Michigan's Ahmed Harajli Wins HPT at Soaring Eagle

A number of familiar poker pros took their seats at the latest Heartland Poker Tour championship event in Mount Pleasant, Michigan. As the field narrowed, a couple of them even found their way to the final table. But it was Ahmed Harajli who took down the title Sunday night, winning $176,865 and the HPT Championship Jacket.

A field of 413 players sat down for the HPT’s Championship Open at Soaring Eagle Casino Resort, creating a prize pool of $592,560. Five-time WSOP bracelet winner Scotty Nguyen was in attendance to watch the final table unfold. In the end, Harajli got heads up with Missouri’s Joey Brown for the tournament crown and held on to win when his pocket tens bested Brown’s king-five in the final hand.

Harajli, a worker at Ford Motor Company, survived a dangerous final table that contained veteran poker pro and analyst Bernard Lee and 2010 WSOP bracelet winner Dean Hamrick. Lee finished fifth when his pocket kings were outdrawn by his opponent’s pocket tens. He took $35,374, pushing his career winnings total to over $1.7 million. Hamrick took fourth for $41,269.

Bubbling the TV table was Tiffany Michelle. The poker pro and reality TV star finished in seventh place for $19,927.

Here’s a look at the final table results:

1. Ahmed Harajli — $176,865
2. Joey Brown — $88,434
3. Jurkin Rowan — $53,060
4. Dean Hamrick — $41,269
5. Bernard Lee — $35,374
6. Charles Earl Jr. — $23,478

The next stop for the HPT is set for Jan. 10 at Red Rock Casino Resort in Las Vegas.

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