Husband and Wife Both with Heartland Poker Tour TitlesMary Jo Belcore-Zogman Wins Latest Main Event at Grand Casino Mille Lacs |
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It’s been said that a couple who plays together, stays together, and that could not be more true than for the Zogmans.
At the most recent Heartland Poker Tour (HPT) event, Mary Jo Belcore-Zogman won first place, outlasting 201 players at the Grand Casino Mille Lacs in Minnesota. Not only did she take home the nearly $86,000 top prize, but she also joined her husband on the list of HPT champions.
“It was more exciting to watch her win it than to win it myself,” said husband Dan Zogman, winner of an HPT event in 2007 at the Majestic Star Casino in Gary, Indiana.
The couple from McHenry, Illinois, has been traveling the country playing poker together for the past four years. The first time they played together was on Valentine’s Day, coinciden
tly, at the Majestic Star Casino. They started playing $3-$6 limit hold’em, unbeknownst to them that Dan would win nearly $228,000 in a televised poker tournament a couple of years later.
“Before the main event he played in and won, I was so mad because I didn’t qualify,” said Mary Jo. “But when he made it to the final table, I was so excited. It was so fun to watch him.”
Though she didn’t qualify for the event Dan won, she was bound and determined to play in the next event. She qualified not just once, but twice. Mary Jo won two seats, giving one to her husband to play.
While most couples choose exotic locations for vacation, the Zogmans choose the hottest poker destinations. They compete in several tournaments a year together and have gotten heads up six times, including one tournament that awarded Dan a $25,000 seat into the World Poker Tour Championship at Bellagio for first, and Mary Jo a $10,000 seat into the WPT Bay 101 Shoo
The duo would like to continue to travel and play bigger events. Both have full-time jobs but play an average of five times per week.
“It is the healthiest relationship, and we have a ball,” said Mary Jo, “but we aren’t giving up our day jobs.”
The next HPT event on the schedule is in Black Hawk, Colorado, at the Golden Gates Casino and Poker Parlour. The main event begins Oct. 3 with the first of three day ones. Direct buy-ins are not allowed, so players have from now until the last day 1 to qualify through satellites. For more information, visit the HPT website.
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