Main Event
Day 1c Completed
2019 Heartland Poker Tour Ameristar East Chicago
Main Event
Day: 1c
Vazanellis Surpasses 500K to lead Day 1c as 50 Advance to Day 2
Level 15
: 2,000/4,000, 4,000 ante
There is another player you can add to the list to bring a half-million chips into Day 2 as Day 1c of the Heartland Poker Tour Ameristar East Chicago $1,650 Main Event has come to an end.
George Vazanellis pushed toward 20 starting stacks as he finished the day with 512,000, putting him third overall behind Mike O'Neill and Josh Reichard, who advanced from the 1a flight. Vazanellis caught a hot streak after the dinner break and never looked back as he eclipsed the 500,000 before the last three levels of the night.
Second in chips was Kevin Theodore who was the only other player to surpass 400,000 on Day 1c with 474,000. Peter Kelly (391,000), Henry Zou (381,000), and Nick Pupillo (354,000) round out the top five stacks to end the night.
Others advancing included Chris Moon, Blake Whittington, Ben Grise, Shawn Roberts. Eric Salazar, Jacob Bazeley, Eddie Blumenthal, Aaron Massey, and reigning HPT Player of the YearAaron Johnson.
The total prize pool was calculated at the end of registration, coming to $833,760 with $186,812 and a $3,500 HPT Championship package to the winner. With 50 bagging Day 1c, that leaves a total of 94 runners left in the event out of 579 runners. Of those, 63 will get paid.
HPT Ameristar East Chicago Payouts
| Place | Prize Money |
|---|---|
| 1 | $186,812 |
| 2 | $115,406 |
| 3 | $75,637 |
| 4 | $52,555 |
| 5 | $38.192 |
| 6 | $29,640 |
| 7 | $24,908 |
| 8 | $20,757 |
| 9 | $16,605 |
| 10-12 | $12,786 |
| 13-15 | $9,548 |
| 16-18 | $7,306 |
| 19-27 | $5,480 |
| 28-36 | $4,566 |
| 37-45 | $3,819 |
| 46-54 | $3,238 |
| 55-63 | $2,989 |
Day 2 kicks off Sunday at 11 a.m. local time. Come back to PokerNews as action rolls to the final table.
End of Day Chip Counts (full)
Level 15
: 2,000/4,000, 4,000 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
512,000 | 52,000 |
|
474,000 | 474,000 |
|
391,000 | |
|
381,000 | 171,000 |
|
354,000 | 44,000 |
|
314,000 | |
|
300,000 | |
|
271,000 | -39,000 |
|
253,000 | 118,000 |
|
251,000 | |
|
250,000 | 25,000 |
|
249,000 | |
|
248,000 | 23,000 |
|
234,000 | 19,000 |
|
232,000 | |
|
|
225,000 | |
|
219,000 | -1,000 |
|
216,000 | |
|
215,000 | |
|
|
212,000 | |
|
206,000 | |
|
|
178,000 | |
|
|
178,000 | |
|
167,000 | |
|
|
165,000 |
Final 4 Hands
Level 15
: 2,000/4,000, 4,000 ante
The tournament director has just instructed the dealers to deal the final four hands of the night.
End of day chip counts and recap will follow.
Roberts Spkies River on Blumenthal
Level 15
: 2,000/4,000, 4,000 ante
Eddie Blumenthal opened for 8,000 from the cutoff and Shawn Roberts defended his big blind.
The flop came 
and Roberts Check-called Blumenthal's 10,000 bet to see the 
turn.
Both players checked and the dealer put the 
on the river.
Roberts lead out for 15,000 and Blumenthal called to see Roberts spiked the river with 
to scoop the pot.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
215,000 | 45,000 |
|
105,000 | -55,000 |
More Updated Chip Counts
Level 15
: 2,000/4,000, 4,000 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
310,000 | 30,000 |
|
|
225,000 | 100,000 |
|
|
225,000 | 125,000 |
|
|
220,000 | 60,000 |
|
|
210,000 | -30,000 |
|
|
170,000 | 10,000 |
|
|
160,000 | -60,000 |
|
125,000 | 8,000 |
|
115,000 | 44,000 |
|
110,500 | 70,500 |
|
105,000 | 5,000 |
|
60,000 | 30,000 |
|
|
35,000 | -5,000 |
Updated Chip Counts
Level 15
: 2,000/4,000, 4,000 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
460,000 | -120,000 |
|
|
310,000 | 87,000 |
|
|
300,000 | 40,000 |
|
140,000 | 13,000 |
|
|
140,000 | -105,000 |
|
|
135,000 | 17,000 |
|
|
130,000 | -5,000 |
|
100,000 | |
|
75,000 | -5,000 |
|
|
70,000 |
Get to Know Reigning HPT Player of the Year Aaron Johnson
Level 15
: 2,000/4,000, 4,000 ante
One of the best stories of 2018 was the incredible year of Minnesota’s Aaron Johnson. Back in May, PokerNews spoke with Johnson about leading the Player of the Year races on both Season 9 of the Mid-States Poker Tour (MSPT) and Heartland Poker Tour (HPT) Season XIV.
Over the next seven months, Johnson maintained his lead on the MSPT, and while he lost the HPT lead for a bit, he ultimately ended with it thanks to a deep run in the season finale. That allowed Johnson to become the first player to ever win POY titles on two different tours in the same year.
For doing so, Johnson won a $10,000 prize package for each tour.
“It feels amazing,” Johnson told PokerNews. “Coming into the year I certainly wanted to make a run at MSPT POY (which has always been a goal of mine), but I never imagined that I’d be in contention for multiple POY titles. To actually achieve it is unreal.”
Johnson, who was out at the 2019 WSOP, is in action at the HPT Golden Gates.
For more on the reigning HPT POY, check out his full interview here on PokerNews.
Level: 15
Blinds: 2,000/4,000
Ante: 4,000
Zou Continues to Build
Level 14
: 1,500/3,000, 3,000 ante
Shawn Roberts opened for 7,500 on the button and Henry Zou defended his big blind.
The flop came 
and Zou checked his option to Roberts who bet 9,500 getting a call from Zou.
The 
fell on the turn and Zou check-called Roberts 20,000 bet to see the 
river.
Both players checked and Zou tabled 
for the winner. ,
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
240,000 | 130,000 |
|
|
160,000 | -40,000 |