Welcome to Day 1b of the HPT Ameristar Vicksburg Main Event!
Season XV of the Heartland Poker Tour (HPT) continues rolling along today here at the Ameristar Casino in Vicksburg, Mississippi. The $1,100 buy-in Main Event kicks off today with Day 1b, the second of two starting flights, at Noon local time.
Yesterday in the Day 1a flight, 56 entrants were whittled down to ten after fifteen full levels of play. James Hughes (333,000) and inaugrual HPT Ameristar Vicksburg champ Jay Bishop (326,000) were the only players to bag over 300k, while the defending champ BJ McBrayer (111,000) was able to ensure his title defense will extend on to Day 2.
Others that found a bag include Judge Leo Boothe (279,000) and his son, Wyatt Boothe (86,000), Doug Segers (148,000), Sam Ho (141,000), JW Carter (116,000), Joseph Imarata (98,000), and Chad Chisolm (43,000).
Today's Day 1b flight kicks off at Noon. Players will start with 30,000 in tournament chips, with blinds beginning at 100/100, while big blind ante starts at Level 4. Levels last 40 minutes on Day 1's and Day 2, then extend to 60 minutes on Day 3, until heads-up play is reached, at which point they revert back to 30 minutes in length. Registration and unlimited re-entry is available for players up until the beginning of Level 10 (approximately 7:30 p.m.) and all players that manage to move on to Day 2 will return at Noon on Sunday to play down to the final table of nine. Play will conclude after 15 levels of play or 13% of the field remains, whichever comes first.
“HPT is excited to have PokerNews providing additional event coverage in 2019,” said Korey Stewart, HPT Marketing Manager. “Season XV is shaping up to be another record-breaking year for the tour. We’ve already added several new venues to the schedule and we’re hoping to announce a few more new additions soon. There will be plenty of opportunities for poker enthusiasts across the country to take a shot at winning life-changing money at nationally televised final tables. We’re looking forward to having an industry leader like PokerNews there to report on it every step of the way.”
PokerNews will be here all weekend long catching all the action straight from the tournament floor, so be sure to stay tuned as the action gets underway here for the final Day 1 flight at Ameristar Vicksburg!