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North Dakota Championship Report

The North Dakota championship featured 115 of the best players in the state, with the top 5 earning a seat in the 2008 WSOP as well as a seat in the Free Poker Network national finals.

Thanks to Westside Sports Bar & Grill in Mandan and all the volunteers who helped make this a great event.

Here are the big winners (pictured left to right):

Ron Johnson - Deweys, Kindred

Dean Leingang - Silver Dollar, Mandan

Sean Egstad - The Bowler, Fargo

Lonnie Schwarz - VFW, Bismarck

Preston Sweeney - The Work Zone, West Fargo

Sean Egstad eliminated Art Ziemann on the bubble. Art was the local favorite and for the 2nd time he just missed a trip to Las Vegas to play in the World Series of Poker (runner up to Jim Nelson in 2006). Other players who made the final table included Tim Larson - M&J Saloon in West Fargo, Amy Smittle - Liquid Assets in Dickinson, Ryan Olson - Lariat Lounge in Wishek, and Rick Stine - Speedway in West Fargo. Mason Whitmore had a great showing, placing in the top 20 and coming very close to following up his wife Joyce's huge win last year.

Live updates blog | Photos
Playoff Info: NORTH DAKOTA | SOUTH DAKOTA

DPL Championship Preview

Friends, family, and spectators are welcome to play in freeroll side tournaments while the main tournament is in full swing, featuring a $400 cash freeroll starting at 5:00 open to anyone (21+).

Congrats to all players who have qualified for the North Dakota Championship this weekend in Mandan. We are looking forward to chatting with the 115 or so players who will be there...This weekend will be the 15^th overall North Dakota championship, to be held at the Westside Sports Bar in Mandan. Five lucky players from North Dakota will represent the Dakota Poker League/Free Poker Network in this years World Series of Poker.

Brent Kragness Looking To Go Back-To-Back

Last weekend at the Minnesota championship we had two players (Greg Anderson and Jeremy Heller) trying to become the first Free Poker Network league players to win a second major poker tournament buy-in to the World Series of Poker...Both players came up short but Brent Kragness (pictured right with pro players at the '08 Bay 101) will have a chance this weekend. Not only would he become the first Free Poker Network player ever to win two championship events, but he would be doing it back to back. Brent took 6^th place at the Gold Rush championship winning himself a $3,000 package to play at the Bay 101 Shooting Star event in San Jose in March.

Many Experienced Players Qualify

We also have quite a few “bubble boys” (players who came excruciatingly close to winning a major prize in previous contests). Art Ziemann qualified from the Westside Sports Bar and making his fourth championship tournament. Two years ago Art took 2^nd place; runner up to Jim Nelson for a seat into the WSOP main event. Scott Thompson has qualified, making this his sixth championship tournament from South Gate in Grand Forks. He was the bubble boy in last year's WSOP promotion. Scott Eckert (Old Broadway, The Bowler, The Hub) is back again, making his sixth championship tournament. Scott is the odds-on favorite to win given his track record in the past year. Scott won a HPT seat in 2006 and went on to win the Deadwood event last fall for $64,000. He took second place in last summer's 10K event to win $1,500. Another solid player, Ron Olson (The Hub, Fargo) also has seen a lot of success in the league and has come close in championship events. This will be his sixth championship tournament, he finished 12th place in the Gold Rush championship. He also finished in the top 10 of the Last Chance WSOP promotion back in 2006. Other notable players include Mingo Koepplin (Seib’s) making his fifth championship with a final table experience at the Blast at the Bellagio championship and placing 13^th overall in the points in the Dakotas. Rick Stine (Speedway Event Center) sixth championship and overall points leader in North Dakota. The two players with the most experience making their seventh championship event are Duane Dumdai (Hagge’s, Mapleton) and Calvin Mosbrucker (Silver Dollar, Mandan). Duane is ranked 19^th overall in the Dakota’s. In 2007 Calvin won one of 20 seats at the HPT summer promo and in 2006 WSOP promo made the final table taking 6^th place.

Husband of Last Year's Champ Will Take His Shot

There are 48 players with previous Dakota Poker League/Free Poker Network championship experience that are looking to get their seat in the upcoming World Series of Poker! There are 68 people who will be making their first championship hoping to bat 100 percent. Included in the 68 people is Mason Whitmore (Old 10 Saloon) husband to last years winner Joyce Whitmore, who is looking to keep it in the family. Good luck everyone!!

Report From The Bay 101

Live blog & photos from the 2008 Bay 101
Tournament hopes and dreams of cashing in on the $1 million first place prize for the poker league crew vanished at the end of day one of the main event. The scene at the Bay 101 is a great experience, and definitely the most fan-friendly stop on the World Poker Tour that we have seen.

