Wild west poker

Despite their online ban, poker is still very much alive in the US, and the Heartland Poker Tour is giving modern poker a real taste of the Wild West.

In a town famous for lawlessness and gun slinging cowboys from the Old West, six poker players filled the Heartland Poker Tour’s final table at the Lucky Nugget Card Club in what can only be described as a good old fashion shootout.

When the smoke cleared after only 64 hands of final table action, Scott Eckert, a painting contractor from Fargo North Dakota, took down the championship, leaving with a first place prize of $64,133, plus a prize package worth $3000 into the year-end HPT Open Championship.

“This is terrific” said a nearly speechless Eckert. “I can’t tell you how good it feels to finally win something like this.”

Very much in line with the HPT’s ongoing theme of “real people” the final table consisted of a butcher, a painter, a construction manager, retired sheriff, poker dealer and a hunting guide. The spirit of the old west must have been in the air as the players went at each other fast and furious, creating the shortest final table in HPT history.

Early on it was the retired county sheriff who controlled the action and built a big chip lead. De Glassgow, 59, was born in Deadwood and spent several years as the county sheriff in nearby Custer County. Now retired, Glassgow certainly looked the part of a Deadwood gunfighter, dressed in a leather vest, boots and a black cowboy hat. The former sheriff ruled the table for the first hour and had a respectable chip lead midway through the final table match.

At one point, he had eventual champ Eckert, all in and in deep trouble with A7 vs. A3, but a lucky river card paired the board and gave Eckert a split pot. The crippling blow for Glassgow occurred when there were three players remaining.

In a hand versus eventual second place finisher James Mutchler, Mutchler moved all in on a board of 6 – 8 – 9 and was instantly called by Glassgow. Mutchler frowned as he turned over A9 for top pair top kicker and Glassgow turned over K10 for a gut shot straight draw with two over cards. In the spirit of a true gambler, Glassgow missed his chance at almost a sure HPT victory and eventually took third place.

As for Eckert, he was looking ready to celebrate his win with his poker playing buddies, including his friend Allison, who recently finished 7th in an HPT event (on the final table bubble), and cheered him on from the front row.

“I’m really not sure what I’m going to do with the money,” said Eckert. “I guess I’ll pay some bills and maybe play in some bigger tournaments.”

The Heartland Poker Tour is in the homestretch for its 2007 season, with three more events to go. The HPT will be in Tama Iowa starting Sunday October 28th at the Meskwaki Bingo Casino Hotel, followed by a first ever trip to Casino Del Sol in Tucson, AZ, in mid November, and wrap up the year with the HPT Open Championship at Majestic Star Casino in Gary Indiana.