Bill Byrnes Wins HPT St. Louis Main Event for $148,587; Craig Welko Wins Three Side Events
The Heartland Poker Tour (HPT) was visiting the Hollywood Casino St. Louis for the first time, and the $1,650 Main Event drew 444 entries, which created a $646,020 prize pool.
In the end, 47-year-old criminal defense attorney Bill Byrnes emerged victorious to claim a $148,587 first-place prize.
��It was awesome,�� Byrnes said after the win. ��I was pretty comfortable the whole time. I came in third in chips today, which I felt good about. The guy that came in second, I��d been playing with the past couple of days, he was a hell of a player. I was definitely worried about him. There was a number of good players at the table but I felt comfortable going in. I��m going to take my wife to Europe, not sure what else to do with the rest.��
Byrnes pledged to donate some of his winnings to the charity First Descents, which offers young adults living with and surviving cancer a free outdoor adventure experience designed to empower them.
Interestingly, Byrnes almost didn��t get the chance to compete at the final table as he had a court meeting Monday morning that had the potential to keep him preoccupied.
��I had a case set for jury trial this morning. If it was going to go I would��ve had to be blinded down,�� he admitted. ��I wouldn��t have made it back here. I was pretty far down the list so didn��t think they��d get to me but I was holding my breath.
Prior to the win, Byrnes had $429,719 in career tournament earnings including a previous best of $55,968 for finishing 11th in the 2015 World Series of Poker Colossus.
HPT St. Louis Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bill Brynes | $148,587 |
| 2 | Keith Heine | $91,735 |
| 3 | Stephen Green | $61,049 |
| 4 | Dave Simon | $42,314 |
| 5 | Kou Vang | $31,978 |
| 6 | Andy Echele | $24,872 |
| 7 | Tim Burden | $20,673 |
| 8 | Joe Landazzi | $17,120 |
| 9 | Greg Wood | $14,471 |
Others to cash the tournament included Day 1b chip leader Josh Mullins (13th - $8,334), Shawn ��Reginald�� Roberts (19th - $5,168), Allen Kessler (30th - $4,199), Mary Sturges (31st - $4,199), Day 1a chip leader Ryan Gregor (32nd - $4,199), and Ryan Tepen (40th - $3,553).
Final Table Action
The first final table elimination came about an hour into play when Greg Wood jammed ace-jack only to run it smack dab into Steve Green��s two black aces. Wood didn��t get so much as a sweat and was sent packing in ninth place.
Not long after, Joe Landazzi fell when his pocket aces were cracked by Kou Vang, who had flopped a set of fives, and Tim Burden followed him out the door in seventh place. Burden, the 2018 MSPT Indiana State Poker Champion, began the final table with a big chip lead but nothing seemed to go his way. Eventually, he was whittled down before four-betting all in with pocket four. Dave Simon, who had three-bet with nine-seven suited, called and turned a straight to eliminate Burden.
With six players remaining, Andy Echele had pocket aces and flopped two pair. Unfortunately for him, Keith Heine flopped trips and turned a boat, which is when the chips went in. The river wasn��t an ace and Echele headed for the payout desk to collect $24,872.
Vang bowed out in fifth place after shoving his short stack from the small blind with ace-deuce and getting called by Simon, who held six-three in the big. A six on the turn was the final nail in the coffin for the MSPT Hall of Famer, who took home $24,872 for his fifth-place finish.
Simon was the next to go after running a bluff against Heine, who had flopped a full house, and then Green took his leave in third place after losing a flip with deuces to Bill Byrnes�� ace-queen.
Byrne entered heads-up play with 6.33 million to Heine��s 6.975 million and immediately set about chipping up.
Eventually, he had Heine on the ropes when the final hand developed. Byrnes slow played pocket aces and flopped a set while Heine flopped a flush draw. The chips went in on the turn and Heine failed to find a fifth heart to fall in second place for $91,735. It was one spot better than last year when he finished third in the HPT St. Louis for $48,042.
Welko Wins Trio of Side Events
Byrnes wasn��t the only one to find success at the HPT St. Louis. A series of side events played out leading up to the Main Event and amazingly Craig Welko managed to win three of them.
His heater began in Event #1: $350 No-Limit Hold��em, a tournament that drew a Missouri state record 1,283 entries. There was a six-way deal worked and Welko was not only deemed the champion but took the most prize money with $37,402. It marked the biggest score of his aspiring career.
Then in Event #6: $200 NLH Bounty ($50 bounties), he bested a 191-entry field to win his second title. While he wasn��t able to get anything going in the Main Event, Welko closed out the stop strong by topping a 189-entry to win Event #12: $300 NLH Bounty ($100 bounties) for $5,200 after a three-way deal.
Prior to the HPT St. Louis, Welko had $164,612 in live tournament earnings including a prior career-best of $33,000 for finishing third in a $550 NLH event at last year��s Wynn summer Classic.
The HPT��s next stop will be a $1,100 buy-in Main Event from March 28-April 1 at Hollywood Casino Lawrenceburg, which is situated just outside of Cincinnati, Ohio. Once again PokerNews will be on hand to bring you updates from that event.
