Pat Steele Wins 2013 Heartland Poker Tour Michigan

Pat Steele Wins 2013 Heartland Poker Tour MichiganPat Steele has won the 2013 Heartland Poker Tour Michigan, after defeating a field of 462 players over four days to lift the title, and collect the $155,636 first place prize.
The $1,500 NL tournament created a prize pool worth $ 622,280 and attracted a whole slew of amateurs and pros alike to the Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort, Mount Pleasant. Amongst the notable names competing in the competition was Greg “FossilMan” Raymer, “Cowboy” Mike Harris, Dash Dudley, and Craig Casino, all of whom failed to cash. Coming away with some reward for their efforts was Bruce Swart (44th for $3,576), Stan Jablonski (37th for  $3,576) and Elliot Hebden (18th for $6,358).
By the time the final table of nine had been reached, one big name still remained in the guise of the 2009 WSOP Main Event winner Joe Cada, who exclaimed at the time; “Winning the HPT title would mean a lot. You play a tournament to win.” The 25 year old pro was then dealt A-10 and proceeded to eliminate Rudy (2-2) Ballard in 6th for $25,167, but in the end could only make it as far as a 4th place finish ($43,710) when his A-7 fell to the A-9 of Tom Midena.
Following last woman standing Penelope Banhidy’s exit in 3rd for $62,917, the heads-up phase of the competition then got underway between Pat Steele and Tom Midena. A mere 22 hands later and it was all over with Steele’s A-7 defeating his opponent’s J-9, with the board having rolled out K-8-8-7-Q. Nevertheless, Tom Midena was quick to praise the Heartland Poker Tour, and commented
“HPT has been great. They probably have one of the best structures out there for poker tours.”
The final table payouts were as follows:
1 Pat Steele    $155,636
2 Tom Midena    $96,031
3 Penelope Banhidy $62,917
4 Joe Cada    $43,710
5 Adam Bacon    $32,452
6 Rudy Ballard    $25,167
7 Mark Davis    $21,789
8 Sai Mudduluru    $17,882
9 Phung Ngo    $14,570


Poker News
Matt Waxman Claims 2018 WPT Tournament of Champions Title
28 May 2018
The WPT Tournament of Champions (TOC) is an invitational only tournament consisting of past WPT champions, who can enter the competition for $15k if they wish, or this season’s winners, who automatically receive a free seat, airfare and hotel accommodations through to the end of season finale. The World Poker Tour Tournament of Champions subsequently
MSPT Hosts Largest Poker Tournament in Michigan History
26 May 2018
Mark Brazis has won the biggest poker tournament in Michigan state history after besting a field of 1,287 runners over four days at the $1,100 MSPT Battle Creek for $221,323. The Indiana resident had just $31,264 in winnings from three cashes going into the MSPT Main Event, and after claiming his famous victory, the 36-year-old
Valentin Vornicu Wins Record 12th WSOP Circuit Title
16 May 2018
Valentin Vornicu, has extended his lead over Maurice Hawkins as the World Series of Poker Circuit’s top title holder after winning a 12th ring at the WSOPC Harrah’s New Orleans $365 No Limit Hold’em event. Furthermore, Vornicu’s latest victory worth $24,084 comes just one day after he won a record 11th ring at the $365
Phil Ivey Takes Down Short Deck Event in Montenegro for $605k
14 May 2018
Phil Ivey may not be a regular on the tournament scene anymore, preferring instead to devote his time to playing high stakes cash games in Asia, but when the former world number one does get round to entering a live tourney he continues to represent a huge threat in the eyes of his opponents. Of