PokerNews to Live Report $2,500 HPT Championship ($700K GTD) at Hollywood St. Louis
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The Heartland Poker Tour (HPT) wraps up its Season XV next weekend with its Championship Series at Hollywood Casino & Hotel St. Louis. The 12-day series, which features over $1 million in total guarantees, is already underway and will culminate with a $2,500 buy-in, $700K GTD Main Event from November 22-26. The Main Event will be live reported by PokerNews.
The Main Event starts players with 30,000 in chips and offers 60-minute levels. Day 1a will kick off at 2 p.m. on Friday, November 22. Meanwhile, Day 1b and 1c will be at noon local time on Saturday, November 23 and Sunday, November 24 respectively. The surviving players from all flights will then return on Monday, November 25 to play down to the final table, which will be live-streamed at noon on Tuesday, November 26.
"We've seen a lot of buzz online about the event and we're anticipating big turnouts."
The series offers a slew of side events starting as low as $85. Highlights include a $500 Seniors Championship and a $400 Tag Team partner tournament. Click here for a look at the full schedule.
"Hollywood St. Louis is the perfect location for the Season XV Championship," said HPT marketing manager Korey Stewart. "We've seen a lot of buzz online about the event and we're anticipating big turnouts."
It marks the third HPT stop of the year at Hollywood St. Louis, which immediately became one of the tour’s premier stops. In March, 1,292 total entries in the Opening Event set a state record for the largest poker tournament in Missouri history. Post-WSOP, the tour returned and Mike Shin took home a $160,632 top prize.
"Hollywood Casino Hotel St. Louis is extremely excited to be hosting this world-class poker event,” said Hollywood Casino Hotel Vice President and General Manager Michael Jerlecki. “Entrants and their guests will surely find our property to be the premier gaming destination in the market, with the best and most friendly team members around. Having proven this by the record-setting tournament recently held at Hollywood, our property will continue to be the Midwest's leader for poker action.”
He continued: "Having the most comfortable and best action, 20 tables year-round live poker room in St. Louis aligns us perfectly with HPT for this and more tournaments to come."
Players traveling to St. Louis for the HPT event are being offered exclusive discounted room rates starting at $79 per night. Reserve by phone at 314-770-8100.
Nick Pupilloi Eyes POY
The HPT Player of the Year race will end at the stop and right now Nick Pupillo leads by a wide margin with 324.70 points. His closest competition is Eric Salazar with 217.80 points followed by Nick Davidson with 190.80 points.
Whoever wins the POY title will claim more than bragging rights. The POY earns a $10,000 package to use next season as well as complimentary hotel accommodations at those six stops. In case of a tie, all winning players will split the POY prize package evenly.
Here's a look at the current top 10 headed into the HPT Championship stop:
HPT Season XV POY Standings
| Place | Player | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nick Pupillo | 324.70 |
| 2 | Eric Salazar | 217.80 |
| 3 | Nick Davidson | 190.80 |
| 4 | Mike O’Neill | 189.00 |
| 5 | Mike Shin | 161.40 |
| 6 | Chris moon | 156.30 |
| 7 | Greg Wood | 152.50 |
| 8 | Mike Sabbia | 146.40 |
| 9 | Josh Reichard | 140.00 |
| 10 | Bill Byrnes | 140.00 |
