Heartland Poker Tour wrapped up its very exciting 2006 season with Dennis Dubey being named PLAYER OF THE YEAR. Dennis has won over 100K in 2006 on the HPT circuit, this included a first place win at St. Croix Casino in Turtle Lake, WI, and two second place finishes one at Chukchansi Gold Casino in Coarsegold, CA and most recently Majestic Star Casino in Gary, IN. As HPT PLAYER OF THE YEAR, Dennis has been awarded one main event entry into every 2007 HPT tournament.
HPT events are scheduled on a monthly basis, at various casinos throughout the Midwest, 2007 plans also include locations in California and Las Vegas. Final table buy-ins range from $1650-$2750. Congratulations Dennis, best of luck for the 2007 HPT season.
Former HPT champion Mike Carlson, who had made three final tables in the past year, was also in contention for the PLAYER OF THE YEAR title, and he came very close to capturing it on November 26 at the final HPT event of the year in Flandreau, SD at the Royal River Casino. Despite having the chip lead for most of the day, Mike fell short of victory, and came in second. First place went to Lance Wiles, a card room manager at the Lucky Nugget in Deadwood, SD. Lance has been a semi-pro player for the past twelve years, he took first place in the event by playing consistently well, picking his spots, and eventually wearing down the field.
Mike's play provided plenty of excitement throughout the day, not only was he vying for Player of the Year, his play throughout the day provided chills and spills for spectators. Early in the match Adam Joens and Mike, both chip leaders at the time, went head to head in the biggest hand of the day. Each flopped trip Aces, Mike's King kicker beat out Adam's 10, thus giving Mike a huge chip advantage early at the final table. Adam Joens was recently featured prominently on ESPN's coverage of the Main Event, when he played day three at the featured table. Adam had been the chip leader of the WSOP Main Event through day two. His trademark Stetson hat and whiskey sevens were on display.
Heartland Poker Tour's final event of the season was hosted by the Royal River Casino in Flandreau, SC, beginning on November 22 and culminating on November 26. There was an excellent turn out for the Thanksgiving Weekend event, consisting of a total of 440 players participating in the $350 qualifiers, ending up in a field of 121 players on the final day, 33 of which were direct buy-ins for $1750, adding up to a $180,000 prize pool.
The final table of the event consisted of:
1. Lance Wiles
Deadwood, SD . . . . . . . . $48,550
2. Mike Carlson (HPT Champ Event #10 MilleLacs, MN)
Shakopee, MN. . . . . . . . . $24,277
3. Tim Montjoy
Robbins AFB, Georgia . . $15,606
4. Tom Lynde
Harrisburg, SD . . . . . . . . $12,138
5. Adam Joens
Sturgis, SD . . . . . . . . . . . $10,404
6. Jason Weber
Emery, SD. . . . . . . . . . . . $8,670
Currently the televised HTP events are broadcast to over 50 million viewers nationwide, with plans to expand to the European market in 2007. To find listings in your area log on to www.heartlandpokertour. com. In addition, Poker Player Newspaper will keep you posted on all the exciting 2007 HPT events including locations, results and news. There are so many rising stars on the horizon as we look forward to a New Year filled with exhilarating high stakes tournament action from Heartland Poker Tour.
