Live poker is eaaaaaaasyyy. Or, loldonkaments.
That could have been what Jordan Jayne was thinking on Sunday when, at the tender age of 20, he won the Heartland Poker Tour’s (HPT) Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort stop in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, the first live tournament he had ever entered. For his victory over 385 opponents, the Lisle, Illinois resident won $165,462 and an HPT championship jacket.
Up until April 15th, Jayne had played poker professionally online. But when the United States Department of Justice unsealed indictments against the principals of PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, and Absolute Poker on the day that has since become known as online poker’s “Black Friday,” his career came to an end. Because the poker rooms involved in the indictments stopped serving U.S. customers, Jayne had nowhere left where he felt it would be feasible to make a living. “Black Friday has completely changed my life,” he said, “I used to play eight to ten hours per day, five or six days each week.”
Jayne had built his online bankroll to about $70,000 before he was forced to start thinking about getting a conventional job or going to college.
It was a good thing that the HPT made that stop in Mt. Pleasant, as Jayne’s options for anything even approaching a “major” live tournament are limited, since he is only 20-years old. The minimum age to gamble in a casino in Illinois is 21, as it is in neighboring states Wisconsin, Indiana, and Iowa. Michigan is the only viable option for someone like Jayne, and it’s still a five-hour drive from Lisle to Mt. Pleasant. Jayne is not yet old enough to play in the World Series of Poker (WSOP), which kicks off at the end of the month.
HPT executive producer Greg Lang was pleased that young players like Jayne came out for the event, but he was sympathetic to their plight. Commenting on the fallout from Black Friday, Lang said, “We’re happy to see online players discover HPT for the first time, but ultimately, we all want to see the laws change for poker players.”
Jayne defeated Max Weinberg heads-up, besting the 21-year old on the final hand with A-9 over A-7. While Weinberg, also primarily an online poker player, just became old enough to partake in a celebratory drink, Jayne had to stick with something of the non-alcoholic variety.
Contrast the two of them with third place finisher, Stan Miller. Decked out in a pocketed t-shirt and suspenders, the 68-year old looked every part a Luddite. “I don’t play online. I don’t have a computer. I hate computers,” he said. Miller is a great-grandfather already and has been married to his wife for 46 years. And it sounds like it, too. Commenting on his plans to buy her a new car with his $49,639 in prize money, Miller said, “She’s been bugging me for one for weeks.”
Three WSOP Main Event champions – Greg Raymer, Tom McEvoy, and Jerry Yang – played in the HPT Soaring Eagle Main Event, but none lasted to the top 39 to make the money.
The final table is schedule to air on television in two parts during the weeks of June 30th to July 6th and July 7th to July 13th. Episodes are broadcast by various local stations, cable networks, and satellite provides throughout the United States. Complete television listings can be found on the Heartland Poker Tour website.
Final Table Results
1. Jordan Jayne – $165,462
2. Max Weinberg – $82,732
3. Stan Miller – $49,639
4. Brad Albrinck – $38,608
5. Cody Nguyen – $33,093
6. James Casement – $27,577