TANNER NELSEN IS THE BIG WINNER

Dickinson player wins championship and earns $12,000 package to play in the World Poker Tour - Bay 101 event in March. Nine more players received $3,000 pkg, including Scott Krein-Fargo, Dwayne Hanson-Bismarck, Brent Kragness-Moorhead, Manny Hernandez-Grand Forks.
Poker League Championship blog with pictures and details

Regional & Championship Qualifier Lists/Details

Video: Championship Montage-Youtube

League Players Cash Big in HPT

Scott Eckert (runner up in the Summer Poker Challenge-$10k Freeroll) took down the Heartland Poker Tour Deadwood Event for $64,133!! Way to go Scott!

Also, congrats to Alison Kelley from the Old Broadway for winning $11,100 in the Heartland Poker Tour! Alison won her seat in the HPT at the Summer Poker Challenge finals. Alison proves once again that playing in the league can be quite profitable!

ND State Championship Draws Record 1,103 Players in Minot

Congratulations to Art Zieman (pictured left - Bismarck area player) and Tom Dallman (pictured right - Beulah area player) for cashing at the final table of the North Dakota State Championship this past weekend in Minot. The $100 buy-in charitable tournament drew a record crowd of 1,103 players. First place was a whopping $30,000 which went to Sonny Lehman from Harvey. It was Sonny's first tournament! Art placed 5th for $5,000 and Tom placed 7th for $3,500. Congrats to both players and we hope to see them soon at the next league championship.

Joyce Whitmore Busts Day 2 of the Main Event

Joyce needs to survive day 2 to get in the money. The minimum cash this year is $20,000, a nice tidy sum for making the top 10% of the playing field. Joyce survived day 1 after 14 grueling hours and was in great spirits afterward. She is looking forward to day 2 and feels very comfortable, thank you, playing with the some of the best tournament players in the world.

UPDATE: Joyce is eliminated with 1 hour remaining in Day 2, by poker pro Bill Edler who went on to finish 23rd. Good job Joyce!!!

More: Updates and pictures from our live blog at the Rio.

JOYCE WHITMORE WINS!!!

On the 99th hand of final table play, Joyce Whitmore from Hope, ND capped off a surprising upset to become the first ever lady-champion in Dakota Poker League! Joyce battled back from being shortstacked in the beginning of headsup play with Ross Ladwig (Slammers-Fargo) and at times it looked inevitable that she would take 2nd place...
Read more here: Championship Report |Live blog: www.freepokernetwork.com

Jenny Kriewald Wins HPT Event
Cashing $52,900!!!

Congratulations to Jennifer Kriewald from the Sandoon Salloon II, in Sanborn ND. Jennifer earned her entry in the Heartland Poker Tour in the "Summer Poker Challenge" 20-seat giveaway last August. She used her free entry to the event at Shooting Star Casino in Mahnomen and went on to take 1st place! We can't wait to watch the television show!

Jenny's big win is making news in the poker world: Poker Player Newspaper

Borrowed Bucks Sioux Falls - Bellagio Championship Event #3

Bob Reynolds from the Front Street Bar & Grill in Morgan, MN was the big winner at the "Blast at the Bellagio" Championship #3.

What a difference a week makes. That's when this contest was originally scheduled, but had to be postponed due to blizzard conditions. The turnout at Borrowed Bucks Roadhouse in Sioux Falls was good despite the postponement, but there were a few players who could not attend as a result, which was unfortunate. However, the turnout was still good: 64 out of the 72 qualifiers made the trip for this network event, which included players from all of Nebraska Poker League, the South Dakota region of Dakota Poker League, and the Southern section of the Minnesota Poker League. Despite the huge territory this region carved up, it had the smallest pool of players compared with to the other championship events.

Pat Thelen from Starters Lounge in Redfield, SD was the runner up. He had a great tournament. In a surprise to the staff, he donated his $500 runner up prize to the volunteer dealers. The dealers were very appreciative and the spectators gave him a round of applause. Thanks Pat for a very generous gift. And good luck in the future!

Bob had quite a run. He really got after it early in the tournament and never looked back, showing several huge bluffs along the way. He certainly got lucky a couple of times, but made the best of his opportunity. Now we'll get a chance to see Bob in action in Las Vegas with the pros.

John Ullend from the Lariat Lounge in Velva is the big winner at Midway Lanes in Mandan, after a 2-hour delayed start due to weather. 67 out of 80 qualifiers made the trip for the "Blast at the Bellagio" Championship for the North Dakota region.

