2020 Heartland Poker Tour Ameristar East Chicago

$1,650 Main Event
Day: 1b
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 1b
Entries
172
Players Left
29

Blazer Cranks the Heat to Eleven, Singes Another Foe

Level 6 : 200/500, 500 ante

A player bet 10,000 from the hijack on a {9-Hearts}{5-Diamonds}{4-Clubs}{4-Hearts} board into a pot of 20,000, and Edward Blazer, who has been on a tear to start the day, made the call on the button.

The {2-Diamonds} hit the river, and the hijack jammed for 60,000. Blazer immediately called.

"Straight," the hijack said, but before he could reveal his hand, Blazer tabled {6-Hearts}{3-Hearts} for a six-high straight, prompting the hijack to slam his hand straight to the muck unrevealed. Blazer now commands a mammoth of stack of over 400 big blinds and continues his early day domination of Day 1b.

Player Chips Progress
Edward Blazer us
Edward Blazer
220,000
69,000
69,000

Tags: Edward Blazer

Raghavan Raises Mitchell

Level 6 : 200/500, 500 ante

Mike O'Neill raised to 1,100 on the button, and was called by Leo Mitchell in the small blind, as well as Ravi Raghavan in the big blind.

Action checked through a {2-Hearts}{10-Clubs}{5-Hearts} flop, and Mitchell bet 1,800 on the {7-Clubs} turn. Raghavan raised to 5,400, and O'Neill folded.

"I feel like I'm caught in a trap!" Mitchell said with a grin. "Let's see if I can exit it!" Mitchell quickly pitched his hand to the muck, and a grinning Raghavan took down the pot.

Player Chips Progress
Leo Mitchell us
Leo Mitchell
55,000
39,300
39,300
Ravi Raghavan us
Ravi Raghavan
47,000
WPT 1X Winner
Mike O'Neill us
Mike O'Neill
23,000
-2,000
-2,000

Tags: Leo MitchellMike O'NeillRavi Raghavan

Royal Number Three For "Fossilman"

Level 6 : 200/500, 500 ante
Greg Raymer
Greg Raymer

"Royal Flush!" 2005 WSOP Main Event Champ Greg Raymer said on our latest round of the tables, and he shared a few details of his "third-lifetime Royal Flush" of his poker career.

"My opponent called a turn raise, but he folded to my river shove," he said about making the granddaddy of all poker hands. Raymer is off to a good start in the opening levels here at Ameristar, chipping up to around 1.5 times a starting stack in the early going.

Player Chips Progress
Greg Raymer us
Greg Raymer
44,000
14,000
14,000
WSOP Main Event Champion
WSOP 1X Winner

Tags: Greg Raymer

Classic Cooler Goes Awry For O'Neill

Level 6 : 200/500, 500 ante
Mike O'Neill
Mike O'Neill

A preflop raising war saw Benny Beever get his last 34,400 in preflop, and Mike O'Neill had him at risk next to act.

Benny Beever: {k-Diamonds}{k-Spades}
Mike O'Neill: {a-Diamonds}{a-Hearts}

Beever's kings had ran into the rockets, and the {3-Diamonds}{9-Spades}{3-Clubs} flop was no help. The table gasped as the {k-Clubs} fell on the turn, giving Beever kings-full and a huge lead. The {3-Spades} gave no salvation to O'Neill, and he sent more than half of his stack over to Beever.

Player Chips Progress
Benny Beever us
Benny Beever
72,000
Mike O'Neill us
Mike O'Neill
25,000
-6,200
-6,200

Tags: Benny BeeverMike O'Neill

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

Level: 6

Blinds: 200/500

Ante: 500

Kings Good For Shin

Level 5 : 200/400, 400 ante
Mike Shin
Mike Shin

A player raised to 1,000 from the hijack, and Season XV HPT St. Louis champ Mike Shin three-bet to 3,000 from the cutoff. The hijack called.

The hijack check-called a bet of 2,800 on the {9-Diamonds}{2-Diamonds}{7-Spades} flop, and check-called 5,500 on the {10-Hearts} turn. Both players checked the {q-Diamonds} river.

"Pair," the hijack said, showing {j-Clubs}{9-Hearts}. Shin had that beat with his {k-Spades}{k-Hearts}, and took down the pot.

Player Chips Progress
Mike Shin us
Mike Shin
80,000
50,000
50,000

Tags: Mike Shin

Jansen Finds a Heart

Level 5 : 200/400, 400 ante

From the big blind, Bradley Jansen bet 20,000 on a {3-Spades}{8-Hearts}{6-Diamonds}{q-Hearts} board, enough to put his opponent in middle position at risk for his last 15,000. The middle position player obliged and called off his stack.

Opponent: {q-Clubs}{8-Clubs}
Bradley Jansen: {6-Hearts}{3-Hearts}

Jansen's flopped two pair had been bested on the turn by his opponent's queens-up, but Jansen could still hit a heart, six or three to take down the pot. The {j-Hearts} completed Jansen's backdoor flush, and he eliminated his opponent.

Player Chips Progress
Bradley Jansen us
Bradley Jansen
66,000
27,500
27,500
WSOP 1X Winner

Tags: Bradley Jansen

Tran's Not a Fan of the Flop

Level 5 : 200/400, 400 ante

Andy Tran raised to 1,100 from middle position, and was called by Bradley Jansen next to act, as well as the player on the button.

Tran checked the {6-Diamonds}{a-Hearts}{2-Hearts} flop, and Jansen bet 1,300. The button folded, and Tran paused for a few moments.

"Bad flop," Tran said, before tossing his {j-Clubs}{j-Spades} face-up and to the muck.

Player Chips Progress
Andy Tran us
Andy Tran
52,000
31,500
31,500
Bradley Jansen us
Bradley Jansen
38,500
8,500
8,500
WSOP 1X Winner

Tags: Andy TranBradley Jansen

Ronconi Gets Aggressive

Level 5 : 200/400, 400 ante
Darryl Ronconi
Darryl Ronconi

Darryl Ronconi raised to 1,000 from middle position, and the hijack three-bet to 2,400. Ronconi called.

Ronconi checked the {7-Diamonds}{a-Clubs}{4-Clubs} flop over to the hijack, who bet 1,400. Ronconi check-raised to 4,000, and the hijack called.

Ronconi bet 8,000 on the {k-Clubs} turn, and the hijack gave it up.

Player Chips Progress
Darryl Ronconi us
Darryl Ronconi
43,000
13,000
13,000

Tags: Darryl Ronconi