Early on Monday morning, after battling through what was the largest one flight field in the history of the organization, a soon to be unemployed factory worker from Arkansas captured the first championship of the 2009 season for the Heartland Poker Tour at the Downstream Casino in Quapaw, OK.
“What an amazing start to our 2009 season,” said HPT co-founder Todd Anderson. “Not only was Downstream a wonderful property for our crew to spend time, but we saw that the people of Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas, and Texas are serious about their poker. We’d never been to this area so we weren’t sure of the outcome. Having over 450 players was unbelievable for a first-time venue.”
Through their unique “qualifier” system – basically satellite tournaments that take the top thirty percent of the field – and straight buy ins to the tournament, the HPT was able to draw an impressive field of 457 players into the event. This was by far the largest one flight tournament in the five year history of the organization and it would also be a milestone in the history of the HPT as its 99th and 100th televised broadcast.
Starting play at 9AM on Sunday, the field worked its way down to its six handed final table at approximately midnight. While 38 other players from the field had earned back their buy in at the minimum, the real money would be up for grabs between four Oklahoma poker players and one each from Kansas and Arkansas. The final table, in total, held over $300,000 for the remaining players to divvy up.
First out of the event was Kansan George Miller, who lives two miles from and calls the Downstream Casino home. A popular choice of the crowd that gathered for the final table, Miller made a move with an A-9, only to see it run into an A-J that sealed his fate. For his day’s work, Miller was able to walk off with $21,234 for his sixth place finish.
Danny Haley of Skiatook, OK, made the most of his play previous to the Main Event of this HPT stop. He had won his way into the tournament through an $80 super-satellite and parlayed that into this final table. Although he was eliminated when his A-7 fell to an A-J once again, the $25,481 for fifth place was a great return on his original investment.
Another qualifier was fortunate enough to make the most of his time spent at the Downstream. Chad Long of Supulpa, OK, made it into the tournament through a $175 satellite and, as the morning wore on, was able to make it to the fourth place slot. The Chief of Police in his town, Long couldn’t arrest a saving card with his K-J against his opponent’s A-10 and was eliminated, taking home $29,728 for his largest payday ever.
After the elimination of professional player Matt Newcombe of Ada, OK, in third place ($38,221), two players settled down to battle it out for the championship. Jim Jennings of Monkey Island, OK, and Sean Sananikone of Fort Smith, AR, played until nearly dawn before Sananikone was able to take out Jennings, winning the title and a payday of $127,404, with Jennings taking home $63,702 for his runner up finish. The nearly 6AM finish to the tournament marked the longest one day tournament in the history of the HPT.
Sananikone recently found out that the factory he worked with in Arkansas would be closed and he would be without a job. “This is so great,” an excited Sananikone stated as he held the fruits of his day’s labor. “This couldn’t have come at a better time for me and my family.” The tournament cash was the first ever in the poker career for the man originally born in Laos.
Besides the players who cashed in the tournament, there was another big winner from the event. The Heartland Poker Tour announced before the Downstream tournament began that a portion of the prize pool in all events this year will be donated to benefit the Disabled American Veterans organization. Through the “Heartland’s Heroes” program, the HPT is looking to assist a worthy organization and bring further attention to its goals.
There won’t be much time for players on the Heartland Poker Tour to relax before the next event. Starting February 15th, qualifiers for the HPT event at the Grand Casino Mille Lacs in Onamia, MN will begin. That schedule will wrap up on February 22nd with the HPT Main Event and final table played on the same day. For more details on this and future HPT events, visit the Heartland Poker Tour website to learn more.
