John Bunch Wins Heartland Poker Tour Stratosphere Main Event for $150,080
The Heartland Poker Tour (HPT) recently completed its stop at Stratosphere Casino, Hotel, & Tower in Las Vegas, Nevada. The $1,650 Main Event attracted 441 entries and created a prize pool of $638,655. In the end, local technical advisor John Bunch emerged victorious to win the title and $150,081 first-place prize.
"It was definitely a tough table," Bunch said, referencing a final table that include poker pros Ryan Laplante and recent November Niner Dan Sindelar. "I knew coming in that I just had to play my game. I stuck in there, got lucky, and here I am,"
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | John Bunch | Las Vegas, NV | $150,081 |
| 2 | Joey Brown | Springfield, MO | $92,605 |
| 3 | Ryan Laplante | Las Vegas, NV | $60,672 |
| 4 | Gary Bolden | Las Vegas, NV | $42,151 |
| 5 | Paul McCaffrey | San Ramon, CA | $31,294 |
| 6 | Ryan Tosoc | Chicago, IL | $24,269 |
| 7 | Peter Nigh | Kirkwood, MO | $21,012 |
| 8 | Dan Sindelar | Las Vegas, NV | $17,244 |
| 9 | Ben Palmer | Deadwood, SD | $14,050 |
According to live updates of the HPT Stratosphere, Ben Palmer was the first elimination of the final table when he got his short stack all in preflop holding the J?9? only to run into the A?A? of Laplante. Not long after, Sindelar joined him on the rail.
Sindelar's bust happened in Level 26 (20,000/40,000/5,000) when he open-shoved for 585,000 from early position and Joey Brown, who finished runner-up in the 2010 HPT Championship, called from the hijack. The rest of the players folded and the cards were turned up.
Brown: Q?Q?
Sindelar: K?J?
Sindelar, who finished seventh in the 2014 World Series of Poker Main Event for $1,235,862, was in need of some help, but he was left wanting as the board ran out a clean 8?5?3?4?4?. Sindelar earned $17,244 for his eighth-place finish.
From there, Peter Nigh (7th - $21,012), Ryan Tosoc (6th - $24,269), and Paul McCaffrey (5th - $31,294) all hit the rail before Gary Bolden followed them out the door in fourth. It happened in Level 28 (30,000/60,000/10,000) when Laplante raised to 150,000 from the small blind, Bolden defended from the big, and the flop came down J?8?7?.
Laplante continued for 115,000, Bolden called, and the J? appeared on the turn. Laplante bet again, this time 185,000, and Bolden shoved all in for about a million more. Laplante called with the A?10? for a flush draw, while Bolden held two pair with the Q?7?. The dealer burned one last time and put out the 6? on the river. Laplante hit his flush and Bolden was out in fourth place for $42,151.
Laplante was next to go when his 7?7? failed to hold up against the A?Q? of Brown, and that set up a heads-up match between Brown and Bunch with the former holding a more than 3-1 chip lead. The duo battled back and forth for an extended period of time, and eventually Bunch seized the chip lead.
Then, in Level 31 (60,000/120,000/15,000), Brown opened for 275,000 and Bunch called to see a flop of J?10?9?. Bunch checked, Brown bet 325,000, and Bunch check-raised to 875,000. Brown responded by moving all in for 4.205 million and Bunch called.
Bunch: 8?7?
Brown: Q?9?
Brown had flopped a pair with an open-ended straight draw, but Bunch had flopped a straight. The 2? turn was no help to Brown, and neither was the {7} river. Brown once again finished runner-up in an HPT event, this time taking home $92,605.
The HPT continues next week with their Season X HPT Championship at Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort in Michigan. PokerNews will bring you a tournament recap upon completion of play. A full schedule of events is available at HPTpoker.com.
For more on the HPT Stratosphere, check out this video:
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