Heartland Poker tournaments are geared toward the every man and woman who don't have the reinforcement of a hefty bank roll, according to President and Co-founder Todd Anderson.

If you don't believe him, meet John Kurfman. He is the quintessential every man.

Kurfman is a 24-year-old farmer from Illinois. He admits that he hates, and is no good with, media interviews. He enjoys playing poker, but never considered himself a pro by any stretch of the imagination.

Last year, Kurfman's weekend of work on the farm was washed out by rain. To kill time, he made his way to the Meskwaki Bingo Casino Hotel in nearby Tama, Iowa to compete in one of HPT's stops. A few days later, Kurfman emerged $84,000 richer after a win in just his second live tournament.

"It didn't really set in what had just happened," Kurfman recounted. "It took like two days before it finally all set in."

Stories like Kurfman's are not uncommon to HPT, which for six years, has built a reputation of being affordable enough for newcomers and amateurs while boasting payouts big enough to catch the attention of poker pros.

The tour paraded its "Real People - Unreal Money" mantra through Mount Pleasant's Soaring Eagle Casino last August and November and will return in May for a tournament, and again in November for the Champion's Open.

"It's really a beautiful property for one thing, so it's always a good experience there," Anderson said of HPT's Mid-Michigan stop. "They have great hotel rooms, excellent restaurants. It's one of the nicer places we go, which is the big draw. Also, the fact it's in the middle of Michigan, it pulls in people from Detroit, Chicago, Northern Michigan. It's a nice location."

Buy-in amounts vary for Heartland tournaments. A buy-in straight to the main event generally runs just over $1,500. However, Anderson stressed that players can enter satellite tournaments with buy-ins as low as $50. Winners of those tournaments are fed into the main event.

"We do more of a tour for the average poker enthusiast," Anderson said. "The whole concept was how we can we create an opportunity for people to participate on a televised poker stage without having to come up with a $5,000 or $10,000 buy-in?"

Main event coverage for Heartland events are broadcast internationally, reaching 100 million homes in the United States. Coverage also reaches Europe and the Caribbean. All this might be intimidating to a newbie, but Anderson assures his events are an excellent starting point.

Soaring Eagle's tournament director and table games shift manager Donald Morrow said the casino brought aboard the tournament after its poker rooms experience great popularity. The previous three installments of HPT events have been welcomed with great success, especially last November's Champion's Open.

"It's definitely big for us," Morrow said. "It really relies on the area. We're not Las Vegas, we don't pretend to be. We offer that style of gaming just on a lower scale. We know times are tough everywhere and it gives the average person a shot to do what they see on TV."

Heartland Poker Tour
Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort, Mt. Pleasant
May 14-23
Must be 18 or older to play
soaringeaglecasino.com, (989) 775-7777