Chris Louviere from Bangs, Texas, captured the Heartland Poker Tour stop at Prairie Meadows Racetrack Casino Hotel in Altoona in October. The main event drew 125 players for a $180K-plus prize pool.
Louviere took home $54,225 when he called an all-in shove by Rick Goulden from Des Moines. Goulden’s A-8 lost to Louviere’s Q-10 when a queen landed on the flop. The victory also earned Louviere the MVP award for the HPT season. Goulden earned $32,535 for second. Terry Ring from Durant pocketed $21,690 for third.
MESKWAKI: The next week, Meskwaki Bingo Casino Hotel hosted the Mid-States Poker Tour in Tama, attracting 296 players to compete for the $300K guarantee. Jesse Spooner from Easton, Mo., had a 9-to-1 lead over Tom Tracy from Apple Valley, Minn., to start heads-up play, but Tracy eventually too the lead for a bit before Spooner rallied to claim the top prize of $81,060. Tracy collected $43,425 for second.
HORSESHOE: Looking for something to do between Christmas and New Year’s? Be sure to head to Horseshoe Council Bluffs for its Horseshoe Holiday Classic, which runs Dec. 26-30. There will be various events, including no-limit hold’em, Omaha/8 and PLO. Buy-ins are $45-$750 with satellites available. In addition to these great tournaments, there are always great cash games around these Horseshoe events, so there’s surely something for everyone.
RIVERSIDE: On Oct. 13, Tucker Stone captured the Fallout Championship at Riverside Casino. Stone took home $30K and the championship watch.
Ten days later, the bad-beat jackpot hit in a $1-$2 NLHE game. While the names of the players weren’t released, it was a Riverside record of $151,080. The secondary pot has kicked in, putting the new jackpot at about $57K at press time.
This room also held its Cold Turkey Poker Showdown on Nov. 29-Dec. 1. Some of you may be lucky enough to see this story before this popular Southeast Iowa tournament kicked off. The buy-in is $500 and there are satellites running the week before so there should be a large field once the main event begins.
— Email Ken Warren at anteupken@gmail.com.
