The tenth season of the Heartland Poker Tour has just come to its end. Its final event was held at the Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan and poker pro David Gutfreund emerged as its winner. He took home the sum of $156,649 of the entire prize pool.
A total of 465 players took part in the HPT $1,650 Main Event. What is more, the prize pool amounted to $666,600.
Nine players were seated at the final table so as for the big winner to be determined. Yaroob Kaskorkis was the one to leave it first. He was eliminated by Shawn “Reginald” Roberts. Kaskorkis was followed by Joe Cada, who is a well-known name in the world of poker. Cada finished first at the WPT Main Event back in 2009. What is more, this was his second HTP final table. The poker pro from Shelby Township, Michigan took $17,998 for his eighth place.
An interesting highlight from the final table was the participation of a mother and her son – Antoinette “Toni” Fiorenza and Vincent Fiorenza, both living in Florida. Toni finished seventh and her son took fifth place, ending up with $32,663 of the total prize pool. James Wetherell positioned himself between them. The poker pro, who is a veteran from the Vietnamese war, was awarded $25,331.
When Cuong Tran and O’Neil left the table, it became clear that Gutfreund would face Roberts in a heads-up play. And it was Gutfreund who held the majority of chips.
The final hand occurred in Level 32. Gutfreund was holding [Ah][8h] and Roberts had [Jh][Jd] when the all-in call came.
gave the soon-to-be champion a flush draw. The [8d]
and the [Ac]
that were turned next did not complete it. After all, Gutfreund made two pair and managed to defeat Roberts, who was a two-time HPT champion. He was awarded $96,657 of the prize pool for his runner-up position.
Gutfreund, on the other hand, took the amount of $156,649. The Chicago-based player shared his excitement with interviewers minutes after his victory. He said that he felt amazing and that he really enjoyed taking part in the event.
“I really love the Heartland Poker Tour,” Gutfreund shared “these are the events where I belong.”
Speaking of Heartland Poker Tour, the name of the HPT 2014 Player of the Year has just been announced. It is Aaron Massey, who achieved two victories at this season’s events.
The eleventh season of the championship will start on November 25. The event will be held at the Iowa-Prairie Meadows Racetrack Casino Hotel and will continue up to December 7.
