Jimmy Hadley Wins 2023 RPT Casino State Championship for Main Event Seat

The Roughrider Poker Tour (RPT) Casino State Championship in North Dakota took place at the end of December and created the largest prize pool in North Dakota poker history as it paid out $221,680 to the top 139 finishers.

There were 1,304 entries in the RPT Casino State Championship at Spirit Lake Casino & Resort, including 20 Double Qualifiers and two Triple Qualifiers. In addition to having $41,300 up top, the event awarded a coveted seat into the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event.

It was Montana's Jimmy Hadley who won the Main Event seat and a career-best five-figure score as he defeated Canada's Henry Anderson, who settled for $21,400.

Five-figure payouts also went to third and fourth-place finishers Sam Fandrich ($14,500) and Josh Unruh($10,700), while others at the final table included Lyle "Jiggs" Biegler (5th - $8,140), Paul Jain (6th - $6,000) and Steve Belland (7th - $4,650).

RPT Casino State Championship Final Table Results

Other players who cashed in the record-breaking event, which bested the previous record set a month earlier in the $1,000 buy-in Dream Chaser, included Robert Urbatsch, Aaron Raap, Anthony Scarborough and bracelet winnerChad Himmelspach.

Two Big Weekends Coming Up

There's plenty of poker action to come on the Roughrider Poker Tour in the coming months, including the Sky Dancer Casino Signature Poker Series taking place Feb. 8-11 at Sky Dancer Casino & Resort, which will feature a $600 Trophy Event and four other events.

After that, the Frozen Frosty Series will take place March 14-17 at Spirit Lake Casino & Resort. That series will feature five events, including a $500 Big-O State Championship and the $1,000 Dream Chaser II No-Limit Hold'em event.

Both the Sky Dancer Casino Signature Poker Series and the Frozen Frosty Series will award $5,000 to the top-performing player.

Further on the horizon is the Montana State Poker Championship in April, which is projected to generate the largest prize pool in Montana poker history.

_{*Photos courtesy Roughrider Poker Tour}