Shane Faulk Wins $132,262 in HPT 200th Event

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Jul/20/2017

Black Hawk, CO - Shane Faulk dominated the final table at Heartland Poker Tour's (HPT) 200th event Monday at Golden Gates Casino & Poker Parlour to capture the title, bracelet, and $132,262. Faulk, from Parker, Colorado, started the day with the chip lead and never looked back, taking out the final four competitors on his own.

"It's an accomplishment that I wanted and hopefully I can get a couple more," said the champ in his post-game interview with HPT's Jaymz Larson.

The most animated character at Monday's final table was Dave Charnick. Even with the big money on the line, the Boulder, Colorado native had an ear-to-ear smile on his face throughout the day. Charnick won his way into the event through a $260 qualifier tournament earlier in the week. He parlayed that all the way to a second-place finish, good enough for a $81,707 payday.

Faulk had Charnick outchipped eight to one when heads up play began. Charnick found a quick double up early on, but wasn't able to get much going after that. In the end, he pushed the last of his chips in the middle with king-queen offsuit. Faulk went into the think tank for a few minutes before making the call with pocket twos. The board ran out in Faulk's favor and that is how the tournament ended.

"I had a ton of fun. Thanks for having this tournament. I had a blast," Charnick said with a grin.

In all, the $1,100 Main Event at Golden Gates Casino had 606 entries, building a prize pool of $587,820. Each of the first 500 entries was given a commemorative poker chip as a memento for playing in the monumental event. The next HPT series at Golden Gates is scheduled for September 8-18 later this year.

Realtor Michael Englert had the second largest stack at the start of the day. For a while he looked poised and ready to make a go at the title. Much like Charnick, Englert made his way to the final table on a $260 investment. Alas, he found himself all-in against the eventual champ with pocket sevens. Faulk hit a pair of jacks on the flop and Englert was unable to catch a seven on the turn or river. The Windsor, Colorado man collected $53,550 for third place.

Cheyenne, Wyoming's Rory Hayes also fell at the hands of Faulk. Shortstacked, Hayes came over the top of Faulk's raise with a 3-bet all in with ace-five of hearts. Faulk made the call with ace-nine of clubs. The community cards didn't deliver any help to Hayes and the general contractor was sent to the rail in fourth place with $37,209.

After scoring a few early knockouts himself, Jason Tate became Faulk's first victim when his river bluff was picked off by Faulk's call with top pair. Tate, a roofing salesman from nearby Lakewood, walked away with $27,040 for fifth place.

Danny Gonzales has almost become a staple at HPT final tables in Colorado. The outspoken Denver native was making his sixth appearance under the bright lights of an HPT final table, five of which were at Golden Gates. The title remains elusive however as Gonzales is yet to log a victory with the tour. He exited in sixth place for a $20,985 payday.

Local poker pro Ian Schwartz had his work cut out for him as he started the day near the bottom of the pack. Forced to make a move early on, Schwartz put his stack in the middle with king-jack. Unfortunately for him, Hayes had him dominated with the ace-jack. Hayes' hand held and Schwartz was out in seventh place. He earned $17,635 for his weekend's worth of work.

The first player eliminated on the day was Colorado Springs citizen Tom Bouziden. Bouziden collected $14,696 for his eighth-place effort. Generally, HPT final tables begin with nine players, but a double knockout on the last hand Sunday evening sent Baskaiyel Baker packing in ninth place with $11,756.

From here, HPT heads south for a series in Vicksburg, Mississippi. Nine events remain on the 2017 schedule. For a look at those tour stops, head over to HPTpoker.com.

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