5 Aug
The Heartland Poker Tour awarded its first-ever silver bracelet to a Main Event winner Monday when Josh Marvin outplayed more than 500 players at the Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan to win over $166K.
That field included Marvin’s best friend, Chris Moon, who took home the runner-up prize of $101,823. The buddies traded pots for almost two hours before Moon lost with pocket bullets on the river. His A-A was ahead pre-flop, behind on the flop, ahead after the turn, and cracked on fifth street.
Marvin held K-J and benefited from a K-J-5 flop. The turn card 5 put Moon ahead with Aces and Fives, but a Jack to complete the board also completed the tournament and resulted in victory for Marvin.
The winner claims to have had a tough WSOP this year, and the HPT title “will help make up for it,” he said. Although a WSOP bracelet may have eluded Marvin this summer, an HPT bracelet did not. A sterling silver bracelet complete with diamonds and a ruby will go to HPT Main Event winners for the remainder of Season XI, with Marvin the first HPT player to sport the jewelry.
Chicagoan John Skrabutenas recorded his first live cash with a third place finish. He took $67,495 back home to the Windy City.
The Ameristar Casino Hotel in Kansas City, Missouri is next on the HPT tour schedule. Action begins August 14 and concludes with the Main Event final table on the 24th where a new champion and bracelet winner will emerge.
The HPT also announced that Robert Williamson III and Dutch Boyd will appear as guest commentators at the end of August and early September.
