The Vegas Motel - North Dakota Texas HoldEm Poker Championship

The ND State Texas Hold’em Championship began in 2004 with only 387 entrants. It has since become the largest charity tournament in the United States, with over 1,100 in attendance and has the largest 1st prize payout in the upper Midwest. Players have represented 15 states and 3 countries. Proceeds benefit Minot State University Alumni Association in the form of scholarship funds.

2007 ND Texas Hold'em Championship:

2008 started with a bang for Rugby, ND resident Sonny Lehman when he was crowned the New ND State Champion Texas Hold’em Poker Player and took home $30,000!! The 4th annual three day tournament drew a record breaking 1103 players to the Minot area over the weekend for a chance to win part of the $93,500.00 prize payout. First place winner, Sonny Lehman and second place winner, Mike Hase (who took home $15,000) bested two main event World Series professional poker players on the final table to take the top two spots.

The Texas Holdâ€™em Poker Tournament drew players from nationwide to include Arizona, Montana, Minnesota, Wyoming, Colorado, Pennsylvania, Nevada, Florida, New Hampshire, Michigan, Kansas and California. The largest majority of players came from cities across the state of North Dakota, followed by players from Canada.

Top 10 Players:

1	Sonny Lehman	Rugby, ND	$30,000.00
2	Mike Hase	Harvey, ND	$15,000.00
3	Jason Conley	San Jose, CA	$ 9,000.00
4	Chris Grey	Reno, NV	$ 7,000.00
5	Art Ziemann	Mandan, ND	$ 5,000.00
6	Dennis Savelkoul	Lansford, ND	$ 4,000.00
7	Tom Dallman	Zap, ND	$ 3,500.00
8	Ken Selensky	Harvey, ND	$ 3,000.00
9	John Eide	Sherwood, ND	$ 2,500.00
10	Keith Jorgenson	Kenmare, ND	$ 2,000.00