Cord Garcia Earns HPT Title, Wins $164,988
Lance "Cord" Garcia (also known as Colossus Cord or HPT Cord) started the day as chip leader and made his way to Heartland Poker Tour champion and $164,988 at the Colorado Golden Gates Casino and Poker Parlour final table September 19.
Before receiving a bracelet for winning the 488-entry tournament, Garcia bested Drazen Ilich in heads-up play, after moving all in with both a straight and flush draw on a 7♥6♥8♥ flop. Garcia held the Q♥9♥, while Ilich held a pair, with the 9♠6♠, and the same straight draw. The 2♥ on the turn crushed Ilich, as it gave Garcia the flush and the title.
Ilich didn’t give up easily, even during the heads-up play, and he doubled up twice after being down early. However, Garcia was quick to come back and maintain his dominance, forcing Ilich into a second-place finish for $100,861.
Josh Turner busted in fourth and Gary Germann, who won his seat through one of the tour's $380 qualifiers, was eliminated in third.
Garcia had never played at a televised table until this one, but already has $1.4 million in career earnings. The tournament ran September 8th through 19th with a total prize pool of $717,360.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | State | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cord Garcia | TX | $164,988 |
| 2 | Drazen Ilich | NE | $100,861 |
| 3 | Gary Germann | WY | $66,858 |
| 4 | Joshua Turner | MO | $46,485 |
| 5 | John Beauprez | CO | $34,792 |
| 6 | Bryan Johnson | CO | $26,901 |
| 7 | Ryan Gregor | MO | $21,879 |
| 8 | Ronald Scott | CO | $17,934 |
| 9 | Garrett Crites | CO | $14,347 |
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