This was John's 4th time qualifying for a championship tournament. He was also no stranger to a championship final table, having made the final table of the Free Poker Network "Tournament of Champions" last summer where he came very close to winning a $11,000 package to the World Series of Poker in that tournament. John was looking to go all the way in this one, and did just that. He was among the chip leaders all day and got hot in the end to put away the competition. The runner up was Royle Merkel from Slammers in Fargo. Royle received $500 cash for his accomplishment. A total of $1200 in cash was given away to players who made the final table and another $300 for side games and bonuses.

Congratulations to John, the 2nd of 3 big winners for the Blast at the Bellagio 6-week contest. John will receive airfare and travel accommodations for two, $500 spending cash and will play a $1,500 buy-in event on Friday April 13th at the Bellagio in Las Vegas! Good luck!

For more pictures and comments from our live blog at Midway Lanes click here.

Congratulations to Mike Schneider (Champs-Dickinson) on winning the Fall Dakota Poker League Championship!

Mike was the lone survivor of 122 finalists. Ernie Hedman (Rounders-Watertown, SD) was the runner up. Ernie won a buy in valued up to $500 to the Heartland Poker Tour, a Johnny Walker steel tip dart board (really nice!), a Cuervo neon and various merchandise for his 2nd place showing...

FINAL TABLE - TOP 10
1	Mike Schneider	Champs-Dickinson
2	Ernie Hedman	Rounders-Watertown
3	Corey Eslinger	JT Cigarro-Fargo
4	Rhonda Kraft	Midway Lanes-Mandan
5	Cory Solberg	Harwood Legion-Harwood
6	Rick Weige	Brick City Bar-Hebron
7	Greta Trader	Captain's Pub-Valley City
8	Pete Lauthen	Elks Lodge-Fargo
9	Russ Nehring	Million Dollar Lanes-Williston
10	Pat Crary	Dempsey's-Fargo

Tournament report & pics available on our new site: www.freepokernetwork.com

2006 Summer Poker Challenge
Championship

Congrats to Harry Samuelson!

Click Here For Report & Photos

Congrats to Chad Ransom (Fargo) for placing 3rd in the latest Heartland Poker Tour event at St. Croix! Chad cashed over $24,000! This was Chad's second final table appearance in the HPT.

The Summer Poker Challenge HPT event is this weekend, we are looking forward to awarding 20 seats to the Heartland Poker Tour!

Congrats to Mitch Schock for his 29th place finish at this year's WSOP!

Article: Bismarck Tribune | Blog: Live From the Rio

TOC & Last Chance Finals

Congrats to TOC Winner Dustin Gulbrandson from the Depot Express in Alexandria.

Congrats to Last Chance winners: Lyle Preston-Torge's, Dick Jones-Brothers Bar & Grill, Nick Paulus-Longbranch Saloon, Eugene Flohrs-Torge's, & Pat Moon-Playmakers.

What a weekend of poker! Six more bar poker players earned a trip to Las Vegas to play in the World Series of Poker over the weekend of June 24-25^th at Hagge’s Bar & Grill in Mapleton, ND. Two separate championship tournaments wrapped up involving 127 bar poker leagues affiliated with Minnesota Poker League & Dakota Poker League. Amazingly, 2 players from the same bar (Lyle Preston & Eugene Flohrs) made it to the top 5.
**UPDATE** Click Here for the complete report on the Tournament of Champions.
**UPDATE** Click Here for the complete report on the Last Chance Final.

Jim Nelson Wins League Championship

Congrats to all final table players:
Art Zieman (Midway Lanes-Mandan), Rachelle Thompson (Playmakers-Fargo), Calvin Mosbrucker (Bucks-Bismarck), Arlene Froelich (Lonesome Dove-Bismarck), Dick Olson (Proz End of the Line-Devils Lake), Mike Butts (Original Bar-Minot), Randy Miller (Midway Lanes-Mandan, Zach Zinnel (Midway Lanes-Mandan) & Diana Cominghay (Down Under Pub-Grand Forks).

