25 @AmeristarSC @HPTPoker ME Seats GTD in Sattys

Join us for the $1650 Main Event this weekend at Ameristar St Charles. Day 1A of the Main Event goes Friday at 2pm, with two starting flights on Saturday - Day 1B at 10am and Day 1C at 3pm.

Players start with 30,000 chips and play 40-minute levels on Day 1. Late registration for each flight is open until the start of Level 10 each flight (9:30pm for Day 1A; 4:30pm on Day 1B and 10:30pm on Day 1C).

Win your way in to the Main Event from satellites running daily, including 25 total seats guaranteed -

Monday - 5pm $200 Satty, 1-in-10 win Main Event seat.
Tuesday - 5pm $200 Satty, 1-in-10 win Main Event seat.
Wednesday - 5pm $375 Satty, 1-in-5 win Main Event seat.
Thursday - 5pm $375 Monster Stack Satty, 1-in-5 win Main Event seat, 10 seats guaranteed.
Friday - 11am $375 Satty, 1-in-5 win Main Event seat, 5 seats guaranteed.
Friday - 5pm $375 Satty, 1-in-5 win Main Event seat, 5 seats guaranteed.
Saturday - Noon $375 Turbo Satty, 1-in-5 win Main Event seat, 5 seats guaranteed.

-- Dan Ross - HoldemRadio.com

Hinkle Wins HPT Championship for $223K

Lincoln, CA (October 25, 2016) – Blair Hinkle outlasted a star-studded field in the $2500 Heartland Poker Tour (HPT) Championship Event at Thunder Valley Casino Resort to capture his first HPT title and $223,411. The Kansas City, Missouri poker player began the Final Table in eighth place, but by the end he had collected all of the chips at the table.

“It’s been a long one. It’s been a grind for sure,” said the new champ with a smile on his face after the win.

After a marathon Final Table, the last hand saw Hinkle and opponent John Sheehan all-in before the flop with Hinkle holding eight-seven to Sheehan’s ace-ten. Hinkle had the Novato, California resident covered. A seven on the flop gave him the lead and another seven on the turn all but sealed the deal. Sheehan was drawing to a gutshot straight on the river, but it didn’t hit and he was eliminated as the runner-up for $137,931.

“I’m a little tired. A little disappointed,” Sheehan said in his post-tournament interview. “I had a lot of fun. Blair’s a fabulous player.”

The event at Thunder Valley drew 437 total entries, nearly doubling the $500k guarantee. The $974k prize pool was one of the largest in HPT history. JC Tran, Mark Newhouse, and Tyler Patterson were among the notables to enter the $2500 tournament, while HPT commentators Jaymz Larson and Kenna James provided commentary of the Final Table to hundreds of viewers on the live stream from beginning to end.

Derrick Geliberte had the chip lead at the start of the day. The business analyst from Elk Grove, California also had a career earnings total of zero dollars. Even more impressive, Geliberte won his way into the $2500 event through a $350 qualifier. In the end, Geliberte fell short of the title but he still managed to take home $91,792 for third place.

The championship event was Saurabh Patel’s first time playing an HPT event. The software engineer was knocked out in fourth place when his king-nine failed to outdraw Hinkle’s ace-jack. Patel, from San Jose, won $63,623 for fourth place.

Poker player Daniel Maor was playing under the lights at an HPT Final Table for the first time Tuesday. The San Jose native made the best of the opportunity, laddering up to a fifth-place finish. Maor earned $48,082 for his weekend’s worth of work.

Like Geliberte, Lance Donnell won his way in on a $350 satellite. Donnell played his way to the nationally televised Final Table for a five-figure score. The Reno man collected $37,397 for sixth place.

Marty Verdegaal was in good shape to double up when he got the last of his chips into the middle with pocket kings against Geliberte’s ace-queen. Unfortunately for Verdegaal, an ace hit the river and his run at the title was over. The Hanford, California business owner’s seventh-place finish was good for $31,083.

Fresno’s Hou Vang exited in similar fashion when his pocket eights lost to Hinkle’s nine-seven. Vang was sent to the rail in eighth place with $25,741.

Business owner Ian Kalman became the first player to hit the rail Tuesday evening when his pocket queens lost to Sheehan’s aces. The San Francisco man took home $21,758 for ninth place.

