The Heartland Poker Tour (HPT) Hollywood Casino Columbus began with 588 entries, but today just nine return to battle it out for the title and $191,723 first-place prize.
Leading the pack is Abdul Amer, who is no stranger to poker in Ohio. Last year he topped a 581-entry field to win the $1,100 MSPT Cleveland Poker Open at JACK Cleveland Casino for $118,350.
Others returning to action are World Series of Poker bracelet winners Adam Friedman and Joey Couden and World Poker Tour champ Kevin ��1$sickDisea$E�� Eyster. Interestingly, Amer is friends with Friedman, who finished third in the aforementioned MSPT Cleveland.
Here's how things stack up:
Final Table Lineup
| Seat | Player | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mandeep Sah | 2,985,000 |
| 2 | Spenser Cramer | 1,265,000 |
| 3 | Thila Narayanan | 1,180,000 |
| 4 | Kevin Eyster | 1,205,000 |
| 5 | Joey Couden | 2,075,000 |
| 6 | Abdul Amer | 4,295,000 |
| 7 | Jeff Hart | 1,485,000 |
| 8 | Ryan Wince | 1,480,000 |
| 9 | Adam Friedman | 1,66o,000 |
The final nine players will return at Noon on Monday to play down to a winner with 23:50 remaining in Level 25 (20,000/40,000/40,000). The action will not only be lived reported here on PokerNews but also live streamed worldwide. It��ll also be filmed for television, which marks the first time Ohio will have held a nationally televised poker tournament.
Stay tuned to see who emerges victorious in the HPT Hollywood Casino St. Louis Main Event!