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Reno, NV - Stephen Foutty made his first Heartland Poker Tour (HPT) television experience one to remember Monday night. The army veteran turned poker player from Las Vegas won the Main Event at Grand Sierra Resort and Casino to earn $89,484 along with the HPT Title.
The last player Foutty had to go through to complete the victory was James Hays of Sebastopol, California. The two players battled it out on the felt in a lengthy heads-up match that lasted over two hours. Eventually Hays was crippled when his straight ran into Foutty's bigger straight. He lost shortly thereafter. Hays won $55,180 for second place.
Grand Sierra's premiere LEX Nightclub served as the location for the TV table on Monday. When episodes from the Reno resort air nationwide, viewers will get a sneak peek into the area's top nightlife venue, which rivals the best clubs in the country.
Santa Cruz, California's Zephyr Peling was the chip leader when play began. In the end, the business development manager got his chips all in with king-five against Foutty's ace-king. Peling's hand failed to improve and he became the third-place finisher for a score of $37,282.
Local business analyst Zak Gilbert was one of the favorites at the table. When four-handed play started, Gilbert was short on chips and had to make a move. He put the chips in the middle with a straight draw against Hays' pocket twos, but the straight never came. Gilbert was sent home in fourth place with $26,472.
Hunting outfitter Michael Stockton found himself playing in front of the cameras at Grand Sierra after investing only $375. Stockton, of Orofino, Idaho, played well enough to finish in fifth place and run that sum up to a $20,506 payday.
When the players took their seats under the lights, all eyes were on Stan Jablonski. The tour veteran from Bullhead City, Arizona was making his seventh appearance at an HPT Final Table. Jablonski will have to wait another day to capture his first title with the tour. The business owner was in great shape to double up when he got his chips in the middle with pocket kings against Peling's ace-queen. However, an ace on the turn brought Jablonski's day to an end. He collected $16,778 for the sixth-place finish.
One player at the Final Table had plenty of supporters on the rail. Tony Le has been an employee at Grand Sierra for over 20 years and many of his coworkers came to cheer him on at the nationally-televised table. Much like Jablonski, Le was knocked out when his pocket kings were outdrawn by Peling's ace-queen. The gaming supervisor from Reno won $13,982 for seventh place.
Ed Yang of Livermore, California became the eighth place finisher when he fell at the hands of Stockton. The retired teacher, nicknamed "Special Ed", walked away with $11,744 for his efforts.
It was a short day for Tim Klemin. The Magalia, California man became the first to be eliminated when his pocket queens couldn't hold up against the ace-king of Hays. Klemin earned $9,694 for ninth place.
From here, HPT will visit Blackhawk, Colorado. The tour will look to eclipse the million dollar mark in the Main Event prize pool for the eighth consecutive time at that venue. For a look at a full schedule of upcoming events, visit HPTpoker.com.
