Yesterday morning, Mr. Raffi Der Gregorian had total poker earnings of $0. Before the day ended, he was proud to say those earnings were $74,276. He had won the Heartland Poker Tour tournament which took place at the Agua Caliente Casino Resort Spa.
He managed to become the HPT champion by going through a qualifier with just $200 last week.
Some say it was luck, others claim the victory is due to wise play. No matter what it was, he managed to win over professional players such as Michael Rocco from Tustin who became second with over $45,000.
Der Gregorian plans to leave some of the money for other tournaments, to open a savings account and to go on a well deserved vacation.
The Contestants
This was the first of four events part of the second yearly Gold Rush Series where participants fight for cash or points from $125 to $1,650. The top winner receives sponsorship for the winter HPT event, planned to take place in Las Vegas.
Some of the poker professionals to join the tournament were Stan Jablonski, who has played on 6 final tables so far. He finished just 9th, with just a little above $8,000 earnings. He hasn’t given up yet though, keeping his eyes set on the HTP title.
Another known player was Alex Madriaga, who was eliminated by Allen Cunningham. Allen had the biggest stack of chips arriving at the final table of the tournament. Even though Mr. Madriaga didn’t reach the title, he still plans to spend most of his earning for materials for the school where his wife teaches. As to Mr. Cunningham, he ended up fourth with close to $22,000 in earnings, a small amount compared to his total lifetime profits of $12 million.
The third place was taken by Chris Tolone with close to $31,000.
A few spots down, Ronald Segni and Bob McMillan won their slice of the pie with sixth and fifth place and $14,000 and $17,000 in profits. Bob McMillan started the table with the least investment, just $185. They were both pleased with the professionalism of the staff and look forward to join the other HPT tournaments and give it another try.
The hospitality of the staff was further pointed out by Brent Thompson, who finished seventh with $12,000 by getting eliminated by Tolone’s pocket kings.
It is interesting to notice that each of the nine finalists occupies and interest and diverse job outside of the professional poker scene. Brent Thompson is an attorney, Ronald Segni is a general contractor, Raffi Gregorian – electrician, Stan Jablonski – business owner, Alex Madriaga – concrete contractor, all bringing different play style and knowledge on the final table of the annual HPT tournament.
The HPT tournament is now headed to Black Hawk, Colorado to host a million dollar prize event, anticipated by many. The Heartland Poker Tour Main Event will then come back to California in order to host the other three events of the Gold Rush Series.
