Pat Steele Wins HPT Soaring Eagle Casino for $155,636; Joe Cada Finishes Fourth
The Heartland Poker Tour Soaring Eagle Casino $1,650 Main Event concluded on Monday, May 20 at the Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort in Mount Pleasant, Michigan. The tournament created a $662,280 prize pool after 462 players turned out, including 2009 World Series of Poker Main Event champ Joe Cada. The 25-year-old poker pro made it all the way to the final table, but ultimately fell in fourth place. Meanwhile, Pat Steele of Chelsea, Michigan went on to capture the $155,636 first-place prize.
HPT Soaring Eagle Casino Results
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pat Steele | Chelsea, MI | $155,636 |
| 2 | Tom Midena | Jackson, MI | $96,031 |
| 3 | Penelope Banhidy | Cleveland, OH | $62,917 |
| 4 | Joe Cada | Shelby Township, MI | $43,710 |
| 5 | Adam Bacon | Bryan, OH | $32,452 |
| 6 | Rudy Ballard | Rochester Hills, MI | $25,167 |
| 7 | Mark Davis | Toledo, OH | $21,789 |
| 8 | Sai Mudduluru | Lansing, MI | $17,882 |
| 9 | Phung Ngo | Commerce Township, MI | $14,570 |
According to the HPT live blog, the first elimination of the final table took place in Level 27 (25,000/50,000/5,000) on Hand #18 when Sai Mudduluru opened for 100,000 under the gun and then called when Phung Ngo moved all in for 575,000 from late position.
Ngo: K?J?
Mudduluru: A?10?
Ngo, a 36-year-old mechanical engineer from Commerce Township, Michigan, got a little help when the K?6?5? flop gave him the lead with a pair of kings, but Mudduluru did pick up a flush draw. The 7? turn was of no consequence, but the J? river was as Mudduluru hit his flush to send Ngo home in ninth place.
Unfortunately, Mudduluru��s momentum would be short lived as he was eliminated 10 hands later after his A?A? was cracked by the K?Q? of Rudy Ballard in an all-in confrontation. The beat was especially brutal as the killing stroke came on the river as the board ran out K?6?4?7?K?. Mudduluru, a 30-year-old program analyst from Lansing, Michigan, finished in eighth place for $17,882.
The next elimination didn��t occur until Hand #63, which took place in Level 18 (30,000/60,000/10,000), when Mark Davis got his stack in holding the Q?Q? and was ahead of Adam Bacon��s A?Q?. Unfortunately for Davis, a 44-year-old attorney from Toledo, Ohio, the board ran out 10?3?2?A?4?, and Bacon��s pair of aces took down the pot. Davis earned $21,789 for his seventh-place finish.
After Cada eliminated Ballard in sixth place on Hand #87, Bacon followed him out the door in fifth. Then, on Hand #128 in Level 20 (50,000/100,000/10,000), it was Cada��s time to go. It happened when Tom Midena moved all in and Cada called off his stack.
Midena: A?9?
Cada: A?7?
Cada was dominated, and the 10?8?5? flop wasn��t particularly helpful as it gave Midena the nut-flush draw. The 6? turn gave Cada an open-ended straight draw, but the J? river would miss it. With that, the former world champion was sent to the rail in fourth place for $43,710.
��Winning the HPT title would mean a lot,�� Cada said, ��You play a tournament to win.��
After the last woman standing, Penelope Banhidy, was knocked out in third place, a heads-up battle was set up between Midena, a 23-year-old professional player from Jackson, Michigan, and Steele, who you may recall finished as the third-place finisher in the PokerNews Mid-States Poker Tour Ho-Chunk Main Event back in March for $27,773.
The match was just 22 hands in before a winner was determined. It happened in Level 31 (60,000/120,000/15,000) on Hand #157 of the final table when Steele raised to 260,000 and then called when Midena moved all in.
Steele: A?7?
Midena: J?9?
Steele got it in good and held as the board ran out K?8?8?7?Q?. With that, he secured the $155,636 first-place prize while Midena was left with a $96,031 consolation prize for his runner-up performance. Despite falling short of victory, Midena was quick to praise the HPT.
��HPT has been great,�� Midena said, ��They probably have one of the best structures out there for poker tours.��
The next HPT will take place this weekend at Route 66 Casino & Hotel in Albuquerque in New Mexico, and the Main Event will start May 24.
*Photos courtesy of hptpoker.com.
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