24 Sep
San Francisco native Duke Lee enjoyed his best day ever on the live poker tournament tables earlier this week when he took down a Heartland Poker Tour title and just shy of $60K in cash.
Lee overcame a field of 155 players who bought in for $1,650 and generated a prize pool of $220,000 at the Grand Sierra Resort and Casino in Reno, Nevada. With the victory, Lee more than doubled his lifetime earnings that now stand at $100,919, according to the Hendon Mob.
Lee cashed in an HPT Main Event before, lasting until 24th place last year to earn $5,200. He also knocked on the door of an HPT side event title just days ago, finishing 4th in a $550 buy-in event to earn $4,480.
November Niner in the house
Lee’s run good continued through the Main Event where he navigated his way through a final table that included November Niner Neil Blumenfield. The 2015 WSOP Main Event final table is two months away and Blumenfeld is keeping his game sharp by playing in HPT tournaments.
Blumenfeld hit the rail in eighth place for $7,817 at the Grand Sierra. Expect to see the 61-year-old November Niner in this weekend’s HPT action at the Thunder Valley Casino Resort in Lincoln, California as Day 1A of the Main Event begins today. Blumenfeld is 3rd in chips among the WSOP Main Event final tablists with 22,000,000.
How Lee did it
With the action down to three players, Marty Gorenc went all-in with middle pair and couldn’t catch any more cards to beat Lee’s top pair. Gorenc finished 3rd and grabbed a payday of $22,460, putting his career earnings at $238,902.
Robert Mitchell was the last player standing in Lee’s way. Mitchell shoved with top pair, but finished second best to the straight of Lee. Mitchell’s take for his runner-up finish was $36,994.
Following the action in Lincoln this weekend, the next HPT stop will be in Daytone Beach, Florida at the Kennel Club and Poker Room. Play begins in the Sunshine State on the 1st of October.
