Champion Will be Crowned Today in HPT Daytona Beach Main Event!
The Heartland Poker Tour is now down to the official final table of nine in the Daytona Beach $1,100 Main Event, as remaining players get ready to battle it out for the $98,476 first-place prize.
Luke Graham will be starting the day as the chipleader with a 3,505,000 stack after spinning up a lead halfway through Day 2.
Following closely behind Graham on the leaderboard is Martin Borras who has 2,855,000 and is the only person, other than Graham, who has above the 40 big blind mark.
One player to watch for during this final table is Eric Salazar who has been having a career year, with over 35 live tournament cashes thus far in 2019. Salazar's second-biggest cash of the year came at the HPT $1,650 Main Event in Chicago just two months ago and he will be looking to top that feat here today.
Final Table Seat Draw
| Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ronnie Dowdy | United States | 800,000 | 16 |
| 2 | Arthur Boatman | United States | 500,000 | 10 |
| 3 | Martin Borras | United States | 2,855,000 | 57 |
| 4 | Michael Rosenberg | United States | 870,000 | 17 |
| 5 | Tom Nguyen | United States | 690,000 | 14 |
| 6 | Paul Chung | United States | 1,785,000 | 36 |
| 7 | Eric Salazar | United States | 1,680,000 | 34 |
| 8 | Miguel Hernandez | United States | 665,000 | 13 |
| 9 | Luke Graham | United States | 3,505,000 | 70 |
The remaining nine players will return today at noon to duke it out for a title and of course the $98,476 first-place prize. The blinds will resume at 20,000/50,000 with a 50,000 big blind ante and there will be a 15-minute break after every three levels of play. The final table will be live-streamed on a delay that is roughly 30-minutes and play will not end until a new champion is crowned.
The PokerNews live reporting team will be here to bring you all of the updates in the HPT Daytona Beach Main Event, so stay tuned as all of the action unfolds.
and directly on his left was Luke Graham who raised to 1,300,000, holding 
. Everyone else folded and the two tabled their hands with Hernandez at risk.
and Graham was still ahead with his big slick. A 
peeled off on the turn, leaving Hernandez with one last shot to save his tournament life. 
completed the board, failing to improve Hernandez and he was the first to take an exit from this final table as Graham pulled in the pot.
and Eric Salazar called, holding 
. Players turned over their cards with Boatman at risk
and Salazar's bullets were still ahead, leaving Boatman in need of runner-runner. A 
turn card cemented the pot for Salazar as Boatman was then drawing dead to the 
river card.
for 570,000 and Martin Borras called from the big blind, holding 
and Nguyen took a commanding lead. A 
hit the felt as a turn card, leaving Borras with just a nine to take down the pot. 
from the cutoff and Luke Graham called in the big blind, holding 
peeled off on the turn and Rosenberg secured the pot for a double as he now had Graham drawing dead to the 
river.
landed on the turn and Chung was now drawing dead to the 
turn card as he was eliminated in sixth place by Salazar's bullets.
river did not shift a thing as Dowdy secured a full double up through Salazar to take the lead.
and Graham moved all in, Salazar snap-called.
and Graham needed a jack to stack alive. A 
and Borras was left speechless as the ace came down, giving Dowdy the lead. A 
improved Dowdy as he now had two pair and Borras needed a king to stay alive. 
, failing to hit Borras and he was eliminated by the two pair of Borras, taking fourth place for a respectable $28,044.
and both players checked to the 