Belterra Casino Resort to Host HPT 2012 Championship Open
Florence, Indiana - One of the most popular events on Heartland Poker Tour is getting a new home for 2012. The year-end Championship Open will again be centralized in the Midwest, this time at Belterra Casino Resort in Florence, Indiana. HPT champs from throughout Season 8 will descend on Belterra for their final run at the coveted Player of the Year title. The tournament is open to the public and expected to draw poker enthusiasts from around the country, including legend of the game Scotty Nguyen. Players can take their shot at the anticipated six-figure first place for less than a hundred dollars through qualifying events beginning November 9. The $1650 Main Event is scheduled for the weekend of November 16th-18th. The full tournament schedule will be available soon at HPTpoker.com.*
“Belterra is a good fit for our Championship Open because it’s centrally located and has all of the amenities our players have come to expect,” said HPT Executive Producer Fred Bevill. Belterra features 608 deluxe guest rooms and suites, 42,000 square feet of gaming, seven food venues, a health spa, an 18-hole Tom Fazio-designed championship golf course, and six retail shopping boutiques. Sue Ascanio, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Belterra Casino Resort stated, “The team is excited to host our first HPT event here at Belterra Casino Resort. We are the premier casino resort in the region, and this event will enhance the experience we offer our valued Belterra guests and regional poker enthusiasts.” Although Belterra is just an hour drive from Louisville, Kentucky and less than a two-hour drive from Indianapolis, Indiana, it’s the close proximity to Cincinnati, Ohio that has organizers preparing for a huge event. Cincinnati poker fans have lobbied to have an HPT event in their backyard for years, often taking their pleas to social media. They’re now less than an hour away from what is historically one of HPT’s biggest events of the year.
HPT held its first Championship Open in 2007 at Majestic Star Casinos in Gary, Indiana. The $835,200 prize pool held the record as HPT’s biggest until October of last year when the tour awarded its first million-dollar prize pool. In 2009, the champion’s event moved to Soaring Eagle Casino Resort in Mt Pleasant, Michigan and saw skyrocketing numbers in 2010 and 2011. Last’s year’s Championship Open drew 545 players for a prize pool of $785,088, HPT’s fifth-largest tournament in its 105-event history. Due to a scheduling conflict this November, Soaring Eagle was unable to host the Championship Open this year. HPT and Soaring Eagle are currently working to schedule tour stops in 2013.
At least one well-known player will make his second attempt in an HPT Championship Open. Poker legend Scotty Nguyen confirmed plans to play the event this November. Notorious for his quote at the 1998 WSOP Main Event, “You call, it’s all over, Baby,” Nguyen has scored over $11 million in live tournament winnings throughout his career.
Since 2005, HPT has awarded over $36 million dollars and produced 200 episodes of the nationally-syndicated Heartland Poker Tour. The event at Belterra will be produced into two one-hour episodes scheduled to air nationwide in early February.
HPT organizers anticipate most of the champions from 2012 will make their way to Belterra for their last shot at accumulating Player of the Year points. Concurrent with the calendar year, all players who cash in an HPT Main Event earn at least five points towards their POY ranking, with first place worth fifty points. Four of the top five current leaders have not won an HPT championship this year but have accumulated multiple cashes. The race has been especially competitive in Season 8 due to an increase in POY benefits this year. The 2012 Player of the Year will receive six HPT Main Event buy-ins of $1650 each and hotel accommodations for up to five nights at six events.
With 83 points, Illinois chiropractor Gary “Lambo” Lambert leads the POY race with two significant cashes this year. Eight HPT champions are currently tied for sixth place with fifty points each including well-known pro Will Failla, 2011 November Niner Phil Collins, and 2004 WSOP Main Event Champion Greg “Fossilman” Raymer. Bevill said the champions of 2012, as a group, are the most accomplished and colorful the tour has ever seen.
