Richard "nutsinho" Lyndaker Wins Heartland Poker Tour Stratosphere Casino for $122,549
The Heartland Poker Tour (HPT) visited the Stratosphere Casino, Hotel & Tower in Las Vegas, Nevada this past weekend. The $1,650 Main Event attracted 353 entries that generated a prize pool of $510,615, and after three long days of play, well-known online pro Richard “nutsinho” Lyndaker was the last man standing and captured the $122,549 first-place prize and his first career live title.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Richard Lyndaker | Lowville, NY | $122,549 |
| 2nd | Steven Patch | Colorado Springs, CO | $74,346 |
| 3rd | Cory Waaland | Wilmington, NC | $49,785 |
| 4th | Shaun Suller | Honolulu, HI | $34,722 |
| 5th | Tim West | Los Altos, CA | $26,041 |
| 6th | Tony Cuppone | Nantucket, MA | $20,425 |
| 7th | Ed Liu | Seattle, WA | $17,259 |
| 8th | Dan Alspach | Las Vegas, NV | $14,297 |
| 9th | Dylan Hortin | Las Vegas, NV | $12,255 |
*Prize includes $3,000 HPT Championship package
According to the HPT live blog, Lyndaker, who transitioned from being a college student to a professional poker player in 2008, began the final table with a massive chip lead and used it to make navigate a tough field.
The first elimination of the day took place in Level 25 (15,000/30,000/4,000) on Hand #10 of the final table. It happened when Shaun Suller opened for 60,000 from the hijack and Dylan Hortin called from the button. When the flop came down J♠10♥9♥, Suller bet 100,000 and then called when Hortin moved all in.
Suller: J♥J♦
Hortin: A♠A♣
Hortin held the best hand preflop, but Suller managed to find a set on the flop. Neither the 5♥ turn nor 9♣ river helped Hortin, and he was eliminated in ninth place for $12,255.
Eleven hands later, Tony Cuppone moved all in from the small blind and Dan Alspach, a Vegas pro at his second HPT final table, called off from the big blind.
Alspach: Q♦10♦
Cuppone: A♠4♥
According to the PokerNews Odds Calculator, Cuppone was a slight 52.11% favorite while Alspach would survive 47.45% of the time. The A♦Q♠5♥ flop gave both players a pair, but Cuppone’s aces made him a 75.56% favorite. Alspach would improve 24.44% of the time, but that dropped to 11.36% on the 8♣ turn. Alspach needed either a queen or a ten on the river to keep his tournament hopes alive, but it wasn’t in the cards as the 9♦ blanked. Alspach hit the rail in eighth place and took home $14,297 for his efforts.
After Ed Liu and Cuppone hit the rail in seventh and sixth place, respectively, Tim West followed them out the door. It happened in Level 27 (25,000/50,000/5,000) on Hand #66 of the final table when West moved all in from the small blind and Suller called him from the big blind.
West: 8♦8♥
Suller: 10♠10♥
West picked up a pocket pair, but unfortunately Suller woke up with a bigger one. The J♥9♠7♥ flop gave West a gutshot straight draw, but of course Suller held two of those outs. Conversely, Suller also had a straight draw with West holding two of his outs. The A♣ turn was of no consequences, and neither was the Q♣ river. West had to settle for fifth place and the accompanying $26,041 prize.
Despite getting that knockout, Suller, who made the trip to play all the way from Honolulu, Hawaii, was the next to go in fourth place for $34,722.
On Hand #78, Steven Patch limped and then called when Cory Waaland raised to 175,000. Patch proceeded to check-call a bet of 140,000 on the K♥8♣2♥ flop and then lead out for 400,000 on the Q♥ turn. Waaland popped it to 850,000, Patch moved all in, and Waaland called off with the A♥5♦ for the nut-flush draw. Patch then tabled the K♦Q♠ for two pair and was looking to dodge a heart on the river to eliminate his opponent. That’s exactly what he did as the 10♣ blanked on the river to send Waaland to the payout desk in third place to collect $49,785.
The heads-up battle saw Patch begin with a nearly 2-1 chip lead over Lyndaker, but the latter ended up winning four all-in situations. The first three allowed him to double, and the fourth finished off Patch. It happened in Level 28 (30,000/60,000/10,000) on Hand #114 of the final table when Patch moved all in and Lyndaker called.
Patch: 9♦8♦
Lyndaker: K♣6♦
The 7♠6♦4♠ flop made things interesting as Patch picked up an open-ended straight draw, but he was left wanting as the 2♦ blanked on the turn followed by the A♣ on the river. Patch, who hails from Colorado Springs, Colorado, collected $74,346 for his runner-up finish while Lyndaker captured the $122,549 top prize and became an HPT champion.
in my last 4 live tourneys ive placed 16/249, 6/156, 3/18, 1/353. time to go battle the germans.
— Richard Lyndaker (@nutsinho)
The HPT’s next event will take place at the Soaring Eagle Casino Resort in Mt Pleasant, Michigan next weekend. The HPT has also announced the first four stops on their 2014 schedule, which you can view by clicking here.
*Photos courtesy of Heartland Poker Tour.
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