From here, HPT will head back to the Midwest to finish out the calendar year with tour stops in St. Louis, Kansas City, and Southern Indiana. For a full list of upcoming events, visit HPTpoker.com.

Season XII Championship Results

@HPTPoker Season XII Championship Event is won by Blair Hinkle, Here is the full results.

Place	Name		City	Payout
1	Blair	Hinkle	Kansas City, MO	$223,411
2	John	Sheehan	Novato, CA	$137,931
3	Derrick	Geliberte	Elk Grove, CA	$91,792
4	Saurabh	Patel	San Jose, CA	$63,623
5	Daniel	Maor	San Jose, CA	$48,082
6	Lance	Donnell	Reno, NV	$37,397
7	Marty	Verdegaal	Hanford, CA	$31,083
8	Hoang	Vang	Fresno, CA	$25,741
9	Ian	Kalman	SF, CA	$21,758
10	Roger	Campbell	Centralia, IL	$16,610
11	Huan	Cung	Elk Grove, CA	$16,610
12	Larissa	Bushman	San Jose, CA	$16,610
13	Julie	Cornelius	Bakersfield, CA	$12,530
14	Lance	Garcia	Houston, TX	$12,530
15	Pfizer	Jordan	Zion, IL	$12,530
16	Anton	Dimagiba	Sacramento, CA	$9,422
17	Phong	Vu	San Mateo, CA	$9,422
18	Aaron	Thomas	Colorado Springs, CO	$9,422
19	Hyman	Friedman	Eads, Tn	$7,771
20	Duke	Lee	SF, CA	$7,771
21	David	Valdez	Vacaville, CA	$7,771
22	Brian	Johnson	Grand Forks, ND	$7,771
23	Mario	Lopez	Cloverdale, CA	$7,771
24	Adam	Duong	SAcramento, CA	$7,771
25	Tom	Santos	Elk Grove, CA	$7,771
26	Tyler	Patterson	Scottsdale, AZ	$7,771
27	Casey	Carroll	Byron Center, MI	$7,771
28	Marty	Gorenc	Reno, NV	$6,314
29	David	Rosenbloom	LA, CA	$6,314
30	Jermaine	Gerlin	Jacksonville, FL	$6,314
31	Kenna	James	Las Vegas, NV	$6,314
32	Hieu	Le	Elk Grove, CA	$6,314
33	Justin	Pitts	Fair Oaks, CA	$6,314
34	Edward	Lewis	Brentwood, CA	$6,314
35	Shaurabh	Sharma	Martinez, CA	$6,314
36	Matthew	Kramer	Lincoln, CA	$6,314
37	Terry	Wheeler	Granite Bay, CA	$5,342
38	Ray	Villaman Jr.	Truckee, CA	$5,342
39	Antonio	Gutierrez	Lincoln, CA	$5,342
40	Garrett	Crites	Fruita, CO	$5,342
41	Larry	Odegard	San Jose, CA	$5,342
42	Noah	Wiseman	Concord, CA	$5,342
43	Hoang	To	Elk Grove, CA	$5,342
44	Miles	Sanders	San Ramon, CA	$5,342
45	Sakat	Batra	Campbell, CA	$5,342

Blair Hinkle - @HPTPoker Champion - $223,411

Blair @blur5f6 Hinkle began dominating final table play 5-handed, chipping down opponents without often playing big pots against them. He kept that same strategy going once heads-up against Novato's John Sheehan.

Heads-up play began with Hinkle holding almost a 3-1 chiplead, and while Sheehan occasionally pulled to within 2-1, he rarely came closer for the first 3 levels, but stacks evened and one hand made the difference.

Some 9 hours after final table play began, Hinkle moved in for 6.8 million and Sheehan called off his 6 milly stack. Hinkle's 8-7 outdrew Sheehan's A-T - Hinkle hit trips against Johnny Trips and took the title. Hinkle wins the $223,411 top prize and a $3600 2017 HPT Championship Event package.

Derrick Geliberte, Saurabh Patel, Daniel Maor, Lance Donnell, Marty Verdegaal, Hoang Vang and Ian Kalman rounded out the final table cashes.

The Season XII Player of the Year race was also decided here at Thunder Valley, with Kansas City champ Ryan Gregor holding off Cord Garcia for the POY title and entries into six HPT Main Events next season.

