Last weekend's Heartland Poker Tour (HPT) Ameristar Casino Hotel East Chicago $1,650 Main Event attracted a field of 432 entries and created a prize pool of $619,080. In the end, pest control employee Jeremy Kloeckner, who hails from Lockport, Illinois, emerged victorious to capture the $142,386 first-place prize and the HPT championship bracelet.
"I don't even know how to feel right now," Kloeckner said after the win. "I'm extremely excited and this win is going to change my life."
Prior to the win, Kloeckner had just two cashes to his name. The first was a mere $832 for a fourth-place finish in a $150 No-Limit Hold'em Turbo event at the 2014 Chicago Poker Classic, and the other came in January of this year when he took 10th in the 2015 Chicago Poker Classic Warm-Up Mini Series $150 No-Limit Hold'em for $2,104.