last 27,900 in the small blind. The big blind had his last 15,000 in chips in the big blind, and a player in early position had both players at risk with a call.

Big Blind: {7-Diamonds}{5-Hearts}
Jeffrey Orlowski: {8-Diamonds}{8-Spades}
Early Position: {a-Spades}{q-Clubs}

Orlowski's set just needed to fade the straight draw of the big blind after the {10-Hearts} fell on the turn, and the {k-Diamonds} river shipped the big pot over to Orlowski.

Player Chips Progress
Jeffrey Orlowski us
Jeffrey Orlowski
85,000
33,000
33,000

Tags: Jeffrey Orlowski

Michael VanderWoude Triumphs in Event #3: $200 NLH Deep Stack

Level 5 : 200/400, 400 ante
Michael VanderWoude
Michael VanderWoude

For the past week, the Heartland Poker Tour has hosted a slew of side events and satellites leading up to this weekend's $1,650 Main Event here at Ameristar East Chicago, and we've taken the time to highlight some of the bigger events that took place.

Event #3: $200 NLH Deep Stack had 203 contenders make their way to the felt, and just 23 would walk away with a cash, including Samuel King (11th - $728) and Robert Matic (14th - $629).

Michael VanderWoude and Dale Robinson would end up as the last two players standing before making a heads-up deal that saw VanderWoude take down the title and $6,905 in prize money, while Robinson walked away with $6,200 for his efforts.

Final Table Results

PlaceNameHometownPayout
1Michael VanderWoudeCrown Point, Indiana$6,905*
2Dale RobinsonOtisco, Indiana$6,200*
3Marco TownsendDetroit, Michigan$3,342
4Nilesh VithaLincoln Wood, Illinois$2,399
5Phillip SchroederBensellaer, Indiana$1,820
6Frank SwierczynskiPlainfield, Illinois$1,489
7Jill BryantAurora, Illinois$1,257
8Brad SailorLomardo, Illinois$1,075
9Michael BoveChicago, Illinois$893

*Denotes heads-up deal

Tags: Dale RobinsonMichael Vanderwoude

Shanahan Gets a Bluff Through

Level 3 : 100/300, 0 ante
Mike Shanahan
Mike Shanahan

Mike Shanahan and Darryl Ronconi had built a big pot of around 30,000 up, and the full {q-Diamonds}{3-Spades}{2-Clubs}{k-Clubs}{6-Diamonds} board was already on the felt. Shanahan announced, "All in," from early position, putting Ronconi to the test for his last 18,000 from the button.

Ronconi double-checked his hand and paused for a moment, before throwing his hand to the muck.

Shanahan flipped over {10-Clubs}{9-Hearts} for a bluff, and Ronconi said, "What'd he show?" Upon seeing that Shanahan held just ten-high, he nodded and said, "Nice bet."

Player Chips Progress
Mike Shanahan us
Mike Shanahan
70,000
20,000
20,000
Darryl Ronconi us
Darryl Ronconi
18,000
-18,000
-18,000

Tags: Darryl RonconiMike Shanahan

Set-Over-Set Good For Trezzo

Level 2 : 100/200, 0 ante
Joe Trezzo
Joe Trezzo

Three players invested 2,200 to see a {9-Diamonds}{a-Diamonds}{10-Clubs} flop, and Joe Trezzo checked from the big blind. Andrew Clifton checked in middle position, and Sam Vizza bet 3,600 next to act. Trezzo check-raised to 10,000, chasing Clifton out of the pot. Vizza three-bet shoved for 35,500, and Trezzo called off his 21,900 stack.

Joe Trezzo: {a-Spades}{a-Clubs}
Sam Vizza: {9-Spades}{9-Clubs}

Vizza's set of nines was crushed by the set of aces of Trezzo, and no one-outer would fall on the {3-Diamonds} turn or {6-Spades} river, sending Trezzo the double.

Player Chips Progress
Joe Trezzo us
Joe Trezzo
50,600
50,600
50,600
Sam Vizza us
Sam Vizza
13,600
-16,400
-16,400

Tags: Andrew CliftonJoe TrezzoSam Vizza

Nicola Ditrapani Victorious in Event #1: $350 NLH Monster Stack

Level 1 : 100/100, 0 ante
Nicola Ditrapani
Nicola Ditrapani

For the past week, the Heartland Poker Tour has hosted a slew of side events and satellites leading up to this weekend's $1,650 Main Event here at Ameristar East Chicago, and we've taken the time to highlight some of the bigger events that took place, starting with Event #1: $350 NLH Monster Stack.

A staggering 1,114 entrants would converge on the felt over three starting flights, and 113 of them took home a payday, including Michael Ferrarotti (10th - $4,445), Alexander Hill (16th - $2,473), Jason Trezak (19th - $2,100), John Orfanos (30th - $1,832), Daniel Sepiol (64th - $1,135), Paul Bianchi (97th - $900), and Bradley Beetz (109th - $850).

In the end, Nicola Ditrapani was able to best George Dietz in heads-up play to take home $56,726, pushing his career tournament earnings to nearly $500,000 with the score.

Final Table Results

PlaceNameHometownPayout
1Nicola DitrapaniStreamwood, Illinois$56,726
2George DietzForest Park, Illinois$37,650
3Sam VizzaCrestwood, Illinois$24,607
4Lonnie CaldwellEastpointe, Michigan$17,005
5Nicholas AndricopulosRalos Park, Illinois$13,503
6Prat GollaVernon Hills, Illinois$10,762
7Bryant MadisonColumbus, Ohio$8,120
8John SchrayChicago, Illinois$6,760
9Timothy GordonSchererville, Indiana$5,576

Tags: Alexander HillGeorge DietzMichael FerrarottiNicola Ditrapani

Casino Gets a Big Bluff Through

Level 1 : 100/100, 0 ante
Craig Casino
Craig Casino

On a {9-Diamonds}{a-Spades}{k-Spades} flop, a player checked from under-the-gun, and the hijack bet 1,300 into a pot of 1,700. "Mr. HPT" Craig Casino, the tour's all-time earnings leader, called from the cutoff, while the under-the-gun player folded.

The hijack bet 5,000 on the {6-Clubs} turn, and Casino raised to 12,000. The hijack tanked for a few minutes before making the call.

The {a-Diamonds} completed the board on the river, and the hijack checked. Casino bet 12,000, most of his remaining stack, and the hijack folded. Casino tabled {q-Hearts}{10-Hearts} for a busted gutshot before raking in the big early pot.

Player Chips Progress
Craig Casino us
Craig Casino
46,000
46,000
46,000

Tags: Craig Casino