Garcia took 14th in the Championship Event held at Thunder Valley. Other notables cashing were Roger Campbell (10th) Julie Cornelius (13th) Aaron Thomas (18th) Jay Friedman (19th) Duke Lee (20th) Tyler Patterson (26th) Casey Carroll (27th) and Jermaine Gerlin (30th).

Players who came for the Championship Event and made Day 2 but did not cash included JC Tran, Mark Newhouse, Greg Raymer, Aditya Prasetyo, Allen Kessler, Neil Blumenfield, Amir Lehavot, Kathy Liebert, Ryan D'Angelo, Craig Casino, Stan Jablonski, Loren Klein, Lee Markholt, Chan Pelton and Darren Rabinowitz.

John Sheehan - 2nd Place - $137,931

Blair Hinkle moves all-in preflop for about 6.8 million total and John Sheehan makes the call. Hinkle has Sheehan covered by about 800k.

Sheehan -  
Hinkle -  

The flop is   , a pair for Hinkle and a gutter for Sheehan along with 2 overs.

The turn is  and Johnny Trips has trips hit against him, leaving him only a jack to take the hand and stay alive.

The river is  and Sheehan is eliminated at the Season XII Championship runner-up.

John Sheehan - 2nd place - $137,931

Dan Ross - HoldemRadio.com
Eric Harkins Photo - impdi.com

Pressure

Blinds jump to 80k/160k, Blair Hinkle to 350,000 preflop, John Sheehan 3-bets to 860,000, Hinkle 4-bets to 1,900,000 .. and Sheehan cannot find a call.

Hinkle to 9,500,000
Sheehan to 3,500,000

Heads-up Chipcounts

Here's what @blur5f6 and @johnnytrips5150 have to start HPT Championship Event heads-up play with ...

HU 4Rollz and the @HPTPoker Championship

@blur5f6 v @JohnnyTrips5150 for $223k-plus and the Season XII HPT Championship .... Hinkle with about a 2.5-1 chiplead to start play

Derrick Geliberte - 3rd Place - $91,792

Derrick Geliberte makes it 300,000 preflop and BLair HInkle comes along. Hinkle bets 350,000 on the  flop and Geliberte calls.

Hinkle bets out 700,000 on the  turn, and there's an all-in for 2,780,000 from Geliberte. The previous hand, Geliberte bumped a 125,000 bet up to 825,000, and everyone folded. This time, Hinkle finds a call to put Geliberte at risk

Hinkle -   for top pair
Geliberte -   for a flush draw

The river is  and Geliberte is eliminated in 3rd place, cashing for $91,792

Blair Hinkle - 9,000,000

2.5 Milly Pot to Geliberte Without a Call

Derrick Geliberte opens, John Sheehan reraises to 410,000 from the SB and Geliberte (above) calls.

The flop is    

Sheehan bets out 525,000 and Geliberte calls

The turn is 

Sheehan this time makes it 675,000 and Geliberte moves all in.

Sheehan folds and loses a big pot, dropping to 2,000,000 while Geliberte moves to 5,500,000

3-Handed Chipcounts

Derrick Geliberte - 5,000,000 -
Blair @blur5f6 Hinkle - 4,300,000 -
John @JohnnyTrips5150 Sheehan - 3,700,000

Saurabh Patel - 4th Place - $63,623

Suarabh Patel is all in preflop for about 700,000 and Blair Hinkle makes the call.

Kd 9h

Ad Js

Tc 9c Td
7h
5h

Daniel Maor - 5th Place - $48,082

Daniel Maor moves all in preflop and Derrick Geliberte reraises all in, drawing folds from the rest of the crowd.

Maor -  
Geliberte -  

The board runs out     and Maor is drawing dead, the river is  and Maor collects $48,082 for fifth place

Derrick Geliberte -

Lance Donnell - 6th Place - $37,397

Lance Donnell (above) moves all in for a lil more than a milly and John Sheehan moves over-the-top all in. The cards are shown, and Donnell uses his "One Time."

Donnell -  
Sheehan -  

Sheehan made a similar play late in Day 2, moving over the top of an all-in player while he was holding TT. His move convinced Cord Garcia to lay down JJ.

The board runs out X   , giving Donnell 8 outs, but the river  is not one of them and Donnell is out in 6th place, taking home $37,397

Sheehan moves to more than 4,500,000