Complete Tournament Recap w/Pictures

League Points Leaders - Final

Player Name	League	Total Points
Kory Skoog	Elks Lodge-Fargo	1565
Mike Anderson	South Gate - Tuesdays	1306
Kevin Meyer	Playmakers	1306
Tiram Gamliel	South Gate - Tuesdays	1291
Chris Keller	Midway Lanes	1279
Zach Zinnel	Midway Lanes	1196
Nathan Vetter	Old Broadway	1188
Chuck Udart	Knickerbocker	1176
Jason Troumbley	Elks Lodge-Fargo	1160
Clayton Dilly	Playmakers	1149
Bob Hull	South Gate - Sundays	1125
Jeff Olson	Wonder Bar	1114
Scott Thompson	Playmakers	1102
Andy Stromme	Old Broadway	1088
Justin Larson	Knickerbocker	1072
Toby Roerich	Bucks-Fargo	1050
Chris Hanes	Bucks-Fargo	1024
Jeremy Fugleburg	Pit Stop	1019
Duane Dumdai	Hagge's Bar & Grill	928
Todd Romine	Proz End of The Line	921
Jeff Boucher	Million Dollar Lanes	882
Jim Nelson	Silver Dollar	881
Craig Trottier	Bucks-Grand Forks	874
Chris Hanson	Beulah Eagles	872
Phil Leitner	Captain's Pub	862
Mike Butts	Original Bar	853

Deb Ziegler & Chris Campbell take down HPT Freerolls
The HPT bonus tournament hosted by the

Elks Lodge in Fargo was a huge success with capacity crowd of 112 players. The field was well represented with solid players, including the fall league Minnesota champ, Greg Anderson. Greg had a nice run finishing 9th. Deb Ziegler from New York Mills (3rd place in MPL 4-week championship) ended up facing off with Kevin Reitz (Playmakers - pictured right) for the $330 HPT buy in. Deb (pictured left being congratulated by Josh Nelson) eventually captured the prize and is excited about earning the entry to the upcoming event in Thief River Falls.
ALSO, congratulations to Chris Campbell for taking down the HPT freeroll event in Grand Forks! Chris outlasted Steve Kennedy and a field of 104 players to win the entry to the upcoming Thief River Falls event. We wish both of our winners good luck!

Report From the 2006 WPT Championship at The Bellagio

The Minnesota & Dakota Poker League winners of WPT Super Satellite 4-week contest got their shot at qualifying for the $25,000 buy-in main event and an opportunity at the $3.9 million first-place prize...

Eric Bagley (Z103 Bar & Grill-Fergus Falls - pictured right) took his seat and found himself sitting with some very good players. To his immediate left is Cliff "JohnnyBax" Josephy, an internet poker star who is one of the most successful players on the internet. To his left is none other than Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi's wife, Lilly Mizrachi.

A Bellagio record 544 players bought in for $2,600 each in this tournament. The top 51 would earn the $25,700 entry fee for the main event the following day.

Eric got off to a nice start when his first hand, pocket jacks, won a $2,000 pot. Later, however, he lost that and more to a set of 4's when he held pocket kings. Tough break. Just before he busted out (level 3 - 100/200 blinds), Eric was short-stacked and looked down at A-K. He was about to move in on a preflop raiser when Lilly Mizrachi accidentally mucked her A-10 face up. Eric reconsidered, folding the hand. The hand he busted on was K-Q. With only 1400 in chips left, he raised and got moved in on by A-9. The Ace was good and Eric was done in the tournament...Eric was disappointed but in good spirits. He enjoyed his vacation and played a lot of poker at the MGM Grand.

Meanwhile, Michael Krein, the Dakota Poker League champ (Playmakers-Fargo-pictured left in white hat) took his seat and a shot at the same prize...We had a tough time watching Micheal because he was seated in the center of the Fontana Room and it was tough to get access due to the fact our official press pass wasn't available until Tuesday, the following day...

Michael mentioned Jennifer Tilly sat was moved to his immediate right but we were unable to get a picture because he busted shortly thereafter. Michael had a tough day and was unable to build a stack. Eventually he was so short-stacked he went all in blind, under the gun, for his last 3 black chips. With a board of A-A-K-9-4, Michael flipped over Q and then a 9 to see that he would win that hand and quadruple up to 1300 in chips! Unfortunately, the very next hand he played out of the big blind, K-J and moved in when he spiked a jack on the flop. However, he was outkicked by A-J and that was the end of his tournament...Michael was in awe of the vibe at the Bellagio and the number of big name players. He said he learned a lot from the experience.

Unfortunately for Eric & Michael they did not make qualify for the main event. I played the event as well but had some tough luck and busted after the first break when my set of jacks fell victim to a runner-runner flush. That's poker.

The scene at the Bellagio was unbelievable. The deck outside the Fontana Room looked out over the fountains and Paris across the street. There was definitely a buzz and we saw just about every major pro immaginable at one time or another. Several recognizable pros played the super satellite including Phil "The Unabomber" Laak (pictured right). Tuan Le & Young Phan went on to qualify in this event.

