Hollywood Poker Open St. Louis Regional 10-Day Festival Kicks Off This Thursday
This Thursday, Season 3 of the Hollywood Poker Open (HPO) will continue at the Hollywood Casino in St. Louis, Missouri. From April 16-26, the latest HPO Regional stop will feature 34 events, a dozen of which are HPO-sanctioned "featured" events that will culminate with a $1,115 Main Event on Saturday, April 25.
Last year, HPO ambassador Chris Moneymaker won the HPO St. Louis for $36,259, and the 2003 World Series of Poker Main Event champ will return to attempt a title defense. Meanwhile, the PokerNews Live Reporting team will also be on hand to capture all the action from the Regional Main Event in our live blog.
"HPO St. Louis will be a great event, and there is a lot of excitement buzzing around Chris Moneymaker and his chance to defend his title from last season," said PokerNews Editor-in-Chief Donnie Peters. "Moneymaker's also coming off a final table at HPO Grantville where he looked to be the favorite, but then fell short. This makes for a great two-fold story — one of his redemption from the last event and another of him reigning as champion."
The St. Louis stop is the fifth of the season, and comes after several successful stops. Last November, Jesse McEuen took down the HPO Lawrenceburg for $49,676, and in early February Charles Maxcy took down the HPO Toledo for $37,465 after a chop. From there, Donald McArthur won the HPO Tunica for $17,100, and most recently Steven Gurney-Goldman took down the HPO Grantville Regional for $29,342.
Some former champions are expected to make the trip to St. Louis, as are many of those currently competing on the HPO Season 3 Leaderboard. Right now, John Moe of Cincinnati, Indiana sits atop the leaderboard with 55 points, but Barry Schultz of Arlington, Tennessee and Jerry Zehr of Carmel, Indiana are hot on his heels with 40 and 34 points respectively.
Here's a look at the complete HPO St. Louis schedule (HPO Featured Events denoted w/ *):
| Day | Date - Time | Event | Buy-In |
|---|---|---|---|
| *Thu | 4/16 - 3pm | 1 - NL Hold'em Deepstack | $235 |
| Thu | 4/16 - 7pm | 2 - No Limit ($4,000 Guarantee) | $125 |
| *Fri | 4/17 - 12pm | 3 - NL Hold'em Deepstack | $235 |
| *Fri | 4/17 - 5pm | 4a - NL Hold'em Deepstack Flight A | $300 |
| Fri | 4/17 - 7pm | 5 - No Limit ($4,000 Guarantee) | $125 |
| *Sat | 4/18 - 12pm | 4b - NL Hold'em Deepstack Flight B | $300 |
| *Sat | 4/18 - 5pm | 4c - NL Hold'em Deepstack Flight C | $300 |
| Sat | 4/18 - 7pm | 6 - No Limit ($4,000 Guarantee) | $125 |
| Sun | 4/19 - 11am | 7 - Seniors No Limit (age 50 & older) | $235 |
| Sun | 4/19 - 12pm | Merge/Restart Flights | - |
| *Sun | 4/19 - 3pm | 8 - NL Hold'em Deepstack | $235 |
| Sun | 4/19 - 7pm | 9 - Pot Limit High | $125 |
| Mon | 4/20 - 12pm | 10 - Satellite (Guaranteed Seat to Event #11) | $70 |
| *Mon | 4/20 - 3pm | 11 - NL Hold'em Deepstack | $235 |
| Mon | 4/20 - 7pm | 12 - NL Hold'em | $125 |
| Tue | 4/21 - 12pm | 13 - Satellite (Guaranteed Seat to Event #14) | $70 |
| *Tue | 4/21 - 3pm | 14 - Pot Limit Omaha | $235 |
| Tue | 4/21 - 7pm | 15 - No Limit ($4,000 Guarantee) | $125 |
| Wed | 4/22 - 12pm | 16 - Satellite (Guaranteed Seat to Event #17) | $70 |
| *Wed | 4/22 - 3pm | 17 - NL Hold'em Deepstack | $235 |
| Wed | 4/22 - 7pm | 18 - No Limit ($4,000 Guarantee) | $125 |
| Thu | 4/23 - 12pm | 19 - Satellite (Guaranteed Seat to Event #20) | $70 |
| *Thu | 4/23 - 3pm | 20a - NL Hold'em Deepstack Flight A | $300 |
| *Thu | 4/23 - 7pm | 20b - NL Hold'em Deepstack Flight B | $300 |
| Thu | 4/23 - 10pm | 21 - Turbo Satellite (Main Event Seat Guaranteed) | $125 |
| Fri | 4/24 - 12pm | Merge/Restart Flights | - |
| *Fri | 4/24- 1pm | 22 - NL Hold'em Deepstack | $300 |
| Fri | 4/24 - 3pm | 23 - Mega Satellite (Main Event Seat Guaranteed) | $235 |
| Fri | 4/24 - 5pm | 24 - Turbo Satellite (Main Event Seat Guaranteed) | $125 |
| Fri | 4/24 - 7pm | 25 - Mega Satellite (Main Event Seat Guaranteed) | $235 |
| Fri | 4/24 - 10pm | 26 - Turbo Satellite (Main Event Seat Guaranteed) | $125 |
| Sat | 4/25 - 10am | 27 - Mega Satellite (Main Event Seat Guaranteed) | $235 |
| *Sat | 4/25 - 12pm | 28 - HPO REGIONAL MAIN EVENT | $1,115 |
| *Sat | 4/25 - 3pm | 29 - Pot Limit Omaha Hi & 8 or Better | $235 |
| Sat | 4/25 - 5pm | 30 - Ladies No Limit Hold'em | $235 |
| Sat | 4/25 - 7pm | 31 - No Limit ($4,000 Guarantee) | $125 |
| Sun | 4/26 - 11am | 32 - Seniors No Limit 2 (age 50 & older) | $235 |
| Sun | 4/26 - 12pm | Main Event Restart | - |
| *Sun | 4/26 - 3pm | 33 - NL Hold'em Deepstack (Six-Handed) | $235 |
| Sun | 4/26 - 6pm | 34 - H.O.R.S.E. | $125 |
For more on Season 3 of the Hollywood Poker Open, visit HollywoodPokerOpen.com. Also, check out this HPO video featuring Moneymaker:
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