Richard Monroe Wins HPT Colorado For $235,494

Richard Monroe has won the 2013 HPT Golden Gates Main Event, after overcoming a field of 716 players over five days on his way to capturing the title, and collecting the $235,494 first place prize.
The $1,650 event was held at the Golden Gates Casino & Poker Parlour, in Black Hawk, Colorado  and attracted an impressive sized field to create a prize pool worth $1,070,420. Amongst those big names competing, but falling short of a money-place was such pros as Kathy Liebert, Cyndy Violette, and Greg “Fossilman” Raymer.
Poker professional Bernard Lee, however, did manage a 16th place finish for $8,777, thus taking his live tournament earnings past the $2 million mark.
After the final table of nine got underway, Alex Greenblatt got off to an impressive start by eliminating the first six players from the tournament. Richard Monroe (2-2) then joined the fray by dispatching Keith Love (A-3) to the rail in 3rd ($95,803) to get heads-up against Greenblatt.
The heads-up battle would subsequently last just nine hands before Monroe (5-4) made two pair on a 10-7-5-4 board and succeeded in getting Greenblatt to move all-in holding 7-6. Unfortunately for him, the river produced a Q to consign Greenblatt to a runner-up finish worth $145,898, after which he heaped praise on the Heartland Poker Tour, commenting:
“I really like the HPT because they get big fields, a lot of fun people to play with, and have a good structure.”
Meanwhile, 62-year-old local retiree Richard Monroe was awarded the HPT title.
Final table payouts as follows:
1 Richard Monroe – $235,494
2 Alex Greenblatt – $145,898
3 Keith Love – $95,803
4 Matthew Colvin – $66,901
5 David Gutfreund – $48,919
6 Ian Glycenfer – $37,465
7 Kevin Eyster – $31,363
8 Ken Cordova – $26,225
9 Garth Thompson – $21,408