WPT Championship State Final Tournament Wrap up
Click Here

Winner: Michael Krein
Playmakers Sports Bar

WPT Championship Super Satellite - Bellagio, Las Vegas April 18-24th
Click Here for Details About this 4 Week Contest

Dakota Poker League founder Brook Lyter takes 2nd place in WPT Poker Stars Caribbean Adventure, cashing $681,500!
1/15/06 | Click here for the play by play blog by Jason Drake

What a vacation, what a tournament! Brook (pictured left-photo by Ryan Koffler) was along to support Ryan Koffler and Minnesota Poker League champ Greg Anderson in their quest and ended up having the tournament of his life!

Ryan Koffler busted on day 1 making a bold move and enjoyed the rest of his vacation in the Bahamas, enjoying the beach, water slides, and of course taking down various sit-n-go's in the poker room.

More photos & commentary from the Bahamas coming soon.

Fall Champion
RYAN KOFFLER
Borrowed Bucks - Fargo

Click here for final tournament wrap up / photos

Individual Points Leaders - Fall 2005
1	Josh Haugen	Elks Lodge-Fargo	wk 10	1892 pts*
2	Gina Deutsch	M & J Saloon	wk 10	1433 pts
2	Ryan Kemnitz	South Gate	wk 10	1339 pts
4	Chris Goetz	South Gate	wk 10	1237 pts
5	Clayton Dilly	Bucks-Fargo	wk 10	1191 pts
6	Kory Skoog	Elks Lodge-Fargo	wk 10	1161 pts
7	Randy Ahmann	Elks	wk 10	1154 pts
8	Mike Woodruff	Hagges	wk 10	1152 pts
9	Greg Kosel	Playmakers	wk 10	1116 pts
10	Josh Nelson	Playmakers	wk 10	1147 pts
*DPL Record

Dakota Poker Leaguers make impressive showing at recent Heartland Poker Tour Event

11/5/05 | Congratulations to Clayton Lilleby (Playmakers), Chad Ransom (M&J Saloon), and Dana Mjoness (Bucks-Fargo-host). All three made the final table at the recent HPT event at Seven Clans Casino. We're looking forward to seeing the three on TV!

Clayton Lilleby took 2nd and cashed $11,166!
Chad Ransom (pictured above) celebrated his birthday with a 5th place finish and $4785.
Dana Mjoness finished 6th and took home $3988.

Heartland Poker Tour
bonus tournament wrap up

10/25/05 | 95 players showed up for this special event. It turned out to be one of those nights in poker, where any two cards could win...Time and time again the so-called best starting hand when down in flames. The blinds got to 6,000/12,000 before we reached a conclusion. In the end, Joey Soderfelt (left) - took down the main prize - a $275 buy-in to the Heartland Poker Tour event Oct 27-30th at Seven Clans Casino in Thief River Falls...Shaun Collard (middle) 2nd, and Travis Gray (right) 3rd, also won entry fees to satellite tournaments at Seven Clans Casino.

Event Info:
Oct 27-30th

Seven Clans Casino
Thief River Falls
Fri-Sat Qualifiers
Sunday Final Table
$250 + $25 buy in

Qualifiers:
Friday 10am / 5pm
Saturday 10 am / 5pm

Heartland Poker Tour Season 1 Coming Soon
by Brook Lyter

8/15/05 | The Heartland Poker Tour is scheduled to broadcast its first season beginning October 1st. The tour will air an hour-long show on cable networks Fox Sports Net-North & Comcast, as well as several local television stations in the region. Having experienced their production first hand, I can tell you the show is well produced and should be a big hit. Recently I had the pleasure of making the final table for the first televised event at Jackpot Junction in Morton, MN, only to go out short-stacked into pocket Kings for a disappointing 5th place finish. Dakota Poker League is working with the Heartland Poker Tour founders, Greg Lang & Todd Anderson (Fargo) to sponsor satellite tournaments for members of Dakota & Minnesota Poker Leagues. For details and a complete list of events, visit the Heartland Poker Tour website.

2004 WSOP Champ Greg Raymer visits Bismarck
2/28/05 | Dakota Poker League members get opportunity to meet, play cards with world champ! We had a great time meeting Greg Raymer and the other poker industry movers and shakers including Allyn Jaffrey Shulman (Card Player Magazine), Lee Jones (Poker Stars) and Nigel Payne (Paradise Poker), among others. All were present to support the internet poker bill. However, HB1509 & HCR 3035 were defeated.
(Pictured: Brook Lyter, Jason Drake & Greg "Fossilman" Raymer) Photo by Greg Lang.