The Potawatomi Hotel & Casino of Milwaukee recently played host to the MSPT Wisconsin State Poker Championship. Over three starting days, the $1,100 Main Event saw 660 entries with 78 players returning on Day 2 to see the event played down to the winner. In the end, it was Gerald Heath who earned the first-place win.
Details of the Tournament:
Once the final table was reached, Heath would sit 7th in chips. Gary Herstein and Alin Cotolan doubled up quickly, but Cotolan would find himself knocked out in 10th place just a short time later. Play would progress slowly with small pots played until the blinds started to grow and a few other players would be eliminated. Heath would take out Luke Goodwillie and then two more players would be eliminated soon after.
According to the MSPT…
Once the event reached six-handed play, Heath would start to pull away with the chip lead. Once four players remained, Heath and Nicola Ditrapani would go head to head, being to two largest 7BALL chip stacks. The win for Heath, with a set of fives, would give him a huge chip lead. This lead would prove helpful once the heads-up round began in the poker tournament.
Heads-Up Round:
By the time the event whittled down to the final two, Heath would hold almost all the chips in play at the Potawatomi Casino. He knocked out the third place finisher to face Ditrapani, who was short-stacked. It would not take long until the final hand went down.
Ditrapani was all-in with J-9 and was called by Heath who held Q-J. Heath would claim the hand and Ditrapani would be eliminated, having to settle for second place.
Final Table Results:
PlacePlayerPrizeFirstGerald Heath$130,935SecondNicola Ditrapani$79,838ThirdWai Ngai$59,399FourthGary Herstein$44,070FifthJosh Reichard$33,212SixthYao Yin$24,909SeventhLi Shen$19,161EighthPaul Camby$15,329NinthLuke Goodwillie$11,497
