Already in his mid-50's, Greg "FossilMan" Raymer proved this week that age doesn't matter in the world of poker as he took down the Heartland Poker Tour (HPT) Ameristar East Chicago $1,650 Main Event. This latest victory is actually his record fifth HPT Main Event title, and with that he won the prize money worth $171,411 plus a $3,500 Championship Package for the HPT Season XVI Championship at the end of the season.
Raymer, 2012 HPT Player of the Year, told HPT Tournament Director Jeremy Smith about dominating the 520-player field, "It feels great. Every one's more special than the last." This latest win of his makes him the third on HPT's all-time career earnings list, behind Craig Casino and Reginald "Shawn" Roberts.
Best known for winning the 2004 WSOP Main Event, the 55-year-old Raymer survived a 2:1 disadvantage on a heads-up match against Evan Bethyo who began the day as chip leader. Raymer found a double on the very first hand with his rivered Queens-up, enough to defeat Bethyo's Jacks-up. He said, "When I catch the queen on the river to make a better two pair, that's just luck. There's a lot of luck in poker, and there's a lot more luck in heads-up poker, because if you fold every time you don't have top pair or better, you're gonna get run over and you'll have no shot. Evan did not let me run him over at all. I'll definitely say luck was on my side in the heads-up play, for sure."
On the final hand:
Bethyo had Q-2
Raymer held 8-3
The board ran A-3-Q-8-9, giving Raymer the win he needed to get his record fifth HPT Main Event title and the $171,411 prize money.
|
|
Player
|
Hometown
|
Prize
|
|
1
|
Greg Raymer
|
Raleigh, North Carolina
|
$171,411
|
|
2
|
Evan Bethyo
|
Vernon Hills, Illinois
|
$104,789
|
|
3
|
David Gutfreund
|
Las Vegas, Nevada
|
$69,462
|
|
4
|
Marc Yofon
|
Rolling Meadows, Illinois
|
$48,295
|
|
5
|
Tim Barany
|
Chicago, Illinois
|
$36,147
|
|
6
|
Bohdan Slyvinskyi
|
Chicago, Illinois
|
$27,949
|
|
7
|
Matt Schurter
|
Crystal Lake, Illinois
|
$22,732
|
|
8
|
Dale Hackney
|
Durand, Michigan
|
$18,633
|
|
9
|
Benjamin Craig
|
Chicago, Illinois
|
$14,906
|
He now has reached the $8 million mark in lifetime career tournament earnings.
His plan for his earnings will definitely delight the investors that stake him throughout the year, "I have a deal with people who invest in my bankroll for the entire year, and we tripled our bankroll in the first event. It all has to stay in the bankroll, it means I can play some bigger events if it fits the schedule. I only gave 'em a small profit last year, so I'm looking forward to this being the start of a huge run!"
Source:
https://www.pokernews.com/news/2020/01/greg-raymer-wins-record-fifth-hpt-title-36441.htm
